About Velveteena Leigh

Thank you for visiting Velveteena Leigh!

Velveteena Leigh is the creative brainchild of me, Ceri Leigh.

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t making things – even as a kid. I would cut apart my own clothes to make outfits for my Barbie dolls, styling their hair and creating a catwalk of my creations.

While my twin sister has always been logical and academic, I have always been away with the fairies thinking of my next project, never able to sit still for more than a moment.

I was also raised on a healthy diet of art galleries and West End Shows – my parents were determined that my sisters and I would grow up surrounded by culture. Little did they know that this would shape the very person I would become.

As I moved into the later years of school, when everyone was choosing which path they would take and who they would become, I thought about my favourite subjects at school – textiles and drama. Surely there was a way to combine my two passions; the joy of creating something and the buzz of being backstage?

That was when I realised that a costume designer for film and theatre was an option for me, and it clicked.

At university I studied Historical and Performance Costume for Film and Theatre and found myself surrounded with fellow creatives who shared my passion. I was able to develop these skills and experience the culture of backstage life in a more professional capacity.

When I moved back home I filled my parents’ house with frock coats, corsets and wigs, and even after buying my own home and moving out there is still a family of mannequins filling their living room dressed as Captain Hook, Snow White and a Tudor Nobleman (Sorry mum!).

While trying to find my feet in the world of post-graduation, my one constant was Comic Con and the world of Cosplay. I have been a part of the Cosplay community for about a decade now, and would not switch it for anything in the world. It was an easy transition to move from theatrical costumes to Cosplay – what is Cosplay if not a form of theatre and escapism? Seeing Cosplayers wearing my handmade costumes at conventions, and witnessing the reaction from others to their outfits, is one of the greatest feelings I have known.

Several years after graduation, and more than a decade after deciding on this path I finally feel that I am where I want to be, and more importantly where I belong. I get to create beautiful pieces for people; a living, breathing artwork that gets to be worn and touched and enjoyed by countless people. Throughout my career I have been extremely lucky to work on some fantastic projects, such as multiple runs with the Urban Pantomime at Platinum Performing arts, and work on short films such as Boudica, as well as features in magazines such as The Cosplay Journal and Loving Local.

I always look forward to seeing where my imagination can take me with each project, and always get excited to see new enquiries in my inbox.

I wonder, will your dream outfit be my next dream project?.