Pink Raygun Interviews: Ruby Rocket
Star TrekStargate:AtlantisFirefly
Pink Raygun: What drew us to you was the fact that you’re a self-described geek girl, and you have excellent costuming skills. We were surprised to discover that you’re a bit of an internet celebrity. Did you have to campaign for your Maxim Magazine honors, or did it all just “happen?”
Ruby Rocket: Everything’s just happened, really. I’d log into my myspace page to find emails telling me that I’d been featured on such-and-such website.
PRG: Do you know how many different sites have featured you? And what were some of the more (or less) memorable sites?
RR: I couldn’t even guess how many it’s been total. The main ones have been Thegeekzine.com (no longer around, though), and then that interview was posted on digg.com, through which Maxim magazine’s tech department saw me. I was then contacted by one of the staff photographers and asked to submit photos for them to use on their photo blog. Sometime after that, I was posted on forevergeek.com.
PRG: Did you start with your photo postings primarily to further your modeling career, or to show off your costuming skills?
RR: A bit of both. I guess it first started off just showing off my costumes, and then evolved into modeling.
PRG: Which do you want people to pay more attention to?
RR: That’s really hard to say. I suppose it would be my costumes. I put so much time and effort into them to make sure they look just right.
RR: I’m guessing “Black Cat.”
PRG: Is there a costume you most want to make, but haven’t gotten around to yet.?
RR: I’ve wanted to make Elsa Bloodstone from Nextwave, but the task of engineering the wig I’d need for it is rather daunting.
PRG: Besides comics, what else are you a major nerd for?
RR: I’m really captivated with science and history. They were my two favourite subjects in school after theatre. I’ve also been known to veg out with a good book or spend countless hours playing video games.
PRG: Women working in modeling don’t tend to publicly self-identify with such nerdly pursuits. What do you think makes you so comfortable letting people know this stuff about you?
RR: Why hide it? It’s who I am.
(Looks like Ruby is hard at work on a Pro costume.)
PRG: Do you have a specific approach to creating one of your costumes? Workflow, space, rituals?
RR: It’s chaos. I try to be organized but in the end the living room looks like it was hit by a hurricane. I can’t concentrate a lot of the time, so there’s definitely no flow.
PRG: What was your first costume, and what did you make it for?
RR: Well, if you want to get technical, my very first costume was Sailor Moon and I made it by cutting up various pieces in my “dress-up” box and hand sewing them together. I think I was around 10.
PRG: What kind of stuff did you have in your “dress up” box? I had a bunch of mom’s scrap fabric in mine.
RR: Old clothes from my grandma, random thrift store pieces I’d gathered over the year. I loved going to the thrift stores and finding the most hideous garments imaginable.
PRG: What was the ugliest thing you’ve found at a thrift store?
RR: Oh, gosh, probably this woven skirt I used to actually wear. It was green, brown and mustard yellow and it had these horrible taffeta flowers all along the edge of it.
PRG: When and how did you learn to sew?
RR: When I was about 11, my aunt Sonja bought me a sewing machine and taught me one Christmas morning how to use it. I began sewing little squares of fabric together to make blankets for my dolls and gradually branched out into making clothing.
PRG: For your costumes. . . are those pre-made patterns, or are you drawing and cutting your own patterns?
RR: I draft my patterns or alter pre-existing patterns drastically.
PRG: Are there books or websites or some other reference you use for drafting your patterns?
RR: I know there are books out there, but I’ve never read one. Most of my stuff is all trial and error. I make a lot of stuff out of muslin first, so I don’t waste material.
PRG: Is there a particular type of fabric you don’t like working with? I really like the shiny, satiny ones, but they slip all over the place and I go nuts before I even finish.
RR: I try to stay away from satin. It tends to look cheap.
PRG: What do you use for your costumes?
RR: It depends. I like using various textures. Most, however, are made of either 4-way stretch PVC or lycra/spandex.
PRG: What was the most difficult costume you’ve made?
RR: Batgirl. It was a learning experience.
PRG: For girls who want to get into costuming, how would you recommend they start?
RR: Just practice. Start out simple and gradually work your way up. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t make that one elaborate costume perfect the first time. I go back and make improvements on my costumes continually. Also, be original. It definitely helps you get noticed.
PRG: What’s the most awkward or embarrassing “in costume” moment you’ve had?
RR: A few years ago, I was dressed in an original design working at a booth. This woman asked me if I’d take a picture with her young son, as he was too shy to ask himself. I smiled and said “Of course” and kneeled down to take the photo. His mom snapped the picture and as she was thanking me, the kid cupped my metal-clad breast. My eyes went wide with shock and I had no idea what to say. I don’t even know if his mom noticed.
PRG: How old was the kid?
RR: Maybe 7 or 8.
PRG: We noticed on your Myspace page that you’re into meeting Betties and Greasers. How did you first get into Rockabilly?
RR: You could say my dad got me into the whole scene. I was raised going to rod runs and working on hotrods with my dad. My very first sewing project was a poodle skirt. Hot rods have always been a big thing in my life, and so along with that came the music, clothing and people. Some of my favourite memories from when I was little was working on a rod with my dad in the garage, Elvis spinning away on our old record player.
PRG: Favorite groups?
RR: I really dig the Rev (Reverend Horton Heat), obviously…Horrorpops, Plan 9 From Outer Space, etc.
PRG: Any good concert stories?
RR: I haven’t been to many shows, as I have bad knees from playing softball and can’t stand in one spot for too long before being in quite a bit of pain, but my favourite show so far was probably the latest one I’ve seen…Rev and Horrorpops together. It was just a lot of fun. I’m hoping to become more involved with the whole scene. I’m currently working on a couple of burlesque numbers and plan on hooking up with a troupe in Texas when we move there.
More Ruby Rocket is available on her Myspace page, her Comicspace page, and soon, on her own website, Rocketsagogo. Or you can catch her at any of her numerous convention appearances throughout this year.
Stumble it!
