No Brand Con 2026 Review

Hey there friends! We're back with another con review, this time for the returning No Brand Con in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

I was sent their applications by another artist that works the con circuit and while I was initially waitlisted, I was pulled off at the beginning of March of this year. I would like to start out that their email responses were very prompt and I didn't have to wait very long for responses. The Paypal invoice was a little strange in that I was told that I could pay for half the table and then pay the other half once I arrived (which is a godsend as money has been tight with moving. If you want to help with that, you can support me on patreon, ko-fi, or venmo!)

No Brand Con has been running for just over 15 years, with them having to take 2024 and 2025 off as it is a completely non-profit organization. While they had a fantastic turn out and vendors made money, the con itself lost money. They took the past two years off to recuperate and restructure before putting on their 2026 show. According to the Vendor's Hall head (and con chair, I believe) they had just over 700 attendees at their "homecoming" show this year. Every staff member I spoke with was so nice and wonderful and kept asking if we were doing alright, if we needed anything, and made sure that we had connection to the wifi in order to process payments.

The Lismore Hotel was a very cute little hotel, but I personally wasn't able to stay there as they had sold out of rooms before I was accepted into the convention, but the hotel I did end up staying at was only a 10 minute drive down the road. My only qualm was that they lied about having a pool/hot tub as my partner really just enjoys soaking in the warm waters after a long day. The Lismore was gorgeous and while there wasn't super close free parking, their hotel parking was only 50 cents an hour, or $10 for the whole day. I feel that's very affordable if you're attending this size convention. We then loaded our stock into a pretty decently sized elevator and went to the basement of the hotel/convention center. It was a really nicely laid out room with a feasible amount of vendors. I do feel like I may have been misplaced as I was the only artist in a row of vendors, so folks may have missed out on that.

As far as the attendees, everyone was so kind and I had wonderful conversations with everyone that stopped at my booth. I did get to cross off Pawmo, Gorebyss, and Kricketune as kigurumis, so that's awesome! I also got to send home Horuss and God Tier Jane Scalemates and had several folks take home cards or other small pieces in support of my business! If you were one of those people, thank you so much for your contributions! I also got to spend a lot of time talking with other vendors (Thanks to Paw Star for their advice about how to survive Otakon and D.C. for the first time!) as well as all the beautiful work I saw from the artists. I wish sales had been a bit better so I could support you as well!

As much as I wish I could have seen or participated in the Cosplay Contest, I heard a couple of staff members promoting it, which is awesome, as well as seeing one of the winners as I left to go back to the hotel. That Princess Daisy cosplay was immaculate. I hope that No Brand Con continues to grow and improve, especially since it very much seems like they have the attendees, guests, and vendors in mind rather than lining their pockets. They did try to tell me I didn't have to pay the other half of my table fee, but it was not their fault I didn't succeed.

Sunday was pretty slow as there was a marathon that morning, right next to the hotel. Unfortunately, the convention staff did not know about this until after they had signed the contract (poor form, Eau Claire) and they were extremely apologetic about it. I was also really sad as there was a cat cafe right across the street and I wasn't able to go while they were open. Hopefully, next time I vend there, I will be able to meet all those wonderful, beautiful babies. All-in-all, No Brand Con was fun for what I was able to take part in, and would love to see it grow and improve, not only for the attendees, but for the convention staff as well. Just saying, if you want me to be there as a guest artist, or have Snacc Pack head up some panels/judging/hutches, hit us up! And if you've made it this far in the post, you can use the code "Nobranddeal" for 10% off your purchase on my website's store until May 31st, 2026. Anything you purchase goes into helping me move and have a safe place for my family to move into. See you at Momocon!