IMPORTANT: What is really going on with Gilles? (Patreon)

Hi everyone, I hope this message finds you all well.

I am writing to you today to explain what has been going on behind the scenes on my end over the last couple of months.

As many of you who participate in my Discord Channel already know that my (now ex) partner and I have decided to part ways some time ago and have had an on-again off-again relationship while living together.

At the beginning of Lockdown, in early March, things were not so good at the house. Paul was getting antsy due to his business and I with mine, his struggle with depression and both of our anxiety were not helping in the slightest, and we had very frequent outbursts which led to needing me to "get out."

However, being confined together during lockdown strangely brought us closer together and things were good and peaceful. We have got on more in the last couple of months of lockdown than we have over the 3 years we have been together.

That said, in early July, Paul had a heart-to-heart with me explaining how he felt he needed to move on from us and he couldn't do this with my living in the home with him, so I had to properly start looking into other living arrangements. 

Please know I harbor no ill-will towards him for this and I feel it is a logical thing to ask if nothing else. Giving him his space in his own home, really, is the least I can do. Especially if we would like to nurture a lasting friendship out of the time we spent together.

That said, finding a place for myself while considering how much convention stock I store at home has been impossible on my monthly budget. 

Slowly but surely, pins, t shirts, sweaters and prints have taken over the dining room (which is now my office) part of the lounge, the loft and of course, still I need some sort of bedroom. 

Keeping this in mind, a house share would not be at all possible.

Renting a home on my own, including bills and taxes (without food) would easily come to £1200 - £1500 ($1800 USD?) per month in the surrounding area, and again, this is not something I can commit to, especially outside of convention season. (And who knows when those will be back.)

Asking friends to store my stock for me in their own homes while I live elsewhere or using some sort of storage facility was also something I have considered. But, I have a hard enough time keeping up with store orders and sending out pin club parcels on time as is when I have everything under my own nose. How will that work if my stock was spaced around in a different location?

With all this in mind, I was surrendering to the idea that the only possible solution would be to get rid of my stock entirely, finding a 9-5 job to cover my rent and food and call it quits. And this absolutely broke me. I was spiraling for weeks. I could barely bring myself to step into my office, let alone do any work. 

I am not ready to give up on all the hard work I have put into this journey so far in the last 13 years. 

Somehow, I need to find a solution.

So, here’s the plan moving forward.

Firstly, I need to clear as much of the old stock as I can, to reduce the amount of space I need. Hence the clearance sale I have been promoting over the last couple of weeks.

This will involve getting rid of all my postcards and badge buttons, which I will no longer be offering once they sell out. Certain T Shirts and Sweaters that I have in stock, which have become a bit stagnant, have had their prices slashed significantly. And the same goes for some stickers and pins which have been made for past Kickstarters in too larger a quantity (chalking that down to inexperience.) All their prices have been reduced, so please have a look, and share my clearance sale page with your piers who you think might be interested. 

Secondly, my Pin Club will continue to run with a few alterations to make it more cost effective and slightly more profitable. A separate post will be made about this by the end of this month.

Thirdly, I will be launching the remaining Kickstarter Campaigns I have planned for 2020 and 2021 so all the hard work and effort put into those campaigns does not go to waste. 

The first will be the BFF, Best Fuwa Fuwa Hat Campaign, launching tomorrow. The Disney Pin Campaign, for those who ask, is also one of these projects, so please do not despair. It will be launching later this year or at the very latest, early the next. I am so sorry that it has been delayed so much, but I want to make sure I can give that massive project the time, care, and dedication it deserves.

The aim overall is to diminish my stock to require less space and accumulate enough savings to ensure a stable couple of months after my move.

You, my friend, can help me do this by sharing my website, sharing my Kickstarter campaign posts in the coming weeks and continue cheering me on as you have thus far. You all have helped me come this far and it is with your help that I will be able to keep going forward, even though this massive hurdle. 

Thank you.