Tag Archives: hobby

Creating on Skin and in Costume: Ash Chain – Episode 42

Forty-two episodes! Does that mean my guest for this episode is the Answer to the Question of Life, The Universe and Everything?

Even if not, it’s great to chat with someone who’s found some pretty good answers to the Question of Getting Paid to Play – and I mean answers, plural! Ash Chain is not only monetising her hobby of cosplay through print sales at conventions, she’s also been able to get into a day job that is all about artistic expression and her personal interests: Tattooing.

Ash has already made her name in both the Brisbane ink and cosplay scenes, and just recently she made the move from the Big Smoke to Cairns, where she will be running a stall at our first ever pop culture convention, Tropicon!

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A Rising Star of Australian Cosplay: Vicky-Vic – Episode 41

In her handful of years in the hobby, Vicky-Vic has risen to the forefront of the Australian cosplay scene, a feat doubly impressive when she not only lives a little off the beaten track in Queensland, but also works as a registered nurse, a job that would take the spare energy out of anyone.

Nonetheless, Vicky-Vic’s enthusiasm and fantastic results have made her star rise so much that organisers of pop culture conventions across the region have begun inviting her as a guest and also a judge of their cosplay competitions. And she’s not even monetised her play (yet)!

It was a pleasure to chat with Vicky-Vic, who will be one of the three guest judges of Tropicon’s cosplay competition, about her love of the hobby, the fun folks in the scene and some of the unique difficulties of being not just an Australian cosplayer, but a slightly remote Australian cosplayer!

I also make a couple of exciting announcements on the Patreon front at the beginning of the episode!

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Episode 9: Steven Cooke, Elite Aquariums

It’s fun talking about this podcast, not just because of telling people about the interesting thing I’m doing, but also because of the folks I come across whom I realise would make great guests!

Steven Cooke is a great example. He’s a colleague of mine, and a couple of weeks ago I was telling him about Paid to Play. In response, he started telling me about his own project: Creating and building a design of aquarium that features two tanks linked together by a clear tube. Naturally I had to have him on the show!

This led to my third location recording, which turned out to be in Steve’s office at work during a lunch break. So please listen to this interview with a guy who decided to take a concept he’d had at the back of his mind for six years and turn it into something real!

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