vadersleftlung

If you ask my mother when I chose my career, she’ll tell you I was six years old. I come from a Disney family, and we visit the parks once a year. In 2008, sitting on the now-defunct Backlot Tour, the big red tram took us through a tunnel of windows. They looked down on the costume shop, where an army of crafters worked on dresses and suits and giant fursuits for the parks. At six years old, I looked through the windows, turned towards my mother, and with the same confidence of stating I’d become an astronaut or a doctor, said “I want to do that.” 

My childhood was deeply impacted by this decision, as well as a constant companionship from various forms of puppets or characters. One Christmas, all I wanted was a DVD copy of the original Muppet Movie. At the end of this film, an army of colorful creatures sing the phrase “keep believing, keep pretending.” This quote has followed me for years, hanging over me like a warm blanket and comfort when things got hard. While I spent a long time focusing on performance, it spurred me through auditions and shows, and through the decision to leave that behind and fold myself into the world I had originally loved.

My cosplay journey began when I was twelve. As part of my birthday that year, I got dressed up as my favorite character. On the eleventh anniversary of this day, I was working on my first assistant design job at my university. Those eleven years were dedicated to learning and growing, to teaching myself new skills. I was entirely self taught when I came to college, and eagerly jumped into as many sewing classes as I could possibly take. 

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Aside from cosplay, I also have an interest in history and historical fashion, something I try to incorporate into my daily life. Be it my vintage dish collections, my home decor, my favorite recipes, or "darker" versions of vintage style present in my wardrobe. I like to include historical patterns and sewing methods into projects where I see fit, and love to use this knowledge to bring accuracy and reality to my work. I love a focus on realism and truth, even when working on fantasy and cartoon characters.