Halloween? Nah, just Captain CHOO!

Hey everyone! 😀

Yesterday we rebooted my Captain CHOO business, with a recap of the year's Challenges. WHY? Because you can't make a good PLAN without first identifying the potential Obstacles, so you can navigate around/through them.

MOVING ON, without further ado:

Today I want to share some CHARACTER/COSTUME ideas in my head for the business.

I mentioned AI yesterday.

This photo is my First foray into AI generated BACKGROUNDS, just using a free App I downloaded to my Iphone. It's NOT at all what I'd use for my book illustrations, but it is great as a media Marketing tool for my character. I really like the potential.

In my original hastily snapped shot, I was dressed in Costume, but am actually standing in our basement stairwell, in front of a bifold mirror closet door! This much improved composition, (which involved some heavy editing by me before and after using the AI program,) turned out pretty good.👍

Apps like this can help me create some really cool images for advertising. Exciting!

Re: the COSTUME idea itself:

Recognized Name brands sell, so you need to get out there and BUILD your "Following."

Very early on, I envisioned myself, and my wife Denise as "First Mate Mrs. CHOO," dressed up AND in character, personally presenting my stories to children at local Schools and Libraries.

We both LOVE Acting and have a fair amount of experience/skill...plus being British born, I have the English accent and a cross between Monty Python and Jack Sparrow humour. 😉 I think we could really have fun with this, and I'm sure the kids would LOVE it!

We've already had several requests, but we're just not ready for that yet.

Denise also suggested doing the same role-playing whilst selling my books at regional Craft Fairs and Book Shows. (We were slated for the Taber Corn Fest this year, but unfortunately the situation with my Mom meant we couldn't do it, but next year is a different story.)

Some things need to happen to be prepared:

1. I require enough Book Inventory on hand to prep for any major shows/events, which is not the case right now. We don't stockpile a ton of books, because it's a huge "overhead" expense that we have to budget for...But it's something anticipated for 2024.

2. We both have purchased several Costumes and accessories.

However, they all need proper fitting, as what you buy from Spirit and other places is typically generic sizing that looks "amateur."

Similarly, though some items are great quality, much of the material and accessories scream "cheap," i.e. paper-thin nylon/fabrics, plastic buttons, plastic belt buckles and pleather belts. And we need appropriate Boots to complete the look. Those fake boot "covers" just don't cut it!😂

I want our outfits to look PROFESSIONAL QUALITY close-up without spending a fortune, (which you can easily do.)

So...we keep our eyes open, bargain hunting thrift stores for individual unique, high quality items to upgrade all these cheap things.

My wife is the "seamstress," so she's chipping away at the sewing modifications, even as she stays busy running her charity. She's resizing clothes, adding cool embroidered accents, adding extravagant metal/other buttons & pins, and generally making the outfits POP! It's a major undertaking.

Once the basic outfits all fit properly and have all the buttons/striping done right, I will need to do some custom leatherwork to create appropriate belts, buckles, sword and dagger scabbards, and possible a shoulder pauldron. We'll see what we wind up with, but this too will be a fun project.

It's a BIG Vision, with many "cogs in the machine." This particular aspect is among the most enjoyable, and I hope you are all enjoying seeing it unfold.

Blessings😃

Dave Chouhan, AKA Captain CHOO💖