Help Jillian Raise Money for Past is Present Designs

Two years ago, I wrote about my sister Jillian launching her business, Past is Present Designs on Etsy. She’s since expanded to a second Etsy shop, where she sells hand designed mugs. She’s also quickly becoming a cosplay superstar. To be honest, I don’t really know what it takes to become a cosplay superstar, but I think when people are photoshopping your images to make you look like a badass superhero, that that’s probably what it is. I don’t know, I grew up playing the Sims and all I know is that my little sister is really cool. And she’s raising money to expand her business!

Here’s a little bit from her Indiegogo campaign:

I pour months of hard work into my cosplays and have gotten a good amount of social media attention, including some from the creator of one of the characters. While this is helpful, it’s a little slow moving. I would like to build my reputation as a costumer and network with other cosplayers/artisans/companies, which will lead me to be able to offer more custom costumes in my Etsy shop and take on more commissions. The best way I see going about this is to get more exposure by going to more well-known conventions. Nothing like a little bit of guerrilla marketing to light the fire! (more)

Turns out expanding in the cosplay arena is quite expensive. I had no clue how costly Comic-Cons are until recently. Events can cost hundreds of dollars. Like most people in my family, Jillian is a self-made person and when she’s not working on her business, she’s teaching as a costume director at a high school. Needless to say, it’s easy to see how growing a business can be difficult. But that doesn’t mean it is impossible.

There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my sisters, which is why I’m sharing this campaign with you all. You can contribute anywhere from $1 to $200. There’s about a week left for Jillian to reach her goals. I know it would mean the world to her if she could get as close to $1,000 as possible. You can also share this post and her campaign as a way to help out.

You can also like Jillian’s business on Facebook, follow her on Tumblr and Twitter. You can also read this interview on the Word of the Nerd. And of course, you can contribute here.

Update 9/12/2014
Jillian has reached $709 and let me know she had someone anonymous donate after reading this post (!!!). Thank you so very much for supporting my sister! I know it means to world to her. And to me, too.

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