Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Haas
Hi Amanda, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started cosplaying about 10+ years ago. I jumped into the community to compete actually. I was already a professional sewer and worked in a tailoring shop. I’ve always liked competition sportswise but I never really tried it “art-wise”. I loved creating over-the-top and fun costumes so I figured this would be a fun path. Turns out that cosplay competitions opened up so much more for me. I started competing and traveling with my costumes, and because of this, I built a following online and my name was getting out there. Competition wins lead me to get guesting opportunities at conventions and those appearances lead me to write two books about cosplay, “Creative Cosplay” and “Level Up! Creative Cosplay”! It’s been a beautiful journey so far and it’s still going.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. This road has been bumpy, and I’ve fallen off it at times. I get burnt out quite often. When that happens, I have to double-check myself and my health, because something is off. I mean, this is a hobby and should always be fun and joyful. I believe cosplay is an art form and with creating art comes plenty of struggles. I struggle a lot with time management and motivation. I love jumping into new projects with hype and sometimes that hype fades. Then I’m sitting with a project that I want to quit on. The struggle is very real but I’m been doing much better with managing my art and life.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a professional cosplayer who also has a 9-5! My cosplay career is focused on creating and educating my audience about my crazy detailed cosplay builds. My main focus is sewing but I’m a jack of all trades in this cosplay world. I work in Museum Marketing for my career that pay the bills and my cosplay career spends the money. HAHA
I am the most proud of my costumes that feature the highly detailed works such as my Rhaenyra Targaryen cosplay. I like to bring a level of accuracy as well as design to my costumes. I want to look like I stepped right out of the movie or show.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I’m not sure how to answer this question.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jedimanda.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jedimanda
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jedimanda
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/jedimanda
- Other: https://tiktok.com/jedimanda
Image Credits
All photo credit to Alexandra Lee Studios