Meet Our Team

 

Amanda "Mari" Gregory
Founder and President

Amanda (aka Mari) is our company’s president. She was born and raised in San Francisco, CA, and moved to Los Angeles, CA, in 2006. She went to FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) in 2006, where she would make cosplays for homework assignments, and earned degrees in fashion design and theatre costume design. Since her first cosplay and anime convention in 2007, she’s been addicted to cosplaying and challenging herself. While helping her friends create their own cosplays, she wanted to find a way to help others as well. After FIDM, she went on to work in the film industry for a few years as a costume designer before she realized that what she actually wanted to do was help other people make cosplays. So she went back to school at ELAC (East Los Angeles College), where she earned a degree in humanities, and then transferred to Chapman University, where she earned a degree in business administration with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. From there, she started First Stop Cosplay with the hope to help educate, inspire, and empower those who want to create their own cosplays.

Loves: Her husband, music, writing, video games, cosplay, video editing, and sleep
Previous cosplayed as: "Sinon (Caith Sith version)" from Sword Art Online II, "Yang Xiao Long" from RWBY, "Black Rock Shooter", and more
Dream cosplay: "Freya" from FFIX
Pronouns: she/her

Kelly Willey
Sales and Marketing Lead

Loves: Playing FFXIV, cats, birds, and sleeping
Previously cosplayed as: "Linkle" from Hyrule Warriors, "Furret" from Pokemon, "Yowane Haku" from Vocaloid, "Panty" from Panty and Stocking with Garter Belt, and more
Dream cosplay: "Yamato" from One Piece and "Yukari's runway dress" from Paradise Kiss
Pronouns: she/her

Elaine Ha
Project Manager

Loves: All things Miyazaki, all things adorable, Disney, and Terra's theme from FFIII
Previously cosplayed as: "Tifa" from FFVII
Dream cosplay: "Cinderella" from the live-action film
Pronouns: she/her

Olivia Ochoa
Executive Admin

Loves: Animal Crossing, anything Marvel, possums, cats, and coffee
Dream cosplay: "Celeste" from Animal Crossing
Pronouns: she/her

Ashley Kirk
Patternmaker

Loves: Playing video games, watching anime, and hanging out with her three cockatiels
Previously cosplayed as: "Zelda" from Twilight Princess, "Lucina" from Fire Emblem, and more
Dream cosplay: "Aerith" from FFVII
Pronouns: she/her

Becky Golon
Sewing Associate

Loves: Kitties, bats, hedgehogs, the beach, tea parties, vinyl collecting, old black & white movies, and sci-fi and time travel
Previously cosplayed as: "Flea" from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Batman", and "Ted Theodore Logan"
Dream cosplay: Anything Doctor WHO or "T.A.R.D.I.S."-inspired
Pronouns: she/her

Kit Pierce
Sales Representative

Loves: Horror games and shoujo manga
Previously cosplayed as: "Beatrice" from Umineko, "Asmodeus" from Obey Me, "Karkat" from Homestuck, and more 
Dream cosplay: "Vash the Stampede" from Trigun
Pronouns: they/them

Nacho Sok
Video Engineer

Loves: Film production, movies, anime, video games, and ramen
Dream cosplay: Anything armored, like "Alphonse" from Full Metal Alchemist
Pronouns: he/him

Carl Pangilinan
Video Engineer

Loves: Attending conventions, cosplay, creating digital media, video games, and watching shows and movies.
Previously cosplayed as: Characters from Demon Slayer and Bleach
Dream cosplay: Armors from Monster Hunter Zinogre or WoW Tier Set 20 Paladin
Pronouns: he/him

Paige Klemens
Technical Writer

Loves: Dystopian books/movies, movie theater, design, and making cosplays for her daughter
Previously made cosplays for: "Katniss Everdeen" from The Hunger Games, "Amy Pond" from Doctor Who, "Adora Princess Prom" from She-Ra, and more
Dream cosplay to make: "The Corpse Bride"
Pronouns: she/her

Naomi Shikumi
Video Engineer

Loves: drawing anime, camera operating, her german shepherd son named Spock, and Hatsune Miku
Previously cosplayed as: "Homura Akemi" from Madoka Magica, "Hiro Hamada" from Big Hero 6, "Makima" from Chainsaw Man, and more!
Dream cosplay to make: Different versions of Hatsune Miku (like Senbonzakura & Racing Miku)
Pronouns: she/her

Dirk Flowers
Admin/Sales Representative

Loves: Dungeons & Dragons, designing costumes and characters, figure collecting, literary analysis, my partner, and boba tea
Previously cosplayed as: "Beetlejuice" the Kotobukiya Bishoujo figure, "Lunafreya" from Final Fantasy XV, "Squirrel Girl" from Marvel, "Cinderella" from Disney's 2015 live action, "Belphegor" from Obey Me!, and more!
Dream cosplay to make: "Milady" from Persona 5 and "Imogen Temult" from Critical Role
Pronouns: they/them