We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Casey Welsch a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Casey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

In November of 2020, I pitched an educational book idea to a publishing company that focuses on sewing education and wanted to tap into the cosplay market. They accepted my pitch, which was on Foundation Garments for Cosplay and I spent almost all of 2021 writing that book. I had to completely stop taking commissions, my digital presence was pretty low-key for the core writing months and it was extremely scary going through the process of writing a book and not being able to really share what I was working on with the world.

Here we are, in Spring of 2022 and my book comes out in June. It’s kind of crazy to think that I am going to be a published author, I have literally no expectations but I am very excited to just be able to hold a copy of my book and know, I made this. It feels good.

Casey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Casey, I am a full-time educator and content creator making costumes in order to educate and inspire others to make their own costumes. I started my business as a creative outlet for myself and a way to connect with my community. When I started my business I was mostly focused on making commissions and live streaming the process as a form of education. In the past 3 years, my business has taken a pivot and I get to really focus on the work that brings me the most joy and that’s education. I love sharing my skills and inspiring others to make things that they never imagined they could make.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is getting to see how your art makes others feel. When people say, “this made me smile” or “you brightened my day” those words and emotions really help make the long hard days feel worthwhile.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started building my social media presence by just sharing my journey. I would upload an image of a piece of a costume and describe how I got the piece that is presented in the image. People would ask questions or share their own progress and we would chat about the art. I’ve always loved Instagram and the ability to share an image and tell a story in the caption. Now, I love sharing videos and daily updates on my current projects and hanging out in my DM’s to answer questions or just chat about future projects.

My biggest advice to those starting to build a social media following is to remind you that social media is “social”. Interacting with artists that are in your niche or in your town is an amazing way to build bonds as well grow a social presence. Also, interacting with the people that comment on your art while still building boundaries to keep yourself safe. Don’t be afraid to ask your followers what they think, or have them vote on projects, or even better have them design a project for you. My favorite project from 2021 was an 1850s inspired ballgown from Ariel from The Little Mermaid 2, I started the project with a bolt of fabric in my Instagram stories and asked people to suggest Disney characters I could use that fabric on “bonus points if we can mash it up with a historical era”. From there I narrowed down suggestions, found fashion plates from the era, and had my Instagram vote on the design elements. It was so much fun and so many people felt like they were a part of the process.

Contact Info:

• Website: caseyreneecosplay.com
• Instagram: CaseyReneeCosplay
• Facebook: Casey Renee Cosplay
• Youtube: Casey Renee Cosplay

Image Credits
All images were taken and edited by me.