October 12, 2012-- The second day of this year's New York Comic Con, held at the Javits Center. After much prodding (read: whining, pleading, promises to do the dishes for a whole month, and some slight and subtle parental blackmail), I finally got Marivir Montebon (aka The Mother/Boss) to buy me a pass to get into what is every anime otaku's private Mecca: The New York Comic Convention.
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Chibi Sebastian: <3[/caption]Okay, I exaggerate. There are other Cons out there, and most anime addicted/manga readers/comic fans are as fanatical about them as they are of the NYCC. But this was my first comic con; cut me some slack. I was... bedazzled. And silently cursing myself for bringing less than a hundred bucks. Roaming around the stands, I found myself staring (Was that a Kuroshitsuji figure?! OMG SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS! CIEL! I WANT!), ogling (Whoa, that is one realistic Hoshigake Kisame cosplay!), and ultimately depressed because I missed every single one of Tom Felton's autograph sessions (I'm still depressed, actually).
Still. I made the best of everything. Walking around the stands with a couple of friends from City College, I got called over to a curious stall selling shirts with cute chibified deities (and Satan, too!). As if the guy wearing the Air Monk garb from Avatar wasn't enough to get me fangasming (fan + orgasm; I'm a BIG fan of the Last Airbender series), I saw that the woman who called me and my friends was cosplaying as Mama Mary. Oh yeah, definitely fellow Flips. Introductions were made, I won a cute pen I was really coveting during my Dice of Destiny roll, bought a Nino shirt that says "Take the world by the balls," (because I'm Cebuano and Santo Nino is the cutest chibified deity, just saying), and promised to stay in contact with Ate Shanna and Kuya Abe, the osm Gurus at YourFaithLooksFamiliar.com.
Interview with the Gurus:
1. Who got the idea of making religious icons hip?
SHANNA: The idea of tiny baby deities was Kuya's brainchild. (Pun intended.)
ABE: I had the idea brewing for a long time & when I teamed up with Shanna,
it came into fruition. We developed it into what it has become now.
2. Are you religious, spiritual, inspired?
ABE: Spiritual and very open minded about religion and tradition.
SHANNA: I was super religious, like evangelist religious. Now, I'm deeply spiritual ...and maybe slightly irreverent.
3. Do you still have other religious icons in mind to 'hippify?'
SHANNA: Yes! Magic is brewing on our drawing boards.
ABE: We have a few additions to the YFLF Gang coming. Without giving too much away, one character will be female and the other is "one-who-shall-not-be-named."
SHANNA: And it's not Voldemort.
4. Are you enjoying high sales since you started?
SHANNA: High sales remains to be a goal. We started selling during our launch in NY Comic Con and we're so grateful for how YFLF was welcomed.ABE: We've launched last weekend and the response from customers have been overwhelming. Sales-wise, we're off to a good start.
5. Where are these shirts being sold, aside from the online store? Do you have an outlet in NY?
SHANNA: Several US and Philippines retailers are interested in selling the YFLF shirts & we will definitely keep you posted.
6. Do you have plans to make other products? What products?
SHANNA: Decals, stationeries and amulets, oh my! lots more.
ABE: Definitely. Watch out for hoodies and plushies too.
4. You guys had your debut at the New York Comic Con! :D How awesome was that?
SHANNA: It couldn't have been better! If we didn't launch there, we wouldn't have met you & thousands of other amazing creatures. :D
ABE: It was an awesome experience selling the shirts and talking to people who have become instant fans. We love New York!
5. How did you guys get started on this venture?
SHANNA: There's just too much random and quirky, "with a twist" stuff out there. That just doesn't cut it. I believe in substance and humor, simple but not simplistic.
You're making something, you might as well make it say something good and real. You better fulfill a need. People need to laugh more. Hello, YFLF!
ABE: I'm tired of seeing a lot of crap out there so we want to make better stuff.
6. Is this your only product line, or do you have others?
ABE: Other lines are in current development. Just a broad idea, we have an Elephonkey character. We're also developing a "fun and games" line, that has started with our Game Lover shirt (see picture). We hope that people notice that our designs are not just pretty, they're pretty conceptual.
SHANNA: Like a good story, this is only the first chapter...
ABE: Believe and let believe.
SHANNA: You gotta have faith!
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OSM's Leani Auxilio with the YFLF Gurus.[/caption]
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