After intensively reviewing all of the entries of my SEWING IS BELIEVING contest in partnership with SINGER Sewing Company, I had great difficulty in narrowing down the amazing entries. Thank you to all of the 100+ entrants who've shared their passion and creativity with me and the cosplay community. Stay tuned for more opportunities!
Congratulations to AMBER JACKSON of Koala Cosplay on her winning entry:
I would love to make Hannah Alexander Artwork's Suki design that she recently posted on her Patreon! I have always loved the Avatar the Last Airbender Series and Hannah's designs have been on my "to-do" list for quite some time so when she released Suki I knew I would end up doing her! (I can't post the full photo because it is exclusive to patreon!) My deadline for this cosplay would either be Daisho Con 2017 (November) or Anime Milwaukee 2018(February). It all depends on how busy I am with school. Not only would this machine be one I would get to call my own as I graduate college and move out from my parents home, but it would take on the heavy layers of fabric, vinyl, and leathers I'm hoping to use to make her look as stunning and authentic as possible!
Hi Amber, what is your current occupation outside of cosplay?
I’m a full time student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and I work part time at the IT Help Desk.
What got you into cosplay, and how long have you been cosplaying?
I got into cosplay when I was 13 and I attended a teeny tiny convention happening at the union of the college I currently attend. When my friend and I first went to that convention (Anime Milwaukee) all dressed up I was pretty much hooked on the spot, dragging my dad into the cosplay world with me the following year. So I’ve been cosplaying for 10 years all together, but 9 with my dad.
What excites you about creating and cosplaying Suki?
Suki has always been a character I’ve adored. She’s strong and sassy and I was always excited to see her when she appeared after her initial episode in Avatar: The Last Airbender on Kyoshi Island. What excites me most in terms of the creation of Suki is I’ll be working on this fan art version of her done by Hannah Alexander Artwork. Visually it’s stunning, and her design offers so many more materials to work with, materials I’ve touched once or twice in school or for someone else’s cosplay, but haven’t really used full on in my own work (leather, vinyl, and heavier set fabrics). Suki has always been on my cosplay to-do list and this version of her is one I know I won’t see multiples of at large scale conventions so I knew this would be the one I’d make.
What challenges in the costume will the Singer Heavy Duty help you accomplish, and how will owning your own Singer sewing machine empower you and make you more confident?
The Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine will help me power through the leather armor pieces and putting trim on all of them. I’m also sure it will make going through several layers of fabric a breeze be it wool or canvas or twenty some layers of sheer fabric for a future cosplay. This machine will be the first one I can call my very own so I know that owning this Heavy Duty machine will give me the confidence to keep pushing myself to take on bigger cosplay projects overall as well as giving me the boost I need to know I can take bigger commission work and my machine won’t die on me.
What are your future goals with costume design?
While I’m currently in school for theatre costuming, the goal is to have a life where I not only work for theatres be they local or farther away, but I also can keep a hand in cosplays, be it for commissions or my own costumes at conventions. However, I want to keep challenging myself with the costumes I build because with each build and each class I take at school I know I’m getting better at what I do and I want to be able to share my skill as well as show it off!
I want to thank Singer for the opportunity to win such an amazing machine. I’ve sewn with one in the past and love the way it runs so to have my own is a dream come true. This opens up so many doors that the little machines my family owns simply couldn’t put up with and I’m extremely grateful to show what the Singer Heavy Duty and I can do.
Amber will be sharing her work in progress of her construction of Suki through her social channels. We're excited to see her debut Suki at Daisho Con in November!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/koalacosplay
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koalacosplay
Tumblr: http://koalacosplay.tumblr.com/
