Steampunk Maker Spotlight: an Interview with Tayliss Forge, Part 1
Introducing Tayliss Forge
I'm having so much fun getting to know the various talented contestants from GSN TV's Steampunk'd. This time, welcome Tayliss Forge, steampunk, geek, cosplayer, model, and maker. Tayliss made some great costumes for the show and continues creating gorgeous outfits. All the pictures here are by Simply Colorful. His link is in the interview.
Tayliss is friendly and thoughtful, and maybe you noticed, she's also beautiful.
The Interview
Jonathan Fesmire: Hello Tayliss! First, could you share a bit about yourself for our readers?
Tayliss Forge: Hello! As the title suggests, I make steampunky things. I’ve been making costumes for the past five years and sell accessories in my own Etsy shop. While my main focus is steampunk, I like making replica props, jewelry, and accessories from video games, movies, anime, etc. I’m a marketing major, but I just started a fashion design certificate this fall to help with my costuming abilities. I was also a contestant on a show called Steampunk’d and designed costumes during five of the eight episodes. I do model my own cosplays and use modeling as a part time job.
I absolutely love attending conventions. Comikaze and Anime Expo are two that I attend every year and I attend any steampunk events that I can afford. I love gaming and I wish I could afford all the money and time it requires! I also play Dungeons and Dragons and other table top games with friends.
JF: Has business picked up since you began appearing on Steampunk’d?
TF: Actually, business hasn’t picked up. The holidays are my busiest time of time year and sales have been about the same as previous years.
JF: Before we move on, what else would you like to share about being on the first steampunk reality show?
This will be a bit long haha. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]
Being on a TV show is something I never thought I would do in a million years. Walking onto set every day I would kind of freak out inside and think, "WAIT! How did I get here?!" Like I spoke about in last night's episode, I was made fun of for being a nerd. I dressed differently and was the president of Anime Club in high school. Believe it or not, people would tease me about my appearance for how white and short I am. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]
Going to conventions/events during college and finding my place in the cosplay/steampunk world opened my eyes to new places and people. I found a home with a community that wanted to help you succeed and be whoever you want to be. Of course, there are the internet trolls who want to tear you down. I had a hard time when I first started making things five years ago with fighting that. Brushing them off was not easy and it still hurts sometimes when people you look up to feed you directly to the trolls.
Being on this show, I hoped that I could help show everyone what steampunk is to me. It's not backstabbing or elitism. It is helping others shine and creating art in the community. There are stories, characters, and aesthetics yet to be explored!
Being eliminated was not an end for me at all. I'm only 22! I still kept making when the elimination actually happened. I will continue to keep making. I am a costumer, a model, a cosplayer, and a geek first and foremost. I am not a celebrity. I am an artist expressing what this community is to me. The show wasn't about me; it was never about me. For me, it's about art. I gave what I could. I was very happy to be home.
It's good to be with my friends. Hearing all of your praises and flipping of zee tables over my loss makes me very sad. There are still many more artists left to root for way more deserving than I. I’m creating another family with some of the contestants. I love them to death. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]
JF: You’re already an accomplished costume/cosplay designer. How did you get into that?
TF: I actually started in high school making jewelry out of recycled soda cans. I did that for about half a year and then began making chokers and modifying other accessories. I really wanted to make a steampunk costume, but had no machine sewing skills. I hand sewed my entire first costume and second costume. I later found a sewing machine I liked and got further into leather working.
JF: Why costuming as opposed to other forms of creative expression?
TF: I was always a fan of acting in theater performances. I didn’t like who I was and being in theater helped me become somebody else. In costuming, I can help myself and others become who they truly are inside. I am much more confident in a costume where I am normally an introvert who prefers to work alone watching Netflix.
JF: That definitely explains how the show could be especially stressful Many of us creative types are introverted and have the most fun when we’re making something new. Anyway, you create costumes and accessories. Do you do any other maker crafts?
TF: Props can be a lot of fun. Making a staff from League of Legends for Hextech Janna was one of my bigger accomplishments. I also create 3D models for custom signet rings and other jewelry. They’re later printed into sterling silver or stainless steel.
JF: I understand you’re going to school for sewing now, which is great! Are you pursuing a degree?
TF: Yup! I just started a couple months ago at a community college. It’s been rather dull so far because we’re learning the basics. Just getting through the prerequisites so I can get to the complex stuff! I cannot afford to transfer to an art school, but I can get a certificate in fashion design. Corset making is even a required class for that certificate!
JF: We’ve talked a bit about the fact that you play role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons with friends. Is steampunk your favorite genre to play in?
TF: Actually, no. I’ve always been a sci-fi and fantasy type person. I prefer a traditional fantasy tabletop game to a steampunk one. As much as steampunk is a huge part of my life, I have many more interests.
JF: Please tell us about your favorite original character that you like to role play. Also, have you done a cosplay of her?
TF: My favorite character to role play is my Time Sorceress. She’s a time traveler and can be hired to do various tasks with her abilities. She’s not very nice though. If you can’t pay up, you’re absolutely useless to her. Since she is an elven time traveler from the past, she brings fantasy elements into steampunk fashions of the Victorian and Edwardian ages. She is fascinated by these eras so a lot of her clothing is inspired by them. Her costume is one of my most well-known original costumes especially for the original steampunk wire-wrap elf ears I created for it.
JF: You post a lot of stunning pictures of yourself on Facebook, taken by Simply Colorful. When did you begin modeling for this photographer?
TF: A lot of where I am today is thanks to Simply Colorful. I would not have good pictures of my costumery without him. We met a little over four years ago at Anime Expo. I was wearing my first steampunk costume and he thought it was very unique. He invited me to do a shoot with him the following day in that costume. He was my first photographer and I was his first model. We’ve been working together ever since.
JF: That’s fantastic. I love working and networking with other creative people. What are some of your favorite conventions to attend?
TF: I always attend Anime Expo and Comikaze. I’ve been attending Anime Expo for six years and Comikaze for three. I got to attend Steamposium in Seattle a few months ago and it was a blast! Definitely would go back.
JF: Thank you for the interview! It’s always a pleasure to chat with you.
TF: No problem and with as well! Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and love.
Forever in your debt,
~Tayliss
More Soon
This is just the first part of Tayliss’s interview! A funny thing happened when I sent her the questions. I’m sure most can relate. I attached the wrong file, and Tayliss got the long list I use for question ideas! She answered many of them before we figured out the problem. I then sent her the file I had originally meant for her. However, she gave great answers to the sample questions, so I’ll be posting her answers to those in two more posts over the next two weeks.
Update
In Other News
NaNoWriMo is going great! I missed one day this month, but otherwise have been writing every night and am on track to win this year. Funny thing is, that will be 50,000 words of Bodacious Creed: a Steampunk Zombie Western, and I still might not be done with the first draft. If not, I’ll keep writing at least 1,700 words per day until it’s finished.
My current word count totals are 1,174 for last night (I had a very busy day and wrote what I could, and also planned out more story events), 33,014 for NaNoWriMo, and 113,805 words total.
I’m now active on Twitter, sharing news, writing tips, and various steampunk things, so feel free to follow me there. If you’d like to read the first Bodacious Creed prequel story, The Obstructed Engine, about a brothel, fights, and a dead cat, just sign up for the newsletter below.
Feel free to comment on this interview.
