OUR STORY

Ryan's fascination with special effects makeup began in his Family Owned video store in the 90's. He watched every movie he could get his hands on, mostly basing his picks off the wild and wackiest VHS cover art. Horror & Sci-Fi were always his favorite genres because they showcased the most practical effects (Plus, all the gore!) His fascination turned into passion and he made it his mission to leave his small town in Upstate NY and head to Los Angeles- But first, he needed to add a few tools to his belt. After graduating High School, he packed up his car and headed straight to PA and joined The Tom Savini Special Makeup Effects Program. 16 months later, he headed to Los Angeles to begin his career as a professional Makeup FX Artist.

 

"I was fortunate to gain employment in some great FX shops in LA, working  alongside a lot of very talented artists who helped me acquire and fine tune my skills. But it took a lot of blood sweat and tears to get where I am today, and it will take even more to get where I need to be tomorrow. That's showbiz baby!" - Ryan Ward

 

One spooky day, when the moon was full and the stars aligned, Ryan met Salina at a Horror convention. The two hit it off right away, bonding over their passion of Horror & Pop Culture.

 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Salina is a self-taught artist with a passion for old Hollywood film and TV. Her first gig was as a party clown's assistant when she was 10 years old. From there, her fascination with painting began. Salina was a mixed-media painter when she met Ryan. Her work was often showcased at Art shows like El Velorio. A lot of her work was based around life, death and the complexity in between.

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"I loved painting, so when Ryan encouraged me to explore Makeup FX for the first time, I began looking at the face and body like it were my canvas and it altered the way I created. People become my art. People brought it to life." - Salina Ward

 

Sharing a similar work ethic and passion for Horror and Pop culture, the pair joined forces and started a small retail business Little Shop of Gore Together they designed, created and sold their art online and at local conventions. As the business grew, they became more involved in the Horror Community, thus creating Terror Market, a bi-annual Horror themed pop-up.

 

"As Little Shop of Gore began to gain a reputation for being innovative and detail oriented, we wanted to make sure that carried over to the FX side of our business.  So In January of 2022, we officially launched Little Shop of Gore FX and shifted our focus on catering to all productions large and small while specializing in the Horror/Sci-Fi realm." - Ryan Ward

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