Planning on playing a ghoul anytime soon? Need a false moustache or enough putty to remake your whole face into something totally unrecognizable?
Halloween was very big for Delia de Cock at Stage & Screen FX in downtown Oceanside, but she’s expecting to do good business year-round for what she believes may be the only special effects and makeup store between San Diego and Los Angeles.
And, de Cock said, “there’s such a strong arts community” in the area between the two big cities.
FX is theater-speak for Special Effects.
De Cock opened at the end of July in space at 510 N. Coast Highway in a small strip-mall space that previously housed the North County Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Center, since moved to Mission Avenue.
She came to Oceanside because her father, Donald Takayama, had had a business here for years — selling Hawaiian surfboards.
“I always wanted to open in Oceanside,” de Cock said. “It was a dream of mine. It’s such a cool town on the upswing.”
And, she said, “It’s such a thriving theater community.”
De Cock cited Brooks and Star theaters downtown, MiraCosta and Palomar college theaters, North Coast Repertory in Solana Beach and even theaters in San Diego.
“It’s the start of the theater season,” she said, so “you never really know” how the demand for special effects will work out. Her store is stocked to supply whatever that need might be.
De Cock, a makeup artist with 20 years of experience, previously was headquartered on the East Coast.
She said in a recent interview that she finds it more enjoyable to sell a product than to apply it (makeup, etc.). And, she said, “I just love hearing the professionals' stories.” She also likes it when families come in to get something for a special event.
“It’s really fun,” de Cock said. “I love kids. I have two kids myself.”
Half the store is stocked with scupture, modeling and casting supplies — plaster, clay, silicones and resins — and the other half is makeup — lots of shades of lipsticks and rouges.
Latex is sold by the gallon, and prosthetics are available to create a special character.
The business already has participated in community events by sending “zombies” to MainStreet’s Sunset Market and hosting a Taste of Oceanside site. During the citywide 'Tis the Season to Shop Local holiday shopping campaign, Stage & Screen FX took first place in the 'Tis the Season Window Decorating Contest and was a Sip Stop during Sip & Shop Downtown Oceanside on Small Business Saturday.
De Cock’s Stage & Screen FX sign on the front of the store is fashioned to light up in different colors for the seasons — orange and purple for Halloween, green and red for Christmas, a rainbow for Pride Week.
The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.
To learn more about Stage & Screen FX, visit www.stageandscreenfx.com.
