Setting up shop in the great outdoors

During the last several years of Colin Cantwell’s life, he and his long-term partner, Sierra Dall, attended many in-person events at comic book shops, conventions, and other locations. (I even hosted them for an employees-only event at Facebook in 2019!)

Those were all indoor events, and Colin’s presence was a major draw for Star Wars fans who wanted to meet a design legend who played a vital role in the first movie’s visual development. Buying signed prints personalized by him was a major plus.

As Sierra and I have transitioned to life without Colin (the world is a little less bright without him here), I’ve worked with her to set up this website, including this new blog and the online shop where you can buy those aforementioned prints, both the autographed and non-signed versions.

But what about in-person events? The primary goal of this website is to help preserve Colin’s legacy, and part of that strategy certainly involves talking to people in person, so that’s what I did yesterday, August 31, 2024: I set up a table at the Art MartKET X showcase in the downtown city plaza in Chico, California, where I’ve lived since 2002. It was different from previous events in several ways, including Colin’s noticeable absence, the fact that it was held outdoors, and the nature of the setting, which was more of a catch-all for various kinds of vendors, rather than specifically catering to science-fiction fans.

Meeting a former ILM employee and more

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the event, but I dutifully set up shop with Colin’s prints displayed on the table, including a portfolio that people could flip through to check them out. I had the stand-up banner that Sierra shipped to me, along with a few signs I made myself, to help attract the attention of any Star Wars fans who might wander by. (I made sure to use the “You can’t tell the Star Wars origin story without Colin Cantwell” tag line, along with the George Lucas quote featured on the home page of this site.)

I caught the eyes of several Star Wars fans during the event, including a man who said he was hired by stop-motion animator Phil Tippett as a consultant during the making of The Empire Strikes Back. (Unfortunately, I didn’t catch his name, but maybe he will use the contact form on this site to email us.) I talked to many people about who Colin was and how I’m helping preserve his legacy. A few people were already aware of him, but most weren’t, and I made sure everyone walked away with a business card that has a link to this site.

During the four-hour event, I sold one print and gave away one to a very grateful fan who knew who Colin was and spent some time chatting with me. My goal was not financial; I wanted to serve as an ambassador for Colin’s legacy, and I believe I satisfied that objective. (Look up Guy Kawasaki’s work in evangelical marketing to learn more about that concept.)

Will I do this event again? Probably: the table space was relatively inexpensive and, as I’m sure you know, Star Wars fans are everywhere, not just at comic cons. But, yes, I will look into setting up a table at some of the smaller conventions in northern California, although I’m not sure when I’ll want to invest the time and money into cons like Comic Con International in San Diego, since the booth space is so expensive. (Yes, the expense of an event like Comic Con San Diego could be worth it in terms of the exposure of Colin Cantwell’s legacy to 100,000+ attendees, but that’s something for me to think about after I’ve built up this site’s presence.)

Thanks to the awesome folks at The MartKET who ran a smooth event!