Today in the News... Special Report... Travel Blog - Final
Opening Statement:
WARNING!!! Some images depict war and may offend you. If that is the case please don't read this but at the same time history cannot be changed.
Welcome to Today in the News... Special Report... Travel Blog. Over the course of the next 4 days I will update you on my trip to LA. However my plan is going to be a little different, the toy show I am attending will have many different vendors as well as some diorama building and products updates. So my plan for Friday and Saturday is to talk to some of these vendors and include their story into that day's writing. So let's see how it goes and have fun with it.
Thursday 3/6/2014:
Today was a travel day and after hitting the road around 530am we arrived in the area around 1230pm. Making a quick stop for a taco lunch at Freebirds we made our way back up the 405 to the hotel. Once inside the hotel it was quick to notice the complete remodel done to the lobby, bar, restaurant area.
Another big change was this is the first year we did not have to wait for our room to be ready.
Shortly after getting our key the owners of the store we help based out of Los Gatos, CA arrived so we quickly dropped our things off so that we could help them set up the room for Friday and Saturday selling. After set up was complete (5 hours) we did some walking around to say hello to other dealers.
The weather in Irvine today was amazing. We had rain in the Fresno area that quickly turned to sun including temps going from 55 in Sacramento to 85 in San Fernando. Once we got to Irvine the temps moved into the 70's.
For dinner we went to IL Fornio this is an Italian spot that serves authentic Italian food, Amy Carabba would be proud of. We had dinner with the couple from Los Gatos, a man from England who now lives in Hong Kong, his brother and gay friend who is one of the nicest,funniest people you could meet from Chicago. The 2 of us got to talking about Chicago Fire and how often they film the show there... More than I thought.
After dinner we got back to the hotel and that was where we end the day.
What to look for tomorrow...
Show starts so will be able to attach more pictures, going to try and get a story on a company or 2 at the show.
Friday 3/7/2014:
On the first day of the show many dealers still trickled in setting up their rooms for a day of sales but some wait until tomorrow when room to room sales open to the public.
Some of the high points of today included me picking up 3 of my 5 Russian Figures, Working room while others attended meetings from the larger Toy companies in attendance at the show.
For lunch today I finally got my favorite salad at Specialty Cafe.
18400 Von Karman Ave
Irvine, CA, 92612
http://www.specialtys.com/
http://www.specialtys.com/Location.aspx?Store=LA02
BREAKING NEWS:
As I was writing this an Earthquake occurred in the Marina Del Rey area. The 3.1 quake was felt for miles in the area... Thanks I needed that, said no one EVER!!!
Now back to our Friday Travel Blog...
As I mentioned in Thursday's blog I am here with my brother and a couple from Los Gatos. I first met the Halls in 2003 when they started a business out of their garage before quickly learning the product being sold needed to have it's own store front. So in 2003 Sierra Toy Soldiers was born. This is my favorite shop to visit. It is a GREAT history lesson for kids through these hand crafted, hand painted historical figures and vehicles. Plus the store is right next to Apple and Steve Wozniak frequents the store.
http://www.sierratoysoldier.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Sierratoysoldier
What to look forward to Saturday:
Saturday and Sunday's entries might not come until Monday - Warning.
Saturday is a very busy day with more people coming in plus it is also the King and Country event tonight. This event is the Owner/President of the company answering questions, talking about his future and direction of the company - It is a State of the Union speech if you will. In addition each year they give out a free figure and the drawings of figures currently out or soon to be released. Then after that it's time to back up the room and prepare for the GRAND Ball Room portion of the show Sunday. This part of the show is open to General Public and every dealer as well as ReEnactors gather in one spot. After the show is over it's time to pack up and head home in the long 6 hour drive.
Saturday 3/8/2014:
Today with a breakfast at the hotel it was discovered they no longer offer things that might be on the menu. Case in point, this is my 5 year coming to the show and for the first time ever they no longer offer the breakfast buffet however it is on the menu. The other items on the menu no longer offered is milk however you can still get it with your cereal. WHAT? Anyway, If you want the chocolate milk you can go to the hotel mini mart and pay $4. But enough about that, lets talk about the show.
Today was a very busy day with lots of dealers and collectors visiting rooms for sales, chit chat and show us what you got. I did get some one on one with President/Owner of King and Country toys and we talked about the new Russian T-70 take coming out next month in addition to other items on the Horizon. I will have more on that later when he gives his State of the Union.
Switching things up a bit... I got a chance to catch some Good Day Sacramento today. I was shocked but not surprised to see Cody covering Comic Con. The part that shocked me was Tina at the desk. That was a nice surprise. I had to watch on the live stream and just before 8am it froze up on me and that is when I caught Cody looking at something, Perhaps it was a bird, a plane or Superman is viewer Jody pointed out on Facebook.
The parts of the show I was able to see today I enjoyed. I really enjoyed the things from Cody at Comic Con especially when he met the Hulk
Back to my show now.... The State of the Union Speech was GREAT!!! The Q&A after was a little touch and go. One guy was very demanding and wanted the company to make Jefferson Davis, he was a trader during the Civil War. After the Q&A ended Figures and Drawings got handed out. The drawings are done before each figure is produced. Then it was time for the entire team to take it's class photo :) Yup that's me on the back left
All packed up and ready to move all our product to the ballroom at 6am PST Sunday so with that I say Goodnight.
Sunday 3/9/2014:
Time change or not I was up at 4am to get ready for the show. Moving all the things from the room to the Ballroom the night before is helpful but we still had to figure out how to set the table up so each era was represented. Also with the delegate nature of the each piece they need to be handled with care so all this takes time.
By the time set up was complete it gives you a chance to checkout other parts of the room and seeing what's new and cool for your collections.
One of my favorite parts of the show is when they open. The show always kicks off with Bag Pipes, and marching of ReEnactors through the hall and then they are always walking around with photo ops and showing off their gear. (Video will be ready on YouTube for Tomorrow's Today in the News Edition)
The show today was very busy. I don't know what the final sales were because that is none of my business but I can tell you we as a group for Sierra Toy Soldiers sold a lot including $1500+ just to one customer that I helped.
After the show ended at 3pm it was time to pack up and load up the van and say our Goodbyes for another year.
Getting on the road around 430pm and the long road to home begins. After getting through heavy LA traffic my brother and I made it home around 11pm and it was time to get back to reality and to get back to work.
Final Thoughts:
I hope you enjoyed these 4 day short stories with pictures of my mini-working vacation. I really enjoyed myself but I did miss my friends as well. So as the saying goes it's nice to get away but it's always nice to get home.
I want to thank Sierra Toy Soldiers, King and Country Toys, Hobby Bunker and all the GREAT staff at Irvine Marriott for all they did for us over the weekend. I will see all of you next March if not before in September for the Open House planned.
And Now..... Back to Today in the News....
Photo Gallery:
Opening Statement:
WARNING!!! Some images depict war and may offend you. If that is the case please don't read this but at the same time history cannot be changed.
Welcome to Today in the News... Special Report... Travel Blog. Over the course of the next 4 days I will update you on my trip to LA. However my plan is going to be a little different, the toy show I am attending will have many different vendors as well as some diorama building and products updates. So my plan for Friday and Saturday is to talk to some of these vendors and include their story into that day's writing. So let's see how it goes and have fun with it.
Thursday 3/6/2014:
Today was a travel day and after hitting the road around 530am we arrived in the area around 1230pm. Making a quick stop for a taco lunch at Freebirds we made our way back up the 405 to the hotel. Once inside the hotel it was quick to notice the complete remodel done to the lobby, bar, restaurant area.
Another big change was this is the first year we did not have to wait for our room to be ready.
Shortly after getting our key the owners of the store we help based out of Los Gatos, CA arrived so we quickly dropped our things off so that we could help them set up the room for Friday and Saturday selling. After set up was complete (5 hours) we did some walking around to say hello to other dealers.
The weather in Irvine today was amazing. We had rain in the Fresno area that quickly turned to sun including temps going from 55 in Sacramento to 85 in San Fernando. Once we got to Irvine the temps moved into the 70's.
For dinner we went to IL Fornio this is an Italian spot that serves authentic Italian food, Amy Carabba would be proud of. We had dinner with the couple from Los Gatos, a man from England who now lives in Hong Kong, his brother and gay friend who is one of the nicest,funniest people you could meet from Chicago. The 2 of us got to talking about Chicago Fire and how often they film the show there... More than I thought.
After dinner we got back to the hotel and that was where we end the day.
What to look for tomorrow...
Show starts so will be able to attach more pictures, going to try and get a story on a company or 2 at the show.
Friday 3/7/2014:
On the first day of the show many dealers still trickled in setting up their rooms for a day of sales but some wait until tomorrow when room to room sales open to the public.
Some of the high points of today included me picking up 3 of my 5 Russian Figures, Working room while others attended meetings from the larger Toy companies in attendance at the show.
For lunch today I finally got my favorite salad at Specialty Cafe.
18400 Von Karman Ave
Irvine, CA, 92612
http://www.specialtys.com/
http://www.specialtys.com/Location.aspx?Store=LA02
BREAKING NEWS:
As I was writing this an Earthquake occurred in the Marina Del Rey area. The 3.1 quake was felt for miles in the area... Thanks I needed that, said no one EVER!!!
Now back to our Friday Travel Blog...
As I mentioned in Thursday's blog I am here with my brother and a couple from Los Gatos. I first met the Halls in 2003 when they started a business out of their garage before quickly learning the product being sold needed to have it's own store front. So in 2003 Sierra Toy Soldiers was born. This is my favorite shop to visit. It is a GREAT history lesson for kids through these hand crafted, hand painted historical figures and vehicles. Plus the store is right next to Apple and Steve Wozniak frequents the store.
http://www.sierratoysoldier.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Sierratoysoldier
What to look forward to Saturday:
Saturday and Sunday's entries might not come until Monday - Warning.
Saturday is a very busy day with more people coming in plus it is also the King and Country event tonight. This event is the Owner/President of the company answering questions, talking about his future and direction of the company - It is a State of the Union speech if you will. In addition each year they give out a free figure and the drawings of figures currently out or soon to be released. Then after that it's time to back up the room and prepare for the GRAND Ball Room portion of the show Sunday. This part of the show is open to General Public and every dealer as well as ReEnactors gather in one spot. After the show is over it's time to pack up and head home in the long 6 hour drive.
Saturday 3/8/2014:
Today with a breakfast at the hotel it was discovered they no longer offer things that might be on the menu. Case in point, this is my 5 year coming to the show and for the first time ever they no longer offer the breakfast buffet however it is on the menu. The other items on the menu no longer offered is milk however you can still get it with your cereal. WHAT? Anyway, If you want the chocolate milk you can go to the hotel mini mart and pay $4. But enough about that, lets talk about the show.
Today was a very busy day with lots of dealers and collectors visiting rooms for sales, chit chat and show us what you got. I did get some one on one with President/Owner of King and Country toys and we talked about the new Russian T-70 take coming out next month in addition to other items on the Horizon. I will have more on that later when he gives his State of the Union.
Switching things up a bit... I got a chance to catch some Good Day Sacramento today. I was shocked but not surprised to see Cody covering Comic Con. The part that shocked me was Tina at the desk. That was a nice surprise. I had to watch on the live stream and just before 8am it froze up on me and that is when I caught Cody looking at something, Perhaps it was a bird, a plane or Superman is viewer Jody pointed out on Facebook.
The parts of the show I was able to see today I enjoyed. I really enjoyed the things from Cody at Comic Con especially when he met the Hulk
Back to my show now.... The State of the Union Speech was GREAT!!! The Q&A after was a little touch and go. One guy was very demanding and wanted the company to make Jefferson Davis, he was a trader during the Civil War. After the Q&A ended Figures and Drawings got handed out. The drawings are done before each figure is produced. Then it was time for the entire team to take it's class photo :) Yup that's me on the back left
All packed up and ready to move all our product to the ballroom at 6am PST Sunday so with that I say Goodnight.
Sunday 3/9/2014:
Time change or not I was up at 4am to get ready for the show. Moving all the things from the room to the Ballroom the night before is helpful but we still had to figure out how to set the table up so each era was represented. Also with the delegate nature of the each piece they need to be handled with care so all this takes time.
By the time set up was complete it gives you a chance to checkout other parts of the room and seeing what's new and cool for your collections.
One of my favorite parts of the show is when they open. The show always kicks off with Bag Pipes, and marching of ReEnactors through the hall and then they are always walking around with photo ops and showing off their gear. (Video will be ready on YouTube for Tomorrow's Today in the News Edition)
The show today was very busy. I don't know what the final sales were because that is none of my business but I can tell you we as a group for Sierra Toy Soldiers sold a lot including $1500+ just to one customer that I helped.
After the show ended at 3pm it was time to pack up and load up the van and say our Goodbyes for another year.
Getting on the road around 430pm and the long road to home begins. After getting through heavy LA traffic my brother and I made it home around 11pm and it was time to get back to reality and to get back to work.
Final Thoughts:
I hope you enjoyed these 4 day short stories with pictures of my mini-working vacation. I really enjoyed myself but I did miss my friends as well. So as the saying goes it's nice to get away but it's always nice to get home.
I want to thank Sierra Toy Soldiers, King and Country Toys, Hobby Bunker and all the GREAT staff at Irvine Marriott for all they did for us over the weekend. I will see all of you next March if not before in September for the Open House planned.
And Now..... Back to Today in the News....
Photo Gallery:
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