Matchstick Heaven

Early last month, we were invited (courtesy of Sir Jeff Benitez) to attend the
annual M.A.T.C.H.FEST held at Robinson's Place Manila, Midtown Atrium area.

But being the curious cat that you are, you're probably wondering (so did we
when we first heard it) what the said acronym stood for.

And no, it isn't a speed dating festival

or a convention for hardcore matchstick collectors either.

Although those two gatherings would be both
good and well, but M.A.T.C.H.Fest is simply a clever code for:
Manila. Action-Figure, Toys, Collectibles & Hobbies Festival.
Kinda like how

stood for..

well, you get the idea!
And knowing is half the battle!

Now that we got the name game out of the way, LET'S BEGIN!
Located within walking distance (ok, maybe not that near and walkable. Most especially
when you're in a hurry. Pero ano pa nga bang magagawa mo, anlapit na e at wala ka na rin namang masakyan!) of LRT-1's Pedro Gil area.
We arrived a little earlier than expected.

And with this being our first event for 2016, it sure is a good sign of pleasant things to come.

First things first: Finding your table.
But what to do when you simply couldn't find your designated area,
you look for it ....THOROUGHLY!

Ito na ba yun?

Hindi pa rin!

Ito na sana....

And snapping left and right like a madman doesn't really help either but it does
provides you with ample materials that you could later use. Either for personal blogging *Wink-wink* and many other similar social media purposes.

The organizers are more than gracious enough that instead of the accustomed "BIGYAN NG JACKET" catchphrase, they opted for a more subtle slogan with their all original " BIGYAN NG TUTA" campaign!

The event would also offer a more than visual reminder of what movies you should have watched prior to this event

and which movies you should be watching on the weeks to come.

Toys that you should be assembling.

Toys that are worth collecting.

Toys that SHOULDN'T be collected by you , me or by anyone!

Toys that you should be proud that you own.

Where you should be placing them.

and of course....the usual fluffy things!

Ah, finally!

Whoomp, there it is!

Facing our event neighbor, the HUBBYTE booth.

And bahgawd, it's as big as an exhibitor's table!

Y'know the paid kind. The kind we couldn't afford on our own!

We utilized every nook and cranny and every space that the said area had to offer.

No rock was left unturned and no wall space was ever left bare.

This could be our first and only chance hence we made it look as grand as possible.

And VOILA!

Our seatmate of the day was of course, the matinee idol & teen heartthrob- GIODESK of LAKAN & MAKISIG fame.
The entire afternoon had been nothing but smart, relevant and artistic talks about this and that.
And seeing Giodesk draw something else outside the confines of his strips is simply a sight to behold.

The remainder of the day were spent selling books, toys and stickers.

Lots and lots of stickers...

The Colonel's 24 herbs and spices ain't got nothing on us!

I mean, seriously! Just look at that!

With stickers being the most salable and dare we say our MAIN source of income so to speak.
Hence we would like to thank the following individuals for their continued patronage:

We've also spotted a few visitors that simply tickled our funny bone.
With folks like:
Master Muten Roshi:

Street Fighter V Ken Masters:

Inquisitive Earth X Captain America:

Time marches on and after a couple of interference from the event drone, everyone
had a more than satisfying con experience. The folks at our
table experienced an influx of customers for their really affordable on-the-spot commissions.

We've sold more than what we've expected.

It'a surprisingly fine event to say the least.
And we've even sold a sticker and a MONAY#2 to this sweet little girl.

And we could confidently say that our books aren't really the most kid-friendliest
of sorts hence for anyone, all the more for a kid to pick it up then eventually purchase it
shows clear evidences that the kids are indeed ALRIGHT!This little girl had broke the SSM!
code and we are still simply at a lost for words just thinking about that exact moment.
A moment of both astonishment and confusion! Tis moments like these that makes selling comics
a worthy and more than fulfiling experience.

The event ended alongside with the closing of the mall (around 10pm).
And although tired, we did earn us some new friends,

a new book to keep us company,

new stickers,

a new artwork courtesy of Giodesk,

and a really chessy realization that we still got it and brighter days/clearer skies are up ahead of us.
SSM! will INDEED be back and surely enough.....there will be hell to pay!!!