About Us
Name: Erik
Cosplaying since: 2008
Location: Jönköping; Sweden
Favourite media: Video games
Occupation: Mechanical Engineer
Name: Linnéa
Cosplaying since: 2007
Location: Jönköping; Sweden
Favourite media: Video games
Occupation: Teacher
Who are we?
Erik
I was always a huge nerd. Immense really. Growing up I spent most of my time on video games or watching sci-fi movies. Then I first got into contact with cosplay by attending an anime/manga convention in Sweden. At first, I was a bit skeptical towards going in costume, but after that one weekend looking at all those amazing costumes I was hooked. I had always loved costume parties and Halloween, and now I saw that you can actually do this as a hobby! Eventually I even studied mechanical engineering mainly because cosplay had gotten me hooked on 3D-printing and prop making. How about that, eh?
When I started cosplay was in its infant stage, at least in Sweden. There were no real guides or specific cosplay materials to work with. We had to rely on experimentation, blood, and sweat. And cardboard. So much cardboard. However, I would quickly immerse myself in the Swedish cosplay community by attending conventions and even a few competitions. I’ve been in both the Swedish Championship, where I’ve even place top three, and the Nordic Championship. After a while, I even started my own convention together with some friends. We ran this convention once a year for about five years, and during that time we tried our best to promote and grow cosplay in Sweden. We even set the foundation for many things Sweden, like having cosplay performance a critical portion of a competition, and eventually we also ran qualifiers for the Swedish Cosplay Championship. Even though it was very tough and probably the most stressful times in my life, I do not regret it. And as long as we introduced at least one person to cosplay, I am happy!
What I love about cosplay is both the community, and how many ways one can “do cosplay”. There are no rules for how you can make a costume, and you are just as likely to find a real-life blacksmith making a metal armor as you are to find a kindergarten teacher making a spacesuit! So many different techniques and materials to bring your favorite characters to life; it is truly amazing. Then to share this with others, be it photo shoots, performances, or simply hanging out, is something I think everyone would enjoy.
Linnéa
I was actually cosplaying way before I knew it was called cosplay! When I was eight I used to make Sailor Moon-tiaras out of paper and ran around the entire house fighting crooks. Through Sailor Moon they jump wasn't far to manga, and through manga I learned about cosplay. Ten years later when I was eighteen I realized that cosplay was actually a -thing- and that it even existed in Sweden!
It didn't take me long to gather my manga-loving friends, and together we fought with needles and thread for an entire summer to finish our costumes (from Naruto of course, nothing was more hip at that time) in time for our first convention.
Looking back I'm slightly embarrased by the horrifying creation I had made, but I remember how proud I was of my cosplay when it was finished. Me and my friends went to the convention and were spellbound by the new world that opened up for us. Everyone had the same interests as us!
After that I was stuck. I ate, breathed and lived cosplay throughout all of my remaining school years. I wanted to try everything cosplay had to offer! I competed; both in smaller competitions, but also in larger ones such as the Swedish Cosplay Championships and the Nordic Cosplay Championships.I won several awards, made memories for life and met so many amazing friends.
The years passed and I started getting invited as a competition judge to various conventions, which gave me an entirely new perspective on cosplay! I started holding lectures on my favorute cosplay topics (mostly makeup and prop-making) and I even started getting invited to other countries as a cosplay-guest at conventions. After that several different companies got in touch with different cosplay-related job offers, and since I still wanted to try everything cosplay had to offer I accepted, and today I work with cosplay part-time! I work as a blogger, YouTuber and promoter for different companies, where I review products, new cosplay material, work with social media and every now and then I work as an official cosplayer at events.
Cosplay has turned my entire life upside down, and I'm so glad I've managed to incorporate it into my life on a daily basis! The absolute best thing about cosplay, which I honestly after over ten years can say, is all the fantastic people I've gotten to know over the years. They have inspired me, hyped me and helped me become the cosplayer I am today!
Us
So how did all of that lead up to MitterMakes Cosplay Studio?
Well, after all these years of trying out pretty much everything cosplay had to offer us, we sat down and had a long talk about what our next step would be. We knew we wanted to do something together as a duo, something that felt meaningful and combined our favorite parts of cosplay. Something that also gave back to the community that had given so much to us. The answer was simple: MitterMakes Cosplay Studio was born!
As a studio, we're able to focus on lecturing, workshops and helping the next generation of cosplayers. We've held countless of workshops all around Sweden, open for everyone to attend but mainly focusing on youth and kids. Last year we founded Jönköping's School of Cosplay, where we tutored an entire class for a year. On top of that, we judge cosplay contests, sell merch and accessories both on events and online, and spend a lot of time making custom ordered commissions both for cosplayers and for companies. Through the network we've built we're able to have MitterMakes Cosplay Studio as our part time job, and we couldn't be more thankful and happy! This studio is our ultimate passion project, and we're super excited to see where it takes us in the future!