When I started my costuming business I had planned on it being a one-woman affair. Just little ol' me creating things for other people. But it didn't take long for me to realize that one person can only stretch so far. That's when I roped in some helpers. And the best helpers can be family.
My mom taught me how to sew and enjoys doing it as therapeutic. So of course I called on her sympathies and started having her help with some of the overflow and simpler things. Now, she doesn't completely "get" geek events and interests, so I keep the odder things for myself. But she has been intrigued by some of the costume concepts I do and I think under different circumstances in life may have headed in that direction herself. It certainly takes a lot of stress of me to know that I can rely on her skills when I get overwhelmed.
My sister is a professional stylist and knows how to make and work with wigs. That is often an important part of costuming as certain roles require a different hair length, style, or color than is natural. I have quite the collection of wigs, so much so that at some cons people haven't been able to figure out what my real hair looks like since I wear different ones each day. I can do minor wig crafting so it's nice to have someone who really knows what they're doing.
My daughter has started learning how to sew and is one of the biggest geeks in the family, even though she's only 9. She's done some minor work but I can easily see her getting more into it as she gets older. Who knows? Maybe A Touch Of Magic Costumes will become hers one day.
One thing that I've discovered is that doing costuming with my mother, sister, and daughter has brought us together in surprising and wonderful ways. It really is a family effort even though I'm the front-person. I couldn't do it without them!
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