We’re excited to announce that h+h americas 2023 will feature a Cosplay Exhibit showcasing the handmade works of several incredible artists from the cosplay community!

We’ve long admired the cosplay community for their creative ingenuity and passion for crafting. We reached out to yarn artist and cosplayer Alex Moore, AKA Alex is Crafting, to help us gather some of the best cosplay artists for an exhibit on the showroom floor. Alex is a long-time yarn cosplayer and current President of the NYC Crochet Guild. She exchanged fabric for knitting and crocheting her costumes and now has 20 yarn cosplays. She has an Etsy shop, MooreWarmth, does freelance work for yarn companies and conventions running cosplay contests, and competes in the cosplay convention circuit in her yarn costumes. 

h+h americas 2023 will also feature a panel discussion: Creation, Cosplay, and Your Brand. Taking place on the Main Stage on Thursday, June 22, from 1:00-1:45 pm, Creation, Cosplay and Your Brand will reveal the many aspects of creating cosplay, how brands can engage with and market products to cosplayers, where cosplayers tend to shop and what they buy, and more. Alex Moore will be joined by Timothy Harrison of HDC Fabrication, cosplayer Maggie Hofmann of Paisley and Glue, and Sebastian Moore of Famoré Cutlery. We encourage h+h americas attendees and exhibitors to attend the panel to meet the makers and businesses supporting the cosplay community. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the various products cosplayers use when building their intricate, artisanal, mixed media costumes, which more often than not utilize products that traverse the boundaries of hard and soft crafting. Take this opportunity to ask questions, engage in dialogue, and learn more about which products you may already stock or want to include in your stores to attract cosplayers. We want this panel discussion to provide knowledge and insight so you understand how to support the growing cosplay community moving forward.

Cosplay is truly a craft that unites both the hard and soft craft industries. With makers utilizing everything from beads to yarn, fabrics, silicon, metals, plastic, electronics, leather, plaster, and more, craft businesses would be wise to tune in to the cosplay community!

This year’s Cosplay Exhibit features over 10 cosplayers’ work on display. Please enjoy a sneak peek at a small selection of cosplayers you can anticipate seeing at the show.

Deontrinese Irvin AKA  Ahdorkable

Deontrinese Irvin, AKA Dee or @ah_dorkable, is a Georgia-based content creator and cosplayer who crochets magical characters inspired by all things cutesy and sparkly. The above cosplay drew inspiration from a photo of a strawberry mini cake she saw online! The cosplay took more than 200 hours to complete and includes a handmade wig, beaded embroidery, resin work, and special silicon frosted shoes. Dee has been cosplaying for 8 years and knitting and crocheting for 10 years. Her pieces are whimsical, and while she does derive content from anime and animated characters, a lot of her cosplay draws inspiration from objects (like strawberry mini cakes) to create wholly unique pieces. Dee also hosts a shop with beaded jewelry and resin and crochet accessories.

Maggie Hofmann AKA PaisleyandGlue

Maggie Hofmann of @paisleyandglue has worked professionally as a costume cutter/draper for theatre and tv/film for nearly 15 years in the Chicagoland area and is a member of IATSE Local 769. She has freelanced at various theatres throughout the region, as well as being a staff draper at several Chicago area theaters and is currently the Head of Costume Technology at DePaul University. Maggie is also a veteran award-winning cosplay maker with 8 years experience creating cosplay costumes for herself and others and is the author of Smocking Secrets (C&T Publishing, 2022). Her work has been published in several cosplay and theatrical magazines and featured on websites such as CosplayCentral and marvel.com. She creates educational maker content online under the name PaisleyandGlue on all social media accounts. Her “Rococo Winifred Sanderson” is an original redesign of the classic costume from the movie Hocus Pocus, imagining the character set in a late 18th century robe a la polonaise.

Rebecca de Leon AKA QUIKCOSPLAY

Rebecca de Leon AKA @QUIKCOSPLAY is a full-time homeschooling parent to 2 kids who also runs a cosplay business on the side for the virtual reality space. She makes costumes on her own time, at her own pace. Once completed, Rebecca works with the studios from which the character originated and travels with them to conventions or makes advertising content for their games. 

The above character is a goblin vendor named Cleepto from the VR tabletop RPG game, Demeo. He’s made of a mix of materials including foam clay, acrylics, LEDs, upholstery fabrics, leather, PVC pipes, and household items. 

Emily Sanner AKA EmilySewsner

Emily Sanner aka @emilysewsner started cosplaying to build a portfolio for school and it ended up becoming a more permanent hobby. She graduated The Theatre School at DePaul University class of 2021 with a BFA in Costume Technology. Emily currently works full time as a stitcher/craftsperson for Marriott Theatre. Her Princess Serenity from Sailor Moon cosplay (above) was made with polyester satin, chiffon, cotton twill,  jersey knit, tulle, assorted trims, beading, and cricut vinyl.

We hope you enjoyed this sneak peek at some of the cosplayers featured at h+h americas 2023! Remember to secure your tickets to the show and stop by the Cosplay Exhibit, located next to the Craft and Create zone.