Charming, fresh and fun: all apt descriptors for both a fashion line and its designer.  Samantha Sangster, fashion maven and creator of the brand Blasphemina's Closet sat down with us for a phone interview to discuss topics including her fashion line, anime and the fabulous world of nerd culture.

Her newest endeavor, Blasphemina's Closet, has a rich history, hearkening back to her childhood years and the influence of a by-gone era. When we questioned where her inspirations came from for her work, she told us, "My mom was really into the Victorian style when I was growing up and I was always fascinated by a magazine she would buy called "Victoria."  I loved the pictures and made collages with the old issues."  A visit to her website at http://www.blaspheminascloset.com/ reveals a rich aesthetic on its pages including bottles of green that allude to absinthe and the occasional slotted sugar spoon. Interesting icons considering her fashion line is an equal mixture of decadence and sweetness at the same time.  The name itself "Blasphemina's Closet" might conjure up dark images of something impious and secretive, and yet, Sam told us the origin of the name is a terribly merry story and an inside joke with her brother, Achilles.  It's not unusual to hear that from her, she's a delight to speak with and terribly merry herself.

Professing a love of rich brocades and textures, fabrics and colors, Samantha includes them in her modern take on Japanese street fashion, a blend which lends the line a playful style that is utterly unique to Samantha and BC.  Her artistic indulgences with her clothing line reveal her many interests from fairytales to anime and from sewing to illustrating.  All her talents and gifts delicately weave themselves into her patterns creating appealing designs that are both visually stunning and marvelous to wear.  Her attraction to Japanese culture and fashion was spurred by what she saw as an artistic and open-minded youth who, unlike the US where fashion approval is a must, were willing to be adventurous, artistic, and fun with their clothes.

Her appreciation for all things related to the Japanese youth culture, including anime, manga and cosplay led her to not just attending but ultimately creating her own Anime Convention appropriately named Kakkoicon-- a word that means cool.  The coolest aspect about Samm's style of convention is that she's keeping it focused and event driven instead of being largely dealer driven. Attendees can enjoy the myriad events, bands, fashion shows and then after all the fun, take refreshment at either a Lolita tea or in a Japanese themed bar; another fantastically great difference between Kakkoicon and a traditional convention. Samm is intent on making sure it's not just the teens who are catered to but anyone from the chronologically young to adults who are still young at heart.  Kakkoicon is set to open its doors for the first time in August of 2008.

As if all her interests mentioned so far aren't nerdy enough, Samm harbors an intense love of all things Harry Potter, even going so far as to call in sick to work so she could finish reading book number seven, the last in the series.  She has also created the dresses for such notable HP characters as Narcissa Malfoy, Fleur Delacour and Madame Pomfrey.  If you ask her which book is her favorite, she confesses a preference for book number four (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) because it's the first time when Harry Potter shows what he can really do.  It's an interesting choice for her to say that, because despite all her accomplishments and contributions so far, I can't wait for the next chapter in Samm's life, her equivalent of a book number four where she takes our breath away and shows us all just what she can really do.