Exploring Central Florida Comic-Con 2024 — Vendors Q&A

While I was exploring CFCC 2024, I got a chance to interview some of the unique vendors I came across.

Pop culture conventions, whether they’re colossal or very small, have a uniqueness to them. One example of uniqueness is the vendors with goods that you don’t normally see at the local stores or the mall.

If you do see these goods at the local stores, it doesn’t replace that magical feeling of visiting vendors at conventions such as MegaCon, MetroCon, Big Apple Anime Festival, Katsucon, San Diego Comic-Con, and others.

I didn’t buy much, though I wanted to, because I need to tidy up my house and set up my work office for podcasting and Twitch streaming (shortly). That didn’t stop me from looking at stuff that I wouldn’t normally come across.

I did brief Q&As with some of the vendors I visited on day 2 of Central Florida Comic-Con 2024.

Gaijin Taiyaki

Have you ever heard of “taiyaki?”

A taiyaki is a fish-shaped cake (it’s NOT made of fish) that is served as a treat or a snack. It is (usually) filled with red bean paste but some shops sell taiyakis that are filled with something else. In one of the rooms, I walked to a table that was used by a vendor called Gaijin Taiyaki. I bought a taiyaki from them the previous day, one with the triple chocolate filling, and ate while I sat in the audience at the Casper Van Dien panel.

I enjoyed it and I bought two the next day which I ate during the Demon Slayer panel. I wanted to buy more but I gorged down a whole lot of McDonald’s earlier that morning. I was hoping to get one that was filled with M&Ms or one that was filled with cookies and cream but they were sold out.

On the bright side, they still had triple chocolate left.

Oh, nom, nom, nom… Yummy… Very yummy…

The business is run by husband & wife duo Cameron (who is half-Japanese from his mother’s side) and Heather Baird.

Cameron, who has regularly eaten taiyaki for most of his life, was inspired after taking a trip to San Francisco. He decided to create an Americanized version of the product hence the different fillings such as triple chocolate.

When I asked them about their favorite flavors, Cameron’s favorite is the combination filling of chocolate, peanut butter, and banana, while Heather’s favorite is the chocolate toffee filling. Cameron told me that while red bean paste is the typical filling, he opts not to make those for conventions as they’re not the most in-demand product but they’re high in demand at the Asian cultural festivals though.

Making the taiyaki can be a tedious task. The typical time it takes to make 100 taiyaki, according to what Cameron told me, is at least an hour. I appreciate the hard work you and Heather put into making these delicious treats.

The Bairds have been at this for 10 years.

I’m looking forward to seeing them again in March at Florida Polycon 2023 where I’ll probably buy five or six of them.

Flower Flame

When it comes to tabletop games and card games, conventions and festivals have a major advantage over physical stores like Walmart and online stores like Amazon. Tabletop and card games can be demonstrated at conventions and festivals while stores like Walmart or Amazon aren’t able to accommodate them.

I spoke with Thyyen Ta, the owner and operator of Flower Flame, who was present at CFCC 2024 where she showcased one of her games Flower Garden, the latest of four games she created over time.

Ta was inspired to venture into game design thanks to her years as an avid fan of board games and attending many conventions. She added that some games sell well and others don’t.

For Ta, the convention scene allows her to showcase her creative works.

It is a competitive card game that can accommodate anywhere between two and four players. Don’t be deceived by the name “Flower Garden,” though, because you’re tasked with growing and maintaining your garden while SABOTAGING everyone else’s gardens.

Flower Garden is also a race against the other players to see who can be the first to collect the flower set.

Ta’s website gives a tutorial on how to play the game.

She’s currently working on developing her fifth game, hopefully, I can see it next year at CFCC 2025.

According to her IG, Ta will have a table at the upcoming Brick City Anime Festival in Ocala, Florida from February 10 to February 11.

Tiffany Mitchell Designs

Pop culture conventions and festivals are also great places to buy custom-made items that you wouldn’t normally find at physical stores. One such booth at CFCC 2024 was Tiffany Mitchell Designs. I was able to get a quick Q&A with Tiffany Mitchell, who does everything (the operating, the creating, and the designing) while taking pictures of her handcrafted items. This is something that Tiffany has done for eight years now.

All items are handmade with custom fabrics and types of vinyl, making her wares one-of-a-kind. The time it takes to create one item could take a few days depending on what the client wants. The business was birthed from a combination of a mother raising her son and a person with a love of sewing.

I thank you for your hard work, Tiffany.

Her favorite fandoms are Star Wars, Disney, and Rainbow Bright (which Tiffany says that she’s a huge fan of). Tiffany is a veteran of being a convention vendor who has attended events like MegaCon, Infinity Con, Tampa Comic-Con, and more.

According to her Facebook page, Tiffany is scheduled to appear at MegaCon in Orlando.

If you’re attending MegaCon this weekend, please check out her table and buy her stuff.

If you have visited Japan or are familiar enough with Japanese culture, you’ll already know what a “gachapon” machine is. I learned of their existence by playing Shenmue. Who says video games aren’t educational? They’re certainly educational because I would’ve been clueless about gachapon machines if I hadn’t played the game.

I saw a gachapon machine close up at Florida Polycon last year, which is held every March at Florida Polytechnic University and won a red Zaku head.

SIEG, ZEON!!!

The head was a b!tch to assemble, though, but I ain’t complaining. I love anything from Bandai’s Gundam franchise.

At CFCC 2024, I saw a section of an exhibit hall dedicated to gachapon machines. The machines belong to Otaku Vending which is a fairly new venture.

These are sleek and beautifully crafted gachapon machines that I can imagine being at popular video arcades. The ones I saw at CFCC 2024 had themes like Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and Spongebob Squarepants.

Think about how cool it would be to get a Spongebob gachapon and have it autographed by Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob, who was one of the special guests.

One of the owners was more than happy to explain how Otaku Vending came to be. It all started when they visited Japan and saw the gachapon machines. They decided to turn their love of Japanese culture and gachapons when they saw that not many conventions had gachapon machines.

Otaku Vending was established shortly after. The owners told me that an entire set of gachapon machines takes six months to create.

You can follow Otaku Vending on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Checking out the unique vendors is one of the reasons to attend a pop culture convention because you’ll likely not see these items anywhere else. This is also another reason to attend as many events as possible because you’ll come across different vendors who specialize in different items.