Find Small Rini Lady's Paper Art & More at GCE Seattle
GeekCraft Expo Seattle is less than two weeks away! We had a chance to chat with another one of our awesome exhibitors, Rini from Small Rini Lady, to give you a preview of some of the amazing things that will be available for purchase December 10 and 11 at the Seattle Center Pavilion. Read on!
GeekCraft Expo: Where does the name “Small Rini Lady” come from?
Sammy Ng: The Sailor Moon series has been a fandom that keeps resurfacing throughout my life. Back in high school when I needed to create an online handle, I mashed up two names from the series to find a unique unused name for my account. Since then it as stuck with me, but nowadays if you see me, you can call me by the shortened name “Rini.”
GCE: Which came first, crafting or cosplaying?
SN: Crafting for sure! I’ve been crafting since I was old enough to know not to eat glue. I started cosplaying just to fit in at my first convention and I fell in love with it. Since then I’ve been using cosplay as a way to challenge my crafting skills with the added bonus of being able to dork out as my favorite characters.
GCE: What are your inspirations?
SN: Pop-up books and paper toys; so amazing how simple materials can make such complicated structures. Functional art and mechanical toys, because they start making my brain tinker to understand how they work.
GCE: Your papercuts are amazing—how did you develop your technique?
SN: I began by printing out multiple copies of Mami from Madoka Magica and cutting out different portions of her clothing features and layering them to create my first papercut. From there I started freeform cutting cardstock with scissors to continue making characters. Then my technical side kicked in to explore more automated processes, which led me to design them with scale vector graphics and cut them out with a CNC cutter.
GCE: What has surprised you the most when exhibiting at different cons over the years?
SN: When the kids recognize fandoms from the '90s.
GCE: What types of things will you have available at GeekCraft Expo Seattle this year?
SN: Framed papercuts of all fandoms, cosplay ears and other accessories, laser cut props such as Sailor Moon wands and Card Captor Sakura Clow Cards, and Kokeshi prints that are full of adorableness!
Thank you to Rini for giving us a peek behind the curtain! Don't forget to RSVP for GeekCraft Expo Seattle on Facebook, and make sure to come to our kickoff party at Artful Dodger Tattoo and Comics December 9. Not only will our kickoff party feature complimentary beer from Hop Valley Brewing (for those 21+) and a signing by Daniel Way (Deadpool, Wolverine: Origins), but we'll have incredible prizes from Dark Horse Comics, Gamma Ray Games, Northwest Press, and our awesome exhibitors!
