Maker Spotlight: Hench and Scrap

When it comes to cosplay craftsmanship, few names stand out quite like Hench and Scrap. Meet Oarin, also known as Scrap Shop Props, and Clare, known in the community as Henchwench. They are the dynamic duo behind the renowned fabrication business, bringing fictional worlds to life with their incredible attention to detail and creative prowess.

Oarin's love for red pandas may surprise you, but it speaks to his appreciation for the small things in life, a mindset he credits to growing up in a forest without modern conveniences like flushing toilets or hot water. "We got gifted a zoo pass, and 95% of our de-stress strategy is 'go to the zoo and look at the red pandas'" he shares. Clare, on the other hand, brings a unique perspective to her craft, living with a traumatic brain injury that affects her memory. "It's something I've struggled with since the accident, but after participating in a TBI research project last year, I'm learning to embrace my weird unique brain and appreciate the cool ways it has adapted to overcome challenges," she explains.

Their introduction to cosplay came from very different backgrounds. Oarin found his way into the craft through LARPing, which led him to foam smithing and eventually discovering the online tutorials of makers like Punished Props and Evil Ted Smith. "I wouldn't have this career without their work in my early days," he acknowledges. Clare, on the other hand, grew up surrounded by creativity, with a father who worked in the film industry on projects such as Farscape, The Matrix, and The Lord of the Rings. "At 14, I got a job in the weapons & armor department at Weta Workshop, which became my whole life outside of school," she recalls.

Their first cosplay projects played a pivotal role in shaping their styles today. Oarin tackled Garrus Vakarian from Mass Effect, followed by a towering Reinhardt from Overwatch. "Garrus was a really important moment. I started into this with terrible social anxiety, and couldn't speak to anyone. Having a helmet, and being able to talk about something I had made was so incredibly 

transformative, and really gave me an avenue to start talking to people, and making friends through cosplay," he says. Clare's journey began with a self-designed Jedi OC inspired by her love for Star Wars. "I spent a huge amount of time trying to find the right fabric textures to incorporate (and back then online shopping wasn’t a thing), and that’s something that has been a thread through all of my work - colour is fine, but texture is king, and textures are where you create something that truly belongs in a world as opposed to feeling costumey." she notes.

Turning their passion into a profession wasn't without challenges. For Oarin, it meant taking a leap of faith, leaving his degree behind to pursue crafting full-time. "I definitely wouldn’t recommend this approach, I got very lucky and made a lot of financial sacrifice," he admits. Clare, however, transitioned from film and TV to cosplay fabrication because she wanted more control over her work. "I’d trained to work in film/TV and I’d started going down that career path, but I’d slowly come to the realisation that that lifestyle, especially nowadays, just isn’t for me - there’s a sort of relentless grind to it where control of your life is very much out of your hands and you’re treated as a tiny part of the big faceless media machine," she explains.

The duo first crossed paths at PAX Aus, where Clare donned her Orc Death Knight that she had just won the Australian leg of the Cosplay Central Crown Championships with. "She seemed like a walking god of crafting, but a friendly and approachable god," Oarin jokes. Clare remembers their first interaction fondly. "My first impression of Oarin was as a little floating guy sticking out of the top half of a Reinhardt!"

Their business, Hench and Scrap, was born out of a shared passion for making things. "We kept tagging each other in on a few different group cosplay jobs, Overwatch World Cup, Quake Champions at PAX etc. We both were interested in pursuing the business further, and the very early spitballing of what would become Hench and Scrap started in a hotel room with friends, cheese and wine. " says Oarin. Clare adds, "We actually started our business together before the relationship blossomed, but it feels like everyone around us thought that part was an inevitability.”

The pandemic posed one of their biggest challenges as their fledgling business was hit hard by event cancellations. "We honestly wouldn’t have made it through if not for government subsidies, because work just dried up overnight, but it also forced us to pivot from making things for in-person launches and events to making video content - neither of us were (or are) exactly social media mavens, so we had to learn a whole lot really fast," says Clare. Despite the setbacks, they persevered, adapting to new opportunities and challenges in the industry.

Reflecting on their transition from personal projects to professional work, Clare emphasizes the challenge of balancing creativity with business operations. "There is a huge difference between working as a maker or dresser in a costume department and managing your own business - you do the client liaison, you do your accounting, social media, everything. Spinning all of those plates at once is absolute insanity," she says. Oarin adds, "Scope creep is the other massive one, especially for me, you get excited by the concept of a thing, then you start adding in more details, more elements, more complicated lighting and suddenly your timeline is all shot, and you’re working 16 hour days on things that were very much outside of the brief."

Among their early memorable projects was creating Zealot Blades for Blizzard's Starcraft anniversary. "That was definitely the point we realised we might be able to make something of this" Oarin reflects. Clare humorously recounts their early days: "The first 3 months of the business were spent living in an uninsulated shed with no bathroom on Scrap’s mum’s property, working out of her basement in the sweltering heat, while eating a vegetarian burrito mix we’d used a spreadsheet to calculate cost efficiency on because money was that tight.”

Ultimately, the duo finds immense satisfaction in their craft despite the challenges. "I get to wake up every day, go out to the workshop and tackle a new problem." Oarin shares. Clare echoes the sentiment, emphasizing the reward of overcoming technical and artistic challenges. "Neither of us are people who are very motivated by money, and this is an excellent career choice if you’re like that. That might sound a bit negative, but it’s more complex - genuinely, for me the mental reward of figuring out a challenge that is both technical and artistic in nature is pretty unparalleled. But conversely, neither of us comes from money - we didn’t go into this business with financial backing or the safety net of parents bailing us out, or even savings, so having the ability to pay rent hinge on the whims of the games industry can truly be a terrifying prospect at times, and I can’t count the number of times we’ve had to choose between a fun night out with friends or having enough business float to buy a gallon of silicone for a job where the invoice hasn’t been paid yet.”

Clare's recent win at the Cosplay Crown Championships at PAX Aus was a highlight in her journey. "one of the most excellent people in the whole world is Whereisdanielle, who I met eight and a half years ago backstage of the cosplay competition at RTX. We had been talking about how we never enter cosplay competitions anymore because of life, time, self doubt, everything else, and somehow in there we goaded each other into entering, “Oh, I’ll only enter if you do” - and we made a pact. Having someone else who’s entering and who’ll hold you accountable is the best way to enter a cosplay comp, hands down, because when one of us was struggling we had each other to engage in some fantastic mutual emotional blackmail” she says.

“We came first and second place in the end, which was just the best damn feeling.” She continued. 

From humble beginnings to building a successful business, Hench and Scrap's journey is a testament to passion, perseverance, and an undying love for the craft of cosplay and fabrication. Whether they're crafting elaborate costumes or mentoring aspiring cosplayers, their impact on the industry is undeniable, and their story continues to inspire makers around the world.

Originally written for Colin Magazine Edition 10