Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Millin.
Rachel, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a cosplayer, crocheter, and gamer. I live in Atlanta, Georgia. I started cosplaying in 2011 after attending my first DragonCon. I tried learning how to sew and realized it’s a lot harder than it looks and even after a few classes I still didn’t have a handle on it. In 2014, I crocheted my first cosplay – Ezra Scarlet from Fairy Tale – for Anime Weekend Atlanta and from then I’ve been crocheting cosplays since.
In 2016, I decided to turn my cosplay hobby into a full-time job. It’s exciting to be able to travel, sell and meet some of my favorite cosplayers and meet other crochet cosplayers. The long-term goal is to be able to own my own studio and become independent enough to support other cosplayers through classes, workshops and learning how to “break-in” to the cosplay life.
I’ve made countless cosplays – all of them out of crochet – from Rose Quartz from Steven Universe to Black Panther’s suit. I really enjoy the creativity that cosplaying allows me. I can be anyone and anything and even make original character designs. The creativity is limitless and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.
Has it been a smooth road?
One of the hardest things about cosplaying is not attaching the “quality” of my cosplays to how many awards I can win or how popular they are online. I rarely enter cosplay contests and when I do I have to remind myself that my goal isn’t to win. If I get an award, great! I’m excited to accept it, but it’s not my goal when I enter. For online posts, there are some cosplays I am excited to make but aren’t super popular and that’s okay. I’ve had more than a few outfits I thought weren’t going to be popular get shared a bunch of times. It’s always a pleasant surprise when an obscure cosplay I like takes off online.
Sometimes, when a cosplay IS popular, I have to deal with trolls telling me I’m “too dark” to cosplay a character and I will quickly shut them down. I didn’t make the cosplay for them, I made it for me and that’s all that matters.
I still struggle with not attaching my cosplay quality to how popular/how many awards I can earn, but I try to remind myself and to others that I didn’t start cosplaying for the attention. I started cosplaying because I wanted to BE my favorite characters. So, I will continue to do that.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Yarn Goddess Cosplay – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Yarn Goddess Cosplay is my way of finding my niche in the cosplay community. What sets me aside from other cosplayers is I crochet all of my cosplays – from the outfit to the wig. I started crocheting when I was about eight years old, my mom had taught me and I really liked it. Oddly enough when I started cosplaying, I dropped crocheting because I didn’t see anyone with a crocheted outfit. I assumed costumes had to be sewn. After a few sewing classes, I decided it wasn’t for me – learning the craft was too difficult and took away from the fun of cosplaying – so I decided to pick up crocheting again and make my costumes out of that.
My store is mostly pillows, plushies, and accessories but every so often I get a commission that I turn into a regular item. For example – the sweaters from Harry Potter I have for sale and customers can customize the letter and the color of the sweater. I want to add more clothing to my store but crocheting takes time and bigger projects have to be thought out thoroughly before I commit to making it.
When I’m not making stuff, I usually run panels at conventions and teach people how to crochet. I do offer regular classes year-round and I’m really proud of the fact that I can offer classes. I’ve met so many people who’ve been introduced to crocheting but never really got the hang of it. Through my classes, I am able to reignite that curiosity and help them rediscover crocheting.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the city of Atlanta for its abundance of artists and crafters. There’s definitely NOT a shortage of art and craft fairs both inside and outside of the cosplaying community. Knitting is by far more popular in the south, but I have been able to find crochet meetups at my local library. My least favorite thing about Atlanta is, oddly enough, having too many art and craft fairs. I can’t do them all but also, not everyone is profitable. Learning which one is which is difficult and sometimes a “good show” for one person doesn’t mean it’ll also be good for me, too.
Pricing:
- Plushies and Pillow range from 10-50
- Scarves and Sweaters range from 30-150
- Custom orders are accepted
Contact Info:
- Website: http://yarngoddesscosplay.mybigcommerce.com
- Email: crochetcosplay2010@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ygcosplay
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ygcosplay
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/ygcosplay
- Other: www.patreon.com/ygcosplay
Image Credit:
James “Frameshot” Photography, Josh H Photography
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