I'm currently in a 24/7 study cafe in Seoul, Korea at 11:23 pm writing this blog post surrounded by several hardworking students revising their materials. Their sheer determination to do well in their academics is truly admirable. What if I studied that hard in school? What if teachers actually liked me? There are no what if-s in the bygone history but here I am still just being a semi-miserable emo "kid" into my 30s with an attention span of a toddler. Anyways, I do appreciate the energy I receive working in proximity to these hardworking students. What does not help very much is the amount of silence in this study cafe that I would describe as suffocating, and how timidly careful I am pressing my finger against each buttons of my laptop keyboard.
A lot has happened for EMO IS FOR LOVERS since the last update went through on July 2023. Lots of ups, and few downs as well. Biggest down was that we had lost access to the account of our very own website that had just opened weeks ago. Only a week ago was I able to get our account back. We were explaining to the support team about the situation, and provided information on our website. Then I got very self-conscious because I somehow felt like they would read our previous blog post. Remember the feeling of reading your own diary that you wrote as a kid? That was how I felt reading my own blog again. No matter how "mature" I get, and feel like you are now the most adult version of yourself, you cant help but to feel the cringe again. Will this ever change, I wonder, but again who really even cares, and why does it matter: we fucking got this.
So just about a week ago, we had finally managed to get our account back. It means we're back to business. Yes, literally. We now sell EMO IS FOR LOVERS exclusive merch, along with other cute accessories. It was a very long and challenging process but somehow we pulled it together. This was only possible thanks to the amazing staff, team, and our loving members in the community providing support and positivity to go on. This makes us even more proud of our community, and a reassurance that it is a loving space.
Speaking of business, that word "business" to me has a bitter ring to it. I often feel like some people use the term "small-businesses" to justify(?) or wash down this bitter after taste. But also because EMO IS FOR LOVERS is and will forever be a community focused brand vs profit/ revenue generating company. This is another reason why I am so nervous about people potentially having different thoughts about our merch. Maybe I am overly conscious about wanting to be understood properly. Either way the truth is the price are set to a reasonable low price. We understand how some younger emos would not be in good financial situation and interacting with them so often, we understand how tough the reality is for many people in the community. Also, very importantly, instead of directly profiting from sales, we want to have more people flex our brand/ merch, and spread our mission and values towards the bigger masses. This will ultimately make us much happier than profiting off sales. With that said, if you have any feedback or requests on merch or product lines, please let us know!! I plan on making collections of blog post running through the processes and details of each of the products we have listed as our merch because that'd be pretty cool. I want to be cool 🤙 😎
I do not intend to be a marketer heartlessly hyping people with flashy tags on: WHY YOU MUST GET THIS SICKASS MERCH OR ELSE YOU WONT BE COOL LOSERZ type of message nor do I want to. But this excites me personally because I have easier "excuse" to flaunt wearing more cute emo accessories for myself. I can simply say "oh these are from a community that I am part of." and that'll be it. And you can do the same!! ^.^/ We ought to accept ourselves as we are. Sometimes it isn't the easiest thing to do when it comes to judging your own self. This is very hard for me as you may already tell from this blog post, but it is a reminder to myself, to the community, and all emo lovers around the world that it is really okay. And we are here for you if you ever need a community to support your emotions.
Once again, I am tremendously grateful for every interaction with us, and interest towards our growing community and brand. I wont let any of you down. I promise. I thought I should share that before closing this off.
