Recently, the following new costumes have arrived: Batgirl - Gotham Girls edition, The Joker and Princess Leia.
There has been much demand for Joker and Princess Leia costumes, in particular the Joker. With that shipment also came another Batman mask, a new Batman belt and gloves for two Batman costumes. In the meantime, one of my Batman costumes got retired.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
New website updates
Lately I have been working on a new details page on my costume renting website. The changes are not live yet, but are part of paving the way to the new layout changes that are being planned.
The new details page will display details about a costume/mask/cape like what the current listing shows, but it will also show details such as popularity as well as current bookings and already has a section that displays thumbnails from the gallery section.
Per costume in the search results list, there will be new links for details, gallery and booking form. Each of these pages will also have those links.
Another new plan for the future is a step by step costume finding system for those people looking for something based on their size and availability with various filtering options to present choices of what they can possibly wear. This in turn then links to the details of the costumes again.
The new details page will display details about a costume/mask/cape like what the current listing shows, but it will also show details such as popularity as well as current bookings and already has a section that displays thumbnails from the gallery section.
Per costume in the search results list, there will be new links for details, gallery and booking form. Each of these pages will also have those links.
Another new plan for the future is a step by step costume finding system for those people looking for something based on their size and availability with various filtering options to present choices of what they can possibly wear. This in turn then links to the details of the costumes again.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
What to do in a mascot costume at a children's birthday
This is based on being in a mascot costume that does not have a cooling fan inside. Being in a full body covering costume can and will get hot in any case after a while. Having to perform for children, which involves moving around a lot, can cause even more heat issues.
Of the several times that I have been in mascot costumes at birthdays, the activities mostly included being there just for the looks and for photos. At times it was also taking part in games or just walking around as well as handing out gifts. There is of course the risk that younger children can get a fright, so being aware of it and backing back a bit is then required. Worst case scenario and last resort would be to take the head off to show the children that there is a human person underneath before putting it back on. This obviously breaks the entire illusion of the effect. Staying around for too long will also wear off the novelty, plus the extreme heat the whole time inside the costume can cause quite a loss of body fluids through sweating.
Usually for event activities it helps if the event organisers (usually parents), have some plan of what the person in the costume is supposed to do with a rough time schedule. The exact starting time is not always important, mostly the duration due to reasons mentioned above. Events can fall apart if children are doing all kinds of things and due to attention span, it does not help if there is some long or complex demonstration going on.
Finally not to forget, leaving and entering the place where an event is being held without children actually seeing the costume parts. This might cause nightmares for some and is also an illusion breaker.
Of the several times that I have been in mascot costumes at birthdays, the activities mostly included being there just for the looks and for photos. At times it was also taking part in games or just walking around as well as handing out gifts. There is of course the risk that younger children can get a fright, so being aware of it and backing back a bit is then required. Worst case scenario and last resort would be to take the head off to show the children that there is a human person underneath before putting it back on. This obviously breaks the entire illusion of the effect. Staying around for too long will also wear off the novelty, plus the extreme heat the whole time inside the costume can cause quite a loss of body fluids through sweating.
Usually for event activities it helps if the event organisers (usually parents), have some plan of what the person in the costume is supposed to do with a rough time schedule. The exact starting time is not always important, mostly the duration due to reasons mentioned above. Events can fall apart if children are doing all kinds of things and due to attention span, it does not help if there is some long or complex demonstration going on.
Finally not to forget, leaving and entering the place where an event is being held without children actually seeing the costume parts. This might cause nightmares for some and is also an illusion breaker.
Friday, June 4, 2010
How to get rid of persistent cigarette smell on clothing
Some cigarette smells are rather persistent on clothing even after a full washing cycle in the washing machine. Same problem with furniture that cannot be washed.
The solution is rather simple and based on the cleaning abilities of pure Alcohol. The process is as follows:
1. Get Vodka (43% Alcohol)
2. Get a bottle to spray liquids like used for gardening
3. Mix 10% Vodka with 90% water in that bottle
4. Spray over the smell affected areas.
The reason for this is simple: Vodka has a lot of Alcohol content. Alcohol evaporates after time. Too much Vokda/Alcohol will leave a smell, hence the severe diluting. This can be applied on car seats as well.
The solution is rather simple and based on the cleaning abilities of pure Alcohol. The process is as follows:
1. Get Vodka (43% Alcohol)
2. Get a bottle to spray liquids like used for gardening
3. Mix 10% Vodka with 90% water in that bottle
4. Spray over the smell affected areas.
The reason for this is simple: Vodka has a lot of Alcohol content. Alcohol evaporates after time. Too much Vokda/Alcohol will leave a smell, hence the severe diluting. This can be applied on car seats as well.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Increased number of requests for mascot costumes
There has been an increased number of requests for mascot costumes which have the bigger heads and which can be worn by men or women. These include Noddy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Barney, Zakumi (2010 soccer mascot) and others. Due to copyright and trademark reasons, most or all of these in the list will not be made or have to look quite different if they are going to be made.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Flooding problems
The latest rains have caused some flooding related damages. Several costumes had to be washed again and there is a bit of a mess because water got in. The wet areas have been cleared out.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Free Comic Book Day 2010 results
The annual Free Comic Book Day at the Readers Den Comic Book Shop in Claremont was quite successful, but there were a bit less people than in the previous year. It seems like all other various types of events that also took place also had less visitors from what I have been told by various people.
This year there were five people in costume for the event, plus several fans that also came dressed up. There were also the usual two prize draws. The second prize draw had numbers in different colours. The fans at least got lots of comic books, comic drawing books, T-shirts, action figures and posters as well as a decent collection of free comics that were grabbed up quickly.
This year there were five people in costume for the event, plus several fans that also came dressed up. There were also the usual two prize draws. The second prize draw had numbers in different colours. The fans at least got lots of comic books, comic drawing books, T-shirts, action figures and posters as well as a decent collection of free comics that were grabbed up quickly.
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