Out of my comfort zone!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to design costumes, and I LOVE to make money, so anytime I can do the two things at once, I’m one happy camper! But everyone in a while, I am asked to create a costume that is not in my usual style. I prefer to do glamor, glitz, elegant, and classy costumes. I don’t do steampunk, sci-fi, or Marvel characters. I have never worked with foam, never wielded a knife in the cause of a costume, seldom used a glue gun, and am not particularly “crafty.” It’s so much easier to do something “safe.”

The cool thing about being out of your comfort zone is that you are forced to expand your capabilities and do something you thought you had no aptitude for. 

At the beginning of my career, every job was out of my comfort zone. I felt so under-prepared, so under-trained, so lacking in experience, so devoid of confidence. I hoped no one would find out my secret, a deep feeling that I was not ready for the job at hand. As I completed each job, I breathed a sigh of relief that I had actually managed fine, even perhaps done well!

And now I have written a book! I have been writing since the age of fifteen when I poured my heart out into my diaries, and then in college when I wrote for the university newspaper. Later I wrote feature articles about my experiences on Broadway, and then much later, features on my fellow costume designers for the Costume Designer Guild website. In 2003 I co-authored a book called Retro Chic: A Guide to Fabulous Vintage and Designer Resale Shopping in North America and Online

But nothing compares to writing a 300-page memoir and going through all the stages of re-writes, editing, making decisions on illustrations and cover design, and which publisher I am ultimately to use. Definitely out of my comfort zone.

The great thing is that I have friends cheering me on, and mentors, advisors, and professionals working with me. And even though it is challenging and scary, I have a feeling that when all is said and done, and I have emerged at the other end of the journey with the accomplishment of having produced a book others enjoy, I will be happy I took the chance.