How did you learn to make all the wonderful things you showcase on your website? Especially the brooches, the latex clothes, the wigs, the hair falls. Stuff like regular clothes and DIY t-shirts are simple, you can find stuff at most craft stores. But the latex stuff, the wigs, the rubber Angelspit bracelets, the stuff you design, it looks like they require special equipment and knowledge to construct. How did you learn all of it? Did you take a class, or did you buy a lot of books and figure out on your own?… If you could point me to a book…a website, anything to get me started it would be very helpful.
Learning Skills
I’m a big fan of DIY. I spent a lot of my childhood (and I still do) wondering… ‘how do you do that?’ Most of my life I’ve tried (and failed) to create anything and everything that I’ve been curious about. An inquisitive mindset is the best tool for learning new skills. The short answer to your question is research. If you don’t know how to make something, then research all you can about it, experiment and give it a go.
Go to the library
Do not be afraid of books. Go to the library and find out as much as you can about what you want to learn. It’s not always a quick process, but the journey is the fun part. Recently I wanted to find out more about historical corsetry and I found a whole section devoted to it at my university library. I felt like I had found a suitcase full of money! I found books about how to make corsets, the anthropological significance of corsets and so much more. The library is one of my favourite places to get information from and be inspired by.
Meet people who have the same interests & collaborate
Learning from other people is a great way of building skills. Don’t be afraid to ask people for help. Sharing knowledge and learning with others is fun and often you will learn more than if you were trying to do something by yourself. For example, say that you wanted to learn how to publish a magazine- it might be too daunting for one person to tackle it, but undertaking the task with a team makes the giant task seem more manageable. Maybe you could start a band, a fashion label or organise a group art show?
Coilhouse Magazine is an amazing new publication started by three friends.
Enroll in the short course
I am a huge fan of short courses and I enroll in them whenever I can. Look up your local community college, university, art gallery or museum and you will usually be able to find interesting short courses to enroll into. Learning from a master of a skill can often be a quick way of learning a skill because their knowledge and experience can fast track your own learning. Last year I enrolled in a weekend millinery course where I learnt more in one weekend than I had tinkering with millinery materials by myself for one year. It was amazing and inspiring to see a master milliner at work and learn from the best.
Get an apprenticeship or internship
Some things you can’t learn from books or over a weekend. Some specialist skills are best learnt from working in an apprenticeship environment. Handbag making is a good example of this as there aren’t any courses which deal with it specifically in my area. I applied for an apprenticeship as a way of learning to make handbags and I’m so glad I did because it has definitely fast tracked my learning and I can make things to a much more professional standard now.
Getting the apprenticeship can be a difficult task, but tenacity and persistence will see you through. Read Nubby’s article on How to Land Your Dream Internship for a great guide.
Try, experiment, fail… and try again
If you are interested in making something, just try and keep trying until you succeed. I’ve managed to achieve and create a lot of things in my life, but I have failed probably more times than I have succeeded. I’ve made a lot of great wigs in my life, but I’ve also made plenty of ugly and impractical wigs too. The point is, the more times you fail, the more experience you build up which helps you avoid mistakes and expand your knowledge.
A personal example: The process behind my makeup line Miss X
Figuring out how to produce a makeup line was an entirely new world for me. I had no idea about how to manufacture makeup, how to get a hold of materials, write a business plan, design packaging, do user testing and so on. Before I even designed any colours I did a lot of research into the current market, suppliers, manufacturing techniques and so forth. It was interesting, but also quite daunting for someone who had never really done anything like that before. I had to learn a lot of new communication skills as I had to liaise between many suppliers which involved strict organisation (which isn’t my forte). I tried to keep myself disciplined, read all that I could and I asked a lot of makeup artists for advice and knowledge and generally tried to keep my eyes open. I am learning something new everyday and I try to always keep up to date with my knowledge.
Recommended Resources
Here are some specific resources that might help you on your way.
Hair Extensions
- The Hair Extension Forum (formally heavenly hair) is a great resource for newbies.
- Please note that wig making is something learnt mainly through apprenticeship or through a theatrical costuming school. All of the wigmakers I know learnt through opera and theatre company internships.
Latex Clothing
- Making Latex Clothing book by San-kate Mooney. It’s a little dated now, but it’s the only book available.
- Making Latex Clothing Blog which is a new and excellent free resource.
Music
- Analogue Perversion- Zoog’s blog about song writing, analogue & modular synths.
- Fruity loops (now FL Studio) is a great simple program which you can download a trial version of which you can use to start practicing how to sequence electronic music and develop ideas quickly.
- Ableton Live which is a great program which you can use for music making or DJ-ing. Download the trial to experiment with making music with multiple timelines.
- Wire to the Ear- Oliver Chessler’s (the Horrorist) blog about music. It’s inspirational & informative.
I hope this gets you inspired to take the creative plunge!
Destroyx.com readers: Do any of you have helpful resources or tips you would like to share about learning new skills?
