Anyway, I have several fun photos to share with you all of my fun trip to Brooklyn, New York and my adventures at Big Apple Ponycon where I was a speaker and featured Guest of Honor (fun stuff!!)… once I get my replacement chargers.

To all of you that are thinking, “Why don’t you just insert your memory card into your card reader?” I’ll admit that I can’t seem to locate my card adapter that fits in my card reader.

The most frustrating fact of this whole ordeal is that for once my house and office are both clean and organized.

At the end of January, I traveled to Los Angeles, California and had the pleasure of being interviewed about both the 2013 MY LITTLE PONY Fair and my upcoming My Little Pony Collector’s 2009-2012 Inventory for an episode for the Brony Clubhouse Network. I was able to visit with my friend and fellow collector, Cayci and tour her pony room.

 I met Cayci years ago at a collector event . She has such a bright and bubbly personality and is just a fun person to be around. Plus, she has a pretty great collection!

She goes by the name “Baby Medley” on the MLPArena, and she has an amazing Medley collection to go with her nickname!

In case you missed the episode when it was initially posted weeks ago, I’ve included a link so you can have the pleasure of watching me stumble over my words. You can also see my husband, Matt, stand there and look awkward. I just kept blabbering on and on and never really gave the poor guy a chance to chime in on anything. I guess it goes to show that when it comes to Ponies I never really run out of things to say!

Brony Clubhouse Network: Episode 6

Tickets for the 10th annual MY LITTLE PONY Fair went on sale this morning at 9:00 am and three hours later, all of the top tier ticket packages were sold out!

Even if you missed out on snagging a coveted CRYSTAL EMPIRE, CANTERLOT, or PONYVILLE package (which included this year’s Limited Edition Premium MY LITTLE PONY Figure), you can still purchase a Weekend General Admission ticket and reserve FREE tickets for the kiddos. This year MLPFair is offering free admission for children ages 12 and under. Plus, the MLPFair is offering merchandise presales through their ticketing system, so you can avoid waiting in the Fair Store line. Just order online and pick up your items upon check in at the registration desk.

If you have extra ponies taking over your basement (like me) or you are a Pony crafter, you can purchase a vendor booth and show off your wares. There are still a handful of booths left, so act fast if you want to be a vendor!

I’m SO excited for this year’s event! I can’t wait to celebrate the MY LITTLE PONY brand with all of you in July!!

We had a lovely Christmas at our home (which included several new Ponies) and I’m now frantically trying to finish up all the party planning for L’s second birthday party this Sunday. We’re going with a Mickey Mouse theme this year and while I don’t get to decorate with colorful ponies (boo!), I’ve been having fun planning and making all the decorations and favors.

My husband gifted me a Cricut machine for scrapbooking this Christmas and I’m looking forward to putting it to use for for future pony events and creating fun design elements for my Pony Event Scrapbook. I don’t think it has been updated since 2009 and it is in serious need of some attention. I have loads of photos from the past three (eek!) years that I need to add. They really should make a My Little Pony Cricut cartridge. I’d be first in line to buy and it would get some serious use at my house.

Until next time, happy Pony collecting!

In addition to random buys, I also purchased this adorable My Little Pony bubble bath set and a Pinkie Pie hand soap dispenser from Wal-Mart. I haven’t been too big on buying up the FIM merchandise, but these were just too cute to pass up. They are seriously my favorite bits of merchandise yet (well, besides the Pinkie Pie bubble blower.)

I’ve been a little light on the updates, due mostly to getting a ton of things done behind the scenes of MY LITTLE PONY Fair 2013 and my soon to be released newest pony guide, The My Little Pony 2009-2012 Collector’s Inventory. Exciting stuff! I’ll have some announcements regarding both in the next few weeks and can’t wait to share.

It is looking like the 2013 Fair is going to have some awesome additions to our schedule of events as well as some fun surprises for our attendees!

Shirts:
This G1 My Little Pony shirt was spotted for sale in the men’s section at Target (reported by Derbygirl on the Arena). I’ve got to say I LOVE it and will be buying this.

There has been an uproar within the Brony community about this shirt found at Wal-Mart. They are up in arms demanding that it be pulled from shelves due to it showing G1 ponies and not G4 ponies. If you are easily offended by anti G1 commentary, I’d avoid the comments section on EQD. They are pretty harsh. Personally, I think the shirt is pretty clever. Mixing the G1s in a Brony reference, whether intentional or not, is a bit of a statement. Looks like G1s are loving and tolerating the Bronies.  I won’t be purchasing this one as I’ve said my piece on message tees, but I can still appreciate it.

 

Also, I’m currently loving Jordan Hembrough’s show, Toy Hunter, on the Travel channel and Collection Intervention on Syfy. If you are a toy collector I recommend checking them out. At first I was a little weirded out by the Collection Intervention show because some of the collectors are really “hoardy”  about their collections, like they have everything piled up in boxes in their garages or strewn all over their house and everything is dirty and dusty. I do like how they emphasize display of the collections though.

I really should upload some photos of my current collection. I have a ton of pieces, but they are nicely displayed. Although, at the current time, with the amount of items I’m adding due to the G4 line, I’m debating if I should expand my display space or downsize my collection. I refuse to be one of those “piles of stuff in the corner” type of collectors. Ponies belong in the ponyroom not on the bathroom counter… unless they have recently been washed and are drying.

Do you have designated space for your collection in your home  (like a ponyroom) or is your place a Pony free for all?

My collection is pretty filled out and I find it difficult to find things I’m missing. Plus, what I am after is generally either harder to find or some random accessory and I unusually have to turn to another collector to buy. Which leads me to my topic for today: Pony flipping.

To those who might be unfamiliar with this term, it basically refers to someone who buys Ponies or accessories in “lots” on Ebay and will then split them off piece by piece to turn a profit. Or it could mean someone who takes advantage of a high demand/ low supply situation in the market (an example of this would be the recent TRU Collector Collection with Nightmare Moon where the retail price was $40, yet you could easily resell the set for upwards of $80 overnight.)

There seem to be two camps on the issue of Pony flipping. Those who say it is A-Okay and those who think that turning a profit off of other collectors is to be frowned upon.

 If you’ve followed my blog for long, you may remember my post about my Goodwill Pony ordeal. I managed to find a beautiful TE Mimic for practically pennies and I ended up sending her to a pony friend as a surprise package to cheer her up since she was going through a rough patch. Now before you pat me on the back and tell me what a generous person I am, you should know that this was the 4th Mimic I had found for under $2 from either a thrift shop, flea market, or yard sale. One joined my personal collection and the other two were sold to fellow collectors through the message boards by taking offers. I ended up making quite a nice profit from the sales and reinvested that money into purchasing more items for my collection.

I know other collectors who frequently buy up large accessory lots or pony lots for a single accessory or pony and then sell off the extra pieces for a profit to cover their own collecting purchases. Personally, I’m grateful to these sellers because I don’t typically have the time to sell off items I don’t need in a large lot. I’d rather purchase the one item I need individually. This might mean paying premium price, but to me, the time saved is more than worth the money saved.

I’ve frequently offered to buy hard to find pony sets that I’ve found locally to other collectors that might not have the product in their market for cost. I look at it as “paying it forward” since I’ve often needed items from overseas markets and fellow collectors have graciously offered to help me out.  I’m more than happy to do this on the collector message boards.

Ebay, in my opinion, is a whole other playing field. The open market dictates the price of the product and I’ve been on both sides as a buyer and as a seller. As a seller, it is always wonderful to make a sale that is above and beyond retail price and turn a nice profit, but as a buyer you are always lamenting the soaring prices on items that you want to purchase but can’t find in your area. I look at it as a type of tilting scale in the collecting world. You win some and you loose some (money) where collectibles are concerned.

In my opinion, I don’t see a problem with Pony flipping as long as collectors are involved. Where it gets kind of muddy is when non collectors jump in the market to make a quick buck and then disappear. It happens. I understand why it happens, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

What are your thoughts on Pony flipping? Have you ever done it?

There was a time when I couldn’t even begin to imagine a Pony ever driving a car, but thanks to Hasbro’s clever marketing, I now pity the Ponies who don’t have their own set of wheels.

First, was Rainbow Swirl with her Ice Cream truck in the G3 line. It seemed a little strange that she got to drive around Ponyville in her own truck while other ponies were hoofing it. Business must have been so good and she couldn’t possibly have been expected to push all that ice cream around on a cart. If Lickety-Split has taught us anything it is that ponies love them some ice cream.

Then, as part of the the G3.5 Newborn Cuties line, Baby Pinkie Pie and her Mom traveled in style in a pink convertible. Pinkie had her own car seat because when ponies dive, they want to make sure they take all the necessary safety precautions.

A bunch of little coups were available as part of the Ponyville line.
                      

In the G4 line, both Pinke Pie and Twilight Sparkle got their own remote control cars for high speed hands-free driving.
              

And lastly, not a pony car but instead a car with ponies so I feel it is worth mentioning. Mary and I saw this while at the Everfree Northwest Convention and we were puzzled why someone would spray paint their car (badly) just for an event. The car didn’t appear to be in terrible shape (before the hack spray job.) We concluded that the owner probably suffers from spray painter’s remorse.

ABridgesBoutique on Etsy creates made to order fleece scarves that have pony cutie marks (ahem.. symbols) incorporated on them. Too cute! You may know Aadra310, the owner of ABridgesBoutique, from the MLPTP and the Arena as she is a long time collector. Her creations use inspiration from multiple pony gens, so even if you aren’t a Friendship is Magic fan, she can make something for you too! Plus, I had the opportunity to meet her at the MY LITTLE PONY Fair and she is a sweetheart so I can’t help but promote her and her efforts!

I fondly remember the days when I was in high school and I could stroll into Hot Topic and purchase a fun retro character tee (in a junior fit small, no less). Over the years, I’ve allocated all message and character tees to either gym wear or around the house/ quick grocery run lounge wear, and now I find myself choosing plain boring workout dry fit tops for my workouts. It isn’t that I don’t find message tees funny. In fact, I find myself giggling at shirts on www.80stees.com and www.welovefine.com all the time, but I just can’t bring myself to make a purchase. I think that ship may have sailed.

 When we first got married, my husband bought a message tee that said “Cougar Bait” and it had a graphic image of a cougar printed on the front. We thought it was hilarious…  until we woke up one day and realized that he was now at a respectable age and no one would blink an eye if he ran off with a woman in her 40s. That shirt quickly found its way into the Goodwill pile.

Out of curiosity, I did a tee search on google images of (what else) My Little Pony tees to see if I could find a few to stash in my closet for the occasional collector outing or pony meet and I managed to find a few that I might considering wearing. First off, all FIM tees were pretty much automatically crossed off the list of contenders. Don’t get me wrong, I love the FIM show, artwork and characters, but since it has become so mainstream, I find myself looking at shirts sporting Pinkie Pie the same way I look at those tacky decals people paste on their truck windows of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbs peeing on a Ford or Chevy logo.

Then, I decided to look at retro pony designs and was a little saddened to only find a handful of options. Plus, most for these had some message emblazoned across the image like, “Daddy Buy Me a Pony” or “Princess” that would only be suitable if I was 12. After a little digging, I came up with the following purchasing options:

I could possibly see myself wearing this under my powder blue fleece zip up, but it is doubtful I’d wear it by itself. It is kind of intensely girly.

 I can see myself wearing this to a pony outing, or the gym with ridiculously bright neon shorts.

This is probably, my least favorite of the  bunch (because of the word “love” written on it), but I could possibly imagine myself wearing this paired with black yoga pants around the neighborhood.

 I think this one is really funny and a little more subtle than the other options (If there is anything subtle about having My Little Ponies printed across your chest.)

 I really like this one even though it resembles a shirt I had when I was 5. I might wear this around the house or to a pony meet or something.

Also, www.Zazzle.com has some Hasbro submitted retro designs that are a bit more simplistic. They have a few fan favorites including Glory, Gusty, Sundance, and a few others. I imagine I could pair these with jeans and wear one to a pony event.

What do you think about wearing message and character tees, specifically My Little Pony tees in everyday life? Do you think there is an age where you should resign yourself to being message tee free or are you the type of person who will still be sporting Rainbow Dash, “20% Cooler” proudly at  age 79?

Mary and I set up our booth on Friday. It was pretty simple with some Fair info, merchandise and books. At the last minute, I threw in some “unblinded” blind bags and my binder of extra FIM trading cards into my suitcase since I had some extra space. By the end of the first day of sales, Mary and I had completely sold out of our “unblinded” blind bag ponies and I had off loaded some extra FIM trading cards, but not much else. It was interesting that when Bronies came to look in the blind bag bin, they were primarily looking for the “Mane 6″ ponies and didn’t have much interest in any of the other characters. Collectors tend to look for the other characters first, so this was a new perspective for me.

The vendor room consisted of about 30 tables of handmade pony items. Hats, scarves, fan made plush ponies, necklaces, keychains made out of the blind bag ponies, custom tee shirts, and fan art. Official merchandise was offered by WeLoveFine and Enter-Play cards, but other than that everything else was custom/fan made. It was a little strange to be in a room full of pony stuff and none of it be toy ponies or Hasbro produced.

Since we were classified as Vendors, we didn’t have to wait in the epic registration line. It seemed to go on forever, but the Bronies seemed more than happy to stand in line for hours to be admitted into the event. We found that standing in really long lines is really typical at most conventions and it isn’t considered a big deal or an inconvenience. Mary joked that we would be strung up by our shoelaces if it took six hours to complete Fair registration. I guess collectors aren’t as patient (myself included).

We took a little break for lunch and attended a paper pony craft panel where you could make your own paper “bwob” pony, but had to wait for about 40 minutes after the scheduled time because an organizer had misplaced the supplies and they had to go buy scissors, crayons and glue. We actually welcomed the break to sit back and relax, and it was just as well since my first foray into pony themed paper crafts resulted in an epic fail. Poor Pinkie Pie “bwob” pony found her way into the wastebasket after about 30 minutes of struggling to get her pieces to stick together with little success. The finished product that was shown by the host of the panel was really cute. Mine… not so much.

After our unsuccessful go at paper crafts we went back to manning our table. We were able to chat with several Bronies about why they feel a connection with My Little Pony, and what motivates them to band together with other Bronies. The vast majority pointed to the sense of belonging that they felt among the Brony culture. Something that was lacking in their everyday lives. A few noted the quality of the Friendship Is Magic animation originally piqued their interest, but that they identify as a Brony because of the community.

Later that evening, we attended a bit of Ponystock, a showcase of artists who create music inspired by My Little Pony (yes, this is a real thing!) We stayed for a bit listening to Brony musicians sing ballads about rainbows and friendship and some singing about more serious topics like bullying and feeling lost and forgotten, but finding solace with their friends. It was kind of heavy stuff. Then a new artist took the stage and began a version of “Baby Got Back” but with modified lyrics that paid homage to pony “flanks” and hindquarters. I’m sure it was supposed to be tongue in cheek and funny, but it was a little too much for us and we decided to call it a night. We decided to bow out of the festivities on Saturday and Sunday and instead explored Seattle (Awesome city and awesome food!) We did check out Ponystock on Saturday night and witnessed a whole room of Bronies singing “The Smile Song” and Michelle Creber (who voices the character of Apple Bloom) sing some songs from her new CD. She was adorable!

While most of the Bronies were very nice and we enjoyed our conversations with them in small groups and we had fun, the experience was a bit intense and frenzied overall. However, the Bronies seemed to embrace this atmosphere by belting out songs in the hotel elevators and mooning over voice actresses. They had a great time and that’s what counts. Everfree was their event and they loved it!

I’ll admit that gaining a better understanding of the Bronies was my focus of attending Everfree Northwest (Well, that and having a fun weekend getaway with a friend.) I now tend to think that the Brony phenomenon is kind of a perfect storm that could have just as easily attached itself to any other pop culture icon, Pony just happened to be the catalyst. Without the organization of the community aspect of the Bronies, I seriously doubt that these same teens and 20 something males would sit at home and spending countless hours on  Pony fan art, Pony fan fic, and Pony inspired music. Some maybe… but it definitely wouldn’t have the same following.

Also, if I was even remotely interested in getting a doctorate in sociology, I’d so write my thesis on Bronies. There is a gold mine of material at these Brony conventions!

Tomorrow I’ll be Seattle bound with Mary to attend EverfreeNW over the weekend. I’ll be representing the MY LITTLE PONY Fair at the event. I will also have some copies of my books on hand and am willing to sign and chat ponies with fellow pony fans! We’ll have some Fair Exclusive logo trading pins, key chains, and other goodies up for grabs so come and see us at booth #2!

It should be a good time as Mary and I are bound to get into some sort of pony shenanigans.

Now off to pack… nothing like waiting until the last minute!

I attended the annual Cincinnati Pony Meet at the end of July and despite arriving almost two hours late (I was navigationally challenged that day and it didn’t occur to me to use the GPS on my smart phone until AFTER I had gotten myself lost twice) I ended up having a great time. It was really nice to attend a small gathering where I had the chance to actually relax and have conversations with fellow collectors. The Cinci hostesses are a great group and since none of them made it to the MY LITTLE PONY Fair this year, it was nice to see them. Aside from the customary buying and selling, they hosted several games including a Pony version of Trivial Pursuit, Horseshoe Bingo, and a game that involved hitting a Fakie off of a tee with a baseball bat.

I sold and signed a few books, and ended up purchasing  a few accessories, some stickers and both large and small symbol versions of German Nightlight. It was nice to actually check off some ponies from my wantlist.

I remembered to bring my camera along and while I didn’t get many photos, the pictures I did take will make a nice addition to my pony event scrapbook.

                                   Wack a Fakie Game         Awesome scene contest entry by Nintendo Steve

 A quick Pony memory board I put together for my table including some moments that haven’t  yet been added to my scrapbook.

Next pony event on the agenda-  I’ll be at the KYPonymeet held in Lexington on September 15th and will most likely be bringing some collection items for display and some freebies for fellow attendees.

The 9th annual MY LITTLE PONY Fair happened on July 7th and 8th in Orlando, Florida and was a successful and well attended event. We had double the attendance of past events and tons of fun! The Fair staff and many volunteers worked tirelessly to bring our attendees the best Fair yet! I want to personally thank the following people for all their help:

The 501st Legion (Florida Garrison)- I simply cannot say enough good things about this group. They were amazing. They interacted with attendees, ran games, posed for pictures, and were all around great! Plus, one of their members dressed as a “Pony Trooper!” May the horse be with you 501st!

MLPWhitney- A fellow collector, MLPWhitney, ran both of our Pony Bingo sessions. She added her own pony commentary and made the game fresh and fun. Thanks Whitney!

MustBeJewel- Jewel outdid herself once again by creating an informative and entertaining presentation all about the history of MY LITTLE PONY. Despite having her power knocked out by a crazy east coast storm and subsequently loosing over half of her footage a week before the Fair, she still managed to create an amazing documentary short. Plus, she graciously offered up some copies of her documentary film, My Little Obsession for our giveaways!

PonyDad- This guy, who happens to be Jewel’s dad, is seriously the unsung hero as far as supporting the pony community is concerned. He not only provided all of our sound equipment for the event and digital projector, but he also set everything up and jumped in to save the day when we had a few technical difficulties. Thanks PonyDad!

ElfPony- Offered up some pony packs from Canada for our movie night giveaways. Elfpony, you rock!

TraderTif- Sent me a stock of G1 soundtrack records from My Little Pony the movie to use as prizes. If you didn’t take home a record this year, don’t worry… we’ll have more at future events! Thanks TraderTif!

The MLPArena- Thank you for hosting our 2012 Fair forum!

Photographer Paul- You were everywhere with your camera. I can’t wait to see the photos and update the Fair website with your images. Thanks for sharing your talents with us!

Snyfez- Thanks for running our contest sign ups. We couldn’t have managed without your help!

Sebby and Doug- An amazing clean-up duo! Thanks for helping with the job no one wanted to do!

Jenn and Steve- Thank you for running the door and sitting at the sales desk for hours on end. So glad that Jenn volunteered you for the task and that you were such a good sport about it!

Girlbuffalo, Stevator, and Matt- Great teamwork once again and glad you could join us in the fun this year, Stevator!

Last but not least,

HASBRO- Thank you so much for supporting our event and reaching out to your MY LITTLE PONY Collector fan base. We love all that you do and thank you for creating products, characters, and a brand that we grew up loving and can now share with a new generation!

Sold in packs of 5, these adorable cards cover all of Equestria including, characters, pets, favorite moments, and locations. Plus, you can collect pony character standee cards, foil cards to build puzzles, and special gold cards. On the back of each character card is a fun fact sheet and fun trivia questions can be found on the back of each favorite moment card.

I’ve already seen a bunch of card trading threads pop up on the collecting community boards and I have to say that it brings me back to the early days of collecting when trades were common and brings a smile to my face. In fact, I worked out my first card trade earlier today.

Let me know if you are currently collecting, or have plans to collect the FIM MLP card set. Who knows?  Maybe we can work out a trade.