My letter to the cosplay community

(This was also what I was talking to on my video.)

October 6th, 2024

At the time of this recording, I am in the process of winding down and shutting down all my cosplay-specific social media and web presence. In its stead, I am setting up a more general sewing-related web presence, Licca’s Sewing Room. My goal is to create a web presence that allows me to do things that I could not do with a cosplay-focused presence.

Before I go any further, I want to reiterate that this decision was not made lightly, and my decision was not because of anyone in the cosplay or convention community. I have generally enjoyed a wonderful relationship to all the fellow cosplayers and convention staff that I have befriended over the years, and overall I am a believer that the cosplay community will continue to grow and flourish to levels that I will never be able to imagine. The flow of technology to cosplay crafting is continuing to generate incredible results, and there are so many more resources for crafting that I would not have imagined 30 years ago. In addition, premade costumes have gotten much better over the years, with more size
choices and a very noticeable improvement in quality.

The reason why I wanted to do this is because of burnout. You will notice that over the years, my cosplay projects have leaned a lot less towards doing fantasy-style and idol costumes, and more towards things like wedding dresses. As people know, I really enjoy sewing as an art, and sewing is not just costumes; sewing is about making practical things like bags and home décor. It’s about piecing lots of small pieces of fabric together to make something that will help keep you warm at night. It’s about making a thing that you can give to a kid or an adult that they can hug. It’s about making something to wear that you can put on during a sleepy morning and going to your job wearing it. While I was making all the costumes over the years, I’ve always had a nagging feeling that I’ve left so much on the table in terms of what I can sew, and over time this has eaten into my enthusiasm intomaking costumes. Because of this, I knew I needed to start over from scratch for the sake of my sanity, and shift my focus to all the other wonderful sides of sewing that I have not done in years.

I have been planning this over the past year, and here are what you can expect from me in the future:

• I will still be doing cosplay, but at a much reduced level than before. Instead of my normal 3-4 costumes a year (which has been reduced recently), it will likely be only 1-2 costumes a year at best. Some years I may not even do a costume that year.
• I will be continuing to go to conventions, but at a significantly reduced level. I will still do my volunteer work for San Japan’s Cosplay Museum, and I will probably definitely find a way to make Ushicon and Anime Weekend Atlanta. Anything else is going to be on a case-by-case basis. For the cosplay contest directors that have followed me over the years, I am still available for judging contests, but I will have to be very careful and not overstrain myself.
• My cosplay photoshoot activity will also be significantly reduced. I have one last cosplay photoshoot scheduled for the spring of 2025, and it’s going to be my dream photoshoot. Details are coming soon!
• It is an open secret that I worked in the cosplay department at AnimeFest for the past few years, helping to run the cosplay contest there. It is known that World Fandom, the nonprofit behind AnimeFest, is going to at least reduce the scope of their convention, and I am still waiting on definitive word from the board of directors about whether there will still be a cosplay department before making my final decision on what to do in that regard.
• I will still run sewing educational panels at conventions, and I would like to start doing more one-on-one or group lessons. I feel that my educational content would have a better impact for a web and social media presence that deemphasizes cosplay.
• I will finally be jumping into the world of J-fashion; instead of being just an observer and a fan of the clothing style, I will finally be wearing the clothing that has inspired my last jump in sewing skill. Some of my new content will cover J-fashion specific topics as I finally begin my journey into the fashion.
• I will probably be doing YouTube videos and Twitch streams. I haven’t decided exactly what I will do on that front, though.

Currently, I am starting to generate content for Licca’s Sewing Room. A substantial portion of it will be from my previous cosplay educational content, refactored for a more generalsewing perspective. By late November/early December, I should have everything up for all of you to enjoy.

For those of you who have found me here, I hope that you all will continue to support my artistic journey. This may look like I’m starting over, but it is more of an evolution of what I want to do with my craft, and I want to make sure the sewing renaissance that we are seeing now keeps gaining momentum into the next century.

Sincerely,
Licca