We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sapphire Nova a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Sapphire with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I get my work ethic entirely from my mom. She has always been one of the hardest workers I know and she does not know how to sit still. Growing up she taught me how important it is to work hard and to always be professional and reliable. To me, she was like a superhero. She must have had super speed, or at least super endurance, to manage work and homelife balance as perfectly as she did. She never missed any event and always was able to make time for everyone. It is because of her that I don’t know how to quit and I always strive to do the best job I possibly can.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Cosplay is a word that more and more people are being exposed to, but it is still a foreign concept to many. For those new to the word, Cosplay in it’s most basic sense is “Costume Play,” or dressing up as your favorite characters from Movies, Comics, Anime, Video Games, or pretty much anything. I create the majority of my own cosplay costumes, and my goal is to always improve upon the costumes I made in the past. I aim to implement new techniques and push my comfort zone to make bigger and better creations. At Comic Conventions (and other Pop Culture type events), I host panels teaching various cosplay techniques to help guide people into the wonderful world of cosplay. I love being able to share my passion and hopefully inspire everyone to give it a try themselves.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Start Small – It’s really easy when you’re first discovering cosplay to admire the large and/or intricate builds that you want to try for yourself. Your best bet is to choose a smaller project or even just a piece of the costume as a whole. Choosing too complicated of a cosplay at first often leads to frustration and might cause you to give up on the art all together. Starting small gives you the opportunity to make mistakes and grow your skills. Little by little, as your skills improve, you will find that you can create things that never seemed possible in the beginning. 2. Don’t be afraid to fail – Make mock-ups if you’re afraid of ruining your expensive fabric; Trust the process when you are in the middle of making something and it doesn’t yet look how you thought it would; Check your measurements before cutting but then don’t be afraid to cut. There are so many things that seem so scary when you are creating, but don’t let the fear hold up from making something great. Be gentle on yourself when failure inevitably hits. It happens to everyone, so don’t take it so hard. Plus mistakes are often where you learn the most!
3. Be open to learning new techniques – Even the professionals are still learning new things. Having an open mind can allow you to change or adapt as new information is presented. There have been times where I thought I was an expert at a specific task when someone showed me a totally new way to approach it. My way was good, but their way was better. You never know unless you are open to try!
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Passion! I love collaborating with all types of people and the number one thing I look for is passion! I want to feel like you love your art with your whole heart as much as I do! Especially when it comes to collaborating with photographers, I love when they are willing to go to great lengths to get that perfect shot. There is nothing better than working with people who put their everything into it!
Contact Info:
- Website: sapphirenovacosplay.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sapphirenovacosplay
- Facebook: facebook.com/sapphirenovacosplay
- Other: tiktok.com/@sapphirenovacosplay
Image Credits
ChrisCross Photography Happily Ever After Fairytale Events JB2 Photography Alvin Johnson Photography
