At the start of this year, we decided we’d be getting “Back into the swing of things”. That meant I’d be abdicating responsibility to do any work in the field, and instead would force Sam Kittrel to go.
Folks, he did go. He even hired a photographer to this very website. Danielle is solely responsible for haranguing two Phoenix, Arizona cosplayers until they agreed to work with us.
You may not be familiar with ElfyAubrie and KrashCosplay now, but you will be after this. They were nice enough to take time out of their busy schedule to allow us to interview both of them, at the same time. We don’t think Sam Kittrel has ever done this before, but boy: was it fun to watch him sweat!
DH.COM: Hello. We’ll start this off simply, how long have you been cosplaying?
Krash: I’ve been cosplaying since 2011.
Elfy: Aaaand 2012.
DH.COM: What got you into cosplaying? Were you into crafts beforehand?
Krash: I was always very creative as a kid. I taught myself to sew, always kind of an inventor and finding new ways to do things. One of my nerd friends invited me to Comicon. I was like “Okay that’s fiiine.” He told me “You gotta make a costume.” It was no problem. Fell in love ever since.
Elfy: My mom is one of the craftiest people ever and she always was there when I had projects at school. Some kids would just do whatever but ours were pop-ups and all that stuff. I’ve always been super crafty and then I got into World of Warcraft. I was like “I’m gonna make my character!” My sister and I went to a photoshoot for that and then I was like “let’s go to a con!” and me and my husband went on our anniversary. It’s been kind of thing. It’s actually our anniversary today!
DH.COM: So did the two of you know each other before you started cosplaying?
Krash: We didn’t know each other but then we met at a con.
DH.COM: Your friendship is definitely rooted in that. Has cosplaying brought you together?
Krash and Elfy: Ohhhh yeah.
Krash: 100%
Elfy: AAC Was the con we met at though!
Krash: Amazing Arizona Con, it’s dead now.
Krash / Elfy: (laughter) dead con!
DH.COM: I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.
DH.COM (Danielle): How has cosplaying brought you two together? I know you met through a con, but how has it impacted your friendship?
Krash: It’s literally brought us closer together, because when we used to take photos together we’d have this weird gap between us. After the years we get closer and closer. It’s literally brought us closer.
DH.COM (Danielle): I saw you did have one print where you’re like – on top of Elfy
Krash: Ohhh yeah. That took a lot of alcohol.
Elfy: (laughs) It was fun though. It brings us out of our shells.
DH.COM (Danielle): What’s a con you’ve always wanted to go to but haven’t had a chance to attend yet?
Elfy: Dragoncon
Krash: Blizzcon
Elfy: Oh god yeah hers way more.
Krash: Blizzcon is our first but we could like never go.
Elfy: Blizzcon I don’t count as a normal con. It’s such a different thing. I don’t count that it’s a normal con – so it’s Blizzcon but my normal con is Dragoncon.
DH.COM (Danielle): Would you go as guests or as fans?
Krash: Going as guests would be the ideal. It’d be too overwhelming I think.
DH.COM: What are some cosplay goals you’re working toward now?
Elfy: We hit our first guest booth last year, what’s the next one – oh we’d love to be guests internationally.
Krash: That’d be the dream.
Elfy: Or even another state!
DH.COM: You could put the little flag on your Instagram.
Elfy: We were invited here, but it’d be another state. She (Krash) was invited to another state but we couldn’t make it. Another one where they pay for everything would be awesome, and after that a different country.
DH.COM: What is a favorite cosplay you’ve done in the last few years?
Krash: This one. The one we wore yesterday, the one before that. It sucks because every time we wear a new cosplay we’re like “This is our new favorite!” But then we have to go look at our old prints and be like “oh no, that was our favorite…that was our favorite…” So we really like all of them.
DH.COM: I can imagine when you put a lot of effort and time into something and put it on – you’re gonna be like this is incredible, I made this.
Elfy: Top five answers, because I was looking through my book yesterday and someone asked me this so I know five: Genderbend Scarecrow, Umbreon Apocalypse, My Imp, Skeletor’s a new one, I forgot the other one. It’s hard because you get so many favorites.
Krash: Charizard will always be top because that was my first big build. Punk Bowser, because once I did that I made her a new Punk Mario. We got a ton of people in that. It just keeps building and a ton of people come up to us going “We wanna join the group!” I’m always saying “JOIN THE GROUP!” We love it. Marty Mcfly will always be the top as well.
Elfy: Squirtle Squad will probably be a new favorite too.
Elfy / Krash: SQUIRTLE SQUAD!
DH.COM: What has your experience been getting to know other cosplayers through the show? Has the attitude been supportive?
Krash: Totally supportive. Everyone pushes everyone else to be better. I feel like this idea of hostile cosplayer drama is kind of idealized. It’s not real. Once you know the people – then it’s different. Of course you’re gonna hate other people for doing certain things. In the end you love them because they’ve done such a good job.
Elfy: There was one person who split the community. She went through like a tornado and everyone split – but when she left everyone became extra amazing.
Krash: Yeah. Extra supportive.
Elfy: Like two years ago everyone became incredible – we all love each other and there’s nobody like that. Everyone in the Arizona community loves eachother. We’re so supportive.
DH.COM(Danielle): Is there a material you love to work with but is really challenging, or something you can’t because it’s too expensive?
Elfy: The one I wore yesterday was like that faux-crocodile-leather stuff. It’s the worst to work with but it’s the best looking.
Krash: Worbla. You feel like you can get used to it, but then you start using a different kind of Worbla that works completely different and it just confuses you.
DH.COM(Danielle): You teach a class about Worbla right?
Krash: Yeah I just use the basic bitch Worbla which is the tan one – then you get the black one which is way easier, way faster to melt so we’re going “Oh crap don’t overheat it!” Then we get the clear one which you get like a five second window with. It turns completely into liquid after or doesn’t get hot enough. So you really have to know your material to work with Worbla.
Elfy: And we haven’t got to use the new threaded Worbla
Krash: Yeah, you can sew through it.
Elfy: We really want to work with it – it’d be good for bras and corsets and that kind of thing. It’d be good for that. You can sew through it and it’ll stay there to hold the boobs.
Athoria games has a booth and they sell all of the Worblas. You can get it in any size too, quarter sheet/half sheet.
Krash: Athoria Games! It’s in Mesa. On Recker and Main.
DH.COM(Danielle): Two questions off topic. What’s your favorite place to eat?
Krash: Olive Garden.
Elfy: (laughs) Texas Roadhouse.
Krash: Ohh god that too.
DH.COM(Danielle): If you were your favorite food what food would you be?
Krash: Hamburger.
Elfy: Steak
DH.COM(Danielle): What if your personality were a food?
Krash: Candy. Chocolate.
Elfy: Ooooh, Chocolate. (laughs)
Krash: You would be chocolate.
Elfy: I love chocolate.
DH.COM: You’ve been cosplaying for a while, would you ever see yourselves transitioning into professional costuming?
Krash: A hundred percent.
Elfy: I was a child actress! My whole family – there were like six of us kids. I was on the cereal box and all the stuff like that. I could see myself going back in with costumes and it’d be even better. My mom was good at training us and we were good – but adding my stuff in now and making it better.
Krash: From all that we’ve learned from cosplaying it would definitely help to go in now rather than going in before.
This is the part where our interviewers said their humble goodbyes and parted ways for the duration of the con. It wasn’t much longer that they headed back on the road home. Folks, remember, no matter how many cosplayers you interview, there are two things that are important in life:
Everything ends, and ten minutes is enough for an interview.