Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendra Griffen.

Kendra, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I have always been a huge nerd. It wasn’t until I was around the age of 13 when I saw people were building entire costumes and props from my favorite games, movies, and tv shows which was when I was finally introduced to cosplay. I watched hundreds of tutorials of helmets, armor, blasters, etc and finally decided to stop waiting and go for it. My first prop was a Lightsaber which involved visiting the plumbing section of Home Depot with my mom in tow. With a sink drain, pvc, flashlight, and electrical tape in hand I went home and built my very first prop. 8 years later now have about 14 completed costumes and each has taught me valuable lessons which I bring to each challenge I face during new builds. Cosplay has taught me to look at problems with patience and an open mind. You will make many mistakes but each one makes you better and better at your craft (even if it means starting from square one). That lesson within itself is a great example to apply to every aspect of life.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

The key moment that I always remind myself of is when I first started cosplaying and building props I was often judged by those around me that I was wasting all my time making silly little costumes and dressing up like it’s Halloween and which made me an outcast amongst teammates who were passionate about athletics. My family was heavily involved in sports and I was stuck spending an unwanted amount of time in sports when I would much rather be working on my latest cosplay or prop. This investment I was putting into sports was not what I wanted and I certainly didn’t want to take away more of that time I barely had to use for cosplay and music going into college. During that time I was up late trying to make up the lost time and running in the daytime off of none or 3-4 hours of sleep. I was unhappy with the way things were balanced in life. I didn’t want my life to be defined by what other people wanted for me. I was spiraling and depressed that I wasn’t able to make the choices I wanted because my mindset and impression was that too many people were counting on me to invest in athletics and get a scholarship through sports and that I’d just have to deal with being stuck in this fog forever. I remember when my mom and I were walking the dog and I had unloaded about how much I wanted to quit basketball and becoming someone who I didn’t want to be. By the end of our conversation she had asked finally asked “What do you wan’t?” And I said through cold tears that I wanted to quit. She nodded and simply responded with “then that’s what you’ll do.” She didn’t take my excuses or fears of what would happen. I had finally quit what was about an 11 year investment into sports and freed myself of the stress and burden of what other people wanted all thanks to my mom. I spent the next few years healing and getting help which resulted in me getting diagnosed with severe depression from that era of unhappiness and dread and have since gotten better. I reset my priorities and found friends and community within cosplay and even started an Instagram and TikTok page in hopes to inspire those who want to start making. Looking back now I owe my joy and success to my mom, friends my two sisters who supported me every step of the way in what I do.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

I build costumes and props from games, tv shows, movies or whatever I find interesting to take on as a project. I work largely with 3D printers and Eva foam and attend conventions around Washington State. I am proud to work with the 501st legion to help raise money for charities and bring joy to communities. When I made my first costume for approval there were those who were ready to help with any questions I had and provided me with great resources to help get my costumes approved. Once each costume is finished there’s no greater joy than being able to look at a costume that you made and realize that you did that even with all the challenges and months it takes to build most costumes.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.

Risks are defining moments for us all. Mine as stated before was to change my investments into what I loved and not what other people wanted me to do. Whether it is trying something new, taking time for yourself, or challenging yourself with a new approached to a project risks are a necessary step to grow. Take the chances that you know is best for you, you could absolutely fail but you will learn and get better and that’s the best teacher in my opinion. Even more so with every failure or success be sure to document what happened, what you learned, and what could have gone better in a journal so you can reference it for later.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trillasupremacy/profilecard/?igsh=aGxpcXBiaWttbmM3
• Twitter: https://x.com/trillasupremacy?s=21&t=oYGjQkr7UytvIySq-xuTWQ
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@trillasupremacy?_t=8sYyGnP4wf4&_r=1

Image Credits

Ted Warner

Ben Lucas