It’s been a big year, and I wanted to share some exciting updates about the work I’ve been doing.

I am the Costume Designer for Goodspeed Musicals’ production of The Snow Goose. It’s a brand new musical they commissioned, and it has a disabled character in it, who will, of course, be played by a disabled actor. This also led them to intentionally seek disabled designers, and I am incredibly honored to be part of that history. I don’t know how many times I’ll have an opportunity like this. I’m finally being given all the resources I need to just focus on the design and fully do what I love. Goodspeed has been so wonderful through this whole process. They’ve been incredibly supportive, and they’re even going to build a ramp for me. This show feels like a piece of history, my history, and the history of disability costume design.

Another really awesome project I’m working on is building a nonprofit called CripSpace. The purpose of CripSpace is to build and foster disability-centered community by providing accessible spaces, programming, resources, and opportunities for connection among disabled individuals and the intersectional communities they belong to. CripSpace supports meaningful social connection, creativity, advocacy, and mutual support among disabled people, and works toward a world where disabled individuals are valued, included, and able to exist fully as themselves.

I’ve been running the group for over two years now and have found a core team that’s interested in seeing it grow. A few of the awesome things that we do are a monthly coffee and chat meetup and a monthly virtual book club. We’re gonna have a booth at Charlotte Pride, which we are actively fundraising for. We have a lot of great ideas and stickers.

Even with these huge projects, I still have so much to paint. I’m currently working on several collections. I’m painting 73 self portraits, because that’s how many Frida Kahlo painted of herself. I’m also painting 52 disabled artists, activists, scholars, changemakers, and awesome human beings to make a Disability history deck of cards. And finally, I have a collection of rainbow-colored figure drawings that I am expanding indefinitely.

And just to put a cherry on top, I’ve written a chapter for a book. It’s a collection of essays by costume workers talking about their craft, and I was included. I happen to be the only costume designer with a disability that has written about the subject in English, which is kind of wild. It was definitely a challenge, to say the least. We’re in the final round of editing, and I’m hoping the book comes out this year or next.

It’s been a big year, and I’m excited to keep building what comes next.