I redesigned the collar again.

I redesigned the collar again.

This time it was to fit it to my neck, and to test a 3D print, I told myself. I am always "redesigning the collar" though, y'know?

One of the things I see in my word is not knowing when to leave something alone. Even now there are all sorts of fixes I want to make to this collar: a bevel here to avoid pinching, a flat portion there so the magnetic elements don't slip too far, custom supports for the 3D print to save material...

My hope is always to make a product that people will want because it addresses functionality that they don't even notice. The best products are those that improve people's experiences without them noticing.

Part of me hopes that one day I can feel good about a piece and put it to rest to work on other things... and part of me is glad that I still get the chance to improve things and learn for both myself, and my customers.

Is there a collar you keep redesigning in your own life?

So anyways, here's  ̶w̶o̶n̶d̶e̶r̶w̶a̶l̶l̶  a blog post.

The State of the Shop

These past few weeks have been busy here, but I feel like we're at a very interesting point. On Valentines weekend we attended Kami-con, a convention in Birmingham, AL and had a dealers space for the first time which was interesting! Having more space was good, but being in a different area then the Artist Alley for the first time was strange. It wasn't bad for the price though, and being able to sell a variety of different pieces was a boon. Hopefully in future years I'll get a bit better of a handle on the space and filling it up, and I look forward to trying the dealers again.

Here at Lowe Mill we have a the Huntsville Comic Con the weekend. Our shop is once again coordinating the costume contest with organization, trophies and a showcase for participants.

Last year I was "Lambert" from Cult of the Lamb for both this convention and my birthday later in October. I got to design a cowl that I'm SUPER proud of and was the first "pattern" that I released onto my online store. Since then I've uploaded a lot of new patterns and files including a sword, the horns and the crown from my cosplay. The CoTL fever is still going strong though, so I'll be releasing more as we work on new character items soon.

This year I'll be Haruko from FLCL as it is comfortable as well as my second most complete cosplay, behind the Lamb. I'll be "redesigning the collar" for some things on the cosplay though before MTAC this year, especially the manacle. My goals are to create a pattern and tutorial for the bunny ears, get new blue shoes that don't have 3D-print-repaired tips as well as add a bandolier to complete the look.

Otherwise, we're working on business as usual. I'm still waiting to hear back on the final selection for the Apollo Park project, but once I do I'll post about it when I can.

And as for the collar, you can currently find the purchase page for the STLs through the Lightning and Lace Etsy mirror here.

Ciao!