Meet the Canadian superhero tailor fixing cosplay costumes at her Comic-Con booth

Hundreds of people dressed as superheroes, supervillains and other pop culture characters will be on the move this fall visiting Comic-Con festivals across Ontario.

They'll put hours of work into their intricate cosplay outfits, but upon entering a convention, tragedy can strike in the form of breaks, rips and tears.

Luckily, a Chatham woman has become a superhero in her own right, running a cosplay repair station to help fans get their costumes back in shape within minutes.

"I try to carry every material possible — different glues, bits and buttons, safety pins and just hundreds of other little things you might need to fix something," said Lindy Creswick, owner of Lindy Cosplay Supplies.

Creswick sets up her booth at conventions around Ontario. In her next gig, she'll be on the first floor of London Comic Con at RBC Place this Saturday and Sunday.

A longtime member of the costume design industry, she helps cosplayers fix ripped capes, broken armour and bent wings at her instant repair station. She also helps with everyday clothing problems, such as missing buttons, broken zippers and damaged shoes.

"Right before competitions, there's often a very long line of people coming to have something quickly fixed that they all of a sudden had an issue with. I try to be ready," Creswick said.

"Think of it like an automotive thing — you never know what's going to happen."

Creswick is coming up to her 75th birthday, but her working hands have not slowed down since starting in the industry over 50 years ago.

Most of Creswick's career has been spent making mascots, including promotional characters for schools, food companies, children's book authors and retail stores, even making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes to promote their toys in 1991.

Creswick used to attend costume events and conventions when she was younger, but it wasn't until she rediscovered them 10 years ago that she was inspired to start a new career chapter.

"Instead of retiring, I talked to my son and asked him [for ideas]. We talked about it and I thought, 'You know what? I would probably love going back to the world of cosplay and enjoying it from a different perspective, letting [cosplayers] pick my brain and share what I know,'" she said.

Creswick works closely with her son Geoff, who has been helping her with costume projects since he was a toddler. She said there are often huge rushes of people at the booth when the convention first opens and ahead of special cosplay contests.

"I don't think I've ever seen a cosplay that has gone perfect every single time," said London cosplayer Ashley Moore. "Having somebody who's willing to help people fix even just tiny mishaps to big things, and also willing to do it out of the goodness of their heart, is huge."

Moore has been going to conventions in Ontario since 2017, and said she's had pieces fall or break off her costumes upon arrival. She usually brings a bag of pins to do makeshift repairs, but Moore said Creswick's booth of supplies can help cosplayers with more challenging fixes.

"When you're cosplaying, you're really trying to immerse yourself and everyone else in the character that you're being … So, if you have a specific costume that everyone knows and a piece of it rips or falls off, not only is it going to affect the illusion, but it's also going to affect your self-confidence," Moore said.

While fixing costumes, Creswick said, she enjoys telling young cosplayers stories about her own costume mishaps while sharing her best tips and tricks.

"I share my mistakes, which also helps them to see that everybody screws up. It doesn't matter how long you've been doing something — you can learn from it and use it to do better."