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DollAKon June 11&12 in Dallas, Tx

Nov 7, 2010

    1. DollAKon 2012 is in the planning stages!
      If anyone has requests for panel topics or workshops for DollAKon 2012, be sure to post on the Yuku discussion boards. We will be using the Yuku boards to gather ideas and to post all announcements. That is also where we will be posting info for staff positions, panelist submissions, and volunteer oppurtunities.

      This year was a lot of fun and we are looking to make 2012 bigger and better!

      ~Shannon

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      DollAKon to be Hosted During A-Kon 22
      Location: CityView 7 on the 4th floor of the North Tower in the Sheraton Hotel, Dallas
      The purchase of a badge to A-Kon 22 is necessary to attend DollAKon panels and workshops and enter the contests.

      DollAKon Schedule is available at the Yuku Discussion Board

      Don't know about Project A-Kon? Take a peek:http://www.a-kon.com/
      A-Kon® is the oldest continually running, anime-based convention in N. America. They are celebrating their 22nd year in 2011. This is a long running convention, and they are wanting to bring BJD/Asian Doll collecting into the list of interests they strive to represent.

      Discussion thread at A-Kon forums

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Updates 4/25
      The Costume Contest Entry form is now available - details here

      A-Kon has announced their Charity Recipient - Sendai Relief, and DollAKon is proud to support their efforts w/a charity fundraiser


      Advanced Visual Desgin announces a BJD category - Posted April 20:
      Advanced Visual Design has added a BJD category to their resin model contest. Details are available on the Dollacon Discussion Board at Yuku.


      Costume Contest Rules and Awards Announced - Posted March 4:.
      Theme: Something Extra Ordinary
      Costume Contest rules and award categories have been posted - they can be found here. I confirmed this week that we will have trophies for the Grand Prize winners of the Costume Contest and the Photo Contest (rules TBA).


      Fiction Contest Announced - Posted Feb. 3
      Theme: Dolly's Day at A-Kon.
      The first of the DollAKon contests has been posted at Yuku. The first place prize is a weekend badge to A-Kon 22. The costum and photo contest rules should be out by March. Good Luck to all who enter.

      Guest Announcement - Posted Feb. 1:
      DollAKon has our first special guest presentor. Kiki-chan78 from the webcomic Acrylic-Eyes will be leading an info panel on her comic as well as a photoshop panel. She'll be joining other DollAKon panelists on BJD care, modification and repair panels. We're really excited to have Kiki coming to visit DollAKon.

      About Kiki-chan78: Catherine E. Hajek Harris (better known as Kiki to her friends and on her website) was born and raised in Puerto Rico. With less than a year left to graduate for a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, she transferred to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design to study Illustration, and eventually switched majors to Sequential Art. It was while in Minneapolis that she encountered Ball-Jointed Dolls, and was able to purchase her first one, intending to use it as reference for her drawings. That first BJD, now named Omi, along with others she has acquired and customized, are the main inspiration for her online comic, Acrylic-Eyes, which you can check out at http://www.acrylic-eyes.com


      Official Announcement - Posted Jan. 9:
      When is a doll not just a doll? When it's filled with your imagination! This year, A-Kon 22 will feature an intensive program tract dedicated to Asian doll collectors. DollAKon will feature panels and workshops covering the A-to-Z of Asian doll ownership and character development. No "Mint in Box" will be found here! Be prepared for topics covering all extremes of doll collecting, customizing and enjoyment.

      From the organizers:
      DollAKon is being organized by the admin group for the Dollacon Forum at Yuku (http://dollacon.yuku.com/). The Dollacon Forum started as a spot to host general doll related conversations , share doll photography and to plan doll meet-ups at conventions. All dolls - resin, vinyl, plastic and even wood - are welcome at the Dollacon Forum. The admins live in the DFW, Texas area. Collectively, we have over 20 years experience in doll ownership and customization. Our interests range from Ball Jointed Dolls, to Barbie, to Blythe and American Girl Dolls to name a few. We are very excited to be bringing DollAKon to A-Kon 22.

      See you all at A-Kon,
      Elley, Donna & Shannon

      Come visit us at the first ever DollAKon and see what happens when resin, plastic and vinyl meld into dreams and creativity; a shell comes alive with your touch, dreams and love.

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      We are in the intial planning stages, but DollAKon will take place beginning Saturday at 9 am and running through the close of the convetion on Sunday at 6 pm.

      The organizers for DollAKon have created a discussion board for the convention events that will be the central hub for posting updates. This site is being organized at Yuku. To get an ID, please visit www.yuku.com. If you have a Yuku ID, you may request membership at the dollacon discussion board

      What will you find on the dollacon board at Yuku? Lists of panels, speakers, workshops, contests and sponsors. Complete Contest rules and guildelines will only be available at the Yuku boards and A-Kon's website. You will be able to discuss what you'd like to see happen at DollAKon. If you have any questions about DollAKon or A-Kon 2011, please post them here and I will do my best to get you a speedy answer. Please share all ideas.
       
    2. Oh wow this is so exciting. I've been hoping A-kon would get more bjd panels and such. My sisters and I weren't able to go to this past A-kon because we couldn't afford it, but we must find a way to go this June. The 3 of us are fairly new to bjds and just love them. Having an opportunity to go to panels specifically for bjds sounds like so much fun. I can't wait to hear more about Dollacon. :)
       
    3. It's certainly big news. Honestly I'd sort of boycotted A-kon this year. It's not only moved from being anime/manga/J-culture-centric con, but the more dominant SFF representation is by obscure writers and artsits even while those interested in going keep asking for more traditional guests. I'll have to think hard about going next year. I'd like to see other panels beyond intro info (those are good though). As another fair newbie I'd like demo workships on stringing, doing your own face ups, body blushing, etc.
       
    4. Okay, so this is just kind of a minicon inside of a larger con, amirite? There isn't going to be a separate registration, is there?

      I may actually bring dolls this coming year. But first... I need to invest in a nice carrying case for my big ones.

      I, myself, was a little disappointed in what A-kon had to offer this year. I've been going because I get to catch up on my manga series and it's a venue where I meet up with my friends once a year. I keep seeing the same things, so I hope this new and exciting event will give me a good reason to go and feel like I'm doing MORE than just the usual con.
       
    5. Yes, this is a mini-con within a convention type set-up. There is no extra charge to attend dollacon (exception: a fee may be associated with some of the contests to help with off-setting prizes). You will need an A-Kon badge to join the panels, workshops, meets and enter the contests. A-Kon had a set of rooms that went unused last year, and vs having them empty once again, they sent me a note asking if the BJD community would be interested. I jumped at the chance. Several owners in the DFW area are putting together and organizing the events. We are working closely with A-Kon's Vice-Chairman on setting up the events and getting some contests with prizes in place.

      We are looking for input on the topics most desired. It won't be possible to do everything as we are in a single room.
       
    6. I'm with Azha Nei. I would love to see workshops on how to do face-ups and how to restring bjds. My sister has a doll that's a bit floppy, but we don't dare try to restring her ourselves. We'd like to, but have no idea how. It'd be nice to learn how to restring and do face-ups. Also will there be dolls and doll merchandise to buy? or will that be in the Dealers' Room? I've never brought my dolls to a con before, but if we can manage to go to A-kon I'll be at Dollacon the majority of the time. ;)
       
    7. VampireSmiley, I've never seen more than a few doll accesories on sale at anime cons. I've never been to a doll con, so maybe there'd be more of a selection. Don't know about the dolls themselves though. Whatever's on sale is usually in the dealer's room or artist alley. I think Anime Fest had a doll hospital in the AA.

      This would be the first year I would have dolls to take to a con. Since it's in my backyard, I could see bringing one or both of the boys (should have Logan by then).

      I managed to tighten Barron's strings without having a heart attack, but that's about it. There are a number of video demos, but seeing explanations live would help tremendously.
       
    8. A-Kon has had 2 doll venders in their Dealer's Room the last few years. I was pleasantly surprised the number of artists in the Artist Alley who where offering doll related merchandise at A-Kon 2010.

      Dollacon itself will only be a series of panels, workshops, meets and contests. We will not be having any merchandise or swaps/trades in the space. One plan is to have a business card/flyer exchange in the back of the room. So for anyone w/a doll related business, you can bring info to leave for others to pick up during Saturday and Sunday.

      ~Shannon
       
    9. Cool. That's a first for me as far as actual dolls on sale. Usually it's vendors who happen to be doll owners torturing us with their pretties on display. :)
       
    10. This actually makes me WANT to go to A-kon! I've kina been dodging it since A-kon 18 mostly because it seems to be the same thing over and over, and YES they tend to move away form the traditional Asian fandoms. This gives me hope! Will need to see about possibly attending! ^_^
       
    11. Tenya Muyo - Yes, A-Kon over the last years has become more of a general fandom convention. But they do keep a watch on the fans and try to provide for their interests - as more and more dolls have been coming each year, they want to do some more. So we're going to try.

      Over the last week the team for DollAKon and A-Kon's vice chairman have been discussing bringing in a doll related guest as well as a BJD industry representative. Nothing is firm - but once we have the go ahead, I'll post up names. We should have a tentative line-up of panels by this weekend.
       
    12. Can we make guest suggestions? This is probably happening on the Yuki site, but if it's not too late Donn Kinney from Bishonen House would make a great guest. He's more fringe perhaps since his dolls are an American spin on the bjd aesthetic, but he's so enthuasiatic about bjds in general and an amazing sculptor. And he's just in W VA. :) Regardless of who you get, though, it's bound to make DollAKon that much more interesting.
       
    13. Well I 'm excited about this! Just moved to Texas and have recently become super addicted to the bjd world.. So I'll be there!
       
    14. Ahza Nei - We've turned in a preliminary list to A-Kon. If I hear back from them that those options didn't work out, then we will give them an additional list. I can certainly add Donn Kinney as a possible, but in the end it is up to what A-Kon's Vice-Chairman can work out for agreements. I was just tickled that she agreed to invite a doll specific guest and provide Exhibit Space for a doll manufacturer.

      That being said, we are holding space in the schedule on the chance that a big name in the industry or community just happens to be attending the convention as a regular attendee and would like some time to present. All panel submissions will go through a review by the planning committee. We are following a strict rule to not repeat topics. The current list has a mix of panel discussions, open meets, workshops and contests.

      The Yuku board is still being built and is membership through invite only - let me know if you need an invite. We will be announcing some pre-convention contests soon. The two contests will require submission through Yuku and the prize for both will be a weekend membership to A-Kon 22.

      greenfaerie - We will love to see you. A-Kon is a general anime, Asian culture and sci-fi/fantasy, gamming convention all tossed into one. Last year they had things going on in 4 buildings - so it is HUGE.
       
    15. Thanks for being willing to add him to the suggestion list. I understand. Procuring guests works the same way no matter what the con, anime or professional assembly. They'll be invited or they won't; the guests want to or they don't; the logistics work or they won't. However, if you're holding a serendipity spot open, maybe I should post to BH's Facebook page, "Hey, if you happen to be in Dallas...." :)

      Yuku. Sure, please PM or email me an invite. Thanks. Btw, is A-kon going to create a DAK page off its main site?
       
    16. Azha Nei - yes, we are working on a blurb that will hopefully go up by next week. Once that is in place, we will open up a section on the A-Kon forums as well for people to discuss the event.

      If you want to let BH know about DollAKon, that is fine. We would love all the professional support we can gather, we are just working on a very limited budget and only have approval for 1 guest and 1 industry representative. The 2 invites in progress look very promising, which I'm excited about on many levels. But as our schedule fluxes and changes, we are holding emergency space just in case we get a last minute call from someone saying "Hey, I'll be Dallas that weekend."

      Is your Yuku ID the same as here?

      ~Shannon
       
    17. Can I get an invite please? I have the same name as the one here. I can't wait to hear more about DollAkon's schedule. :)
       
    18. It's Done!
       
    19. Thank you, dhawktx.

      For those that would like an invite to Yuku - you may PM myself or dhawktx if you'd prefer that method to postig in the thread.

      ~Shannon
       
    20. I've put up a preliminary list of panel and workshop topics at the Yuku dollacon forum. This is not final, just a partial glimpse of our current list of working ideas.
       
    21. I'll be looking for it. I understand all about limited budgets. I'm a librarian. :) Good luck on the invitees.

      dhawktx, I sent you my Yuku info.
       
    22. Azha Nei - really, I'm a library assistant - talk about a small world. As for DollAkon, I was happy they offered us a budget, regardless how small. The plan is for us to try and streatch it to our best benefit.

      If you get ahold of Don at BH and want to send him my direction with questions, that is fine. At the least I could let him know what we are planning and where space might be available and get him in touch with A-Kon directly if he was interested in booth space.
       
    23. Wow words cannot describe how much I need to go to this con. It is ON. MY BIRTHDAY.
      And now, DOLLS?! Oh my goodness. I have to attend XD
       
    24. Well, early Happy Birthday muzikluvr!
       
    25. Ditto, muzikluvr. I know a few people that celebrate birthdays are conventions - they are a fun place to have birthday celebrations with friends.

      We're working on our draft schedule, and plan to have it ready by January. We'll also announce 2 contests in January that have a weekend badge to A-Kon as the prize for the 1st place winners. Hopefully that'll be enough time for everyone to decide on their final travel arrangements.
       
    26. I give. I can never log into Yuku. Seriously. I managed to nose about for about a week on the old cookie from my initial set up, but a fresh login has never worked. You can't even contact support without logging in first. That's brilliant. The account was validated and I've tried resetting my password. I'm in on the inital reset and then the same thing happens trying to log in again. I'll just wait for news to be posted here or on the A-kon site.
       
    27. Azha Nei - I've found w/yuku that bookmarking the directory page for each community gets me there - this is what I have the dollacon page: http://dollacon.yuku.com/directory.

      However, I don't log-out when at home. Yuku tends to freeze my internet connection if I attempt to logout on the home PC or netbook. Very odd.

      I will post update highlights on DoA, but all the specific details and contests will be posted on dollacon with some of it being cross-posted to A-Kon's website and forum.
       
    28. Also, remember to add a ".u" to your user name when you log in.

      Here's how the link to your Profile Page looks:http://azha-nei.u.yuku.com/

      So by this, it appears you should be logging in as "azha-nei.u". Give that a try and see if it works for you.
       
    29. Thank you. I didn't know you had to enter it with a ".u. "You have got to be kidding me, but thank you. Btw, whatever it changed when I redid the password ... it's still under my first one despite a reset done from my email. Actually, my login's different beyond the ".u" because I didn't use a hyphen.

      This isn't my day to interact with man or machine. The internet's unavailable to the patrons due to network glitches and no more DVD check outs for them until we open the new building. It's like cutting off crack from a junkie.
       
    30. So sorry you were having troubles and I didn't know!

      In Yuku's early phase, when you signed up for your Yuku ID, if you did it from within a board as a visitor that board name was appended to the end of your ID where the 'u' is. The 'u' actually stands for 'Universal' and was appended if you signed up before going and visiting any boards. I'm assuming the dash is because blank spaces are baaaaaaad in urls, since your ID is included in the url for your Yuku profile - it's much better than having to enter '%20'! And no, they aren't really clear about all that stuff.

      Let me know if you still have trouble getting in next time!

      Who are your Patrons?
       
    31. Wasn't your fault. I blame the programmers. Unless you're a programmer. ;) Like all they have to do is say "don't use spaces." Sigh.

      Patrons as in "library users." Then I heard yesterday (my day off) there was a weird bussinzg from the server room and then a bank of lights went out. ONly one in a logn line of glitches (the computers are another issue). We're convinced the building is sentient and it knows we're leaving and it is NOT happy. The day we move it may lock the doors on us. "I'm sorry, Dave, I can't let you do that."
       
    32. EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeE!!!!!!!!

      edit: oh, and I spend a lot of time at work translating between users and IT nerds. Compound THAT with the fact that the users are mostly Engineers and, OY, it's a headache - both sets are geeks with totally separate competencies, and I'm the creative problem solver in the middle!
       
    33. Ooh, sounds like I will be attending A-Kon again! :D Does one still need an invite to join the Yuku board?
       
    34. For right now PurgatoriX, yeah. PM me your Yuku ID and I'll send your invite. When logging in to Yuku, remember that your ID has a ".u" tacked on the end of it (long story).

      As an example, mine is "dhawktx.u".
       
    35. GAH! Why? *sigh*

      I've been going diligently to AKon for years, but this year my boyfriend has decided we're boycotting AKon. I don't blame him for it, as each year we find ourselves having less and less to do at AKon( if it weren't for me and my dolls, we'd have nothing to do there at all.)
      I honestly don't have many friends who go to AKon, and as said before by another, the guests aren't particularly interesting for me, and most of the panels never catch my interest ( went to a grand total of 2 last year, both of the dolls panels, though I wanted to go to the Repo! viewing, but it and the doll panels overlapped...)

      I wish I could go, but I know it will be impossible.
       
    36. I am looking forward to this! I've been going to Akon for something like 10 years now! It will be awesome to see the doll community supported there!
       
    37. LoneStar: We are also very excited. A-Kon is a fan-run and driven convention, and in working with their Vice-Chairman I've gathered this is something they've been thinking about since they have noticed the influx of dolls. Once they made contact with the DFW locals, they were thrilled to learn some of their proven panelists for other topics were doll collectors.

      We're all really excited for the oppurtunity and hope to have our final panel list by mid Feb. We're got topics selected and lengths set, now to make all the puzzle pieces fit together.
       
    38. I haven't been to Akon in years, this certainly is going to make me give this year a look again.
       
    39. I'm here too! Been excited about this since I heard & now I am subscribed here to keep up with you all! LOL
      Looking forward to seeing how I can participate, even if it's just to get there & meet you all! Thanks!
       
    40. We have our first special guest presentor for DollAKon - kiki-chan78 of Acrylic-Eyes. Bio and panel details in the first post.

      We will be announcing our first contest at the end of the week. The first place prize is a weekend badge to A-Kon. Rules and guidelines will be posted at http://dollacon.yuku.com/.
       
    41. Hey guys - the first of the DollAKon contests has been posted at Yuku. The first place prize is a weekend badge to A-Kon 22. The costum and photo contest rules should be out by March. Good Luck to all who enter.
       
    42. Just to let everyone know, the Dollacon forum is now public so feel free to drop by and see all the exciting things we've got planned for DollAKon at A-Kon 22!
       
    43. Have sent a pm for an invite.
      Excited about this.
      Am one of the dealers that is usually in the dealers room and I try and make it to the panels, not sure I will get to go to all of these but this sounds really wonderful.
       
    44. Never mind apparently I already registered.
       
    45. Latest News from DollAKon:

      Costume Contest rules and award categories have been posted - they can be found here. I confirmed this week that we will have trophies for the Grand Prize winners of the Costume Contest and the Photo Contest (rules TBA).

      As a reminder, the preconvention fiction contest has a dealine of March 31. First place winner receives a free weekend badge to A-Kon. 2nd and 3rd place winners receive a free A-Kon t-shirt.

      We hope to have panel and workshop information posted by the end of March.
       
    46. Will there be any other contests that offer a weekend badge as a prize? I don't write fiction, but would love to try any other contests you guys are opening. :) Possibly a photo contest or clothes design contest?
       
    47. VampireSmiley: Currently the fiction contest is the only way to get a free badge. If there are no qualified entries by March 31st, we will announce a Photostory Contest the following week with the same prizes.
       
    48. Our first set of contest prizes arrived yesterday. For a teaser of what was included, please visit the dollacon boards. Pictures will be up soon.

      We will also be releasing rules for the photo contest in the next two weeks.
       
    49. A small DollAKon update: We had no qualified entries for the fiction contest, so there is now a Photostory Contest posted - prize remains the same: a FREE badge to A-Kon 22.
       
    50. Oooh, I just heard about this recently, so I'm hoping I'll be able to at least check it out! I'll be working on A-kon's registration staff this year, but I was thinking of bringing George (my DZ Bunny) along with me. :)
       
    51. usamimi - it would be fun to see you. We'll be in the room late on Saturday, so hopefully you can sneak over to the hotel's 4th floor after registration closes down.
       
    52. Well, I'm *hopefully* going to have mostly morning shifts for reg, so I can have my afternoons/evenings free to enjoy the con. ;D
       
    53. Very cool! I'm coming to A-Kon for the first time this year, but will be in the AA most of the time. I def. want to join in on the costume contest though.
       
    54. I went to your lj to see George - she's AWESOME! I have a V1 DZ bunny but she's not painted yet. The weather is so fickle right now.
       
    55. I'm definitely coming. Though only for Friday and Saturday (can't afford to stay all weekend) and am so mad I'll be missing out on the Sunday stuff but I know it will still be fun. Haven't decided who I'm bringing. Going to try and force myself to keep it to 1 and 1 only. Well, 1 and DustBunnie but she doesn't really count since she's so tiny. ^_^ I'm kinda thinking either Taniel or Aeden. Hmm, but then again MSDs are small enough I could bring two.... good thing I still have 7 weeks to decide.
       
    56. I have an entry for the photostory contest, but apparently I can't post it now because I'm not a member of the Yuku forum yet (oops!) I just applied for membership...

      I spent a lot of time on it, so I really hope I can get it up ^_^;;
       
    57. Go Gothic! Can't wait to see your entry...
       
    58. Question:

      For the costume contest .... does the outfit have to be sewn? I have an idea but it would be more of a glued together piece than sewn.
       
    59. Keriko - the entry form includes a section to indicate assembly method: sewn, hand sewn or glued.

      Exciting News!
      Advanced Visual Design has added a BJD category to their resin model contest. Details are available on the Dollacon Discussion Board at Yuku.