Normally I’d open up these posts with some sort of proper into; I’d start by saying something seemingly unrelated and then slowly work my way into the main topic. This time around however I’m going to just jump right into it because why the heck not: Welcome to the 2017 Calgary Expo!

Now I will start by saying this (and bear with me here), but a lot of the vendors are the same each year (which is totally normal for pretty much any event), but because of that I decided to cover more of the things that caught my attention this year…

…starting off with some hand-made wooden creations by The Trees Are Calling.

Each item is made entirely out of wood, and as it turns out is also incredibly durable and strong!

Some pretty detailed crotchet dolls by Ohana Craft Amigurumi.

Pop! Vinyl figures by Funko are all the craze these days…

…but this one had to be hands-down the most ballin’ one of the entire convention. Talk about paying to play!

Custom tees are nothing new but that one gave me a pretty good laugh.

Incredibly detailed and well done airbrushed helmet by JBo Airbrush.

If no one told me I would assume that these Rick and Morty plushies were just another mass-produced item, but to my amazement they’re actually each hand-made by Cupcake Monster Crafts!

As always I forgot to get the name of this booth…

…but they’re always stocked up with rare Pokémon Center Japan goodies, ranging from plushies to bowls and cups!

Oh they also had these funny looking Pokémon…

It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen a PS1 so this was actually a refreshing sight for me…

Ah yes, exactly what I need.

If you ever get a chance to feel these super cute cat plushies from Japan, DO IT. They’re suuuper soft.

A rather angry looking sumo Hello Kitty just hanging out…

I always enjoy things you can enjoy and are also useful/practical, such as this Eggo apron from Aria’s Apparel!

They also had this neato Kirby dress on display.

Different cups depending on your mood from Salty Sea Dog Designs.

One of the cooler booths I found from this years show was Modulicious.

While they had all sorts of figures on display for you to purchase…

…it was their Buddha themed creations that really caught my eye. These ranged from many different characters as well, from Star Wars to Nintendo.

Couldn’t help but laugh at this Wailord absolutely crushing its smaller companions underneath.

Last year we saw a Neko Atsume sweater, but this year there were plushies!

This was oddly tempting to purchase…

Unfortunately I don’t remember the name of this vendor but they always have highly detailed helmets like this White Ranger one…

…and this Iron Man mask, complete with LED lights.

Some rather cute and giant octopi.

Really cool stained glass creations from Awesome Sauce Designs. Like a lot of the things we see at Expo, each one is hand-made!

Sadly I didn’t catch the name of this vendor either, but they had a really neat concept of Pokémon inside Poké Balls. Each Poké Ball is decorated with an environment depending on what sort of Pokémon is stored inside. Super cool.

One of the things I look forward to most at these sort of conventions is the Artists Alley. Unfortunately due to various reasons, I can’t actually take photos of most of the art there.

The folks over at Rawry & Pohly are always more than accommodating however, and always let me snap away at their amazing creations. Thanks guys!

I couldn’t walk by the Electric Bunny Comics booth without snapping a photo. I mean, just look at that thing. LOOK AT IT.

Another artist that I always look forward to seeing is comic book artist Camilla d’Errico! This year she had a live painting demo in the Kensingston Art Supplies booth which turned out to be super educational for me as painting is my Kryptonite of the art world…

She has a very distinct and original style, and always has various goodies on hand as well (not just prints!), so make sure to visit her next time she’s at a convention near you!

Some of you may recognize this incredible looking Ifrit as the winner of last years Best Costume Master Category award, and for very good reason. I can’t even begin how many hours it took to put this whole thing together…

…oh and right next to it was a life-sized TARDIS that you could even walk into! Both of these incredible creations are by SilverLining Cosplay by the way. Can’t wait to see what else they come out with in the future!

As always, make sure to check out the Flickr link below to see the rest of the photos. We’ll be looking at some cosplayers from this event next, so stay tuned!

-brandon.

Click HERE to view the full photo set on Flickr.