Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin McCarthy.
Erin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My love of monsters and Halloween started at a young age. I was always fascinated by anything that went bump in the night and living in Massachusetts we had a wide range of history, ghost stories and witch trials that I could choose from. As I got older, the realization that I could turn my love of film and monsters into a career became apparent after seeing movies like Evil Dead and The Thing. I started off doing makeup at haunted houses and eventually landed in school for special effects makeup. From there, I traveled around the country pursuing different film opportunities and ended up here in Atlanta! Alongside film work, I have a love for making monster masks and have started selling locally as well as online under Dunwitch Masks.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road! I’ve made mistakes, slept on people’s floors for weeks and have been panicked about where my next gig/paycheck was coming from. I’ve worked jobs that have made me want to pull my hair out and question my sanity over why I even want to pursue this career field. However, for every bad day or dead-end, there’s something good that comes out of it. My advice for a younger woman is to keep going. Learn everything you can and chase it down like a crazy person. Mistakes are normal and every job is an opportunity to grow and develop your skills. Never stop practicing.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Dunwitch Masks story. Tell us more about the business.
Making monster masks is my true love. Dunwitch Masks is something I look forward to growing and expanding on as I produce more work. I love to sculpt and I see it as a medium that I will never stop learning in just like doing makeup effects. I think what sets me apart and what sets a lot of other women apart in the industry I am in is our drive. I work in a very male-dominated setting and feel I have to push myself harder to be recognized for the work I do which has made me a more driven and passionate artist.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
I feel like there are a lot of great opportunities out there for women and it’s really about doing your research and practicing your skill set in order to get what you want and what fits best for you.
Contact Info:
- Website: dunwitchmasks.bigcartel.com
- Email: dunwitchmasks@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/dunwitch
Image Credit:
Clown photo by Ryan Lane, Portrait by Chris Burk
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