First Impressions

I’ll try to get the negativity out of the way first, so bear with me here.

I was a little hesitant to say it because Reeves is trying very hard to push the narrative about how positive the experience is. And for most people, I am sure that it is: there is lots of excellent video content on a variety of topics, the store transactions have been pretty smooth (by and large) and the technical bits are better – though some of the video feeds have been glitchy (the last 1.5 hours of Saturday’s Live Feed is basically unwatchable to me, as were some of the archived horse demos.)

But personally I am feeling pretty disconnected from the BreyerFest experience this year, even moreso than last year. I am kind of sad, lonely, and a little bored. I miss seeing my friends in person and I wish I was literally anywhere but in my basement and on my computer right now. 

And in case you were wondering, I’ve been largely avoiding the Archive Room segments. (Which puts me in the extreme minority here, I know.)

I’ve also avoided looking at the Diorama and Costume Contest entries because I had ideas that I didn’t have time to execute, and I know it would bother me to see other people doing them – or winning with them.

I didn’t get a Grab Bag – this is not a surprise – nor did I get a Pollock. The former is more upsetting than the latter, especially since some folks apparently managed to snag more than one, which is not cool. I guess I’ll have to pretend – like I do with waitlists – that they are figments of other people’s imagination.

The aftermarket prices for Pollock right now are a little ridiculous. I was kind of hoping to get one later on if I was not drawn for it, but it looks like the wait might be a very long one, because there is no way I’m paying $350-500 for a 1600-piece Special Run item. 

I won’t even pay that for a Crane, at one-fourth the run size.

While I bought both the Team Matte and Team Glossy magnet, I am a little bummed they did not have a Team Chalky one.

And now for some positives:

The VIP Swag box is very nice: the cloisonne pins alone were worth it. I don’t collect pins, but I also don’t turn them down if they’re offered to me. (I almost have enough newer Breyerfest ones to justify make another quilt for them. Hmm.) 

The Celebration Horse model is lovely and her masking is absolutely perfect.

Kathleen Moody’s Meet-and-Greet was fun. I had no idea that the Five-Gaiter was her favorite mold, but was not at all surprised by her revelation about Tony. 

I think I will love the new Fjord Astrid once she’s available as a Regular Run. (I much prefer the Matte of her Premiere Club release, so she might still be theoretically attainable.)

I give the box for the teeny Vintage Club Yellow Mount an A+, and I actually love all three of the Spooky Stablemates this year. If I’m lucky enough to get any, I am hoping for a Bogeyman. 

The variety of video content has been great, and unlike last year the experience has not turned me off of watching most of it. I’m glad that most of the content will be up through the end of the month, since I’m now in the middle of a kind of involved quilt piecing project (I have been working on it all weekend) and it’ll be good to have that content to keep me company. 

I found it rather reassuring that most of the customizing content was not completely alien to me, too. It was nice to know that my skills are not as out-of-date as I thought they might be! 

I have also been getting lots of positive feedback from my video seminar, and that’s been very heartening, especially since the past couple of months have been pretty tough sledding for me emotionally for reasons I’d rather not talk about publicly. Kind words are never wasted! 

As for whether or not I do more, I have no idea. Now that I know to operate the software and the equipment, it will certainly be easier the second time around.   

I’ll be back in another day or two with more observations and comments.