Tuesday, October 16, 2012

My ChipIn

 Being a starving artist is both the most rewarding and frustrating job you can have. For me, it was only partly by choice. I knew I wanted to become a fashion designer at age 11 and have been working towards that goal ever since. I began selling my designs in a store before I even graduated college and then went on to become one of Denver’s most well respected designers before taking a brief break so I could make more money doing hair accessories. Even so, I have always had to have a side job to financially support myself. I would love nothing more than to design my clothing and hair accessories full time and get them manufactured to be sold all around the world, but I have no startup money and no way to get it. Eventually, I plan on doing a Kickstarter to officially start my business but that process takes a few months and I am in desperate need of help right now to pay my most basic of living expenses. 

Back in February I quit my job as a seamstress in a costume shop to work for a small company that made coats from recycled sweaters. The money was equal to what I was making before and I got to work from home on my own schedule which allowed me to continue to build my own business. Well this summer, without telling me, that business moved out of state, leaving me unemployed (I found this out from their facebook page). I have been supporting myself these last few months by selling my hair accessories, as well as doing odd sewing jobs whenever I can, but most of that money has dried up. I am desperately poor right now and have had to burden my parents over and over again with my bills. They are unable to support me much longer as my father is unemployed as well. I got a part time seasonal job for a local candy maker but it doesn’t start until her business picks up. I have also signed up for local holiday markets but those require payment up front and are always a risky venture. I am writing this on October 16th and I have yet to pay my entire rent. I am fortunate enough to have an amazing landlord who is probably mad at me for owing him money, but has let me get away with paying part of what I owe him late- THIS MONTH (I doubt he will be so kind in the future.) I dread every time I have to ask my parents for help and I am trying this in hopes that I can maybe ask them a little less often while I look for new work. So here is what I need: 

 -Money to pay for the various holiday markets I have signed up for. These will all make me at least a little bit of money but you have to pay beforehand. 
-Money for my bills which are as follows: Rent $400, RMRG $50, CSU Loan $40, Federal loan $120, Car payment $200, Phone $20, Car insurance $100, Mechanic bill $50 (as you can see I have very low bills, but even they are too much at the moment.) 
-Money for living expenses, such as food and gas. My car uses about $35 of gas a week because of how spread out my different stores and clients are. I walk when I can. 
-Money to buy supplies, such as feathers, metal headbands, and barrettes. These really add up and even though I always make a profit, the upfront cost of supplies is staggering. 
-Money to be able to improve my life and career, such as basic medical insurance, being completely legal with my company, being able to buy more nutritious food again, buy more clothing tags and business cards so I can stop selling things without my name on them, and creating line sheets/catalogs so I can increase the number of stores I am in. 
-Money to build up my web presence, such as rebuilding my website, photographing my products with professional models/photographers/MUAs so I can increase my sales, and blogging again.
Anything you can provide is a huge help and will not go unnoticed.