Jemmillion: Dynamic Custom Beadworks has become very well known over the past few years, especially within the fighting game community. What inspired you to start your own business?
Curtis Betts, Jr: My fiancé had never seen a perler sprite before until I brought one home from a tournament. As a gamer and crafter, she decided to make some herself. The first time we sold perler sprites was out of a cardboard box during Winter Brawl 2013. At Civil War 5, we started selling out of our hotel room and offering custom sprites made during the event. We had our first table at Summer Jam 7 on a trial status, and have been on a roll ever since. Many thanks to Eric “Big E” Small for taking a chance on us!
Jemmillion: On average, how long does it normally take to make a perler bead sprite?
Curtis Betts, Jr: For our average necklace sprites, it usually takes 15-20 minutes from start to finish. If we’re making larger sprites it can take several hours. There is also time put into creating our own designs, especially whenever a new fighting game is coming out.
Jemmillion: What other products does Dynamic Custom Beadworks create and sell?
Curtis Betts, Jr: We make pixel plants, 3D perler sprites, and perler hair bows and earrings. We also sell other crafter’s work through consignment; including buttons, plushies, amigurumi, decals, and art prints.
Jemmillion: Do you currently sponsor any players? If not, are you thinking about sponsoring in the future?
Curtis Betts, Jr: While we are not traditional sponsors, we do have several players from several states that play under the DCB brand out of respect for what we do for the local scene and the community in general.
Jemmillion: Are you looking to expand Dynamic Custom Beadworks in the future?
Curtis Betts, Jr: We are always working to improve and expand our brand. We try to bring new creations to every tournament we attend. We are constantly expanding the number of game rosters we can create and are working on 3D perler figures and larger 16 bit perler sprites for future events. We are working on new characters from Mortal Kombat X and Tekken 7, as we like to have new game rosters done before the games are even released. We are also working on some fun new projects that will likely be unveiled at EVO 2015.
Jemmillion: You’ll be attending this weekend’s upcoming tournament APEX 2015. What can the attending players expect to see from DCB at the event? Are there any special surprises in the works?
Curtis Betts, Jr: At of the time of this writing, we are now an official sponsor of APEX 2015 rather than just a vendor. Players can expect the entire roster of every Super Smash game, including a lot of fun action poses – such as Captain Falcon performing Falcon Punch. As usual, we also have the full roster for many other fighting games, including Ultra Street Fighter 4, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Guilty Gear: Xrd, Killer Instinct, and pretty much every Pokémon in existence. Shout outs to GimR and PB&J for their suggestions of new Super Smash designs. We are also bringing a variety of amigurumi, plushies, buttons, decals and art prints.
Jemmillion: Do you play video games as well? Fighting games?
Curtis Betts, Jr: Both my fiancé and I play video games; we actually met through World of Warcraft. I’ve been part of the FGC since 2011 and used to play Skullgirls competitively. I also played old school fighting games back when arcades were a major stomping and proving ground. I still play some old school games and maintain that Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast and the 8-bit Nintendo are the best systems. Capcom vs. SNK 2 and Streets of Rage 2 have some of the best video game music ever!
Jemmillion: You’ve mentioned before that you host weekly fighting game sessions called the Sidebet Sanctuary. Can you tell us a little about them and what you’re hoping to bring to the community?
Curtis Betts, Jr: The reason why it’s called the Sidebet Sanctuary is because before DCB, I was known for making sidebets in the community at locals or majors. That reputation is still true to this day. The main goal of the Sidebet Sanctuary is to bring people from all over the surrounding areas and give them a place to play on a weekly basis where they can learn and grow. It also gives gamers a chance to play someone new so everyone can benefit from the weekly sessions. I believe in the tough love mentality and keep it 100% real when coaching people about their play style and situations they are in. In the future, we are hoping to do more streaming and eventually would like to host a tournament in Delaware.
Jemmillion: What events will we see you attend in the future?
Curtis Betts, Jr: Here is our current event lineup: Winter Brawl 9 in Philadelphia, Pa (Feb 20-22), Final Round 18 in Atlanta, GA (March 20-22), NorCal Regionals in Sacramento, CA (April 3-5), Combo Breaker in Chicago, IL (May 22-24), ECT in Secaucus, NJ (June 13-14), CEO in Orlando, FL (June 26-28), and EVO 2015 in Las Vegas, NV (July 17-19).
Jemmillion: If you could be one superhero and one fighting game character, who would it be? Why?
Curtis Betts, Jr: Superheroes don’t have fun…I’d rather be a super-villain. It would be between Sinestro, Joker or Venom. As for fighting game characters, it would probably be Birdie from Street Fighter: Alpha. I’m a fan of grapplers and he had some of the coolest moves out there, not to mention using a knife to comb his hair.
Special Thanks:
Curtis Betts, Jr: I’d like to take this time to thank a few people that had helped and assisted us in this journey that DCB has been on: Big E, Larry & Shonda, LI Joe/SJC, DJ Huoshen, Koop, Rugal B, Beely/Vandy/Codez/James G, Chris Ceglia, IFC Yipes & Persia, Chris Bahn, Eric Stewart, SBK, sp00ky, GimR, FunkyP, Lord & Lady Bifuteki, Coach Steve, PB&J, Gaming Generations, airjuggle.com, Frances Mateo, James Fink, IPG, LHI, Meterburn, NOVA FGC, GA Marvel FGC, Philly FGC, The D.M.V, and DE/DCB.
We would also like to give a shout out and thank the community that has supported and been with us since day one. Thank you so very much, because all of you allow DCB to do what we do, and we will always give back to the community.
You can follow Dynamic Custom Beadworks at the below social media sites:
https://twitter.com/dynamicbeadwork
https://www.facebook.com/DynamicBeadwork
Check out Dynamic Custom Beadwork’s Online Store:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DCBPerlerSprites
Want to learn more about the FGC (Fighting Game Community)? Check out:
jemmillion.wordpress.com 