Cosplay: The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life by Andrew Liptak

Author:Andrew Liptak [Liptak, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

ETSY

Regular, persistent demand for items also helps drive access as makers realize that they can service a large pool of fans directly. Founded in 2005, the website Etsy was designed as a platform through which makers could sell their homemade goods directly to consumers. Within four years, the site quickly grew, tapping into the larger DIY entrepreneurial spirit that its makers exhibited.2 The platform became an ideal match for prop and costume makers. Historian Glenn Adamson wrote that homemade and handcrafted items were becoming big in this environment: “The new crafter wave is fueled by an intriguing alliance of the oldest and newest of social technologies, the sewing circle and the blog.”3 The site’s purpose came out of the online crafting community and was a reaction to the larger societal wave of mass production. The global recession also helped matters: the site allowed people to generate their own income in their own homes.

Jeff Rodriquez II, who runs an Etsy store called DH-P/FX, explained that prop making was something he initially started for fun. He became known for creating a handful of frequently requested items, including components for X-wing pilots like helmets, chest boxes, and rank cylinders.

Rodriquez explained that he got into cosplay around 2000, making his own components. As friends and other cosplayers saw what he was making, he ended up taking commissions for the same pieces. “People ask where you get something, and you say, ‘I made it!’ and they’re like, ‘Wow! Can you make me one?’ and the next thing you know, you’re making a mold of a piece that you kitbashed. Business just takes off from there.”

A builder by trade, Rodriquez explained that the 2007 housing crisis and recession was the impetus for the start of his business. “We would drive an hour and a half to two hours to go make eighty bucks for the week. And then I would come home and pack a bunch of orders I was selling on eBay and make a lot more than I was making hanging drywall.” As the economy began to recover, he realized that he didn’t want to go back into the construction business and turned his attention to making prop replicas and costume components.

When I decided to build an X-wing pilot costume, I went to Jeff Rodriquez, who runs an Etsy store called DH-P/FX. He promptly shipped me a kit with all the necessary components, which I then turned into a finished helmet.

Courtesy of Andrew Liptak

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