Teacher ListTeachers for Costume College 2022!
Yosa AddissYosa Addiss became a historic costumer after pursuing a degree in costume design. She created one of the first websites for custom-made costume gowns in the late 1990s. Yosa is a lifelong fan of historical costume. She finds something wonderful in every era, especially if the garments have pockets! Her preferred mediums are sewing, machine embroidery, and hand-crafted embellishments. Find her at yosa.com. Priscilla Atwell Priscilla Atwell has an AS in Fashion Design. She has been involved in textiles for over 60 years. She costumed stage productions for 15 years and worked the Renaissance Pleasure Faire for over 40 years demonstrating fiber production, spinning, weaving, lace making and knitting. She has expanded into Victorian Fashion, finishing over 10 ensembles and all the underpinnings from the Civil War thru the Bustle Era. She has taught classes on undersleeves, frogs and knots, and hardanger and bobbin lace at past Costume Colleges. She says that someday she will organize her textile items, but until then she’ll teach. Sara Bacon Sara Bacon works as a Motion Picture Costumers Local 705 Draper/Stitcher in the film and TV industry on shows such as Star Trek Picard, Star Wars Mandalorian, Marvel's Antman and the Wasp, Raising Hope, America's Next Top Model, and more. She made custom ballet costumes for ten years prior to that. For her, Costume College is summer camp for people who love to sew! Lilli Barrett Lilli Barrett's mom taught her to sew and knit at 5. She began designing and making doll clothes and proceeded to baby layettes. At 12, she began making clothes for her mom, sister and herself. She costumed high school plays while a student and later for Community Theatre. She has a degree in History/ Fine Arts-Theatre and did her graduate work in Women's Studies/History. She has worked professionally as a costumer for several of the smaller contemporary dance companies and experimental theaters. Elisa Bechtel Elisa Bechtel is a self-taught historical costumer and a member of the SCA, where she is a costuming and period construction apprentice. She is a historian by training, but also spent a time working in a costume shop for a living history program, making 18th-19th century style clothing. Elisa is also a partner of Thimble & Plume, a historical patterning company, costubers, and haberdashers. Kyla Benson Kyla Benson is the Department Chair of the Fashion Program at Santa Ana College (sac.edu/fashion). She has recently revamped SAC's fashion program with her industry connections from her tenure as a designer in L.A. and Orange County's apparel industry. Kyla has designed for large companies including Hurley, O'Neill, and Fox Racing. She has also started small businesses where her work has been seen in magazines including InStyle and US Weekly and worn by celebrities such as Drew Barrymore and Alicia Keys' baby son. Bridget Bradley-Scaife Bridget Bradley-Scaife started costuming at age 12 when she got involved in Renaissance Faires. Since then, she has expanded her love of costuming to all time periods, but currently her focus is on the Victorian and Colonial eras. She is an active member of the Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild, a fabric enthusiast and buyer for Renaissance Fabrics, and the owner of North & South Emporium (NorthSouthEmporium.com), which specializes in mid-Victorian jewelry and accessories. Amy Carpenter Amy Carpenter has worked in the collectibles market creating fine art prototypes and samples for domestic and overseas manufacturing for 12 years. Her main focus over 15 years as a leather crafter has been manufacturing high end leather costume accessories, pop-culture fashion items, and leather project kits. She is currently creating one-of-a-kind pieces for the entertainment industry for such companies as HBO and Disney. Brayton Carpenter Brayton Carpenter has been creating costumes for over 34 years. He has worked in a variety of textiles, leather, metal, and synthetics. His portfolio showcases a range of genres and his work has been featured on stage, screen, film, in print media, and at museums. He has created prototypes for collectible companies. These days his main focus is on leathercraft; designing and manufacturing high end leather costume accessories, pop-culture fashion items, and leather project kits and tools. Francis Classe Francis Classe has been costuming and making shoes for over fifteen years. He has intensely studied raised heels and is the author of “Chopine, Zoccolo, and Other Raised Heel Construction” (www.raisedheels.com). Although he specializes in the second half of the 16th century, he is interested in all manner of costuming and shoemaking, both historical and fantasy. He was the designer for “Stratford,” the Renaissance high heel offering by American Duchess. Sahrye Cohen Sahrye Cohen is a costumer, maker and cosplayer who specializes in projects that combine traditional techniques, like sewing, with electronics, microcontrollers, laser cutting, and 3D printing. She is a co-author of the book "Make It, Wear It: Wearable Electronics for Makers, Crafters and Cosplayers". Sahrye teaches workshops in cosplay and electronics at DragonCon, Maker Media, Maker Faires, Costume College, and at many other conventions and makerspaces. Her couture Fashion Tech with Amped Atelier (www.ampedatelier.com) can be seen on the runways in San Francisco, California, Calgary, Canada, and Shenzhen, China. Olivia Competente Olivia Competente is a jeweler (Jewels By Olivia) and a native of San Francisco. With a love of all things jewelry she is versed in metal smithing and, her first love, fused dichroic glass. Olivia now teaches all things jewelry with her mother, Dina Competente, at her own studio in San Francisco. She loves imparting her knowledge to all her students. Sharing is a way to keep our arts going. Rory Cunningham A professional costumer working in Hollywood for over 30 years, Rory Cunningham is the owner of Bill Hargate Costumes Inc., a Union Custom Costume house specializing in Film and Television costumes from the distant past to the far off future. Many costumes created by his company have also been featured in museum exhibits. Kristen Darville-Foggie As a Former History teacher and history lover, Kristen Darville-Foggie has been sewing for over 20 years. She has been sewing for others for many years via her sewing business, Black Orchid Atelier (www.blackorchidatelier.com). Over the past year she has embarked on a virtual costuming and sewing program, she wanted to share her knowledge and help others learn and connect with other talented costumers and makers. Sewing and crafting is a reemerging art and skill. There's nothing better than wearing something you made with your own hands. Costuming for all! Lauren Dedow Lauren Dedow is a scientist who needed a way to let out her creative impulses. She's this year's Teacher Liaison, which means you'll see her running around all over at Costume College keeping track of all the classes and teachers. Flag her down if you have any questions or just to say hi! Heather Dill-Tullo Heather Dill-Tullo has been sewing and crafting since she was a kid, but her costuming journey started in college with her first Renaissance faire costume. What started as a necessity has grown into a branching, twenty year passion ranging from historical and screen recreations, to leather craft and prop fabrication, to cosplay and incorporating electronics into her creations. She loves sharing her skills and knowledge with others as much as learning something new. . Sandra Durbin Sandra Durbin has been teaching for 50 years and sewing for 65 years. She is an award winning fiber artist and costumer. She has taught at Costume College, San Diego County Fair, WonderCon, Wild West Steampunk Con, San Diego Steampunk Expo, and San Diego Creative Stitchery Guild. She teaches embroidery, millinery, ribbon work, leather flowers, sewing, fusing fabrics with a soldering iron, and up-cycling fabrics, clothing, embroidery threads, from thrift stores, into something new. Her motto is "Reuse, recycle, and repurpose creatively" Phillipe Jose Felix-Del Olmo Phillippe Jose Felix-Del Olmo is a native of Spain. He is a Culinary Institute of America accredited Chef and Cordon Bleu accredited saucier. A lover of all things historical and food, Phillippe loves to spread the deliciousness of Northern Iberian Cuisine and history. Liz Gerds Liz Gerds has been fascinated by costumes and dress-up since childhood and made her first costumes during her high school years. She has created costumes for stage, historical recreationists, equestrian competition, and weddings. Her professional portfolio includes working for UCLA, Loyola Marymount University, AlterYears, FarthingalesLA, Boss Wench, Real Pirates, and others. Liz is a Past President of the CGW and has been involved with Costume College from the beginning, as a committee member, teacher, and volunteer. Danelle Garrison Danelle Garrison is the Volunteer and Education Program Manager at Heritage Square Museum, a living history museum in Los Angeles, an avid costume enthusiast, and lover of animals. Her favorite eras to costume are Late Victorian through the 1950s -- especially the 1930s. She has been a part of CGW for 4 years and is currently serving on the board as Vice President. She enjoys bourbon, long walks on the beach, and Addams Family TV Show reruns. Lady Toxie Born in NY but meant to exist in Los Angeles, Lady Toxie creates things she wishes to see or experience in the world. In addition to costuming, she also has a background in fine art, sculpture, art history, & animation that lends its interests to costuming. Much of her work is about reconnecting with her Egyptian heritage while in diaspora & other times it is to experience history/story in someone’s shoes. Her work has been showcased in short films, competitions, and publications. Come say hi on Insta!: @ladytoxie Mary Gobet Mary Gobet has enjoyed teaching at costume & non-costume events through the years including Costume College 2021. As a lifelong collector & restorer of antique clothing & purses, she has a special focus on beadwork & embellishments. Being a past president of the Portland Bead Society, as well as other historical organizations, has allowed Mary to share her extensive antique purse & clothing collection on many diverse venues and events. Mary’s favorite saying is “I love the Future, I love the Past, it’s the Present I can do without.” You can check-out her beadwork designs at Beyond Mirays (beyondmirays.com) Tracey Gorin Tracey Gorin has been beading and crafting since she was a young girl, but didn't begin costuming until 2003. As a beginning seamstress, she found sewing a wonderful challenge, which allowed her to expand her creative repertoire and gave her so much inspiration! Tracey loves learning from others, finding new ways of doing things, and combining talents into new projects. In her non-costuming life, Tracey works as an Audio-Visual Engineer, and loves using technology to support learning and education in a variety of fields! Judy Grivich Judy Grivich inherited her geekery from her 1st Edition D&D parents and has been cosplaying since her Fisher Price sewing machine. She's a big believer in extra, overdoing it, way too much, and go big or go home. You can check out her work on Instagram (instagram.com/allfrockedup) Lia Hansen Lia Hansen has been costuming since 1977 and teaching the craft since 2000. She loves the research and craft sides of costuming. She has done work at the Old Globe and is a founding member of American Coast Theater Company and has been teaching the craft at Vanguard University since 2000. Maegen Hensley You know that moment when you’ve found your “people” and you can’t shut up about all the neat things you make, the hundreds of things you plan to make, and the thousand things you will never make? That’s Maegen Hensley. Oh, and she is currently the Director of Asset Management for Prop Store of London located in the Los Angeles area, was Costume College Dean in 2009 and 2019, and has been on the CoCo committee longer than her daughter has been alive. Emily Hery Emily Hery is a long time costumer with over a decade of sewing experience. Mostly in the realm of cosplay and lolita fashion, they are starting to explore historical costuming more and are excited to meet everyone at Costume College this year! Christopher Hoage Christopher Hoage is a longtime amateur costumer and historian (specializing in 20th century military and steampunk for the most part), and recipient of a scholarship to the 2013 Costume College. Christopher has been a valuable part of Gears & Roebuck (https://www.facebook.com/GearsAndRoebuck) since its inception. Shannon Hoage Shannon Hoage has been making props and costumes since 1978, when she found theater. Now she has her own prop business, Gears & Roebuck (https://www.facebook.com/GearsAndRoebuck). Heather Hofshi Heather Hofshi is climate activist and scifi/fantasy book nerd with a deep love of history. She enjoys looking and sewing, both ways in time. Kristen Hopkins Kristen Hopkins is a costume designer, creator, and entrepreneur, ready and able to help you learn how to create the costumes of your dreams. Her experience includes working with independent films, circus troupes, burlesque & salsa dancers, historic re-enactors, as well as geek, bridal and couture fashion. Check out her work at Firetail Design (Firetaildesign.com). Mela Hoyt-Heydon Mela Hoyt-Heydon is a union costume designer, retired Professor/Chairman of the Theatre Arts Department at Fullerton College, founding member of CGW and Costume College, two-time Dean of Costume College, past President of CGW, and a member of Costume Society of America, USITT, and the Smithsonian’s Copp Family Textiles Research Team. She owns Atelier Mela (ateliermela.net) which creates millinery and costumes for the entertainment industry. In 2020, her team’s hats and “shop dressing” were featured in the opening of Tokyo Disneyland’s New Fantasyland. Mela received her MFA in design from the University of California, Irvine, studied art history at King's College, London, and trained under Rose Corey, milliner to the Queen Mum in London. Lalena Hutton Lalena Hutton currently works as a theater costume technician as a cutter/draper, but she also is active as a historical costumer and a reenactor. She has also trained in Couture and Tailoring construction techniques and loves to share her knowledge on the Thimble And Plume YouTube channel (www.thimbleandplume.com). Mia Jackson Mia Jackson does all kinds of creative stuff. Organizing shows, she co-leads Underground Renaissance where they recreate a 1920's jazz club. Besides working on costumes, she runs Authentik Afrikan (www.authentikafrikan.com), designing with bold African prints. Shelly Jackson Shelly Jackson is a buckram and wire milliner from Reno, Nevada. She has been sewing her whole life, and sewing hats for nearly a decade. Find her online at Clockwork Monster Millinery (www.etsy.com/shop/clockworkmonster). Laura Katz Laura Katz started sewing originally to be able to have fun swishy skirts to dance in. Since then she's made historical costumes, cosplay, embroidery projects, and quilts. Loving challenges means that Laura has delved into custom dye work, customizing embroidery fibers to hand stitch the perfect applique, and painting premade appliques to suit a project. She follows the mantra of "because it's pretty and I like it," as a motivation for creating new things and is excited to both share her acquired skills and knowledge, as well as learn from others. Erika Kawaguchi Erika Kawaguchi is a designer, cosplayer, vintage kimono collector, and all around goblin. She comes from generations of tailors and textile vendors in Hawai’i. Though she learned to sew as a toddler, she found her passion for sewing when she began cosplaying and realized she could sew preposterous things and fulfill childhood dreams of impractical gowns and capes. Erika also holds degrees in human rights, political science, and psychology, and has experience in anti-human trafficking legislative advocacy, inclusion and diversity, and human rights education. Check out her work at Erika a la Mode (erikaalamode.wordpress.com). Becca Konieczny Becca Konieczny's passions in life are 19th Century jewelry, needlework of all kinds, and dogs. Becca especially loves jewelry from the 1870s. She has studied needlework at the Royal School of Needlework, the American Needlepoint Guild, and the Embroiderers' Guild of America. She has also shown Borzois, Greyhounds, and Salukis in the USA and Canada. Val LaBore Valarie LaBore has been attending Costume College since 2003, when she was new to historical sewing techniques. She loved finding that there were other people just as crazy as she was. She began teaching and loves to share what she learns on her blog, Time Traveling in Costume (timetravelingincostume.blogspot.com). She runs the Facebook group, Historical Pattern Reviews 1700-1919, is a member of CGW and the Orange County Costume Guild, was Dean of Costume College in 2018, is a past-President of the San Diego Costume Guild, is an honorary member of SITU, and is a representative of the San Diego History Center. Jessica Lawson Jessica Lawson is a Fiber Artist, Teacher, and Costume Maker for the Film Industry. From pattern making, sewing, knitting, weaving, natural plant dye, and beyond, Jessica has a passion for her art and is always exploring new mediums. In her private art practice, Jessica seeks inspiration from nature; inspired by color and using found objects in her work from foraged plant dye material, sticks and branches for weaving (www.JessicaSews.com). Most of her textiles find their way into garments and accessories. Jessica teaches Fiber Arts to grades K-4 at El Rio Community School in Los Angeles Regina Lawson Regina Lawson came up costuming high school theater productions and rock bands. She found her heart in Historical Clothing, making English, German, and especially, researching and trying to reproduce Irish and Highland Scots clothing from the 16th century. She has been doing THAT since 1986. Lana Lily Lana Lily is a lover of history with a passion for detailed research of historical clothing. She received a degree in Fashion Design from FIDM and has more than 20 years experience as a historical reenactor. Lana enjoys sharing her knowledge of historical techniques by teaching classes at various venues which can be found at www.lanalily.com and offering historical accessories through www.etsy.com/shop/NorthSouthEmporium. Her involvement in CGW resulted in the honor of being Dean of Costume College 2007. Rebecca Maiten Rebecca Maiten is an actor and costumer living in the Seattle area, and has been fascinated with historical fashions for as long as she can remember. She started sewing in high school, and has been creating historical costumes for over 10 years. Rebecca loves sewing costumes of any era, from the 17th century through Edwardian, and has also dabbled in cosplay. Rebecca runs the Youtube channel, Lady Rebecca Fashions (youtube.com/ladyrebeccafashions), and is also one of the founders of the Puget Sound Historical Costumers Guild. You can also find her on Instagram as @LadyRebeccaFashions. Sandy Manning Sandy Manning has been involved in costuming for a very long time. She began by making costumes for her dolls when she was young and graduated to making her own costumes when she was involved with theater. She enjoys learning more about all aspects of historical and modern costuming. She lives in Alaska and works in the Bush away from most cities. Sue McDonald Sue McDonald is a long-time seamstress and has been making and wearing period costumes for over 30 years. She has a special interest in Victorian and Edwardian attire and makes many costumes for the reenactment community in Prescott, Arizona where she lives. Sue has taught a variety of classes at Costume College, and is excited to share her costuming tips and techniques again in 2022. Natalie Meyer Natalie Meyer has been attending Costume College since 1994. She has been Dean twice and has been teaching since 2001. She learned the basics of hand sewing when she was 5, was making her own clothes by the time she was 12, and began serious costuming when she became a docent at Heritage Square Museum in Los Angeles in 1993. Jess Miller Jess Miller has been involved with costuming since discovering the SCA, the Renaissance Faire, and the science fiction fandom all in the same year. She holds a degree in art with an emphasis on textiles and did further course work in Anthropology, which serves only to make her more confused. She is a past Dean of Costume College, and loves to have long conversations about her hobby. Ed Morlan Ed Morlan started costuming without realizing it by designing and sewing his own gear for military trainings and finding his way to an occasional movie set where he met a group of guys who managed to get him to a real reenactment. Ever since he has been very involved in costuming. He runs his own sutler store at reenactments, hand-making both wood and leather products. He’s honed his leather skills and enjoys teaching CoCo. Ed is a civil war reenactor, 13th century longbow archer, Rev War Longhunter, and dabbles in Roman, Greek, WW2 Navy, Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Jenn Mulvey Jennifer Mulvey has been a part of the costuming hobby for over 10 years, where she has served on both the Costume College Committee and the CGW, Inc. Board of Directors. She enjoys all aspects of costuming from historical Civil War reenacting to sci-fi / fantasy. Jennifer is a "certified" friend maker and loves to welcome new people in the costuming world, so she has previously hosted the Freshman Orientation. Never claiming to be an expert, she is always glad to lend a hand whenever a costume is in need! Wolfcat Wolfcat has been sewing for over 50 years (no there is no portrait in the attic, really) enjoying just about any aspect of creation that touches upon costuming. Carolyn Richardson Carolyn Richardson has been costuming for herself for about 40 years, originally sewing costumes for the SCA and then later branching out into other periods. She has taught numerous times at Costume College in the past and is a self-described "organizer-aholic". When she's not making costumes or indulging in other hobbies, she docents at the Getty Center. Carolyn has been working in the income tax field since 1984. Francesca Romito Francesca Romito is a librarian who studies historical dress and customs. She is also trained in archives and preservation for paper and textiles. She was born in the United States, but is also a native Polish speaker and has been studying and researching the history of Polish folk clothing for the past year. Before, she spent a lot of her time finishing her Masters degree, and using any spare time she could manage studying Victorian and Edwardian dress along with Scottish 17th century dress. Donna Scarfe Donna Scarfe has attended CoCo since 1996 and has taught since 1998. She specializes in millinery of the Renaissance, but works with all periods including contemporary fashion hats. She took two short courses in England to hone her skills and believes you can never have too many feathers! She travels the Midwest Faires vending as Fyne Hats By Felicity (www.fynehatsbyfelicity.com) and also sells through her Etsy shop. Donna is also a professional actress and ASL interpreter. Madame Askew Madame Askew is a time traveling tea aficionado, obsessed with fantastical, historical fashion and the proper uses for headgear. When Madame is not preoccupied with tea, she operates a small atelier where she creates fanciful bespoke garments, underpinnings, and hats for delightful humans from the Steampunk set. Perhaps best known for her whimsical tea adventures with her partner the Grand Arbiter, Madame is also delighted to teach sewing workshops and to host regular live sewing tea-torials. Caroline Smeby Caroline Smeby has been costuming since the early 2000s and enjoys competing at events such as Costume-Con and San Diego Comic-Con. This is her second Costume College and she looks forward to learning and sharing at this year's event Nami Sparrow Nami is an Indian-American cosplayer from New Jersey. She has been costuming for 14 years and has been dipping her toes into historical costuming for the last 2 years. Nami is passionate about encouraging others to try costuming, and she loves to nerd out about her fandoms and adopt introverts! Crystal Taggart Crystal Taggart has been designing since her Barbies needed Victorian gowns. She paid her way to a Biology degree with her sewing skills, working at a ballroom dance costume manufacturer. Years after she graduated, she was still finding glitter in strange places. For the past fourteen years she has owned her own costume creation company, Crystal's Idyll (crystalsidyll.com), specializing in historically inspired fantasy accents and accessories. Her work has been seen on big and small screens, theaters, Sci-Fi Conventions, and anywhere fabulous people gather around the world. Her first love in the costume world is hats, the bigger the better. Ellen Uttmark Ellen Uttmark has been sewing or otherwise making things for the majority of her life, and turned to historical and vintage things in the last decade. It is truly her passion and she loves sharing her knowledge with anyone who wants to know what she does. Personally, she works for a nonprofit art gallery and is raising her five kids with her husband in central Wyoming. You can find her on Instagram at instagram.com/finer_seams. Sarah Villanueva Sarah Villanueva is a research librarian focused on the relationship between museums and handicrafts. She discovered historical costuming during Covid and is over the moon to finally find clothes that speak to her aesthetic. Jeannine Wayman Jeannine Wayman learned to sew at the age of ten. Over the years, she started out hating sewing, but then turned to quilting and finally to costuming. She currently teaches Fashion and Design in a public high school. One of the most important things about being a teacher is to encourage and support students in discovering a totally new art form, and having fun. You can check out her work on her blog, Jninecostumes (jninecostumes.blogspot.com). Kathryn Wolters Kathryn Wolters is an incorrigible costume, jewelry, and craft junkie, who started sewing at 9 years old, making historically inspired clothes and accessories for her Barbie doll. She has worked and taught with a lot of different costume groups over the last 40 years, including Regency, Victorian, and SCA and she's still addicted after all these years. :) Her business Country Countess Historical focuses on historically inspired clothing, jewelry, and accessories. Carla Woodson Carla Woodson is a vintage, cosplay, and historical costume enthusiast who brings her unique perspective to her Instagram and YouTube channel. She has a great interest in Black History and in the fiber arts and loves to share her finds to pretty much anyone who will listen. AJ Wu AJ Wu has been costuming, cosplaying, and competing since 2002. She enjoys that costuming gives her an outlet for her obsessive tendencies, and thinks the kitchen is better suited for casting work, as her skills at creating do not extend to the culinary realm. You can find her blog at confusedkittysewing.com. Lauren Yeager Lauren Yeager is a textile artist with a particular interest in studying and preserving traditional garments and embroidery. She teaches at the San Francisco School of Needlework and Design (sfneedleworkanddesign.org) Jo Yeakley Jo Yeakley has been sewing for over 50 years, though not professionally. Focusing on historical and performance costuming, Jo has also explored making trims, jewelry, and accessories, learning whatever techniques are needed along the way. Acknowledged as an effective communicator in her day job, Jo enjoys teaching and engaging like-minded others. |