The 40th Anniversary

I had tickets to attend the 40th Anniversary convention in NYC, but sadly I had to cancel my plans after the passing of my father-in-law just days before. The costume I had planned for the Time Warp Ball was in the style of Marie Antoinette - a la Columbia's pajamas.  "Let Them Eat Meat Loaf!". The image on the fan is the Eddie mural on Columbia's bedroom wall, and the cameo necklace is of Frank (made with Shrinky Dinks). After all this work, I decided to wear it to the local show here in Houston that was also celebrating the 40th; The Royal Mystic Order of Chaos. I won a Funko Pop Columbia figure in the costume contest!

Ron Maxwell with Barry Bostwick
Photo Credit: Hilary Maxwell

Meanwhile in NYC I wish I could have been on stage with my fellow Boss winners awarding Ron Maxwell his much deserved Boss award. Ron has been around since... well... dinosaurs invented shadowcasting. His involvement has had an affect on so many people - he's like that crazy, fun uncle everyone loves even when the rest of the family is lobbing flaming fishnets across the divide. He's the voice of reason and the reason so many of us consider Rocky our family. His Boss-ness isn't as physically exhibited as those of us who have won for a website or hosting a major event, but he won because of his overwhelming influence in the community - which also speaks to the open criteria and flexibility of the Boss Award.

I won my Boss Award at the 4711 convention in 2011 for this blog where I share my costume knowledge and how-to tutorials. Anyone can be nominated for a Boss Award, but keep in mind that their contributions should be felt community-wide (more than just locally). The Boss committee is made of past winners that discuss all nominees and vote. Awards are handed out in person at most conventions.

Berlin, 2014

I had an amazing time in Berlin.  It wasn't a convention per se, but it was a well-organized, international event. And best of all I wasn't stuck sitting at a merchandise booth!  People came from the Netherlands, Spain, France, Isreal and the United States to participate.  Also in attendance were my friends Shawn and Paul with the Rocky Horror Saved My Life documentary.  They were on hand to grant more interviews and debut a new trailer launching their Indie GoGo campaign.

Not only did I make many new friends, but I got to meet people I've known online for years.  Friday was spent mostly hanging out, exchanging stories, and sharing some drinks - which you can apparently drink openly on the streets.  Friday night was Hedwig And The Angry Inch at the historic Babylon Theatre preceded by an hour of short films - many of them were entirely new to me.  The cast did a great job - and by the looks of it had a lot of fun - but I think Stefan from Amsterdam stole the show.

Saturday afternoon was mostly spent hanging out (and drinking) with our new friends, and getting ready for the show at the Freiluftkino Rehberge- an outdoor theatre in a park.  The show started around 8:00 pm (when the sun went down) and most of the cast was on hand much earlier to rehearse and mingle with the crowd (about 1000 people?).


The show was one hell of a great time.  Max Mayhem had created a video preceding the show - to the tune of Billy's Idol "Rebel Yell" - spotlighting the international performers.  The costumes were fairly exceptional across the board - and even some of my work appeared here and there, which always gives me warm fuzzies.  The audience was very lively!!

Sunday started with a brunch buffet, followed by sightseeing and shopping. Highlights included the Mauerpark Flea Market, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the East Side Gallery (Berlin Wall) and the Ramones Museum.  Followed up with a traditional German dinner... and of course more drinking.  All of my photos can be seen in my Berlin 2014 Flickr Album.

Max, Jojo, and everyone in Berlin who worked hard to pull this off did an exceptional job.  I really hope I can make it back next year!  Who's with me??

TCJ2 Photos

Here's a few favorite photos I took - all are from my phone so I apologize for the low resolution.  It's also amazing how much stuff will fit in the back of a CX-9.

Celluloid Jam 2 Write Up!

Photo credit: Randy T.

Had a BLAST at The Celluloid Jam 2 convention earlier this month!  My husband and I drove 16 hours   straight to Cincinatti on Wednesday so we could hit the ground running on Thursday.  Karaoke was hella fun and we were surprised how many people wanted to get up and sing and wish we had more time to fit everyone in - I honestly thought it would be like pulling teeth to get people up there.  So we mixed in more karaoke with Friday's DJ stuff.

Photo credit: Randy T.

Congratulations to JefF N. of Chicago on winning this year's Boss Award - creator of the Ultimate Rocky Horror Links page and an accomplished event photographer - be sure to check out his photo archives.

I participated in a costume forum with Ruth Fink-Winter and Jaimie Froemming and demonstrated how you can make your own custom corset pattern with duct tape (thanks Wally!) 

And in an effort to out-do my Top Hat raffle from the 4711 convention last year, this year I raffled a Frank Leather Jacket with all the patches I make, leather fringe down the sleeves, chains and studs.  There were 473 tickets and Kristin E. of Indiana was the winner!  

I enjoyed seeing all my Rocky friends and meeting so many new ones, too!

2011 Year In Review

It's been a crazy-busy year!  Apparently, I need to hire elves (and not just so I'll finally be the tallest person in the room).  Thank you everyone who has supported  me, recommended me, ordered from me and even just liked my Facebook posts.

Photo Credit: Ryan G.

4711 was my 3rd convention to attend, but my first time having a booth.  I am ever grateful to my husband for helping out because it was so much crazier than I anticipated.  I enjoyed meeting so many people I had only known online (for years!) and seeing people wearing my handiwork. I was also blown away by the Boss Award.  Because beyond making costumes I want to be able to help others make them.  I don't believe there is just one "right" way to make something, and I hope some of my solutions have helped others.  I love getting comments and feedback on other methods as well, and I especially cherish the emails I get from people who tell me my site has helped them.

Home Of Happiness

In the fall I visited The New York City cast and New Jersey's Home of Happiness cast.  I got some pretty fun photos trying out my new camera.  My favorite is Paulie (in the dinner corset I made him) clobbering Peda-Bear and the look on Shawn's face.  Peg from Long Island's Unconventional Conventionalists joined me on my trip to the Medieval Festival at the Cloisters - something I had wanted to do since high school.   A huge thank you to Dana (and Marty McFluffypants) for her hospitality and escort services (did that sound dirty??)

I also added quite a few new pieces to my repertoire, most notably including Brad's khaki jacket, Frank's dinner corset and most recently the floorshow corset.  In 2012 I'm hoping to tackle Frank's red floorshow corset, his green lab apron and Magenta's dinner sheer.  What would you like to see added?

Also in 2012 I plan to attend  the TCJ2 Con (with a booth).  I'm planning on driving this time so I can haul even more crap wonderful offerings!  I may also make it to the Last RockyCon in September.  I'm looking forward to the new year and I hope it's as awesome as 2011 has been.

See you in 2012!!!

XOXO,

Mina

Columbia Top Hat Raffle!

Stop by my costume booth at the 4711 con and enter to win a Gold Sequin Top Hat!  It's free to enter with any purchase made at my booth OR you can buy  tickets for $1/entry. Online purchases are not eligible.

Raffle is for the actual hat shown in the photo (only the background of this image has been modified).  The hat will be on display at my booth.

The hat is approximately 23" in circumference, but can be sized down precisely with adhesive hat foam strips (complimentary).

The winner will be notified at the time specified by their method of choice (call, text or e-mail) and will have 1 hour to respond before another name is selected.

Prize is not exchangeable.  Not all gold sequin fabrics are the same - this one is a littler darker than some (more gold, less yellow).