Presenters

Author Mary Abreu juggles writing sewing books with her work as a seamstress for film and TV productions and teaching sewing to people of all ages.

Robert Allsopp has worked professionally as a costume prop maker for over 30 years in film, theatre and television. He is best known in fandom circles for his work on the long running BBC TV series Doctor Who, which continues to this day.

Mera and Dustin Babineaux own Prop House 42 Productions and Shimmer and Shade. Mera is also the VP of the ICG. As award winning production designers for both screen and stage, they specialize in disability costuming and tour conventions to promote anti-bullying & disability awareness & acceptance.

Model, cosplayer, speaker and enthusiast. Tony works diligently to promote the steampunk, cosplay, modeling and maker communities as a whole. He travels extensively around the United states working within the various communities in a variety of roles.

Alexa Black is a artist and costume maker for film and television, having worked on such features as Rampage and Venom as well as TV series like Originals, Daytime Divas and Greenleaf.

Randy Blades is currently the Department Head of Drama at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL. He holds a MFA from Penn State in Costume Design and has designer and constructed costumes for theaters across the country.

The Chameleon spins it all together for performing and teaching. She has been in the books, behind the scenes, and on the boards for over 30 years. Sixteen of those years have been devoted to her “wife,” Burlesque. They have taught workshops and hosted panels on the pin-up lifestyle and their 7 Virtues of Burlesque philosophy, vintage styling techniques, and alternative lifestyle and compassionate costuming.

Chance Chancellor is both an award-winning leather artisan and a leather instructor for 11 years. Since starting, he's taught over 1,900 hours of leather classes ranging from the mundane to other worldly. Areas of expertise encompass design and construction of leather accessories to professional consultation and custom costume design.

Bryan Doell, aka Character Lab, is an award winning costume and prop designer, fabricator, and cosplayer. Bryan is also owner of Bryan Doell's Character Lab.

Freddy Clements is currently a Professor of Drama/ Costume Design at Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville AL. He holds a MFA in Costume Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has designed costumes for various regional theatres and has extensive experience in early Twentieth Century corsetry, kilt construction, and costume technology.

Sahrye Cohen and Hal Rodriguez are the authors of the exciting new book Make It, Wear It: Wearable Electronics for Makers, Crafters, and Cosplayers. She is the co-founder and chief designer of the tech couture design group, Amped Atelier. She teaches workshops on wearable electronics for costumers and cosplayers.

Pamela Cole is a professional Costumier, graduated from Goodman Theater- Chicago over 40 years ago and continues working with dance companies, movies, museums, reenactors, in the greater Atlanta area and is head of costuming for Atlanta’s Capitol City Opera Company. She has been involved with Dragon Con’s costuming track from the beginning.

Kathleen O'Shea David is a puppeteer, writer, editor, costumer, Equity Stage Manager, No Strings Attached Custom Puppets, co-creator of Headcases, canonical Dr. Who author, Star Wars editor, Star Trek writer, Ghostbusters comic-book writer, Shakespeare lover, admirer of Dumas and Verne, Sherlock Holmes aficionado, wife, and mother.

Walter Dean is a premiere costume designer who specializes in custom-made costumes. He brings characters to life. He has been featured in Marvel Studio’s Marvel Becoming: Dora Milaje, and Yaya Hahn’s book, 1000 Incredible Costume & Cosplay Ideas. He was cited in Huffington post as a “designer to watch.”

Chris Donio is a specialty costumer for film and television, with his most recent credit being Antman & the Wasp.

With 35 years of experience in leather costuming Chuck has had products appear in a number of major motion pictures, television series and theatrical productions. He produces and appears in all the on-line leather craft videos for Weaver Leather Craft.

David Elder has been making semi-realistic fursuit heads and partial suits since 2014. He started with a desire to make one costume for Dragon Con. Primarily for hobby, he has created more than a dozen different creatures since that time and with no signs of slowing down.

Dax ExclamationPoint, is a cosplaying drag performer that has taken the world by storm...literally. The "queen of all nerds" (as seen on season eight of RuPaul's Drag Race) is paving the way for LGBTQ+ nerds to make their way into the forefront of popular culture!

From creating superhero costume armor to sculpting super large scale set pieces, fabricator of fantasy, Sarah Falls, can tell you the horrors and joys of working in the film business, as one of the sets of hands that makes movie magic happen.

Paige Gardner is an award-winning costume designer whose eccentric masks, bizarre props and original costumes make her art recognizable world-wide. Gardner’s high-profile costumes have featured in multiple media channels as well as bestselling books on Steampunk and cosplay. Her costume art projects have exhibited across North America.

Ginger Holley is a costume designer, wardrobe supervisor and creature fabricator for film.

Tom Hutchens is the founder/CEO of the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club. He is the Mandalorian armorsmith; combining ancient techniques with today's technology to create hyper-realistic Mandalorian armor costumes.

Professional costume designer, Costume model, and internet personality. She has appeared on Syfy channels Cosplay Melee as well as worked on costuming jobs for Blizzard Entertainment and the magazine Cosplay Culture. She has created/worn a costume for an HBO original series.

Catherine Jones is the owner of GSTQ Fashions, a costume company in Atlanta, GA. Catherine and her team have done work for Microsoft, Blizzard, and Hi-Rez Studios. Their work has been seen on Sony's POWERS, NBC's Constantine, AMC's Preacher, Fox's The Gifted, and Netflix's True Memoirs of an International Assassin.

Cheralyn Lambeth is a costume/prop/puppet builder whose work includes films (The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Hunger Games), television (Dinosaurs!, Homeland), live properties (Avenue Q, Star Trek: The Experience), and books (Haunted Theaters of the Carolinas, Creating the Character Costume: Tools, Tips, and Talks with Top Costumers and Cosplayers).

Dr. Leigh A. Willis, is a self-styled renaissance, passionate second-generation geek. He is a scientist, gamer, cosplay photographer, podcaster, comic collector. He is the founder of Dr. LAW's Photolab, which specializes in cosplay photography and a part of the Stuff We Like Stuff We Hate Podcast on soundcloud.

Founded Robot Costumes USA in 2002 producing custom costumes for Corporations, TV, Film and Theme Parks all over the world.

Leah Lloyd of Lamia Creations is an award-winning costumer with decades of experience behind a sewing machine. With a firm basis in historical recreation, she specializes in multicultural interpretations of well-known characters.

Travis Scott Merrill is currently working as an ager/dyer in IATSE local 479. His work can be seen in Macgyver season 1 and 2, Allegiant, Stranger Things, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Live by Night, and Avengers Infinity War.

Mikal Mosley is currently a designer and creator of stagewear and costumes for private clients and celebrities, including WWE Superstars, rappers, and NFL football players. In addition to creating more than 350 costumes from a variety of genres, he also designs and fabricates props for stage plays and television shows.

International DJ Neon the Glowogobear has performed around North America and has performed as such events as Toronto Pride, Chicago Market Days, and GayDays! He plays a blend of music from every decade with his signature sound and DragonCon gets a special set just for us!

Progenitor of Dim Horizon Studio Matt Nicholson has been telling unique stories with photography for over a decade. With his creative eye and drive to serve the creative community he has partnered with many throughout those years to capture exciting moments while also championing the hard work of those talented souls that play as the centerpiece for those moments. With numerous awards, shows and published work under his belt, Matt continues to serve all aspects of the creative community be it cosplay photography, family portraiture, and even wedding photography.

Alexis Noriega of The Crooked Feather is best known for her work with animatronic and pneumatic articulating wings and high tech costume props. She has been featured on the Discovery Science Channel, several news networks, and has created wings for such celebrities as R. Kelly, Jessica Nigiri, and Masuimi Max.

Leah is a Los Angeles-based performer and puppet fabricator for stop motion animation. Most recently, she built puppets for “Supermansion: Season 3,” out now on Crackle. She also fabricates specialty props, puppets and costume items for theater and film and frequently performs in local puppet slams in L.A.

Sean Michael Patton is a 20+ year costume design veteran and principal for SMP Designs and has designed more than 40 stage productions, 8 short films, 5 features and numerous media projects for clients around the world.

Hal Rodriguez and Sahrye Cohen are the authors of the exciting new book Make It, Wear It: Wearable Electronics for Makers, Crafters, and Cosplayers. Hal Rodriguez is the co-founder and chief technologist of the tech couture design group, Amped Atelier.

Ginger Rowland Wig and Hair Stylist. I am head hair extension and special occasion styling educator for Van Michael as well as creative director for the Midtown location.

Latoya's a Creative Director, Cosplayer, & Comic Fan. But when "adulting", is an Emergency Management Specialist.

Michelle Sleeper is an Atlanta based maker, artist, and educator. She specializes in special FX and prop and costume making.

Stephen Taylor has been creating costumes for over 15 years. He is the owner and operator of Lone Wolf Armory, and is also known as the Tattooed Santa. He works primarily in chainmaille and leather armor, but also dabbles in jewelry and cloth.

Daisy Viktoria is a costume designer and works on film and theatre projects while growing her own fantasy costuming line, focusing on gowns with a historically inspired fantasy touch. Daisy has a background in corsetry and historical fashion and teaches classes on period costuming and research.

Frank T. Puricelli, AKA "The Wicked Tailor" is a Charleston, SC based costume and prop maker. By day he is a college History Professor, but by night he has been making award winning professional costumes and props since 2010.