Strathmore cosplayer featured on hit web series

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Autumn Desjardins, a cosplayer from Strathmore, was recently featured on a segment of Tested, a web show hosted by Adam Savage.

Savage is best known for his previous role as a co-host on the Discovery Channel television series, MythBusters. He now hosts Tested as a platform to engage with makers of various sorts to discuss projects and innovations they are excited about.

“My boss (Ben Eadie) and I were down in California for Maker Faire and the California Maker Faire is the original and is one of the biggest ones. We were down there and while we were there we got a few tours set up,” said Desjardins. “(Ben) is really well known for special effects and props and stuff like that. We ended up down at the Cave to do some video recordings and he shared my stuff with Adam and his team, and they were like, ‘yes, let’s have her on.’”

The episodes in question during which Desjardins is featured, discuss leather work and how it can be utilized for cosplay, and applications for conductive fabric in costume making or in special effects.

Originally filmed in October 2024, the episodes of Tested were not published online until close to the end of December 2024, and Jan. 2, respectively.

“I think the interview was like 20 minutes and it was kind of a three, two, one, countdown, go, and they just started the interview … there was no script, we just talked,” said Desjardins. “He had questions, I answered and that 20 minutes felt like two minutes and then we were done … and then we just ended up chatting for a while afterwards.”

Desjardins added through her experience on the show, she gained a new trust in herself and the knowledge she has accumulated as a cosplayer to be able to speak confidently and knowledgably about costume creation.

She explained her motivation and inspiration for cosplay stems from the fandoms, the stories, and a desire to see fictional characters come to life for herself.

“I do not want just a costume – I want the real thing. How do I make the real thing in front of me? A lot of the time (these characters) break the laws of physics, so you have to figure out how to break the laws of physics without actually breaking them. That is a lot of what cosplay making is,” she said. “It is how do we take these things and make things that should not exist, exist and that is one of the most cool and fun things and it is wild seeing just how much that kind of stuff can really push forward engineering and creativity and how things are made. You just want to see a thing in real life that bad that you will find a way for it to happen.”

Both episodes of Tested are able to be viewed on the “Adam Savage’s Tested” YouTube channel.