Get to Know GeekCraft Expo: Events & PR Director Elisabeth Allie
Photo: Jessie Kirk Photography
It's finally here! The fourth of four interviews drawing back the curtain at GeekCraft Expo, the world's coolest handmade geeky craft show, and revealing the people behind the scenes. In this installment: get to know Events & PR Director Elisabeth Allie, who is . . . me. That's right, folks, I'm interviewing myself. I guess that's what happens when you only have four people running your organization.
Moving right along: I reveal the catalyst for my extreme geekiness and shamelessly plug my Thor podcast. Hey, I'm not in PR for nothing!
GeekCraft Expo: How did you come to be part of the Voltron-like entity that is GeekCraft Expo? Bonus question: which part of Voltron are you? Elisabeth Allie: I worked at Things From Another World as their Marketing Manager for several years, but I “retired” when my daughter was born in 2014. About a year after I left TFAW, Daniel [Way] was talking to my husband Scott on the phone—Scott’s a comic book editor, and he and Daniel have known each other for years. Daniel was talking about how he wanted to launch this geeky craft show in Portland, but needed to find someone who knew the local geek scene and had PR/marketing connections. Scott knew that I was pretty restless at that point and suggested Daniel talk to me, and the rest is history! I also helped launch the Seattle show, and then I took on a larger role as the Events & PR Director for the whole shebang! As for Voltron, I guess I’m the mouth? But not the overall head, since I’d rather not have the responsibility of being the brains? GCE: How did your experience at Things From Another World prepare you for GeekCraft Expo? EA: My two favorite things about my time at TFAW were working conventions, and bringing cool people together to do awesome events and projects—we did a lot of comic book signings when I was there! I feel like my years as an exhibitor at conventions helps me understand the concerns and needs our exhibitors have, like bathroom breaks, ha! GCE: What triggered your geeky powers? EA: Hmm . . . how far back should I go? Some of my first memories are of watching the original Wonder Woman TV show with my Mom, and then I started reading Archie comics when I was five or so. But the biggest “trigger” was probably discovering Uncanny X-Men when I was 14—just in time to be completely confused by Inferno and fall in love with the Classic X-Men reprints (the Chris Claremont-John Byrne years). I quickly became obsessed, which led me to my local comic shop, which led me to intern at Dark Horse Comics while I was in college, which eventually led me to TFAW! GCE: What is your favorite part of working with GeekCraft Expo? EA: I think it’s the passion of our exhibitors. I remember the first GCE show I actually experienced, which was GCE PDX 2016. I had spent all this time promoting the show, selling it left and right, but I was kind of blown away when I saw it for myself. I had worked so many shows, but never where everything had been made by hand—and all of the creators were right there to share their enthusiasm! I bought way too much. Oh boy. GCE: If you could snap your fingers and create any comic book, what would it be and why? EA: Thor Forever—a continuation of Walter’s Simonson’s classic run from the ‘80s, with Walter Simonson writing and drawing. (Oh yeah, I also co-hosted a Thor podcast, The Lightning and the Storm, last summer with Miles Stokes of Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men). I always thought that X-Men was my One True Pairing and that I could never love another comic like that, but Simonson’s Thor was so incredible—so metal! so full of feelings! so many amazing hats and sound effects!—and they really don’t make comics like that these days. Plus, I really need more Beta Ray Bill and Balder in my life. GCE: What is your favorite convention snack? EA: Coffee. Coffee. And more coffee.
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