Wonderful Memories

    By 2022, it turns out that one year ago I had done a lot of things. I thank God for the grace and health he gave me in 2021. Of course there are good and bad things that happen, but let me recap this time the things that I have completed in 2021.

    I did quite a lot of things like the year before, which was: make cosplay costumes, create youtube contents, draw and write blogs. What's different is that I started a business to make small accessories / properties in e-commerce. I really didn't expect, it turned out to be challenging as an artist and also busineess owner, who tried to sell their work. Tbh, it was a lot of things that had to be done and I want to be able to focus on this field. 

    Currently, I'm looking for ways to develop / try to market products on other platforms (this is still in the planning stage, I wanted to reach a wider international market, so I considered a lot of things before doing anything to make it go smoothly.)

• COSTUME COMMISSIONS

    So, let's take a look at the costumes I've been making this past year. There are fewer costumes than last year and the costumes you see below are mostly someone else's (yes, I received costume-making commissions and to be exactly, I think mine's only five here).

instagram portfolio : tati (@tutati.studio) • Instagram photos and videos

    Continue with cosplay and YouTube content. I thank those of you who are still watching and providing support for what I am doing. I'm not that good to says sweet things, but really, thank you for staying and supporting me as namieka (cosplay stage name).

instagram : namieka - cosplayer (@namiekaa) • Instagram photos and videos

youtube: namiekaa - YouTube

    Actually, this is a commission that goes until December 15th. So, if there is another commission that comes in, I will make a follow-up post. So, this month was full of surprises for me. First, I got my first overseas client, the second is that a product that was just sold last month has already been ordered again (even though previously, this product was almost four months without a purchase), the third is that there is one product of mine which has already sold five pairs ( this is a lot of numbers for my shop).

    I'm optimistic that in the future this store will have more customers. With that hope, I'm trying to develop products with relatively shorter processing times. There are also products that seem to be quite expensive, because of the long process and will be included in the pre-order product.

    I'm in a bit of a dilemma buying stuff for my needs lately, since I'm currently focusing on my shop, so the dress I'm working on looks like it's going to be pretty idle for a while. I'm quite a perfectionist, although sometimes I've gotten rid of this trait (like when I worked in a company), sometimes it comes back to haunt me. I want the product/clothing I work on to meet my standards, so there's a lot to consider when starting a project.

    This month I ran out of quite a lot of material, so when it was 12.12 I bought a lot of stuff. Maybe people think I'm very extravagant (seeing from my insta story update), when in fact I'm preparing/will release a product, so there is a trial in the process. For example: I've purchased up to three different types of straps for Kujou Sara masks (many of which were unused, but I'm sure they'll come in handy for future projects).

    Back to the topic, until the middle of this month I got three orders (four different products). The unique thing is that they all come from the same series, namely Genshin Impact. I won't be writing this for long, so you can enjoy the photos of each product ordered from the e-commerce where my shop is located. I will write a shop link below, please visit if you are curious what my online shop looks like.

SHOP: Toko Online tutati.studio | Shopee Indonesia

    I remember opening my first online store in June 2021 and a month after that, I got my first client. I was very lucky, because from my first client, I became more confident about releasing other products in the store. Initially, I didn't focus my product specialization on cosplay items. I prefer this "handmade product" to all product descriptions (yes, everything in my shop at that time was handmade).

My First Order from E-Commerce | Indonesia Customer

    Starting with masks and hair ornaments for parties, then I put cosplay brooches in the shop window, because I just finished the order and I think I can still make more for other customers (at that time, I only displayed photos, so if a client buys I have to make it immediately before the packaging period ends). 

    Unexpectedly, I got my first customer from Jakarta (I was in Bali and we were on different islands in Indonesia) and I was very surprised by the notification that appeared on my cellphone that night, I couldn't stop saying "oh my God!" and yeah, its surprised me a lot because I didn't expect anyone to buy at my shop at that time (tbh, the first product that sold out was cosplay brooches and from here on I was determined to continue making accessories related to the cosplay field).

My First Order from E-Commerce | International Customer

    Six months after opening my first online store, I finally joined the e-commerce export/import program. I was very surprised, because three months earlier I wanted to register my shop, but unfortunately it didn't meet the standards of the e-commerce company. I think my shop meets the standards of the first 10 orders and I'm not a dropshipper (this program doesn't allow dropshipper shops to enter if I'm not mistaken).

    So, on my first overseas order, my shop got a client from the Philippines and he ordered two different products. The first is Raiden Shogun's Cosplay Clip and the second is Kujou Sara's Mask. These two products are cosplay accessories from the same series, namely Genshin Impact.

   Of course, there are many considerations before releasing a product to the market. For these products, I have calculated the time of manufacture, materials, to the selling price and packing that supports the shipping process. I am very grateful to the customers who buy in my shop, because that way I am even more excited to produce new and useful items every month (P.S: If I'm busy with regional custom orders, it's likely that no new products will be released in the near future).

SHOP: Toko Online tutati.studio | Shopee Indonesia

    Last November was one of the busiest schedules of the year, I really wanted to complete a lot of orders in a fairly short time. Some orders come through e-commerce, where I display some ready stock products that can be directly checked by buyers. Actually, I'm very grateful because there is a ready stock item that I've been making for quite a while, able to sell and the customer is happy with the result.

    I have this shop for quite a long time, since this June 2021. The development of the store is quite good, I hope next year can attract more customers and add some new items in the store. I'm quite optimistic about running this shop, because the products I sell are handmade products and I make them myself through research and I also use the creativity and knowledge that I have gained through lectures (thank you Nirmana, finally you can be used this time).

    Last month I got three orders that came in with three different types of goods. Two from the game series and one from the anime. I want to thank the customers who have shopped at my store, because buying these products also increases my enthusiasm for selling and releasing new products in the future.

    Without further ado, I will share photos of the products taken before I deliver them to the delivery counter. You can still buy it as long as the display product is still in the store, if the product runs out it will be directly integrated into out of stock / I archive.

SHOP: Toko Online tutati.studio | Shopee Indonesia

IG: tati (@tutati.studio) • Instagram photos and videos

    So, the middle of this year I made a big breakthrough in myself. It started from last May, when several job vacancies were available where my friend worked. She advised us to register and at first I was not interested, I only saw my friends who were very active in studying AI applications as one of the entrance exams.

    This is a sample entrance exam for a technical engineer at a fashion company. I usually do this step manually and this time I'm trying to do it digitally. Oh, it's not my entrance exam because I signed up for another part of the company.

    This is an example of the finished dress, the size above is the original size of the person who ordered this costume. I made it from scratch (pattern-cut-sewing-finishing). This is the result of a custom commission for a dance cover group in Bali.

Applying for the E-commerce Section of a Fashion Company

    After a while of encouragement, I finally signed up for e-commerce for overseas sales. Unfortunately, this vacancy is already filled. A lot of sad things happened, like I was asked to show up without any email screening and when I arrived, I had to wait two hours in the heat at the entrance. Finally I asked my friend, because when I entered the interview room I was told to have to wait and it had been two hours but no call came in. Honestly, I'm not the first person to apply for a job, so I understand the flow.

    I was very sad, because my friend immediately came to me who was sitting outside and apologized directly. Honestly, I feel bad too. Long story short, with the help of this friend of mine, I got information about my postponed interview and was asked to go home for now and got re-arrange interview the next day. Here, I cried all the way home (the area where I applied is in Kerobokan), about 11-13 kilometers from my house. The reason I cried, I already knew that it was quite detrimental to come directly to the company without an email screening. I wanted to send an email at 9 am, but got message that I could be interviewed at 12 noon through my intermediary.

    I'm not mad at my friend, I'm just disappointed in myself. I was asked to apply for another job (a friend's recommendation), but from the bottom of my heart I didn't want to apply because there were three other friends of mine who were struggling to get this job. I chose overseas e-commerce because I was interested in the import-export documents and coincidentally, I had worked in the marketing management area on several occasions ago. So, I already have an idea of ​​their work.

    To be honest, I have a hard time forgetting the business opportunities where I worked before. The salary is okay, the coworkers are cool, the field of work is in accordance with my college (I'm proficient here) and when I do the work, even though it's heavy and a lot, I enjoy doing it. After all, here I can show a lot of my work portfolio and how disciplined the people of Jakarta and expatriates are in working.

Tips Applying for A Job :

    So far I've entered companies without any inside help and since I've succeeded three times, I'm trying to give you some tips to get you accepted into the company you're applying for:

1. Find out more about the company and the job you are applying for, think about potential questions HR might ask during the interview.

2. Provide information about the jobdesk where you worked before, without belittling/badmouthing your old workplace.

3. Think about your strengths and weaknesses, try to have continuity with the work you take.

4. Give a logical reason and say it confidently (not arrogantly) and give a reason by showing your successful performance/work, so that HR chooses you as a potential employee.

5. Stay friendly, smile to the people you meet at the company and remember to pray to the God.

    Sometimes things happen against your will, but believe me there will be a place that will suit you and you can adapt to your new environment. Currently, I'm still doing side jobs (receiving commission costumes, making accessories and digital drawing).

SHOP: Toko Online tutati.studio | Shopee Indonesia

IG: tati (@tutati.studio) • Instagram photos and videos

    This is the second dress for Lady Dimitrescu's design I've ever made. At this time, I got an order from an Instagram DM with a very tight deadline. Actually we already discussed the timeline process, because I was also working on another costume commission. There were several problems with the order process this time, firstly that the client's budget for my full dress material could not be adjusted. Therefore, she brought his own material and I only provided sewing services. Second, there are problems when sending packages. Honestly, I'm very sad and disappointed.

Lady Dimitrescu Dress & Brooch

    I was contacted at the beginning of November (11/02) and on the 11/04 I was given the size of the clothes I asked for. Then on the 8th, the cloth used by the client arrived in my hand and I cut it that same night. The total processing time was three days and I sent it on the 12th. Unfortunately, the shipping process with the e-commerce option is the wrong choice. The package didn't arrive on time and there was a bit of an argument between the client and me. I shouldn't have offered an e-commerce option, indeed the client spent 0 rupiah for the delivery service, but it's a shame the package didn't arrive on time.

Our packing process

    Long story short, we settled the argument well. We understand each other problems and errors that occurred this time. Thankfully, it all ends with a thank you. This is also an important note for me in the future, so that this will not happen again.

Cutting process

The material we used

    By the way, the dress and brooch are very beautiful. This is my second time making costumes and accessories. I've also taken photos and videos before shipping, so I have a memento on this order. I also tried the RGB ring light I bought, and the results are very satisfying. I can take product photos at night now. This photo was taken at eleven o'clock at night, a few hours before the packing process.

SHOP: Toko Online tutati.studio | Shopee Indonesia

IG: tati (@tutati.studio) • Instagram photos and videos