From pottery, pyrography and macramé, to carving, crocheting and even a Chris Hemsworth lampshade, Making It Australia is currently hitting Aussie screens on 10 and 10 Play.

The program showcases the connoisseurs of craft – exceptional people who possess the knack for creating something totally resourceful and mind-blowing out of a few pieces of string and a bandsaw.

After every episode, Chattr will be speaking to the Maker who was eliminated the night before. Today we spoke to Costume Maker, Russell.

Why did you apply for Making It?

“I actually didn’t apply, my partner applied for me and surprised me and encouraged me to go forward with it.

“I’m used to being behind the scenes on the supporter. I’m the encourager. So it was a little bit of a surprise them putting me forward to be one of the contestants.”

Tell us about your time on the show?

“My time on the show really was, as cliche as it sounds, it really was a once in a lifetime chance. And it was amazing. It was it was really inspirational and awe-inspiring. When I was there, I just could not stop smiling. I could not comprehend the amazingness of it all.”

You got to represent some really personal stories while you were on the show, what was that like? 

“It was quite confronting, but I do find I like to be an open book. I feel by being so open, I can in some way be an advocate for the queer community. I do like to believe and push people to be their true authentic selves. I feel that sometimes society has a way of enforcing us to be a certain way and to do certain things – do what you want, beat your own drum.”

What would you say to people who don’t believe they’re crafty enough to try this sort of thing?

“The good thing about craft is that there are so many different levels of it. With the show they did want to get quite creative people, but I hope that this inspires people and doesn’t make them shy away from trying it out. 

A lot of the time tell people just try something little, try something small and then see where it goes from there. A lot of people I find do find a niche in so many different ways. There’s so many different avenues in crafting as well, like paper craft, knitting, sculpture, painting, all of the above.”

What’s next for you?

“At the moment I’ve just started a YouTube channel. I’ve called it Procrastinating With Russell because I do find that most creatives tend to procrastinate so I thought it could be quite relatable. I want to also shine a light on the queer community but also mental health as well and the stigma around it, and try to normalise talking about mental health as well. So it’s kind of based around me doing crafting and and how I use that to help me with mental health and navigating through life.”