Meet Your Board: A.J. Wu, Webmaster

Why costuming? What brought you here?

I started out making clothes. One Halloween, I decided to make a costume and I got super duper obsessive over the details because that kind of thing is fun for me. I had so much fun with it that I went online to find other people who enjoyed costuming, and discovered cosplay. You mean I can dress up in costumes all year?! And that was that.

What’s your costuming focus?

What focus??? I am distracted by every shiny pretty costume that crosses my path. My costume wish list is so long, I’m not sure I should talk about it. (It has a bit of everything: cosplay, tv/movies, historical, manga, comic books.)

Do you do anything else crafty or artistic?

I do traditional Chinese dancing. Does that count?

What’s your day job?

I am a software engineer at an education tech company.

What was the first costume you made? Is there a picture?

It was the Halloween costume I mentioned before: Nefreteri from The Mummy Returns.

What’s on the sewing table now?

Embroidery tests for some hanfu designs.

What was your first/most memorable costuming disaster/ learning moment?

Most memorable was having to go to the emergency room because I slipped with a knife while carving foam and sliced my finger open. I went into the house to show Judy (my bff and roommate at the time), and she went: OMG, wrapped my finger in some cloth and rushed me into the car. We were halfway down the street before we both realized we had no idea where the nearest hospital was. LOL 

They super-glued my back together in the emergency room, and now I have a scar and story. 

Judy’s diagram of the incident afterwards:

Costume you’re most proud of?

Probably the 18th century frock coat I made for my husband to wear to Versailles.

What’s your holy grail costuming project? The one you dream of doing?

The Crimson Typhoon drivesuit from Pacific Rim.

Tell us one (or two or three) things about you that others might not know.

I am the human equivalent of Dory from Finding Nemo. I can’t remember anything. I have written lists for everything and multiple list apps on my phone to try to track things. (You should see my Larvae running after me reminding me of things I’ve forgotten.) This is all to say: Sorry in advance if I ever forget a conversation or a name or anything! If you ever tell me something, make sure I write it down right away so I don’t forget!