SOS! Trash Lamb Needs Your Support!

** Updated September 23, 2024 **

Thank you so much to everyone who has thrown in and helped to make this next art show happen. I am happy to say that the offer made on the property did not go through as the buyer backed out after seeing the inspection results! This is great news and provides a bit more hope regarding the situation.

At this point I am not worried about rent increasing, as even if another offer is accepted on the property at this point, it would not finalize until after the New Year when I plan on vacating anyway. Due to this new development, I have lowered the goal of the campaign. I will still need to secure more support to make it through December and will continuing to be begging for money on the internet until I am forced to call it. As it stands, I still have not paid rent for this month and am relying on the kindness of the current landlord to remain here until the end of the year.

FYI: I recently added "Lyft Driver" to my daily grind as it can fit into my hectic schedule and generate some funds to help keep the fire going. Who needs sleep anyways? So, if you see me driving around in a new car, don't get the wrong idea... it's a rental. Not mine!

Thank you again for being here and giving a shit! ❤️️

** Updated September 2024**

I have some good news and I have some bad news. I will start with the good news… It has been one year since I first launched this SOS /Fundraising Campaign and as I type this, Trash Lamb Gallery remains open at the brick-and-mortar in South Park, San Diego. This would not have been possible without all who have donated and supported this past year and I’m SO thankful for every one of you. 

Now the bad news… New year, new problems (plus the old ones too) and sadly the outlook is more dire than before. The bad news is that the building that the gallery is in was listed for sale a couple of months ago and an offer has been accepted. I was hoping that the sale would take a long time and that I would be able to keep the gallery open through the end of 2024 at least but it happened quickly and I will soon be facing an increase in the gallery’s monthly rent. This latest development is what has sparked this update. I am here to try and reignite the momentum of support that has already come in and hopefully secure the remaining funding so that Trash Lamb can keep our unconventionally curated brick-and-mortar in South Park open through the end of this year and then take January 2025 to clear out the space and move out. 

This past year I have had to take on part-time work to keep the brick and mortar open, which also makes it so I can’t be there to keep the brick and mortar open (more than 2 days a week). It is frustrating and feels counter-productive but that’s what I have to do to make it work. Because I was not able to get fully funded last year, I was not able to hire help and I have only been able to keep the gallery open mostly on the weekends these days.  

Volunteers have not been viable for a long time now and have been an option that was heavily explored in the past. People highly romanticize what the job entails and offer to “sit here and watch the counter” all the time. It takes some skill and a whole lot of knowledge about all the different artists that I represent. It takes being able to be outgoing and talkative with the clientele, and it takes being reliable (being able to show up when you say you can and not cancel at the last minute, leaving me hanging). Not to mention the liability of it all, handling expensive art and money. The business has grown to the point that my time is one of the most valuable things that I have right now as I still wear all the hats and run Trash Lamb on my own. I cannot invest any more of it in finding or training volunteers at this point. For those interested, things I would accept help with SEO website stuff, putting up fliers, organizing and running a fundraising event, and photography (take pictures at in-person events, I am always too busy and distracted with talking to people and I rarely remember to take photos at events and regret it every time or to help with photographing things for the website or promotional uses).

It has been incredibly hard this past year, as I am still struggling to keep up with covering the operating costs each month. I have been so grateful to have had a supportive landlord who has been aware of my financial struggles and not raised the rent (in my 4 years of being in the space) and has been very understanding when I have had to pay late. Without his generosity, along with yours, I would not have been able to keep the gallery open this past year. I am so thankful for all of it.

   

The sad reality of it though is that Trash Lamb cannot afford to be a brick-and-mortar in San Diego any longer. This past year has been the lowest in sales at the gallery and some months the space hasn’t even made enough to cover the operating costs. Late last year I took some small business courses through SDCC and also took advantage of a free small business mentor through the SCORE program. With the knowledge I gained from these experiences and the decline in sales from the space, it’s become painfully apparent that Trash Lamb is not sustainable as a brick-and-mortar in San Diego at this time. If I had a trust fund or was able to borrow more money, I would keep going as I still believe in it wholeheartedly, but neither of those things is my reality and I’m going to have to call it and let go of the physical space.

I have worked so hard to find ways to make it work this last year. I looked into many different solutions and explored other options for funding. I applied to over 15 different grants ranging from $500 to $100,000. I built a second website by myself, researched businesses to contact, and started a separate wholesale side to Trash Lamb for the postcards, stickers, and other things I have printed/made. So far I have a stockist in Portland with 2 locations and many more to come. 

I also found people to rent out part of the gift shop and even considered renting out the gallery space once in a while for others to curate a show in. With the sale of the building though, I’m no longer willing to compromise my vision here just to lose money every month. Authenticity is a thing here at Trash Lamb and sadly, closing the brick-and-mortar is the best way for me to stay true to that.

My online business has been the real breadwinner for quite some time now and continues to grow, even without getting my full attention. The brick-and-mortar takes up a lot of my time and often loses money each month. I can’t sustain this any longer, especially with the upcoming rent increase. I hate to admit it because I worked so hard to get the gallery going but it has been made obvious to me that Trash Lamb has to transition into a mainly “online only” existence to survive. After closing the space Trash Lamb will still exist “in the flesh” for appearances at occasional pop-up events in San Diego and I will have opportunities to temporarily take over some spaces in Los Angeles, Joshua Tree, and Mexico City to curate in-person, group art shows and still get to hang art on in-real-life walls from time to time. 

I’m proud to say that I created something a lot larger than the lil gallery in South Park so its closure doesn’t mean it’s over for Trash Lamb. In true honesty, it will be the opposite as new doors have already begun to open after deciding to close the space permanently. I am confident that this will only continue to happen when I get more time to spend on it after I’m not responsible for all the duties of running the physical space. While part of me is devastated to part with it, part of me is also excited about this next chapter and looking forward to all of the inevitable growth. I have been swimming (flailing?) so hard to keep my head above water for 4 years now and I’m flipping TIRED. I am both deeply sad and so eager to finally catch a break.

I am pushing this fundraiser again and hoping to reach the goal so I can secure enough funds to ensure that the gallery can stay open through January 2025. I would love to be able to “ease” our way into this transition of closing the physical space and give us all a little time to say goodbye and celebrate the place. I want to be able to host the last 3 art shows that I have planned in person and let those artists have the opportunity to have their work on a physical wall and not just on my website. If I cannot raise more funds quickly then I will have to give notice and be out very fast. 

By donating you are not just helping to ensure Trash Lamb’s final months as a brick-and-mortar in San Diego, but you are also supporting the amazing artists that I have booked and helping to keep creativity alive in a world that is constantly trying to destroy it. Securing the rest of the funding will allow the gallery to stay in business through the end of the year for the holiday season and then take the month of January 2025 to have a big sale and clear out furniture and gift shop items that I no longer will carry once I transition into mainly an online presence. Reaching the full amount will ensure that the gallery can be open a minimum of 4-days a week (the goal is 7 days but that will depend on if sales improve or not or if we raise more funding than the current goal) Anything beyond the goal will go towards keeping the space open more days each week. I want to be able to give people as much of an opportunity to come by as I can while we are still here. 

Sneak peek at upcoming shows that your donation will help make possible:

Opening Sept 28th: “Chimera,” a group show featuring Lindy Ivey (San Diego), Sarah Lee (London, UK), Nikki Virbitsky (Palm Springs), Michelle Shannahan (Long Beach, CA), Violet Aveline (Portland, OR), and Melody Jean Moulton (me!, San Diego, CA). Prompt that I gave the artists to inspire their work: “ Chimera: 1. In Greek mythology a fire-breathing, female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. 2. Any mythical animal with parts taken from various animals. 3. A thing hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve (this as it relates to some type of creature though, I’m going for a magical beast, animal hybrid, mutation type vibe for the show). 4. An organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues formed by processes such as mutation.” 

Opening Oct. 25th: Solo show with Crap Man aka Mayo Maggiore (Milan, Italy) - Title of show is TBA. 

Opening in mid-Nov: our annual, no-theme group show, “Less Than An Old Pair Of Centenaries 5” featuring all artwork priced at $200 or less for the holidaze. This will run until the end of the year and then January will just feature all unsold art I still have on consignment as I have the place open a final month to sell off closeout items and furniture and clear out the space. 

If I have to close the brick-and-mortar sooner, these shows will still happen but they will be online-only and the artists won’t get to celebrate an opening reception or get to see their work on a physical wall. I’ll attach photos of some of the work in the Chimera show, I’m dying over how good everyone’s work is!

So, please, San Diego, I’m especially talking to you! I’m asking y’all to show up for Trash Lamb this one last time and help to make these shows happen in person and without a delay. 

A little over four years ago when I dreamed up this crazy plan and opened the space just a few months later, the imposter syndrome was fierce and I would have never been able to say what I’m going to say next… Damn, I did something cool and I’m proud of myself for taking the risks that I did and for sticking it out for so long and not giving up. In doing so I ended up creating a viable business and making a name for not only myself but also for many of the other artists that I represent. Trash Lamb has given some artists a leg up that sparked opportunities that they would not have had if not for their involvement with me and it’s that type of thing that makes all the hard stuff worthwhile. 

For some artists, it was their first time showing in a gallery ever. A handful have reached out to tell me that some of their current biggest collectors were people who found their art through me and have since bought multiple pieces from them directly. I’ve had some tell me that they were accepted into other galleries or residencies because of their involvement with me and that it propelled their career into its next chapter. 

I have also supported the creative community in general by making all my public calls for art FREE to submit to. Most galleries are “invite only” or charge a non-refundable submission fee for their public calls (submissions), anywhere from $5 to $50. Even though I am broke, I would rather bear the shame of asking the general public for more funds than resorting to charging artists a fee for this. So far, I get an average of 100 submissions per public call and while it could be a huge help in funding, I’d rather not have to resort to charging a fee for that. As an artist myself who still shows in other galleries and has had to bear submission fees (still do sometimes), I understand how hard it is to be broke and have to scrape together enough cash to submit only to be rejected and out what I paid. It’s the worst.

I want to be clear that all of the money raised so far and all of the funds that will be contributed in the future have gone and will go toward operating costs at the brick & mortar. Last year I had more than one person say, “It must be nice to not be in debt anymore” after raising the first $20,000. I wish! But also I wouldn’t do a GoFundMe to pay off debt, that doesn’t feel right to me. It was my choice to take on the financial burden and I’ll be paying it off on my own (or I’ll die trying). 

If I don’t secure enough funding in the next few weeks I will be closing immediately, so as I said before, donations are going towards operating costs to keep the brick-and-mortar open. For the record, I am still in the same amount of debt I was in when I originally launched this campaign a year ago. I make monthly payments towards my loans, maybe get a little headway and then inevitably need to use the line of credit to keep the lights on and get back to where I started as far as being in the hole goes. Also, sadly $20,000 wouldn’t cover it! Running a small business with a brick-and-mortar in San Diego isn’t cheap.

Last year I had lots of people offer to donate artwork and a few venues to do fundraisers. I was immensely grateful but it was too much for me to organize a lot of it by myself on top of running the gallery. I am already struggling to keep up with what is on the program here and sometimes I don’t think people realize the amount of work that goes into organizing an event or an art auction or putting on an art show in general. I am still sitting on artwork that was donated last year because I have not had the time to put together an auction, promote it, etc. If I took the time to do that right now, I would have to neglect other things that are integral to the gallery's functioning. Those fundraisers last year were amazing and again I was so thankful but organizing everything made me so behind on the day-to-day at the gallery that I can’t afford to do that again. I am not a machine and am still just one person doing all the jobs here, this means that I am constantly behind on things. Adding more tasks for myself right now is not possible.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all of this and I hope you’ll consider throwing in a little something to support the arts. If you’ve ever wanted to buy me a coffee, lunch, or a drink, do this instead! All the small amounts add up and every donation big or small is greatly appreciated. I also understand if you love Trash Lamb but aren’t able to help out financially, I get it, I’m broke too! Another way to show your support, which doesn’t cost anything, is to share about this campaign on social media. Share a post or a story about the fundraiser and let people know why Trash Lamb is special to you. Kind words can go a long way, you never know who will see it and decide they want to pitch in. 

** Please don’t ask me how much the rent is here or for information about taking the space over once I leave. I am in the works of having a friend take over the lease and will be helping them to secure the space. It is art-related and a gazillion times cooler than Trash Lamb could ever be. More info on that as things unfold here. **

** If you are reading this and still waiting for an online order to ship, please don’t fret. I am behind on everything and it’s coming, I promise! Closing the brick-and-mortar will not affect online orders whatsoever, if anything it will improve them as I’ll have more time to keep up with things. If your online order is for local pick-up and I have to close the brick-and-mortar quickly, I live in the neighborhood (South Park) and will happily meet you in a public place nearby to hand it off. Hopefully, that is not the case though and you’ll have some time to come pick up and be able to pay your respects to the gallery in person! Thank you to everyone who has supported Trash Lamb by purchasing something rad from me and if you’re still waiting for it to ship, I’m sorry! Thank you for being patient and understanding while I manage this wild situation and get caught up with shipping in the next week or so. Please don’t hesitate to email me if you’re worried about something or have a question! DM's on social media are often buried and I don't see them right away, email is the best and fastest way to get ahold of me. **

** If you are reading this and you are an artist that I represent and I still have your work on consignment here, also please don’t fret. If we haven’t already spoken about what is going on, I will be contacting you directly in the next few weeks to talk about it and please don’t hesitate to reach out via email sooner if you have questions or concerns that you need addressed sooner. I think all of you know me (or of me) well enough to know that your work is safe here and won’t just disappear if I have to close the brick-and-mortar quickly. I had hoped to talk to everyone individually before posting this update but there are a lot of you and I needed to start reaching out for financial support without any more of a delay. Thank you for having your amazing artwork here and talk soon! **

Original post from August 2023:

I originally wrote a novel about what is going on over here and after sending it to a few knowledgable ones for feedback the consensus was to keep this short and sweet. That being said, I am an open book, if you would like more details I am happy to answer any questions, please reach out.

Here goes… The gallery is currently in dire straights. Without some immediate financial support, Trash Lamb will not make it to the end of the year. If you know me well, you know that asking for help is one of my personal Hells but the only other alternative is closing the gallery and I’ve worked too hard and invested too much to let that happen without giving this one last shot.

After opening the doors during a global pandemic in October of 2020 and defying all odds by making it to 3 years, it is devastating to think that I may have to throw in the towel now, before the 5 year mark. I have borrowed all that I am able to and don't have any more financial resources. I believe in Trash Lamb so much that I would 100% take on more debt if I could. So, now this is why I am reaching out to the community for help.

I know I’ve created something special here because those both near and far have expressed appreciation and I see it in the awe and wonder of every single person who walks through the door for the first time. If I didn’t feel the love and encouragement from y’all, I wouldn’t have had the guts to do this campaign, so thank you for that.

Donating to the cause will ensure that Trash Lamb Gallery stays open until the end of the year. If we are able to become fully funded that will give Trash Lamb the opportunity to grow and make it past that quintessential 5-year mark. As it stands I have been doing all of the jobs here, running two separate businesses (an art gallery and a gift shop), since I opened 3 years ago. I didn’t have past experience and had to learn a lot as I went. I see where the holes are and I’m finally facing the realization that I’m just one person and will never be able to fill them all by myself. I am a human being, not a robot, I can only do so much on my own. If this unconventionally curated haven is going to survive, I’m going to need some help. Without question, Trash Lamb existing beyond 2023 is contingent on having the means to grow.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for considering donating to keep this artist-run, creative space alive.

Thank you to every single person who has supported the gallery in any way since I opened the doors and of course to all of the amazing artists who help make it the special, inspiring, and well-respected place that it’s become.

I have rad art shows booked for you here through 2024, we got this, let’s keep Trash Lamb on the map! If you know, you know how important it is and if you don't know, help keep it here anyways so you can get the chance to find out ;)

Cheers,

Melody Jean Moulton,

Owner / Lead Janitor

Trash Lamb Gallery

2365 30th Street

San Diego, CA 92104

USA / Planet Earth

P.S. If you are unable to donate and would like to support, a kind word goes a long way. Please share this and let others know why Trash Lamb is important to you. Help spread the word!

P.P.S. You can find more info about the gallery or contact me with questions here.