WTAC 2023!
06 Sep 2023
I’m an now home from WTAC 2023, and I thought why not try writing a blog about it!
This is our first year back after the pandemic and border closures in Western Australia. This was our 4th WTAC after we started attending in 2017. I was super hype to potentially celebrate our 10 year Anniversary at WTAC 2022 in April but it was still quite risky unfortunately and I had already lost thousands of dollars due to previous closures. ALL THAT ASIDE THIS YEAR WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND I’M SO HYPE TO BE BACK!
We left our WTAC Journey in 2019, where we had a special guest Katherine Lameree. This was my first attempt at creating a promo outfit. Whilst it was still magical it left me wanting to PERFECT our next one and make it even more MAGICAL!
Thankfully we had some amazing help, and even though it was sitting for a few years, the absolutely amazing Stitch Smith Made it work. I would also like to thank Aimee from Unlucky Apparel for sourcing the material for me.
Now, I’m no professional pattern designer so I wasn’t even sure if this would come together and Kelly from Stitch Smith really made magic happen. My Ambition for this outfit was something interchangeable, with a body suit and removable skirt. The weather is usually all 4 seasons at wtac so I had planned some leggings that weren’t even needed thankfully. We were blessed with amazing weather all weekend.
Enjoy these pictures of Katherine absolutely rocking this look! Images thanks to https://www.instagram.com/oejayz/
Something I particularly enjoy about creating promo outfits is the femininity it brings to the automotive space. As a female creator and former promo model myself it brings me so much joy to create and have a space for this element in the brand. I love promo girls, I love car girls and I love celebrating all aspects of femininity in the automotive industry.
Now to the ground work behind bringing our brand to WTAC.
As you may know I usually prepare all year for WTAC, Well I had 3 years up my sleeve. It’s had its highs and it’s lows. Funding a venture like this takes alot. Especially when i’m based in Perth! The past few years I have been trying my best to create new and amazing products but haven’t had a platform to really showcase it from. This is where WTAC comes in for me! I try my best to keep up with social media, the trends, tiktoks, all of those things. That is half of my job really, but it is a struggle at times. WTAC really helps me get in the forefront of our automotive community and allows me to showcase my product to the big crowds it brings in.
One of those products was our Turbo plushies which were super popular, along with our Umbrellas. Both products I had designed specifically for WTAC. In recent years we have expanded more locally to USA with the launch of Driftbunny.us. So we also get to showcase at massive events over there such as Formula Drift and LS Fest. In Australia my favourite event is WTAC because it brings that energy of a celebration of Automotive like no other.
We started our Setup at Bump-in on Thursday. I was a bit stumped on what exactly we could do. With only what we could fit in our suitcases as an attempt of a display. I was lucky to be able to send some things ahead of time to my friend Carly who lives locally. I wanted to do a new Gazebo design as mine was 4 years old at this point.
The display looked amazing! I had big plans for 2020 with the hopes of having a double booth, something I would still love to do one day and possibly next year - I would also love to bring the cars over too.
The weekend went so fast. I got to see so many amazing people. It was super mind blowing to me. While we have had a busy few years in Perth expanding my other business, Sticker Ooze, and enjoying a few too many cars, Nothing is quite as fulfilling as seeing people in person enjoying the things I create. My goal hasn’t changed in all this time, I just want to keep creating my quirky products in the hope it will be enjoyed in the automotive world and become a household name.
It was amazing to see the turn out at WTAC. With all the big names in automotive in one space I found myself with a bit of imposter syndrome. But you all encouraged me and made me feel like a star and I truly appreciate that. I wish I let that aside so I could have said hi to some of my faves who were there. But maybe next year. I would absolutely love to design for some of the amazing people in the space one day.
I hope you enjoy my new products and until the next WTAC be sure to check out my insta / tiktok for all our future travel updates and products!
Again, thank you all so much for your support. I felt I lost my spark for a while but its back! I can’t wait to show you what I have planned. Halloween will be fun too!
A massive thankyou to Katherine Lameree for not only encouraging me all weekend but for being the front of the brand and helping us get noticed.
https://www.instagram.com/katherinelameree/
Stitch Smith for assembling our outfit - Check her work here http://www.stitchsmith.com.au/
Aimee at Unlucky Apparel for helping with material - She has the best leggings too! - https://unluckyapparel.co/
The amazing Photographers we worked with on the weekend. https://www.instagram.com/oejayz/
https://www.instagram.com/alexmorgan_photography/
https://www.instagram.com/firme.photography.aus/
Much love, May
This is our first year back after the pandemic and border closures in Western Australia. This was our 4th WTAC after we started attending in 2017. I was super hype to potentially celebrate our 10 year Anniversary at WTAC 2022 in April but it was still quite risky unfortunately and I had already lost thousands of dollars due to previous closures. ALL THAT ASIDE THIS YEAR WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND I’M SO HYPE TO BE BACK!
We left our WTAC Journey in 2019, where we had a special guest Katherine Lameree. This was my first attempt at creating a promo outfit. Whilst it was still magical it left me wanting to PERFECT our next one and make it even more MAGICAL!
Thankfully we had some amazing help, and even though it was sitting for a few years, the absolutely amazing Stitch Smith Made it work. I would also like to thank Aimee from Unlucky Apparel for sourcing the material for me.
Now, I’m no professional pattern designer so I wasn’t even sure if this would come together and Kelly from Stitch Smith really made magic happen. My Ambition for this outfit was something interchangeable, with a body suit and removable skirt. The weather is usually all 4 seasons at wtac so I had planned some leggings that weren’t even needed thankfully. We were blessed with amazing weather all weekend.
Enjoy these pictures of Katherine absolutely rocking this look! Images thanks to https://www.instagram.com/oejayz/
Something I particularly enjoy about creating promo outfits is the femininity it brings to the automotive space. As a female creator and former promo model myself it brings me so much joy to create and have a space for this element in the brand. I love promo girls, I love car girls and I love celebrating all aspects of femininity in the automotive industry.
Now to the ground work behind bringing our brand to WTAC.
As you may know I usually prepare all year for WTAC, Well I had 3 years up my sleeve. It’s had its highs and it’s lows. Funding a venture like this takes alot. Especially when i’m based in Perth! The past few years I have been trying my best to create new and amazing products but haven’t had a platform to really showcase it from. This is where WTAC comes in for me! I try my best to keep up with social media, the trends, tiktoks, all of those things. That is half of my job really, but it is a struggle at times. WTAC really helps me get in the forefront of our automotive community and allows me to showcase my product to the big crowds it brings in.
One of those products was our Turbo plushies which were super popular, along with our Umbrellas. Both products I had designed specifically for WTAC. In recent years we have expanded more locally to USA with the launch of Driftbunny.us. So we also get to showcase at massive events over there such as Formula Drift and LS Fest. In Australia my favourite event is WTAC because it brings that energy of a celebration of Automotive like no other.
We started our Setup at Bump-in on Thursday. I was a bit stumped on what exactly we could do. With only what we could fit in our suitcases as an attempt of a display. I was lucky to be able to send some things ahead of time to my friend Carly who lives locally. I wanted to do a new Gazebo design as mine was 4 years old at this point.
The display looked amazing! I had big plans for 2020 with the hopes of having a double booth, something I would still love to do one day and possibly next year - I would also love to bring the cars over too.
The weekend went so fast. I got to see so many amazing people. It was super mind blowing to me. While we have had a busy few years in Perth expanding my other business, Sticker Ooze, and enjoying a few too many cars, Nothing is quite as fulfilling as seeing people in person enjoying the things I create. My goal hasn’t changed in all this time, I just want to keep creating my quirky products in the hope it will be enjoyed in the automotive world and become a household name.
It was amazing to see the turn out at WTAC. With all the big names in automotive in one space I found myself with a bit of imposter syndrome. But you all encouraged me and made me feel like a star and I truly appreciate that. I wish I let that aside so I could have said hi to some of my faves who were there. But maybe next year. I would absolutely love to design for some of the amazing people in the space one day.
I hope you enjoy my new products and until the next WTAC be sure to check out my insta / tiktok for all our future travel updates and products!
Again, thank you all so much for your support. I felt I lost my spark for a while but its back! I can’t wait to show you what I have planned. Halloween will be fun too!
A massive thankyou to Katherine Lameree for not only encouraging me all weekend but for being the front of the brand and helping us get noticed.
https://www.instagram.com/katherinelameree/
Stitch Smith for assembling our outfit - Check her work here http://www.stitchsmith.com.au/
Aimee at Unlucky Apparel for helping with material - She has the best leggings too! - https://unluckyapparel.co/
The amazing Photographers we worked with on the weekend. https://www.instagram.com/oejayz/
https://www.instagram.com/alexmorgan_photography/
https://www.instagram.com/firme.photography.aus/
Much love, May
