In 2015, Worlds of Fun Costume Designer Shellie Jeffrey arrived at work during Worlds of Fun during Halloween Haunt, and wanted to let her Facebook friends know where she was.
“I wanted people to know that I wasn’t actually at Haunt, but I’m back where we do stuff,” Jeffrey said. “I thought to myself ‘we need a check-in name like you would have for your house or a friend’s house.’ One of the first things that came to mind was, ‘how about the Sparkle Factory?’ I had just created the witches’ costumes and there were sparkles all over the floor.
“I started checking in at the Sparkle Factory, and told everyone in the office to start checking in under Sparkle Factory. Then it took off.”
The Sparkle Factory was Born.
The Sparkle Factory, formally known as the Worlds of Fun Costuming and Wardrobe department, is located in a fairly non-descript brick building just beyond the park gates. In charge of the Sparkle Factory is Jeffrey, an 11-year Worlds of Fun veteran, who is entering her third year as Costume Designer. In the history of Worlds of Fun, she is only the second person to hold that title, following the retirement of 45-year veteran Dawna Welborn in December 2017.
“She is my mentor, and I learned everything I know from her,” Jeffrey said on Welbourn. “I went out on my own for a few years, making wedding dresses and eveningwear. After my son was born and in junior high, Dawna called me and asked me if I could come back to Worlds of Fun and help her get Haunt opened. I said, ‘well, my son’s going to get braces, and has a lot going on, but yeah, I’ll come help you for a few weeks’.’ That was six years ago.”
Thousands of Costumes. One Warehouse.
In the Sparkle Factory, Jeffrey manages a team who creates costumes that are seen at Cedar Fair parks across North America. If you’ve seen a costume at Carowinds, Kings Dominion, Canada’s Wonderland, Cedar Point, Kings Island (and the list goes on), there is a high chance that it first came out of Worlds of Fun.
“We oversaw everybody — in most of the parks — with their show looks,” she said. “If we didn’t approve it, we created it for them. We made show boards for them and a shopping list. If it wasn’t purchasable, we actually made it for them and sent it to them.”
In addition to various show looks across the chain. The Sparkle Factory created 100% of the costumes seen at two of Cedar Fair’s special events: Grand Carnivale and WinterFest.
“All WinterFest wardrobe comes out of this building. None of the parks do their own. The first few years, we went as far as buying all their shoes, their socks, their pants, everything and it was all shipped out of here,” Jeffrey said with a laugh. “It was a nightmare. Coordinating it was really crazy. We’ve gotten smarter and we’ve learned. We’re empowering some of the parks to do some of their own costumes, but anything that is stitched or made, comes out of here.”
The WinterFest costumes are created on a three-year cycle, and is effectively a 10-month process to create a full array of WinterFest costumes.
“The stitchers have most of December off and all of January. We try to get them back around the first of February. They hit the ground running with WinterFest,” Jeffrey said. “Since we know now that the costumes don’t have to be redesigned and we know what we’re doing, maybe we have to pick new fabrics, it’s turning into muscle memory for us.”
New for 2019, all of the costumes that were used during Grand Carnivale also came out of the Sparkle Factory. The two fleets of costumes that rotated between Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, Worlds of Fun, and Kings Island last season, a total of 300 ornate costumes, were produced in just two months.
“The look for Carnivale, it had to be bigger, grander, and shinier than anything we had ever done,” Jeffrey said. “That’s how Carnivale happened. Shiny has to be sequins, has to be sparkles, has to be grandiose, and has to be over the top.”
Each costume that comes out of the Sparkle Factory begins with a picture. Jeffrey was never good at sketching – “I had art classes, they were too long ago,” she laughs.
“We find pictures of things we want and we’ll put those together. We’ll go to whoever we want to make it or decide to make it ourselves,” she said. “We’ll source the fabrics – which are a big part of it. I go to the person who is going to make the costume, a mock-up is made, and there are obviously many discussions. If it’s a corporate project, we bring [Cedar Fair Corporate Director of Entertainment] Brent Barr in before we move on.
“It’s really a collaborative effort on those new ideas,” Jeffrey continued. “Sometimes we just run with it and everyone loves it and its fantastic, sometimes we run with it, and no one likes it, and then we have to start over, and that’s happened a few times too.”
When asked what she would like guests to know about costuming that they might not otherwise consider, she noted the thought and effort that went into the creation of every costume.
“Our hearts and souls are put into every costume we produce,” she said. “We think about what is the guest going to remember and tell someone. We want the guests to go tell their friends ‘oh my god that show was so good, and those costumes were so amazing.’ You can do an amazing show with the most talented performers, and the most beautiful voices, and the best choreography, but if they’re wearing street clothes, no one is going to remember that show.
“There was no icing on the cupcake,” she continued. “If you have a cupcake with no icing, it’s not a cupcake at that point. It’s a muffin, no matter what it tastes like. It’s a trick Donna taught me years ago, but it’s true. In a long show with a number that you know isn’t going to be as good, you jazz it up with a little sparkle. Everyone remembers it and enjoys it that much more.”
While it might be difficult for many designers to pick a favorite costume they have ever designed, Jeffrey was quick with an answer: The Witch Costumes from Halloween Haunt.
“I got to redo the witches’ costumes for our Haunt last year. They’re my babies,” she said. “Since moving into this position, I haven’t gotten to sew and create as much from beginning to end. The first time I did the costumes five years ago, there were lots of people who were telling me what to do and how to do it, so it was very stressful right up until the very end.
“The witches are a showpiece for Halloween Haunt, and they turned out amazing. Lots of ideas went into those, but ultimately, I got to redo them from start to finish. There were lots of ideas from the girls themselves, Katie and Kassie, but I kind of kept it close to me, I made them myself, and they will be my favorite thing.
While noting that deadlines are one of the most difficult aspects of her job, Jeffrey notes that her team’s hard work in action far outweighs the difficulty of even the most intense deadline.
“Last night, walking around the last Witches’ ball, and all of the sudden I looked around and everything just made sense. It was incredible!” She said. “I realized that the touches of purple that we wove through all of the costumes, and as I walked up the hill, I just had this over-resounding thought of ‘that worked! That was really cool and that was us! Wow’!
“The kids too, when they get a costume on and they know we created that with love for them– That’s so rewarding when they love their costume and have smiles on their faces,” she continued.
The honor of sending costumes across North America is not lost on the leader of the Sparkle Factory.
“I don’t think that very many days go by where I realize you can’t really do this anywhere else. We get to create for other parks and other places, and then we get the opportunity to go to those parks and see what we’ve done and implement there,” Jeffrey said proudly. “The people who create the costumes take a lot of pride in the work they do for the other parks around North America. When you see a poster for WinterFest at another park and knowing exactly where that costume and look is coming from is an awesome feeling.
“Driving down Worlds of Fun Avenue and seeing art on the light poles, it’s cool to think “Wow. That’s me. I made that!”
For more information about Worlds of Fun, be sure to visit their website at www.worldsoffun.com and follow the park on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
You spelled a name wrong: it’s Dawna Welborn, not Donna.
Thanks Amanda! Made the change!
Voting for Holiday World !!