o hai!

I’m Charlotte-Marie, AKA Atra Materia, AKA the Drunken Tailor.

Why am I a Drunken Tailor?

Because I can barely walk a straight line, let alone sew one. >_> (And it’s not even because the rum is gone! The rum’s not gone. Mostly. I’m just a delightful derp.)

I’ve been reading, watching, and mentally living in various alternative histories and properly-fantastic worlds since I was a wee tiny pre-tailor, and of course I’ve always loved Halloween, but it wasn’t until I started attending Renaissance Faires and other similarly-themed events that making my own costumes became such a significant part of that.

I do have serious interest in historic fashion, and I love researching for the sheer joy of learning, but when I’m making costumes for myself, I generally stick to more fantastic interpretations. Even when I’ve approximated historically-accurate garments, I tend to use modern materials and methods of construction. I have chronic illnesses that render hand-sewing (at least more than a few stitches) anywhere from difficult to painful to outright impossible, and because I’m living on an extremely tight budget, I’m most often not able to insist on having only period-appropriate components. For me, it’s more important to be able to complete an outfit, and feel good wearing it, than it is to be able to say, “Yes, I did this perfectly according to time and style!” (Though I have huge amounts of respect and admiration for costumers who can manage that, so I’m by no means knocking it! And any time you want someone to dress up properly, well, I’m right over here. ^.~)

Because crafting can be so hard on me and I can’t sew from measurements alone anyway, I don’t generally take commmissions or have finished clothing items for sale, but I do occasionally toss accessories and other cute-type things into my shop, Gingerdead House!