CreepyQueenMagazine - A Goth Gothic Online Magazine Punk Zine Community DIY Handmade Crafty Blog Alternative Forum

Spotlight On Loserkid5150

Tis the season for giving and if you have a special nerd in your life maybe one of Loserkid5150's 8-bit inspired sculptors will fit the bill.They are sure to bring back memories!

CreepyQueen: How did you start making Lego sculptures?

Loserkid5150: The way I literally started making these sculptures was when my girlfriend, Kendy, started incorporating LEGO bricks into her own crafting projects, for example LEGO rings and bracelets. The kid in me started playing with the LEGO bricks she bought and the first thing I connected the bricks with were the classic NES characters; specifically Super Mario Bros. But I couldn't make any characters correctly; not at all and I couldn't build them just from memory either, so I went on-line and looked for pictures of the characters. That helped but I didn't feel right taking other people's sprites so I as grew more serious about this venture I began capturing my own NES sprites.

CQ: What inspires you?

LK: My girlfriend inspires me and is the person who encouraged me to pursue my crafting curiousity. Also what inspires me is my love for the original Nintendo system. I grew up with the NES, and though I do own current generation consoles, the NES just has that overall presence with its music and art style. It quickly grabbed a hold of my senses from the very beginning, and still has a firm grip on me today; I like all kinds of independent music but I really love music that incorporates that 8bit sound like chiptune and gabber.

CQ: Do you have a process for each character?

LK: First I capture the sprite image for the character using a NES emulator. Then I make sure I can make the character using the colors that LEGO bricks come in; LEGO sadly suffers from a lack in it's variety of colors to choose from. I usually build the project first to make sure it looks correct and is an exact sprite count replica of the NES character. Then from there I glue every single brick to together.

CQ: How long does an average sized character take to build?

LK: Building a character is easy but gluing them together is what takes the most time. It's a very tedious task that could take hours to finish. The second worst thing is looking through my supplies and seeing if I have enough to make certain characters. I go through a lot of LEGO bricks and they are extremely expensive to buy; even in bulk. I now buy a lot of used LEGO bricks but even then it can be costly.

SPOTLIGHT on MtCoffinz!

CreepyQueen: So First off, What is MtCoffinz?

MtCoffinz:We are trying to be a ?One Stop Shopping? Experience for alternative clothing.  We still make absolutely every single item by hand.  We have diversified enough over the years to have lots of dark gothic and Steam Punk skirts.  We also have tons of Neon Raver Bright Party TuTus. If you are heading to a special event party, like Burning Man or a 3-Day Rave, then you should start shopping here first.

CQ: Who is MtCoffinz?

MtC:Technically, MTCoffinz is just Jinx.  That?s me, a coffee Fueled Sewing Robot.  I design all of the patterns, choose the colors, sew the clothing, take the photos, and answer emails.  However, it would be unrealistic to say that I can keep up with all of those demands.  Riven, my wonderful assistant, now answers most of the email questions (about 350 per day!)  I also get lots of help from my husband who does almost all of the screen-printing and he writes the online item listings.

CQ: How did MtCoffinz get Started?

MtC: I started making clothes with my mom when I was still very young.  In my teens, I had a dance studio where I taught kids dance routines.  When we had competitions, I used to make all of my dancer?s costumes.

That led to making clothes for my friends, then for their friends, and so on.  I started selling online with eBay many years ago, which led to my own online store, and then I had some requests for consignment shops.  I currently sell in a few consignment shops in several countries.  Then Etsy was born.  I love it!  Almost all of my newest stuff goes straight to Etsy.  We have 2 Etsy shops that are doing very well.

CQ: Do you have a favourite piece for sale right now?    

MtC: I have 1 item that holds a special place.  I made a Giant Red and Black Prom skirt last year. It was the first one and I was kinda testing the waters to see if anyone would like it.  I was also a little cautious about pricing it at $150.00.

Well it turns out that it was the start of something great. That skirt was an immediate success and we sold more than 40 the first year during Prom Season.  I started getting requests for the same skirt in alternate colors.  That skirt is now available in about a dozen colors with more coming. The summer Wedding season was also very good and I expect it to get better when we roll out new styles for formal events.

CQ: What do you think makes the perfect tutu?

MtC: There are several things that a skirt has to have before it can even be called a tutu. It has to be sewn not tied. It has to have a real waistband, not a piece of string or ribbon. It has to be machine washable so you can enjoy it over and over again.

To make it perfect it has to have bold or vibrant colors that are eye-catching.  It needs to be really full and pouffy.  All of our skirts are ruffled by hand.  Even the smaller skirts can have 20 yards of tulle in them.  All of those hand folded ruffles are the key to making it durable and full.

CQ: What do you find was one of the hardest things you had to overcome so far with the start up of your shop?

MtC: The first few challenges were based around finding fabric and materials in large quantities.  Even from the beginning, I wanted to make clothing that could be reproduced so we could have a full store of regular items.  It?s great to have loads of One-of-a-kind items, but they sell out so fast that it was hard to keep the inventory stocked up.

CQ: What are your future plans for MtCoffinz? Any new pieces in the works?

MtC: I am always adding new colors and styles to our inventory.  That?s the fun part.  We do all of our own screen-printing on site, so if I can?t find the right fabric?I?ll just make it!  Halloween is right around the corner, so I?ll be releasing lots of new styles. 

The future is looking pretty bright, I am planning an adding at least two full time employees to help with fabrication and production of the regular inventory items.  That will give me a lot more time to create unique items.  By Homecoming dance season, I hope to have lots of full length skirts for alternative girls.  It?s going to be really exciting!

Plus we will have lots more pictures with Miss Mischief.  She is a stunning model who works with SMP photography.  They are working with us exclusively in New England. [See above graveyard photo and right below this].

CQ: Where can readers of CreepyQueen buy and find more about you and your shop?

MtC: Google!  MTCoffinz is almost everywhere (eBay, Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LiveJournal, YouTube?)  Just type in MTCoffinz and you can find us all over.  Every account has the same name so it?s really easy to find us!

CreepyQueen: So First off, What is Shanalogic?

Shanalogic: ShanaLogic.com is an online boutique that features jewelry, accessories, plushes and apparel designed by independent artists and designers from around the world! I think it might even be the largest curated 100% indie shop there is (anyone want to challenge this? ;-)

CQ: Why did you decide to start Shanalogic?

SL: I run another site called PixelgirlPresents.com. It's a free desktops and icons site and because it's a download site, it's very expensive to run. I noticed that a lot of my artists from PixelgirlPresents.com also sold their artwork. I started featuring their prints and goods on PixelgirlPresents and well, it just sort of expanded from there!

CQ: Do you have a favourite product that's for sale right now?

SL: Haha, it's so hard to pick just one! How about I pick the few that I'm into this week? ;-) I adore the double heart padlock bracelet by marty flint, the kittle love necklace by mark poulin, the stripey armwarmers by mtcoffinz, the cupcake charm bracelet by amy secrest and the creepy bunny necklace by claire belton (it's reversible!!) Really I love everything since the site are things I specifically choose to sell.

CQ: Do you have any suggestions or tips for people that would like to start up their own independant craft business?

SL: Yes, Do what you LOVE! If you love it, people will be able to tell. If you are doing something to make a quick buck, the craft world isn't for you (trust me;-). Oh, and get an accountant!

CQ: What do you find was one of the hardest things you had to overcome so far with the start up of your shop?

SL: Originally it was dealing with the numbers and money. I ended up hiring a bookkeeper and accountant so that I didn't make anymore mistakes. I'd say the hardest thing to overcome is what's happening right now! The economy is terrible and it seems like more and more "indie shopping" portals are popping up all over the place. Many aren't curated or controlled in any way, while others market themselves as handmade but mix in mass-produced items making it confusing to the buyers. It dilutes the market and makes it hard for artists to succeed.

CQ: What are your future plans for Shanalogic?

SL: To stick around! No seriously, right now I'm in a small warehouse with 2 employees. I admit I'd like to be a tad larger (maybe 4 employees?;-). I just want to continue to be the most reliable source for independent gear on the web!

CQ: Where can readers of CreepyQueen find you and your shop?

SL: Shanalogic.com

When visiting Ms. Paige's online shops for the first time I squealed with delight.  She has a very unique style inspired by her daydreams and put down to paper and crafting to create the persona of the grave yard girls.  Her Etsy store you can find here.  On this site you can find buttons, mini top hats, and purses.  Super cute stuff:

Her website found here; you can see her cartoons, t-shirts, comics, cards, band interviews, and even bio's for

each of the grave yard girls!

This gal is beyond talented and I am extremely pleased to have her for a featured shop!