Daily Inspiration: Meet Brittany English

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany English. 

Brittany, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My first love of costuming and makeup started from my mom. She used to work for haunted attractions when I was younger, and I always loved seeing her transform people with makeup. She has always been my biggest inspiration. 

I first started working in haunted attractions around 2011 when I was only 16. It was a ton of fun and I can still remember some of the first people I got to scare. 

After that, I took a few years off to explore Cosplay and making my own costumes. One of my best friends, Cassandra Kerlavage, also cosplays. She has helped me on so many projects and we’ve spent many nights crying over costumes. I won an award at a convention for my Cait Sith costume and it still means the world to me. Cosplaying taught me so many skills that I never would have learned otherwise. Movie studios have teams of people that all specialize in sewing, prop making, leatherwork, etc. Cosplayers have 50 dollars and some duct tape. I’m so proud to see the huge community it’s turned into. If any baby cosplayers are reading this, yes! You can do it, and you’ll have a blast. 

After a few years though, I still got the urge to work for a haunt in my blood every time fall came around. So, after a few recommendations, I interviewed with the owners of Death Yard Haunted Attraction. That’s where I met Carroll Moore and his team. They took everything I knew about haunted houses and flipped it on its head. Aside from designing and building the haunt, Carroll was a great coach and really pushed all of us forward to make amazing things. Matt Scott, owner of Von Grimm Productions, was the head makeup artist. He welcomed me on the makeup team and taught me so much in a short amount of time. Still to this day, he’s my random makeup question go-to. I ended up as head of the costume department and still got to help out with makeup every night. It’s still probably my favorite haunt so far. 

After two years, our whole team joined Nashville Nightmare. It’s a nationally ranked haunted attraction, and has some really cool stuff inside! I did a little bit of everything there. From creating costumes, doing makeup, retail, ticket booth, and taking care of actors. It was really cool and I met a lot of talented people. Hats off to Brad Webb for the huge achievement Nightmare became. I worked with them until I was 8 months pregnant and I resigned to take care of my mini monster. 

Now I’ve spent the last 3 years building my own brand and testing out new techniques for costumes and makeup. This year I’ll be a part of the super talented team that’s been brought together to create ‘Halloween Hallow’ in Silver Point, TN. So many exciting things are coming, and I can’t wait to show them to the world. 

Every time I make a leap forward, I’m so thankful to all the people that have pushed me along the way. Especially my mom who started this whole journey in the beginning. 

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?
Not entirely! I doubt many roads are though. I’ve sustained quite a few injuries over the years working in haunted houses and creating costumes. 

Luckily, the good definitely outweighs the bad! 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I really enjoy creating illusion costumes. That’s usually my most requested work. 

I’m so proud of the mermaid/pirate costume I created. It took a few weeks of work, but it definitely paid off! The illusion I used for it has been around for years, and I’ve always liked all the different costumes people created with it. 

I think what sets me apart is starting off in cosplay and learning a million different ways to create things. 

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Integrity and Inclusion 

For integrity… I’ve had my designs stolen and sold to people who thought they were getting an original costume from that artist. I think using pictures as references during your design stage is ok, but don’t sell copies of other people’s work as your own. 

For example, with my mermaid illusion costume, I found instructions online for the illusion and a lot of inspiration from about 100 people who made similar costumes. I don’t sell that costume though because I can’t take credit for 100 percent of the design. It was more of a personal passion project. 

For inclusion… 

I want everyone of every size, shape, color, and ability to be able to find a costume! Sometimes I have a hard time finding stuff in my size and it can be really discouraging. I’m 100% down to create a costume for anyone and will do my absolute best to fit their needs. I am so thankful to all the people who have purchased costumes and props from me. 

On a personal side, my family is my most valuable thing. Seeing my son starting to take interest the same way I did with my mom matters so much to me. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: Angry_Sheep_Creations
• Facebook: Www.facebook.com/AngrySheepCC

Image Credits
Jason Kittrell Photography
MBS Photography
Conography