Can you tell us about your first cosplay?  

My first cosplay was Yuna from Final Fantasy X and I bought most of it. I painted a few pieces and made the staff before I just hoped for the best and went to my first convention! I later remade almost the entire costume and I’m still pretty proud of it for being my first cosplay.  

Do you have a cosplay piece that you are most proud of?  

I’m extremely proud of Aloy’s skirt! At first, it looks fairly simple, but there are a million little details, and I used some extra nice materials to make it more accurate. The construction and the details that I put into just the skirt took upwards of 200 hours to do and the result was something I am incredibly proud of! And it’s a bonus that it’s actually very comfortable to wear all day at a con!  

What do you hope to achieve through cosplay?  

The most I hope to achieve through cosplay is to meet as many amazing people who have as much passion and love for the characters I cosplay as I do! It’s my favorite part of any convention to meet people who have so many similar interests and I have made most of my life-long friends through cosplay!  

If you could give any piece of advice to new cosplayers, what would it be?  

To just go for it! It sounds simple, but it’s true. I personally tend to overthink costumes (especially if I’m making it from scratch) but I find that I still have the same amount of fun in a store-bought costume as a self-made costume or even a casual costume! Cosplay in general can seem overwhelming to get into at first, but it’s worth it to just take the plunge into the hobby!  

Are there any local cosplayers that you look up to or inspire you?  

There are a ton of amazing cosplayers who constantly inspire me! A few that come to mind right away are @Malinda_chan who is always inspiring me with her master-tier wig and costume work, @totallytoastyari who was one of the original people who inspired me to start cosplaying Final Fantasy characters, and @allysssooonnn who is a constant inspiration in all aspects of cosplay!  

In honor of Mother’s Day, who would you consider your “cosplay mom”?  

I’m actually going to say my real Mom here! I’m incredibly lucky to have a mom who not only loves my cosplay hobby, but taught me how to sew, draft patterns, iron my seams, and even took me to my first few conventions when I was younger. Almost every sewing project I’ve ever done I have gone to her for advice and even if it’s the middle of the night she’s ready to help out with a project. I’m eternally grateful for her and her support of this hobby!