Help Anthony get to the next level!

My best friend needs our help. After being a home-based costume designer for over six years, my friend, Anthony Godinez is ready to take his business to the next level. His costume designs have been seen on stages in Guam, all across the United States, parts of South America and to The United Kingdom. His designs have been a part of major pageant systems including All American Goddess, Miss Gay United States, Miss Gay America, and later this year, they will be seen at the Miss America Organization pageant. His costumes consistently win awards in pageants and costume contests every time they hit the spotlight. 

Now, seizing the right moment, Anthony has thoughtfully decided to become a vendor for a local convention in New York City called “DragConNYC”. This is a HUGE opportunity for expansion of the Fantasy Feathers brand, as there is projected to be well over 40,000 attendees to the convention. This will be located at NYCs largest event space, The Jacob J Javits Center, for the three day convention. There will be major Pop Culture icons and celebrities on site, as well as individuals from film, tv, Broadway and print media in attendance.  Also, some of his past and future customers will be there. Understandably, this is a big moment for his business.

And knowing Anthony like we do, we know his expectations for perfection and an over-the-top presentation. We have seen his amazing talents with Christmas decorations all over NYC and in his own home as he has invited us multiple times. We have seen how he carefully focuses on the details for wedding production and floral design. 

And most importantly, we have seen Anthony sacrifice his own time and efforts to make our personal events beautiful and picture perfect. I remember back to how Anthony made my wedding day so beautiful and memorable. I also remember how he sacrificed to help me plan birthday parties for my son. And now is our opportunity to help him make his business shine and be seen in the best light possible.

This is physically a big event and a huge marketing opportunity for Anthony and Fantasy Feathers NYC. I’ve been talking with Anthony about all the details, the stress and expenses involved in this huge undertaking and I decided to step up and try to help him out. We’ve worked together and prepared a “Woah List” (He made that up. See how creative?!) of all the items involved in putting together this first step into becoming a significant costuming brand. Our revised goal is $5,000 to cover all the expenses involved in this three day event. With something this big, we could easily budget even more to make an even larger impact, but he has realistic expectations for this first step and wants to make, not just a big impression, but the perfect first impression. This budget includes the three day booth rental fees, entrance fees for the models and booth workers, materials for inventory production as well as labor costs, custom booth decor and signage, costumes for the model,  lodging costs for out of town staff, 1,000 business cards, staff T-shirt’s, and on and on and on. Once you put everything on paper, it really adds up quickly.

Up until this point, Anthony has covered the costs himself and has even taken on almost a quarter of the expense from his own funds. But I think we can help. By helping him financially, he can shift his focus more directly into creating beautiful, wearable, works of art for the masses. We’re both from a tiny town in very rural West Virginia, so I can see the extent of what he has accomplished on his own - with our help, he will be able to do so much more; the sky is the limit!

If you want to make a general donation and/or remain anonymous, you are encouraged to make a donation here on GoFundMe. I will be operating this campaign and Anthony does not have to know where the funds are coming from - but your words of encouragement are also greatly appreciated! And of course, if you’re okay with Anthony knowing you made a donation, he will be able to see the results page increase along with the rest of us. Anthony’s biggest concern is to not make things awkward or pressuring us into helping out. So please don’t feel you are obligated. By checking in on him and offering words of encouragement, he will be lifted up.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this. I know Anthony will be forever grateful for your support for such a big step in his career. I am excited to be apart of this moment and we look forward to sharing this success with you.