My First Art Booth Experience at NIJIGEN EXPO in Kuala Lumpur!(Part 1)🌺🌊✨️
- AiTommy
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 22
Hi guys! It's me, AiTommy✨️
This July, I had the chance to fly to Malaysia and table at my very first artist booth during NIJIGEN EXPO in Kuala Lumpur!
It was both exciting and nerve-wracking... but so worth it!!
In this blog, I want to share how the event went, what I learned, and some highlights from my trip.
How I Ended Up at NIJIGEN EXPO
I had the chance to join NIJIGEN EXPO in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, thanks to three amazing local artists: Karl, Nokun, and Eric!!
They’re a trio who often attend events together, and it was Nokun who first discovered my work online. He is a huge fan of PPGZ, and he invited me to join them at the event, and I’m so grateful he did!!
Getting to Kuala Lumpur ✈️
Flights were pretty affordable(especially compared to flights to the U.S.)… but I was a bit shocked that even water wasn’t served on the flight 😅 Still, it arrived on time and safely, so no complaints!
I booked a hotel that was directly connected to a huge shopping mall called Mid Valley Megamall, which was super convenient.
The convention center for the event was in the same building, so everything was within walking distance. Nice part!!
The Food Experience 🍜🌶️
Malaysia has amazing food, but… sadly, both my mom and I can’t handle spicy dishes very well 😢
So we couldn’t fully enjoy traditional Malaysian cuisine, which I really regret. Not being able to eat spicy food can be such a disadvantage when traveling abroad...🌶️
But still, there were so many restaurants not only in the mall but also all around the town! And we searched for non-spicy foods🍚✨️
I discovered that some of the sauces can be both spicy and really sweet! I’m accustomed to the sweet-salty flavors in Japanese cuisine, but some of the dishes we tried in Malaysia were surprisingly sweet. One duck dish tasted just like a sweet cinnamon pumpkin pie! 🎃 I had to add extra soy sauce to balance the flavors.😅
One of the favorite foods I tried during this trip was... a coconut milkshake! It was a hot summer day, and I needed something cold and sweet. It was super refreshing! I wish I could drink it in Japan🥥✨️
Early Sightseeing
Since the event was only on the weekend, my mom and I arrived early to do some sightseeing. Huge thanks to Karl, who drove us around and showed us some beautiful spots in KL!
One of the biggest highlights was visiting Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia.
The level of craftsmanship was unbelievable. I took tons of photos, especially of fabrics, weapons, accessories, and ornaments.
If you'd like to download some of these for your own art references, feel free to use them from here!
Booth Setup🎨
On Friday the 11th, we headed to the venue to set up for the Artist Alley(it was called Doujin Alley). Karl and Nokun are very experienced with conventions, so I was lucky to share space in their display.
Well, although I hadn't done any artist alley or booth before, but I researched several blog posts, YouTube videos, and Pinterest photos to plan out my section.
Here are some helpful artist alley blog posts I found!
I made a new fabric poster and A3 poster to display my works and my name!!
I brought my own paper display stands as well! It was super lightweight and easy to fold flat.
And here is the photo of our booth!! It looked pretty cool, right?!
Then we had dinner at Chicken Rice Shop, and it was really good! So I was so ready for the event...
...And Then I Got Sick 😷
Unfortunately, the hot air in the convention center(idk why but the AC wasn't on when we prep the booth)+ aggressive AC hit me hard. I ended up catching a cold… right before the actual event started...
To be continued in Part 2!
By the way! If you want to get some keychains I sold at the event... then check out my shop and Summer Sale! All keychains are now 30% off! Go check it out💙💖💚
YAYYY!!! Thank you for accept the invitation. Sorry for the spicy foods, but next time you come, we will try to give you Malaysian traditional desserts, pastry and cakes. I bet Momoko will love it too (There's more kinds of desserts than the samples here). Koci and Tepung Gomak are the Malaysian version of Mochi