It occurred to me recently that I did do a bit of New Year’s reflection back in January, but I never did wrap up this post and publish it… Oops.
Better late than never!
‘Twas the spring, 2020, and all through the land
the streets were all empty, apart did we stand–
six feet was the minimum, as some will attest–
most simply stayed home (at least, tried our best).
Silver lining: it sprang from the horrible plague–
our sewing machines from out shadows we’d drag
and marathon projects while we had the time.
In spite of the distance, made friends, and now I’m
beginning to wonder, what will we do next?
If the world resumes “normal”… is that really best?
It’s that time of year again: those early days, when we reflect on what the past year has brought, how we’ve grown, and what we can still improve upon going forward. To kickstart that for myself, I thought I’d take a look at one of my earlier YouTube videos (I would say earliest, but I already archived half of the videos I posted in 2020, in an attempt to streamline my channel and keep only those things I still thought were either beautiful or useful).
The decision to start making videos was spurred on by the COVID-19 shutdowns. I thought they presented a great opportunity to “put myself out there” from the comfort of total isolation. Backward as that sounds, it was probably the best way for a person with social anxiety to get off the ground. Videos, it turns out, are hard–especially for an amateur team of only one. I’ve learned a good bit through trial and error, though, and I aim to keep experimenting with it.
This video was akin to one of those “tag” videos you see every so often–essentially a getting-to-know-you exercise that spreads throughout a community. (In this case, a lot of them were historical costumers.) Folks like talking about themselves and–despite my newness to YouTube and the struggle of speaking on camera–I’m no exception to that generalization. A bag of 20 questions seemed like a good place to start then, and it should be equally handy for review-fodder now.
Production
My biggest regret in the making of this video boils down to production quality. I remember buying a handheld camcorder, in the hopes that it would be more efficient than a setup in which I had a laptop on a cart hooked up to a webcam on a tripod and an external microphone in my lap, but it turned out to be way worse instead. Which was… great. I returned that thing promptly after a day of unimpressive filming.
Enter CoCoVid, the YouTube-based virtual event which replaced 2020’s Costume College convention in July. I didn’t catch as many of those live videos as I would have liked, but I did see one in which a handful of CosTubers went through the collections of video equipment they liked to use. After that, I got myself a set of light boxes, a lav mic (which has been an absolute boon to my quiet little mouse voice), an external display screen for my entry-level DSLR, and a new lens with a shorter depth-of-field.
I hadn’t been using my DSLR to film previously because it lacked an external microphone jack, and the sound quality on that camera is probably worse than the camcorder had been. Now I have kind of a cumbersome setup again, with two tripods, separate audio files, and a maximum film-time of 11 minutes at a crack, but it’s still a radical improvement over the laptop and camcorder trials!
Purpose
In a medium where you’re talking to people, there has to be something that folks find value in. In researching this, that’s the top tip I’ve seen: Deliver value to your audience. Some people get away with being interesting, magnetic personalities–they’re just entertaining to watch. Others put in some serious academic time and are able to teach folks how to do something. Often there’s a bit of both that goes into it.
What does not count as “purpose” and does not bring much in the way of value to an audience is the vague desperation to be noticed and liked, or the sole intention to do something that will (hopefully) let you break free of your day job. It’s a fine goal, in the long run, but it doesn’t provide much of a foundation for real outreach and creativity.
So, it became obvious very quickly that I did not know what I was doing. My content tank seemed to be running dry from the beginning. The few videos I left up on my channel from 2020 involve two community trends and a lookbook. I discovered that, while I enjoyed consuming tutorials and process blogs, creating them was an entirely different animal–and one by which I was not particularly enthused.
Having reached a bit of a wall with video-making, I decided to take a break and filter my interests through another medium: Instagram. I broke my all-purpose personal account down into themes, and built new accounts for each of those themes. It was an experiment, to figure out 1) which of the accounts I would actually keep up with, 2) which ones attracted more followers, and 3) how best to encourage followers to engage with my posts.
The themes were: History-inspired sewing, our pets, nature in Minnesota, a witchy shop of charms and haunted dolls, and Rick’s book in-progress. Since their inception in early November, three of the original five remain: Our pets are quaint and casual, the book needs an audience but I’m still struggling to figure out how to find it, and the only one that has really thrived at all has become part of the namesake of my website, @boundbyhistory–which, of course, is the sewing one. So, that was good to know: Sewing is still my “passion”–at least when it comes to sharing things on the internet.
Now what I have to figure out is: Why? What about it do I want to share? What makes my sewing projects unique? What value am I providing to my audience, through these projects? (And who is my audience, really?)
Personality
Watching through my early videos, it becomes painfully obvious how uncomfortable I am on camera. I know I’ve spent many an editing session clipping out a lot of dissociative stares and nervous laughter. I look timid and depressed, and I sound impossibly quiet and bitter–it’s not a great experience, but seeing that on playback has at least helped me to identify those issues so I can attempt to root out their causes and remedy them.
I know I have a personality (everyone does), I just don’t know… what it is? Or how to make use of it? That would be step two, I imagine.
That’s part of the reason I’m not exactly sure who my audience really is or how to find and interact with them. I’ve gained the majority of my friends exclusively through close, consistent proximity–which is not an advantage you tend to maintain 1) in quarantine, 2) in a virtual environment, or 3) as an adult, so that tactic doesn’t apply especially well to social media marketing.
Some things to think about, going forward, might be: What do I love most about the people I follow on social media? What about them keeps me engaged? Which of these traits could I see in myself, and how can I better present them going forward? What is my sense of humor like? What other quirks and experiences can I bring to the table?
Basically, what I should do is think of my on-screen self as a literary character, and work on fleshing myself out (my ghosts, my goals, and etc.) from there.
🤔
20 Question Redux
Except they’re mostly the same answers, I guess. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Questions by SewLoud
What was your first costume?
A “pumpkin witch” outfit, including: an a-line skirt in black faux-something (suede or moleskin) with felt pumpkins and white embroidery, a cowl-necked cap sleeve top made of dark green crushed panne, and a cheap child-sized novelty witch hat to which I stitched one of the pumpkins from the skirt fabric.
What is your favorite costume you’ve made? Or what costume are you most proud of?
The Florentine Renaissance dress I wore to a friend’s wedding a couple years ago, made in turquoise linen and crepe-backed satin, with a teal crushed (stretch) velvet over-bodice. The lining of the bodice is a pretty peacock-patterned cotton, and I’m still very proud of the closures on the bodice and skirt. Patterned entirely from scratch, it’s probably the only project I’ve done yet wherein I both took my time and managed meet a deadline.
What costume do you dream of making?
Something that will make me feel like a queen. Honestly, it’s still in development, but I imagine it will be a veritable patchwork of delicious little anachronisms, in a palette of red velvet and gold, reminiscent of Russian court gowns.
What is a sewing task you love vs a sewing task you hate?
I love patterning, hate cutting.
Would you rather sew wool or silk?
Wool, maybe. Unless it’s that slubby two-toned iridescent silk–I love that stuff.
Would you rather go to a themed event or a pick your own theme event?
Themed: Constraints inspire creativity.
Would you rather attend a big ball or an intimate dinner?
I believe I said, “Go to the ball, Cinderella!” and I stand by that sentiment wholeheartedly.
Do you prefer to machine sew or hand sew?
I still machine-stitch as much as possible, but I’ve recently gained a deeper patience and appreciation for hand-sewn details. (I will likely never sew anything entirely by hand–it just seems unnecessary to me.)
Do you like wigs, hair pieces or your own hair?
I really enjoy the versatility of wigs–I just wish it was as easy to find wigs for 20″ heads as it is for 23″ heads!
Name five small businesses you love for costume things.
Delicious LLC, S R Harris (local fabric outlet), American Duchess, Fabric Wholesale Direct (are they small?), Timely Tresses (I’ve been eyeballing their “frippery” for a while now…)
Name five youtubers we should all check out.
Lauren Paley (a.k.a. the Staircase Siren), Hildegard von Blingin (THE bardcore artist to listen to), Tally’s Scottish Tales (adorable adventures in Scotland), Baumgartner Restoration (old painting restoration), Kelly Killjoy (Danish shenanigans)
Favorite color?
Green (most usually in shades of olive and sage, although mint has become a recent favorite, too…)
Pearls or sparkles?
Sparkles (as long as they don’t shed everywhere–lookin’ at you, glitter)!
What is a costume trip you’ve dreamt of taking?
Carnivale di Veniiiice….
Favorite cocktail?
White Russian
Who is a costumer you’d love to meet?
I still think Morgan Donner and I would vibe pretty well. Or Rachel Maksy, for a different but also pretty familiar dynamic.
Plain or patterned?
Plain. Textures and subtle patterns are great, though. I’ve gained an increasing appreciation for monotone palettes. (I will always love stripes and tartans, though, too.)
Use a pattern or make your own?
Make it. Or modify, but it’s rare that I can use an existing pattern as-is.
What is your favorite era to wear?
They’re all gorgeous in their own ways, and I like to wear a lot of layers–so that doesn’t exclude much from history.
Favorite to make?
Approximately 15th century, mostly due to a lack of overly structured undergarments. (I haven’t braved my own stays/corset projects, yet.)
What is one thing we don’t know about you?
I used to go to school year-round. What kind of torturous schedule do you imagine I had? Maybe I’ll write about it sometime. (It was actually pretty awesome.)
