Life & Work with Shaunie Groover of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shaunie Groover.

Hi Shaunie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The first time I ever cosplayed was around 2007/2008ish . I attended a boarding school and they had a little convention they’d put on and my roommate at the time dressed me up as Sakura from Naruto. I was hooked on the hobby ever since. I had always been crafty ever since I was little so I threw myself wholeheartedly into making my cosplays. Fast forward to nowadays I run a small business making handmade accessories from my favorite fandoms, I have social pages dedicated to cosplaying and events, and I have social pages dedicated to my ravenous boardgame hobbies.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The top struggles are definitely imposter syndrome, the pressure to monetize everything, and maintaining motivation.
In the beginning I had to fight the idea that no one would care about the things I’m making or the cosplays I’m pouring my blood sweat and tears into, it felt vain to share myself. I felt like I couldn’t truly say that I was creating things just for me if I also simultaneously wanted to but the things I was doing on the internet. I didn’t know that two things can be true, that creating things makes me happy intrinsically but also I want others to see them.

Once I accepted that and started believing that hey if I like this there are other people like me who will also like it, the next hurdle was continuing to create from authenticity rather than trying to create things for the sole purpose of having a side hustle. If money comes I welcome it, but trying to force things only leads to unhappiness.

Finally what I struggle with most now is maintaining my motivation against my depression. Its a balancing act of knowing when to rest the body and mind and how to break down the things I want to do into microtasks that don’t overwhelm me and allow me to be somewhat consistent.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I most proud of my October Scooby Doo takeover series. Every October all of my cosplay content transitions into being wholly about Scooby-Doo. It went from like just doing a themed set of Scooby cosplays to becoming every day in October I drop a piece of Scooby Doo related content whether that’s cosplay, fashion, or showing off my collection of Scooby items.

Overall as a cosplay I really pride myself on not taking myself too seriously. I do not chase accuracy, in fact I think of myself as a Half-Assed cosplayer and nothing makes me happier than pulling a cosplay together from odds and ends that I already own rather than spending a dime on it.

When it comes to my small business Moonforge & Brightleaf, I always joke that I’m my biggest customer, because I generally make something for myself first, usually a pair of earrings that show the media I am cosplaying from, and then I make a couple of extras and they get listed in the shop. My favorite customers through are writers. Getting commissioned to turn an indie writers book into a pair of book earrings for them fills me with so much joy.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Using my hands to make things is unmatched. When I’m crafting my problems and worries are suspended. I’m taking an idea and making it real and 9 times out of 10 it matches or surpasses my vision, I think I get high from that feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MoonforgeBrightleaf
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/shaucatcosplay
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shauniechan
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RollForTentacles
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/ROLLFORTENTACLES/