One of the challenges of trying to live and breathe and, well, make some kind of living as an independent musician, artist and designer (particularly in these uncertain pandemic-disrupted times) is finding ways to allow your passions to thrive and (hopefully) pay for themselves. I have a habit of being very efficient in any jobs I take on, and wind up working myself to the bone for little or no pay, which is not only completely pointless, but also takes away from the time and energy I can dedicate to pursuing my life’s mission. I also have a terrible habit of accepting commissions for artwork or web design work and then not insisting on being paid for my efforts. That’s something I’m having to work on, actually...
Luckily, I’m incredibly simple and pretty accustomed to fairly Stoic living conditions, so I don’t need much to survive. When I finally quit my translation job (which you can read about in the Sirius discography page, as it happens), I also conceived of The FutureRetro Electro Shop to support my new, decidedly non-lucrative full-time music career. But not just with ordinary “band merch”. I wanted it to be a thing-in-itself. Another creative outlet that relates to the music, but not necessarily in any obvious way. “Band merch” is pretty much always t-shirts for rabid fans or casual concert or festival goers who want some kind of souvenir. They often don’t have designs that are immediately appealing as things-in-themselves. And that’s what I didn’t want. Sure, there are “band t-shirts” in the shop, but there’s also a lot more. Stuff I hope you’ll find beautiful, comfortable and useful in your everyday lives. After all, if I’m asking you to support me, it’s kind of my duty to give you something of surprisingly good value in return. I’m told I under-charge for the quality of the items, but that’s ok with me.
Now, as of today (28 June 2020) I’ve found I’m able to accept credit/debit card payments as well as Paypal, which I hope will make things more convenient for anybody who visits and encourage y’all to buy some stuff you’ll enjoy. I’ve got brand new Sakura Breeze coordinates going into the shop every day just now, and a series of “Famous Mountains I Have Known” T-shirts. Please have a look!