We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paige Redbird. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paige below.

Alright, Paige thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve always known I wanted to do something creative with my time. As a kid I spent my days making longswords from yard sticks and duct tape, or crafting paper dolls with moving joints. I’ve never not used art and creativity to augment reality where I felt it was needed, and it never occurred to me that creativity wasn’t an option.

I was lucky in that I grew up with parents who supported my creative pursuits – they always made sure I had access to supplies like markers or paints and they never discouraged my interest in new materials and means to create. My mom was a dancer and choreographer and ran her own business more often than not, so I grew up hearing about creative pursuits as a viable means to live by. I remember being a kid and thinking about my future life as an adult, and I always imagined myself doing my own thing, whether that was making costumes or living on a farm. I knew I’d be working for myself, not someone else. Though, I first had to be told that I couldn’t be a jockey (too tall) or a cat (too human). That took some processing.

I initially pursued a college degree in literature in the wake of my high school studies in the International Baccalaureate Programme, looking at such schools as Sarah Lawrence, Reed, Whitman, etc. I got accepted everywhere I applied but couldn’t afford the tuition. I was ready to throw in the towel on college all together, telling my mom “I’m just going to go live on an island and make swords.” She asked me to look into art school.

I ended up getting my Bachelors in Fine Art from the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) where I really got to see the work that goes into a creative career. I was there for a major in Sequential Art (comics, basically) but when I saw how much work it would take to be at the skill level I wanted, and also how rough that industry was, I knew drawing wasn’t the type of creative I wanted to pursue. I spent the better part of my junior year at SCAD questioning myself and where I wanted to go. I knew comics wasn’t it, even as I finished out my degree. I thought to myself “well, what do you spend your time doing? What do you finish your school work to go do?” I realized I was always staying up until 1am every night looking at Instagram posts from artists like Harrison Krix of Volpin Props, Bill & Britt Doran of Punished Props, Yaya Han, Jessica Nigri, etc. All folks who were at the forefront of bringing cosplay and costuming into the main stream. I was spending any spare money I had (which wasn’t much) on materials for making costumes to wear to conventions with my friends and I realized – if these people could do it as a business, so could I. So I started taking commissions for props and costume pieces. I think my first ever pieces I made were a pair of swords belonging to Fili from the Hobbit. I (somehow) 3D modeled the handles and had a friend help me print them, made the blades from insulation foam, and hand painted them. I have zero 3D modeling experience, I still don’t know how I BS’d my way through that. But it went well and my friend was happy with them. I posted my progress online, people seemed to like it, so I kept going.

I continued taking prop commissions after I’d graduated from college and moved back to the west coast. Everywhere I lived I found a way to squeeze a work shop into the space. But it was getting… Wearisome. It was exhausting working that side hustle while also working 3 other jobs, but I knew I didn’t want to be taking commissions full time. I felt a lot of anxiety around making things for other people. I still didn’t have a ton of confidence in my skills and people often wanted me to make things I wasn’t super interested in making. I knew I didn’t want to cut the momentum I’d been building short, but I wasn’t sure what the next step was. Fortunately, that was about to be taken care of.

I got a text one day from Bill – y’know, of Punished Props – asking me if I would be interested in helping them expand their business. That was a pinch myself moment, to put it mildly. I’d met Bill in person a few years previously when we flew him out as a special guest for a convention I helped direct in Savannah. I guess my ability to run a successful event left an impression, so off we moved to Washington to start on a wild new journey where I worked for the people who taught me everything I knew about costuming.

I think those 4 or so years working for Bill is really what made me realize how possible it is to run your own business, and how worth it it is. There’s a lot of fear-mongering around being self-employed, especially in a creative industry, that makes it feel as though you’ll always be at risk of losing it all and it’s a constant stress and struggle. That’s not entirely wrong, to be honest, but what I learned when working with Bill & Britt is that there’s still a ton of room for mistakes, fun, trying, failing, and most importantly, doing what you want. When it was time for us to go our separate ways, I left Punished Props knowing I’d never go back to a “normal” job. I wanted to stay in the creative industry and the community I’d built here in Washington.

I’d discovered leather while working for Bill & Britt when I last-minute cobbled together a costume for DragonCon one year. I found it really compelling and easy to work with, and found myself sneaking it in to more projects. When I was laid off from an amazing costuming job with my friends at Sionnach Studios and Raptor Props, I remember looking out the window next to my computer, considering diving once again into the job search grind, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’d seen too much of the “other side.” I loved working with leather, and people seemed to like my work too. I’d started my own LLC on the side a year earlier and I thought maybe it was time to give it a full time try. It’s been almost a year now and I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else. I think, looking back to younger Paige, that I’m doing exactly what I always wanted to do and imagined myself doing. It’s a pretty amazing feeling that I don’t think many people get to experience.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a leatherworker and costumer! I make digital patterns for leather projects and publish tutorials on Youtube.

I talk a little bit about how I got into leather in one of my other answers, but essentially it was something I was always interested in – I was always drawn to beautiful leather goods when visiting Renaissance Faires and conventions. I’m also indigenous, from the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and we have a long history of incorporating leather into our daily lives. That’s actually one of the first things I started selling – traditional moccasins made in the Cherokee pucker toe style. My sister and I grew up outside of the Nation and not around other Cherokees, so I saw learning to do traditional crafts as a way for me to reconnect with my culture and help other people learn some of what we’re about.

I first tried leather as a time-saver, oddly enough. I needed a last-minute costume for DragonCon one year and instead of using EVA foam, my go-to at the time, I decided to give leather a try. It needed less preparation and required no special sealing or treatment in order to get it ready for use. I watched a couple tutorials by Yvonne Williams (Back to Earth Creations on YouTube) so I had a basic idea of how everything worked. The process was extremely intuitive to me and the longevity and sturdiness of the pieces was really appealing – I still have the corset and accessories I made that night. I became a little obsessed. Leatherworking was a lot easier than I thought and I found myself sneaking that material into more and more projects in lieu of EVA foam. SO many of the skills I’d learned for working with foam crossed over into working with leather. When I found Tony See (DieselPunk.Ro) on Youtube, I think that’s when the gears really started to turn about pursuing leather more seriously and turning it into a business. Tony does phenomenally beautiful leatherwork but rather than making pieces by commission, he teaches people how to make things and sells his patterns. I liked the idea of showing people what I had learned about leather and helping more people realize how possible it is to work with. I spent a little over 4 years working with Punished Props and helping them publish their cosplay tutorials, so I was already extremely familiar with YouTube and how to make a good tutorial. I also love designing things. It’s probably my favorite aspect of costuming. So by creating my own unique patterns, I’d be prioritizing my creativity while also helping others to make things themselves. It felt like a win/win.

I aim to create interesting and fun things with leather. I think there’s an enormous market for standard things like wallets and briefcases and shoulder bags and such so I didn’t feel a need to contribute to that. My background in cosplay has helped me see where leather fits into that community and there’s a venn diagram of Cosplay, Ren Faires, and leather that overlay with each other beautifully. There’s very little content out there on leather for cosplay. Yvonne (Back to Earth) is great at helping people learn to make leather costume pieces, but I didn’t find much besides her that took that angle. Most leather tutorial content seems geared towards either the western horse world – saddles, belts, hats, etc – or the business/bushcraft world – knife sheaths, wallets, and laptop bags. I want to show people that leather can be used for more than that. You can make the incredible things you see at Ren Faires and conventions, it’s easier than you think, and you probably already have some of the basic tools to do it.

A lot of my designs are heavily inspired by stuff I love, like Tabletop RPGs, video games, and fantasy movies like Lord of the Rings. I like making things that bring those fantastical elements into real life. So I take basic things like backpacks or Switch cases and make them look like they’re made of leaves stitched together as if a Druid owned it and made a little pouch to keep it safe. I have a whole collection of “druid” themed items that look like they’re made of bark and leaves. I have plans to release more pattern collections inspired by other D&D classes like Rogue gear that’s got lots of cool buckles and straps, or Paladin gear with beautiful gold accents. I hate being at a convention or event and having to pull out your very ordinary-looking backpack or bag to grab your phone. It ruins the immersion and doesn’t feel like it’s part of your costume. So I wanted to make things you can use functionally but still feel like they’re part of a fantasy world and like they fit whatever event you’re going to. Life’s too short to have a boring backpack.

It’s a really special feeling to step back and look at something you made from scratch, something that didn’t exist before. I want to bring that feeling to more people and if my patterns can help them take that first step to give leather a try and get that experience, that’s really all I want. Every culture in the world has some sort of leather crafting in their history. It’s an ancient practice that all of us have in common in some way and I think that’s really amazing. The fact that we can still tap into that and create beautiful things just like our ancestors did – but with new tools and inspirations – just blows my mind. I think people squirm away from leather because of where it comes from, but for me it’s about bringing new life to something that is otherwise a natural waste product from hunting. A huge part of indigenous culture is making sure nothing is wasted and honoring every part of an animal and, even though our current meat industry in the US is a hot mess, I’d much rather make use of these hides and give them new life and love than let them go to waste. That’s not going to cut it for some, and that’s totally okay! But for those who have always been interested in leather but don’t know where to start, that’s where I hope my patterns and tutorials can come in and provide the info to take that first step.

I also still take some commissions as time allows. I think right now I’ve got orders for a Druid “Leafpack” backpack, a custom notebook cover, and a pair of moccasins. I like helping people realize something they’ve always wanted and let them hold it in their hands. It’s also a fun challenge for me to come up with the solution to their need. Leather patterns become puzzles: How can I best fit these elements together? What’s going to reduce bulk and be simplest to put together? What’s going to look the best and last the longest? And each piece I make teaches me more and helps me improve the patterns I create going forward.

I love doing this work. I love seeing what people make using my patterns and knowing that my designs are part of people’s costumes and lives all over the world. I hope to write a book about leather for cosplay at some point to help further bridge that knowledge gap and start vending my wares at local Faires and events. In the immediate future I’m working on finishing a spooky bat wing tutorial for Halloween!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Consistency.

I worked as a social media manager for multiple businesses and that has always been the biggest and most important component to seeing growth on social media. I have never spent a dime on social media advertising but have steadily grown organically from a few hundred to almost 5,000 followers on Instagram over the past several years. Slow, organic growth will ALWAYS outweigh flash viral growth over time. You want people who find you, like you, and will stay with you, not people who found ONE thing you did. Algorithms change constantly, media platform management changes, but consistently posting and sharing is always going to help you maintain a presence online.

It’s a lot of work and I don’t always succeed at staying consistent. But I know when I post at least one thing per day, I see growth and more interaction across all platforms.

Take photos of everything you do, constantly. Having a backlog of pics to pull from really helps and prevents you from having to come up with something to post. It’s also just a good habit to form. Documenting your work and your progress is critical building a portfolio and becomes the legacy and history of what you’ve done. It sucks trying to look back at a project and realize you only have 3 kinda blurry progress pics and nothing else.

Also, talk to people. Answer comments, engage with people who are interested in what you’re doing. It’s really rewarding and helps the algorithm see that your work is engaging and worth promoting.

Most importantly: Ignore crappy comments. Don’t engage with them, just delete them and move on. There’s always an urge to try and call people out or teach people a lesson, but I promise you that lesson will not reach them. It’s probably the most important thing I ever learned working with Bill & Britt. Your comment sections on ANY platform is a curated community. What you choose to engage with there is what will be given time and attention by others. I had the pleasure of working with one of the BEST and nicest Youtube comments sections at Punished Props, and it was almost exclusively because we simply didn’t engage with any negative or off-topic comments. It is YOUR platform and YOU get to decide the vibes. Don’t make it about arguing, make it about your work, about learning, and about being creative. It’s so worth it and really takes all the power out of people who have nothing better to do then be negative on the internet all day.

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

It’s truly a dream job.

Of course it comes with all the usual struggles, it’s not perfect. I still worry about my income, I have off days when I really don’t want to work, sometimes projects are really difficult or frustrating, my coworkers lay on my keyboard, y’know.

But having the freedom to dress how I want, set my own hours and take full advantage of when I know I’m the most productive, and be able to get up and go run errands as needed is just the best. And that’s just being self-employed. Being CREATIVELY self-employed is even better (in my humble opinion).

Making things is magical, and I will never be over how cool it is. To take a bunch of components and assemble them into something that didn’t exist before is truly one of the greatest experiences out there, whether it’s drawing, making a costume, or writing a song. I’ve had the privilege of working on everything from dragon hats and vacuum formed masks to Star Wars replica costumes and horror movie outfits. It’s such a unique and massively varied industry to be involved in and I’ve been able to meet some of the most amazing people.

Everything we touch has had someone’s creative work behind it. Everything is designed. Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, I think being in a creative industry is one of the most powerful things someone can do in this day and age. We’re responsible for some of life’s greatest joys and most critical structures. It’s an industry that truly provides the opportunity to create change and inspire people in a way nothing else can.

For me, it’s also a necessity. I have a very busy brain and being creative has always provided a really important outlet. I honestly don’t think I’d be in a very good place if I hadn’t been able to use my creativity as a kid. Being able to foster that in other people and provide opportunities to be creative has always been something I’ve loved and valued as an artist, and something I hope I can always do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RedBirdTrade
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redbird_makes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redbirdmaker
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Redbird_makes
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUZQQ8wlKxWbzFM3bezIYyQ
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/redbirdmakes

Image Credits
Photo #1 (of me): Brett Downen } @DownenPhotography Photo #2: Heather Alexander-Talley | @HoneyAndHeatherPhoto Photo of two pouches: Britt Doran of Punished Props | @Chinbeard | Kat.Birdy