For me, cosplaying is something that I can put my all into and something that'll really challenge me.  From a young age I've always loved making things like plushies, bags etc and the challenge of making a whole costume is just kind of the next step really.  There's so many wonderful designs in each series and it feels really fantastic when you're able to bring that costume to life on your own.  I'm never happy with a costume unless it's completely accurate so I can get pretty stressed sometimes, but it's great when I've finally finished something and can honestly say it's completely accurate.  Being able to display your work to the public is a great feeling too, especially when your costume gets recognised. 

Another aspect I love is being able to completely go against social norms for a time and not really worry about what the others around you will think.  Society has such stereotypical views when it comes to fashion, and it's nice to be able to ignore all that and wear whatever you want for a few days.

Finally, it's something that's given me a huge amount of confidence when I needed it most.  People want to take your photo, admire you and compliment you just because you're dressed as someone else, it's a huge confidence boost to have someone you've never met before approach you and say how much they love your costume and want a photo of you.

It's got to be being recognised by Kari Wahlgren (voice of Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura) while cosplaying The Big Clow Card at Amecon 2008.  I'd been a little disappointed that the signing with her had been cancelled that day, as I'd missed the one the day before.  Walking out of the closing ceremony she spotted me and recognised the costume.  We were able to chat for a little bit and she signed my hat.

I can honestly say I've never regretted it.  I'm sure my bank account could do without buying so much fabric and wigs but I'll never regret doing this.  It's given me so much confidence and I've never done so much travelling!  If it wasn't for cosplay and conventions I would never have met so many wonderful people, especially my amazing partner Jack.

Q: Do your cosplays have a particular theme to them?

I really love to do costumes that are rarely/never cosplayed or I feel have never been done fully and accurately.  As far as I'm aware (from looking through a number of cosplay sites) Emeraude and Zagato have never been done before, The Big had never been done within the UK and the movie version of Belldandy and Celestine are also rarely done.  Seras and Dark Walter (from Hellsing - ed.) were something that I'd been hoping to do for a while and the yellow version is so under done compared to the blue anime version. Obviously I like to do cosplays where I can also make a matching costume for Jack so I like to look for couples or characters from the same series.

If there's one thing I could say to everyone thinking about cosplaying it would be; don't be afraid to try doing things yourself and going that step further and never let others stop you.  I've done both sides of cosplaying; both buying and making my costume and I can honestly say it's easier to make it yourself.  Sure it's easy to go online and just buy a costume, but how can you be sure it's going to arrive on time, going to fit, or even be accurate?  I've seen so many people disappointed because their costume hasn't arrived on time or didn't fit so they weren't able to cosplay with everyone else. 

It's a real shame when people say they can't make their own when they've never even tried, you never know what your abilities are unless you try.  There's so many aids as well, so many people have posted guides online and patterns can be bought in pretty much any fabric or department store.  If you can get your hands on a sewing machine and some fabric then have a play. 

Challenge yourself!  If you think a costume is too hard for you, break it down into sections you can handle.  Hit the charity shops and see what things you can modify into what you need.  Most of the time people are paying way too much for a costume they can make themselves because they're paying for someone else to make it for them. 

If you're worried about your costume not being as good as someone else's, don't be! If people are that childish enough to bitch about your costume, or criticise you because of your size, or how you look then they're not worth your time.  Ignore them and continue doing what makes you happy!