By David Doub How did you get into the nerdy realms? What were some of your earliest nerdy memories? I entered into the nerdy realm practically after birth. My mother has always been a huge Trekkie and instilled a love of all things nerd into me at a very young age. As for my earliest nerdy memory, it would have to be the moment my cousin gave me all of her Sailor Moon VHS tapes. I watched them on repeat so often as a child that I’m surprised I didn’t ruin the tape. I actually still have all of them stored away because I refuse to get rid of them! What did you get into first, cosplay or vending? What are some of the different bits of satisfaction you get from these? I actually decided to go into vending first. I have always enjoyed nerd culture as well as making my own personal bath products, so I figured meshing the two together would be a dream come true. Cosplaying came after that as a way for me to promote and peddle my geeky wares while at conventions. I get so much satisfaction from customers when they tell me that I’ve nailed their favorite show/character in my products. I get all giddy and have a smile on my face for the rest of the day. As for the cosplaying, it satisfies my need to perform. I have an extensive theatre and music background, so any excuse to use my talents is extremely satisfying. How do you make all that soap and bath bombs and so on? How do you determine what a certain nerdy character or show “smells” like? I make all my products by hand myself. Each product goes through a rigorous testing process before I make it available to customers. Some items can take half an hour to make (lip balms), while others can take up to six months or more (roll on perfumes and cologne). When it comes to determining the “smell” of a particular fandom, I take many things into consideration. A few questions I’ll ask myself are: what is the overall feel of the fandom/character? What is the world like? What traits does the fandom/character have that we would associate with a particular scent or flavor? These are just a few examples of what I ask myself before I start crafting the perfect product. Humans associate different smells with emotions, attributes, as well as many other things. It is my job to figure out which scents work best for that particular nerdy product. What have been some of your favorite products you’ve made? What products seemed like great ideas but didn’t “smell” right? My favorite products to make, hands down, are my roll on perfumes and colognes. I put so much time and love into them that it would be wrong to pink anything else! But making the roll on fragrances doesn’t always work out the way I plan. The first time I was working on my “Middle Earth” roll on fragrance blend, I thought I was going to have to give up. I mixed up multiple different possible blends to age and none of them were working out. One was too green, one was too sweet, one smelled more like something Gollum would like than a Hobbit. You get the picture. I had to stop, regroup, and see what I could do. Thankfully, I found the perfect scent and it has actually become one of my best sellers! What are some of your favorite cosplays’? How do you pick a character and then make their costume? My favorite cosplays have to be anime characters. My most recent anime cosplay is Rui Tachibana from Domestic na Kanojo. The way I pick my cosplays isn’t the usual way. Since I am usually performing (singing) when I’m in cosplay, I have to make sure that any song associated with the character I want to cosplay as is one I want to perform. It may not be the most conventional way of picking a character, but it works out for me! As for making the costumes, my sewing skills are minimal at best. But I am the queen of thrift shopping, so I can almost always find what I’m looking for when it comes to my cosplays. If you had unlimited time and budget, what would your dream cosplay be? If I had unlimited time and budget, I would have to say that Vivaldi From Alice In The Country Of Hearts: Wonderful Wonder World would be my dream cosplay. I think it would absolutely breathtaking on stage while I’m performing! How long have you been singing and how did you get into it? What has the response been with singing cosplay? I’ve been singing for as long as I remember. I’ve always been very musically inclined, but didn’t get the chance to really train it until later in my high school career. I was actually originally going to college to be an opera singer, but I wasn’t a fan of the formal structure of things. I felt like I had to compromise my creativity for professionalism. But I grateful for the experience because now I’m getting the chance to cosplay AND sing at the same time. The response to it has been great so far! I have people send me messages with song cover requests occasionally and it just makes my day that people would take the time to enjoy my singing like that! Being a younger female vendor, how has the response been when some people find out it’s your Booth? Being a young female vendor isn’t always hard, but sometimes it can be. I have people constantly assume the booth belongs to my mother (she helps me out at conventions), or they’ll ask me where the owner is because they have questions about products. Usually when I tell them I am the owner they apologize and we can move along, but I’ve been called a lair before because some people just can’t seem to grasp that I run my own business at my age. But the good experiences far outweigh the bad when it comes to situations like this! With the crossover of Cosplay and Modeling with the increased focus of Body Positivity, who do view how Cosplay has dealt with this subject? I think the cosplay community has definitely become more open minded, but sadly, there will always be people who sit behind their keyboards and send negativity and hate towards others. I’m starting to see more plus size cosplayers come out of the woodwork, but I still feel like they’re not getting the kind of fame and guest spots that they deserve. I’m sure, in time, we will become even more inclusive and body positive. What is your favorite con story? That is a hard one! I have a ton, but I have to say it was Longview Comic Con 2018. I was a vendor there and just so happened to be set up in front of Sean Patrick Flannery. He was the person I was most excited to see, as I had just finished up my roll on cologne inspired by The Boondock Saints and was planning on giving him one of them. I walked over when he wasn’t busy and game it to him, had a short convo, and walked back to my booth. A few hours go by and he stops by to tell me he loved the cologne and that he was wearing it. We talked for a little while, he left, and I had a small freak out behind my booth due to the sheer excitement. He also told me I had one of the most beautiful singing voice he’d ever heard, but that’s a story for another day! What are some of your favorite events? I love smaller conventions, as it really gives me the chance to develop a relationship with my customers. A few of my favorite are: Kilgore Geekend- Ricky and Melissa are honestly some of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. The event may be small, but the crowd is always so excited to see what will be at the event. Tyler Comic Con- This is probably one of the most organized shows I’ve done recently. The turn out is great and the attendees always enjoy themselves! Arlingcon- This is the event I look forward to the most in the summer months. I have a really big following in Arlington, so it is always nice to see past customers show up to get their geeky bath and body fix. Plus it is free to attend, and what’s better than a free convention? Anime Sekai- This is just a ton of fun all the way around. I’m usually so busy I don’t get to sit down, and attendees are usually so busy having fun they don’t WANT to sit down! Who are some of your favorite local cosplayers? What are other local cosplayers doing that you really appreciate and/or admire? There are SO MANY! BCharlotteD Cosplay- she’s such an awesome cosplayer and is such a sweet person. I’m lucky to have had a friendship blossom with her after meeting her a few years back. Sarah Bellum Cosplay- I just love how positive she is and how m us h she contributes to the cosplay community for plus size women. It is so inspiring! Melly Bz/Melody Burns- she is SO AMAZING! I am absolutely blown away every time I see one of the cosplays she’s made. She is such a beautiful person inside and out, and I’m so happy to have her as a friend. Wilde Designs/Beth Howard- she such a boss when it comes to her business and she cosplays when she’s selling! Plus her family is absolutely adorable. Mermaid Cosplay- hands down, one of the most iconic cosplayers I know. Her skills are impeccable and she’s so nice to everyone! Sadly she’s going to be moving soon, but I’m hoping we will still she her around when she comes home to visit! Who are some of your favorite local vendors? What are some clever vendors out there local that you think, “I wish I thought of that!”? I have a ton of favorite vendors, so it is hard to choose! Otaku Scents- she’s so sweet and she makes candles that smell like anime characters. What’s not to love? Tee Imp- when I’m not cosplaying at conventions, I still like to rep my nerd pride. Tee Imp t-shirts are my go to when I don’t feel like dressing up. The owner is also really chill and super helpful when it comes to convention advice. I don’t want to admit how many of his t-shirts I own... Pink Pitbull Productions- her makeup and face painting skills are the bomb, her items she makes are awesome, and she has such an “in your face” attitude that I can’t help but love her! Something I wish I would have done that other vendors have is make candles. I’ve had SO MANY people come to my booth and ask for candles that it probably would have been a good idea to learn how to make them. But Otaku Scents has got that covered! https://www.facebook.com/dandylionscreations/ |
AuthorNorth Texas Nerd is a site for news, reviews, interviews, and opinions about all pop culture and geeky things happening and being made in North Texas. Archives
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