I actually got into all of this as a bit of an accident.

Throughout middle and high school, I was always involved with drama teams of some sort, and loved helping provide costumes, props, and makeup for performers, as well as acting in skits and plays. Despite being terribly shy, this was one area where I felt I could excel, and so I focused on costume design. As personal web sites became more common in the late 90's, I made my own web page to showcase some of the concept artwork and costumes I had come up with. Throughout the years, I added things here and there, but never really kept up with it.

In 2009, I left my job at a finance company to pursue other interests. That same summer, I was contacted by Cookie magazine - their editor had seen my personal web page, and wanted to use a faux fur wolf tail I'd featured there as part of her photo shoot for an easy, DIY kids' costume from the movie, "Where the Wild Things Are," due for release that fall.

Shortly after the magazine issue came out, I started receiving e-mails from people interested in purchasing little fake wolf tails. It was then that I decided to open an Etsy storefront, in order to help accept and track orders without having to use e-mail correspondence for each one. I'm so glad I did! The response was overwhelming, and my first Halloween season as a business owner started with a bang.

It didn't stop there, though. My husband, who makes jewelry for a hobby, had signed up for a booth at a local anime and gaming convention that October. The people that purchased the booth next to ours never showed up to claim their table, and since the convention was relatively new, the dealer coordinator told us that we could fill in the space if we had anything more to put out for sale, to avoid an empty table left in that corner of the room. I had a surplus of wolf tails at the time, above and beyond what had been commissioned from Etsy buyers, so I brought some with me to put out for sale the next day. I was shocked to find out that, not only did parents want these accessories for their kids' Halloween costumes, but convention attendees wanted them for their outfits, as well. It was then that I realized that this could be a full time job, not just a seasonal gig.

The next year, I spent my time coordinating which conventions to attend and sell my products at. I tried a few close to home, and a few further out, and overall, the response was the same: People wanted cute fuzzy accessories, and it didn't matter if the convention fell during the heat of summer or the chill of winter. I expanded my product line to include fox tails of every color I could get my hands on, coordinating ears, cat tails for those that wanted something a little slinkier, and recently, leg warmers, hooded scarves, and wrist cuffs to round out the outfit. As I grew my product line, my business continued to grow, and now I even work with a local costume boutique to provide quality hand-made faux fur accessories.

Through my business, I have traveled to cities throughout the southeast that I probably never would have considered visiting, met hundreds of fantastic people that share an enthusiasm for costuming and creativity, and built a product line that I am able to continue to work on from home, even after the arrival of our baby girl. I look forward to expanding further, offering more color choices and more quality accessories to people wanting to dress up just for the fun of it. It doesn't matter what demographic you happen fall under, we all have a wild side wanting to come out, and my accessories will help with that!

In 2014, I started making soap and bath accessories, and opened another shop here on Etsy, called Scrub Oak Soaps, which can be found in the links below.