Aaron Flynn Email and Phone Number

I began working with Rude Mechs on their spring 2016 production of Field Guide, and went on to costume Fixing Troilus and Cressida in 2017 and Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra in 2018, as well as the ongoing development of Not Every Mountain, a project that is now in its third year. The costumes for Not Every Mountain are built entirely from scratch using original patterns and hand dyed material, including several wearable inflatable elements made from heat-sealed sheet plastic.

Under the art direction of Gail Chovan, I have been fabricating and installing seasonal window displays three times a year since Christmas 2012, expanding to include owner Keri Kropp's other enterprises, SG Home, Space, and adjacent businesses, Cartewheels and Water Street Events. The scale of the prop fabrication for these displays varies greatly by theme, but has in the past included artificial food, giant jewelry, flat furniture, a miniature mountain range, and several hundred flamingos.

My inaugural project with Frank Wo/Men Collective was 2018's Rick Said So, and involved styling multiple costume pieces that would be layered and shed through the course of the nightly run. In June of this year I designed for Rub-A-Duck, which involved full fabrication of waterproof costumes using vinyl and re-purposed pool toys.

I began work as a design intern and stitcher for owner Gail Chovan, assisting her in developing her original couture line of clothing, while also working part time as a sales associate at the store. I developed and installed window display installations that helped Blackmail maintain its 10 year Best of Austin window display winning streak. In 2014 I was promoted to Assistant Manager, and a year later General Manager. My responsibilities included purchasing, hiring, inventory, payroll, budgeting and bookkeeping, as well as attending trade shows in New York twice a year to write orders from our existing designers and to scout new lines.

I worked in store as a sales associate, but also in the owner’s studio as a stitcher for her original clothing line, Dust & Drag. I would also assist in altering vintage clothing to be more closely aligned with the brand, which included hemming, dyeing, fabric painting, recutting, and other tailoring. I also developed graphic and promotional materials for online media and print.

My responsibilities in this job were primarily sales and customer service, but also consignor stock management and merchandising. I would meet weekly with consignors and curate and maintain their stock in the store, ensuring that they were well represented. I also assembled window displays to highlight seasonal merchandise, as well as rotating displays on the sales floor. This job required a strong knowledge of fashion history and an ability to assist customers in putting together looks from specific decades for anything from themed parties to period film and theater.

I was initially hired as a sales clerk, but my responsibilities quickly expanded. I was promoted to store manager, and built and maintained an eBay store for online sales. I enjoyed supplemental work maintaining, repairing and restoring folk art pieces in store and for the owner’s network of private art collectors. My skills included customer service both in person and email communication, product photography, inventory management, packing and shipping, website maintenance and troubleshooting.