Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophii Donnay.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a full-time costume designer, content creator, and marketing specialist. I fell in love with cosplay in 2009, when I attended my first convention in Dallas, TX. From there spurred a love of dressing up which quickly blossom into a love of making costumes.
I was offered my first paid gig in 2015. That lit a fire inside, I became driven and determined to make cosplay my full-time job. I honed my skills, learned how to market myself properly (which led to another passion – helping my fellow creators turn their passions into profitable businesses), and began my professional journey. Since then, I have been fortunate to land Cosplay Guest jobs across North America and internationally (remotely).
I travel to model my costumes, teach others how to make theirs, judge cosplay contests, and much more. I also teach marketing classes at conventions and events. During the pandemic, I began streaming on twitch and a podcast with my fellow cosplay peer, April.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No, not really. Full-time content creation and managing a business by myself is not something I was prepared for. I had to learn and evolve at the moment. Keeping myself to a strict schedule and learning how to juggle making my costumes as well as being my own agent and manager as well as finding time for my husband, family, friends, and then – myself.
No one ever taught me how to pace myself, so I was working 24/7 to keep up with the “hustle” for years. Eventually, this led to a pretty heavy burnout/breakdown in which I had to take a step back, go to therapy and readjust everything I was doing to make it sustainable. That, plus the pressure on social media to be and look perfect at all times.
I’ve become very passionate about talking with my community openly and honestly about mental health, being “real” online, and that is it OKAY to take breaks. Because it really is!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do so many things! Primarily, I am a costume designer and prop maker. Making is the basis of my brand. From there, I also model my own work and the work of companies across the globe for who I “influence.” I also specialize in social media marketing and brand building!
I spend my free time away from cosplay helping other creators and businesses from a variety of industries build their brands. And lastly, I am a streamer! I stream live to my community – sometimes we do creative streams where I build something or work on a current project, sometimes we do cosplay streams and sometimes we do sponsor streams for companies I work with.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Kansas City holds a very special place in my heart! Besides having a stunning downtown – I am very into cityscapes, it feels like coming home every time I do a show in KC. The community is so incredibly kind and driven and talented. Whether it’s hobbyists or professionals, the creative work that comes out of KC is some of the tops in the country!
If I had to say there was something I liked LEAST about KC, it would be the traffic!
Contact Info:
- Email: ohmysophii@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ohmysophii
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ohmysophii
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/ohmysophii
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/ohmysophii
- Other: www.twitch.tv/ohmysophii
Image Credits
Sam Pho Images, Casey of Kansas Samuel, and Donnay Eugene
