© Copyright 2010 Three Muses Inspired Clothing, All Rights Reserved
A little more about Candy
And in the beginning…there was Halloween!
I have been making costumes as long as I can remember. My grandmother and mom taught me how to
sew and do various crafts starting when I was very young, so I have a very creative background. The
name Three Muses comes from the three of us inspiring each other to continue to craft and be creative.
Halloween was always a big holiday at my house. I used to plan all year for my costume and then enter
as many contests as possible. I was always disappointed when it was all over and I had to wait another
year to dress up again. I had not yet discovered the world of conventions and cosplay, so I started
modeling as a way to dress up and document the outfits I made.
I got a degree to write for magazines, and ended up in them instead.
While attending the University of Florida, I took classes on graphic design and Photoshop and used
those new skills to create my first portfolio website. After I graduated with a degree in magazine
journalism, I moved to California to pursue a career in writing, while still modeling on the side. Modeling
ended up being my full time job, though I was doing mostly commercial, promo and swimwear work while
my real interest was in costuming and couture fashion.
I continued modeling for the next several years, got married and moved back to Florida in 2004. All that
time I was still making costumes and getting to shoot them here and there. During the move we had to
get rid of a lot of stuff because it wouldn’t fit in the U-Haul. I decided to sell some of my costumes on
eBay, and they sold extremely well. After that I realized there was a good market for what I do!
Finally realizing my dream…
We settled into our new house in Jacksonville and I started working on building a website for my
costumes. After preparing for nearly a year, ThreeMusesClothing.com went live in 2005. I
supplemented my original costumes with packaged outfits from popular brands and also did a lot of
drop-shipping so I didn’t have to have too much inventory. Each year the site grew larger and more
orders came in. Soon it took over as a full-time occupation and I stopped modeling and concentrated
on growing the business.
I loved having my own business, but I missed getting to dress up and do photos. That’s when a friend
suggested I go to DragonCon in Atlanta. It was like 4 days of the best Halloween in my life. After that, I
found out there are conventions for nearly every genre and they are happening all over the place all
the time. Doing cosplay at the conventions, which is basically dressing as and “being” that character,
also brought modeling back into my life, though this time it was on my terms and in my costumes. I
consider myself more of a “cosplay model” than a “cosplayer” because I dress as the character and get
photos taken, where many cosplayers actually act out skits.
The opening of a truly “Unique Boutique”
In January 2009 I took the business to another level and opened a boutique Jacksonville. I expanded
the store selection to include more items like costume accessories and corsets, and mixed those with
my handmade items. Half the store is the boutique area and the back half is my office and workshop. I
love having my shop and actually getting to meet my customers. I also love meeting people out at the
conventions, so if you see me please stop and say Hi!
Feel free to browse the costume galleries, check out my store online and take a look at my events
schedule to see where I’ll be next.
You can also keep up with me on Twitter and my Facebook profile, under the name A Mused Couture.
I have been making costumes as long as I can remember. My grandmother and mom taught me how to
sew and do various crafts starting when I was very young, so I have a very creative background. The
name Three Muses comes from the three of us inspiring each other to continue to craft and be creative.
Halloween was always a big holiday at my house. I used to plan all year for my costume and then enter
as many contests as possible. I was always disappointed when it was all over and I had to wait another
year to dress up again. I had not yet discovered the world of conventions and cosplay, so I started
modeling as a way to dress up and document the outfits I made.
I got a degree to write for magazines, and ended up in them instead.
While attending the University of Florida, I took classes on graphic design and Photoshop and used
those new skills to create my first portfolio website. After I graduated with a degree in magazine
journalism, I moved to California to pursue a career in writing, while still modeling on the side. Modeling
ended up being my full time job, though I was doing mostly commercial, promo and swimwear work while
my real interest was in costuming and couture fashion.
I continued modeling for the next several years, got married and moved back to Florida in 2004. All that
time I was still making costumes and getting to shoot them here and there. During the move we had to
get rid of a lot of stuff because it wouldn’t fit in the U-Haul. I decided to sell some of my costumes on
eBay, and they sold extremely well. After that I realized there was a good market for what I do!
Finally realizing my dream…
We settled into our new house in Jacksonville and I started working on building a website for my
costumes. After preparing for nearly a year, ThreeMusesClothing.com went live in 2005. I
supplemented my original costumes with packaged outfits from popular brands and also did a lot of
drop-shipping so I didn’t have to have too much inventory. Each year the site grew larger and more
orders came in. Soon it took over as a full-time occupation and I stopped modeling and concentrated
on growing the business.
I loved having my own business, but I missed getting to dress up and do photos. That’s when a friend
suggested I go to DragonCon in Atlanta. It was like 4 days of the best Halloween in my life. After that, I
found out there are conventions for nearly every genre and they are happening all over the place all
the time. Doing cosplay at the conventions, which is basically dressing as and “being” that character,
also brought modeling back into my life, though this time it was on my terms and in my costumes. I
consider myself more of a “cosplay model” than a “cosplayer” because I dress as the character and get
photos taken, where many cosplayers actually act out skits.
The opening of a truly “Unique Boutique”
In January 2009 I took the business to another level and opened a boutique Jacksonville. I expanded
the store selection to include more items like costume accessories and corsets, and mixed those with
my handmade items. Half the store is the boutique area and the back half is my office and workshop. I
love having my shop and actually getting to meet my customers. I also love meeting people out at the
conventions, so if you see me please stop and say Hi!
Feel free to browse the costume galleries, check out my store online and take a look at my events
schedule to see where I’ll be next.
You can also keep up with me on Twitter and my Facebook profile, under the name A Mused Couture.
