Vograce at Anime Expo 2026: Everything That Went Down
Anime Expo 2026 wrapped up in July, and if you walked the West Hall at the LA Convention Center, there's a good chance you passed our booth — or walked away with one of our keychains. This was our biggest AX yet, and we wanted to put the whole thing in one place: what we built, who showed up, what sold out fast, and what we're already changing for next time.
Anime Expo 2026: A Quick Refresher ✨
Anime Expo has been running since 1992, and 2026 marked its 35th year as North America's largest celebration of Japanese pop culture — four days, one sprawling exhibit hall, and well over 400,000 people moving through Downtown LA for everything from panels and premieres to Vtuber meetups and a whole lot of cosplay.
That scale is exactly why we showed up. The crowd at AX is basically our community in one building: illustrators and indie artists selling their own work, doujin creators, Vtuber talent, and IP owners and publishers scouting new merch partners. Most of the people we work with through Artiststore and Vograce Pro live somewhere in that mix, and this year we wanted to actually stand in front of them instead of just shipping to them.
Building Our Home Base for 4 Days
We didn't want a booth people would just walk past. We wanted one they'd actually remember — and one where it was obvious where to go depending on what brought them over.
A Logo You Could Spot From Across the Hall 👀
First things first: you couldn't miss us. We hung an oversized Vograce logo above the booth, tall enough to spot from the other side of the hall, which matters more than you'd think in a venue this size. More than a few artists told us they used it as a landmark to find their way back.
Three Zones, One Vibe
Inside, we split the booth into three areas: a product wall where you could actually see and touch everything we make, a quieter corner for one-on-one conversations with brand and business partners, and a dedicated Artiststore corner for anyone curious about opening their own shop. Same booth, three different conversations happening at once, and it kept the whole thing moving instead of everyone crowding one table.
The Wall Everyone Wanted to Sign 🎨
The surprise favorite ended up being our wall of love — a board covered in heart-shaped sticky notes where people could leave a message, a doodle, or just their name. By the end of the show, more than 300 people had added their own heart, turning one board into the most photographed corner of the booth.
Grace Came to Life (and Fans Lost It)
All the zones and signage got people through the door — but the moment that actually stopped foot traffic happened a little deeper in the booth. For the first time ever, Grace wasn't just a face on our packaging.
Wait, Is That... Grace? 😲
If you know Vograce, you know Grace — she's been our mascot from day one, but she'd never actually shown up in person before. This year we brought her to life with a cosplayer walking the floor, and the reaction genuinely caught us off guard. Artists who'd only ever seen her on a sticker sheet or a package stopped mid-sentence to ask for a photo.
Free Keychains for Anyone Who Said Hi
We turned that into a small campaign: snap a photo with Grace, post it online, and grab a free custom keychain on the spot. It didn't take long for a line to form — for a lot of people, the photo was the real prize, and the keychain was just a bonus. Over 100 people took us up on it, and those posts alone pulled in more than 350,000 impressions online, reaching plenty of people who never set foot in LA.
We Even Went Live 📡
For everyone who couldn't make it to LA, we streamed straight from the booth, walking viewers through the setup and the product wall in real time. The audience was small — 15 to 25 people watching at any given moment — but the chat never stopped, which told us people back home wanted in on this too.
What Fans Couldn't Stop Buying
If there's one thing we learned this year, it's that magnetic keychains are having a moment. They were, hands down, the most-picked-up item at the booth, followed closely by acrylic standees — which finally let people see our print quality in person instead of on a screen. Sticker sheets and TCG-style cards rounded out the top three, especially with artists looking for something affordable to restock fast. Heat-transfer dolls turned into a quiet standout too, selling faster than we'd planned for. A handful of items sold out within the first two days, and more than one artist placed a reorder before the show even wrapped, which is about the best feedback a product can get.
Our Real Wins This Year 🏆
Past the photos and the conversations on the floor, the real win this year was walking away with a clear list of what to do even better next time. Here's what we're already working on.
Chasing a Better Spot on the Floor
This year's booth sat near the West Hall entrance, next to some much bigger IP exhibitors — great foot traffic, but a bit of a walk from Artist Alley, where a lot of our community actually sets up shop. Next time, we're aiming to close that gap.
More Ways for You to Find Us
With Artiststore, Vograce Pro, and general product questions all happening at the same booth, it wasn't always obvious who to ask about what. For future shows, we're planning project-specific gear for our team, so if you're looking for the Artiststore person, you'll actually be able to spot them.
A Booth That Feels Even More "Us"
We liked the three-zone layout, but we're not done experimenting. Next year, expect us to push past the standard booth format into something more immersive — a space that feels less like a table and more like a piece of the Vograce world.
See You at the Next One
Anime Expo 2026 reminded us why we do this in the first place — not the shipping labels or the print files, but the people behind them. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, signed the wall, grabbed a keychain, or just said hi. We're already counting down to the next show, and we're bringing an even bigger one.
Where do you want to see us next? Let us know — we're already scouting the next show.
