2020 Update

It’s very hard to express how crazy 2020 has been for me and for all of us. When I wrote my last update, I had events planned for every month of 2020, a concert series scheduled, invested in expensive equipment to start a podcast, a stable career going into its 9th year, and a timeline to finish up the renovations.

Since that last blog post, a lot has happened. Some good, some bad, but all of the major and life-changing in some aspect. I am finally getting my hands around this year and decided I needed to send out an update. Hopefully this explains my silence and sheds light on what is going on at Clientele.

What Happened in 2020?
  1.     I switched careers: I worked at the same company since starting as an intern in 2011. Overall, I was treated very well and given the opportunity to open Clientele. Over the last year, however, they started having financial troubles and eventually went into bankruptcy. I’ll skip the details but will say it slowly became clear that I needed to switch careers. I was fortunate enough to find a job I am extremely excited about within days of deciding to switch. Needless to say, I had to focus on this entirely new career for a while and not the gallery.
  2.     I went to Australia: Sometimes, when an opportunity falls onto your lap, you just got to say f#ck it. A couple of friends and myself have been looking for an opportunity to travel for some time. One day we found a great deal on plane tickets to Sydney and decided to make it work. I had an amazing time, made some awesome friends, saw amazing sights, traveled up the coast, and already want to go back. I highly recommend going if you can make it work. Anyway, this trip landed more or less in the middle of my “two weeks” from my previous job, which led to my focus shifting away from Clientele and towards this new job. Then “2020” hit.
  3.     COVID-19: Our last show was The Divine Feminine on the 8th of February. On the 9th, I boarded a plane to Australia. By March 9th, it was clear we would need to postpone our March show and concert in order to see how things shook out with the virus. Well, as you all know, they did not shake out well. So far, we have “postponed” our March, April, May, and June shows and concerts. I am postponing July’s events as well. The pandemic has been such a powerful force across the world. It has taken away loved ones, destroyed world economies, caused major unrest, and completely changed what it meant to have an average day. I typically try to look for optimism regarding situations. It’s been very hard over the past couple of months but it has allowed me time to slow down and catch my breath, which is something I feel like I haven’t been able to do since Clientele opened. It has also given me the time to get the space where it needs to be to operate in the long-term. I’ll touch more on that in a bit.
  4.     The Protests: Since opening Clientele, I’ve tried to keep my personal opinions separate from the space. Clientele has been and always will be a place for our artists, period. With that said, I can say with extreme confidence this place has and will continue to stand with those currently protesting civil injustices and police brutality across America. Our country was built out of protesting incursions on our liberties and has constantly grown and moved forward the same way. Our nation will continue to make progress through these hardships if we continue to fight for them.
Where Do We Go from Here?

Well, I actually have a pretty good idea. I have decided not to reopen until operating the venue is safe for myself, those who help me, and our community. I also want to complete every project on my plate. When it reopens, I want to sell beer, have normal operating hours, have our events open and viewable for more than a night, and stock our artist’s pieces, prints, stickers, shirts, etc. I want to have the courtyard looking great and the front patio usable. I cannot say when all this will finish, but know that my project timeline is measured in days and weeks, not months. Once I have settled on a date I will be sure to announce it and we will have a party like no other, of course, in the Clientele way. We are looking forward to spending time with you again.

So to summarize (TL;DR): This year has been nuts, but I am catching my breath (safely and at a distance from others). I am unsure when we will reopen, but we are reopening! When we do, you will hardly recognize the place!

Thanks for being patient,

Will