I directed a crew of six stitchers in a production line, to cut and create nine circle skirt dresses and eight vests in a single afternoon.
I also built nine lime green crinolines from scratch, which flashed every time the girls spun. Even though this was the opening number, in a show with lots of great production visuals, I heard many great comments from the audience gushing over the crinolines after each show.
Let Yourself Go
White Christmas
Mama Mia
I built four disco jumpsuits, and redesigned 6 ladies ABBA-esque outfits.
I’ve helped many friends build their sci-fi cosplay costumes, such as the mushroom sleeved jacket for this gender-swapped Madam, from Disney’s Cinderella.
Cosplay
Created a Chrysler Building dress for the Roger De Bris character in, The Producers.
I used my quilt piecing skills to foundation piece the art deco pattern onto a custom brocade gown. Inset curves and sharp points are difficult to piece, without techniques to make such precise graphic designs easier.
The Producers
I was asked to design and create a striking design for this title character villainess. I wanted a single base costume, to reflect the stoic, cold elegance of the queen with a heart of ice.
A gown of light blue and white ruffles and a corset and headpiece of glass beads for that ice-like sparkle. Then accessorized it with a few pieces to give her a variety of looks, like the bell sleeved bolero jacket (pictured) with a blue ruffled lining, and a full length mesh and silver sequin cape.
The Snow Queen
Stagecrafters Youth Theater
A friend of mine saw a lady wearing this white cowhide jacket while vacationing in Rome. She was kind enough to let him try it on to have his picture taken. He wished he had one like it to wear as a fancy poncho for hair competitions.
His husband secretly searched both locally and in Europe for a matching coat, with no luck. So he asked me if I could build a copy as a Christmas present for my friend. I only had the one photo to go by, for the copy. He was open to a different color cowhide and I found this shiny black hide, which I knew would make a stunning jacket.
My friend was so excited when he unwrapped the gift on Christmas morning, he took the picture to recreate the original photo. Though he did say that it was too nice to wear for styling hair.
Cowhide Copy Coat
Halloween!
Since I’m usually busy during the December holidays, I traditionally do more decorating at home for Halloween. Each year I try to arrange different features for the yard. I always keep theatrical lighting & effect techniques in mind for the fun of nighttime fall viewing. Our house has helped inspire more big displays in the neighborhood, making us one of the best attended trick-or-treat area’s in Detroit. Pre-pandemic, we could expect up to 300 Halloween trick or treaters.
