Edmonton costume designer finds niche at comic Expo

Just like Christmas. That's howNikkiEwing describes Edmonton's annual Comic andEntertainment Expo.

On its fifth anniversary, the Expo featured hundreds of vendors, exhibits and celebrity guests such as Carrie Fisher and Wallace Shawn.

More than 30,000 pop cultureconnoisseurs crowded into the city's Expo Centre to take in the action this weekend.

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Ewing, anEdmonton-based costume designer, signed upas a vendor in theExpo's inaugural year.

She started stringing corsets more than a decade ago and said she couldn't believe her luck when the eventcame to Edmonton.

"I was so excited," Ewing said. "I felt like I finally found a niche right here at home that I could show my wares in."

She stood by her booth all weekend, cladin a self-mademaroon corset gown. But Ewing said dressingup is only half the fun.

Her creations are soldinternationally, as well as locally. Edmonton's Expo, she said, is like a fantastical fashion show for her work.

"People do the Expo circuit and then I see my piece here and I've never actually met the person because we've just been discussing the piece online," Ewing said.

Ewing learned to sew corsets from her grandmother, a German seamstress. Rather than pursuing "big white wedding designs," Ewing said she wanted to lace her own touch into a family tradition.

"I've always had a taste for the different and a flare for anything offbeat so this came really naturally to me," she said about launching her Dark Knits Boutique business.

A simple design takes Ewing about 12 hours to complete. Complex costumescan stretch over months.

Ewing said her efforts are worth it when she sees customers try on a piece for the first time.

"Everybody has a quirky personality and a little bit of excitement," she said.

"They've never seen themselves in that light before and it's really beautiful showing someone what I see in other people."

@ZoeHTodd