We recently connected with Jessica Overby and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most recent meaningful cosplay that I’ve worked on was based on an original design by the artist Cowslip. Cowslip is known for designing human versions of Pokemon and I chose to make their Ninetales design. Ninetales is basically a pale golden-white fox with nine tails with mystical fire powers and based on the Asian mythological creature called the huli-jing or kitsune. In mythology, kitsune are known to take the form of a beautiful woman and steal the souls of men that they had enchanted with their charms. As a child, my mom would tell me stories about the kitsune and how they would outsmart men with their wiles. It was such a joy to make a beautiful design that combined my childhood, Asian heritage, and cosplay. Pokemon later released an ice version of Ninetales that I made a similar original design that mirrored aspects of Cowslip’s artwork.

Jessica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Jessica and my cosplayer alias is JWo Designs. I like to tell people that it’s pronounced similar to J-Lo but with a “woah” instead of “lo.” I have been cosplaying since 2005, but my brand began as a custom crafts/jewelry business out of my dorm room while at college. The custom jewelry business helped pay for costs in college and I eventually transitioned back to cosplay in 2016. I love to work with original or fan designs of cosplays for known characters. I also love to learn new skills to make certain parts of a cosplay. Recently, I started learning leatherworking and made several leather pieces for a character from the popular Dungeons and Dragons stream, Critical Role. Along with making cosplays, I enjoy helping and encouraging others in starting out in their own cosplaying adventures by producing video tutorials and live streaming my crafting progress so people can learn from me in real time.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A hard lesson that I have had to learn (and still learning) in all my years of cosplay is that perfection in one’s own work is not necessary. When I am working on cosplay for myself, I tell myself that cosplay is mostly a hobby and sometimes the first attempt at making something will most likely not turn out perfect. This is especially true when I am working in a time crunch. It is not a fun time to rush a cosplay and fall into a state of hysterics stressing out about what is ultimately just for fun. I have nearly reached burnout in the past trying to crunch several cosplays for a convention and ended up not having any cosplays to wear. It isn’t worth the stress for one’s health.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a cosplayer is seeing your project to its completion. It amazes me every time to see a pile of supplies become something after many hours (or even years!) of dedication. Learning a new skill along the process is just a bonus!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: http://instagram.com/jwodesigns
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/jwodesigns
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/jwodesigns
• Other: Twitch channel: http://twitch.tv/jwodesigns

Image Credits
IMG_8314.JPG – Tobious Photography 9tails2.JPG – Chez Photo