2021: A retrospective and foresight

2021 is going at full force! We’re a bit over a quarter into the new year now, and things are finally, albeit slowly, starting to look up.
With vaccines finally having been developed and being administered to people, this nightmare may finally be over in a few months.
Just a bit longer until we can leave this pandemic behind us and get back to normal life, so hang in there!

Now it doesn’t even need saying, but I’ll say it anyway: 2020 sucked.
It’s almost become difficult to look back at how simple things were before that year. No restrictions at all on seeing people, traveling, events/festivals, etc.
And not to mention the huge financial blows most businesses have taken since this started (with only minimal compensation).
It’s hard to imagine we’ve already been enduring all this for over a year!

Pictured: 2020 in a nutshell (unless you sell hand sanitizer)

You might think that kaomoji, primarily being an online web shop, hasn’t been hit too hard by the pandemic. That's partially true, as we've been able to continue our work just fine.
However, because budgets have been tight for many people, and buying luxury clothing isn't the first thing on people's minds, we've definitely felt some pressure ourselves. Add on top of that unreliable shipping as a result of the virus, leading to a heap of issues (especially early on).
Thankfully things are a bit better now. And we've been able to turn all that pressure into motivation!

There is one important thing in particular that we haven’t been able to do since last year: Attend cons!
Conventions are, aside from being fun and a great opportunity to meet fans, a big help in both selling our items and getting the word out about kaomoji!
This is probably the single biggest thing we can’t wait to get back to doing. We miss you guys!

Pictured: Kaomoji at Animecon 2019

Not just the conventions have been affected: Our collaborations with retailers have also slowed down due to the virus.
Obviously, things are significantly harder now for physical stores, as they may have to enforce severe restrictions or even close up shop entirely for the time being.
Therefore, make sure to support your local businesses as much as possible, they need it!

Pictured: Kaomoji at Akiba Station, Sint-Niklaas

In conclusion we're not in the clear just yet, though we thankfully seem to be past the peak at least.
For now, let's look forward to the future!
We don’t know exactly what and when our next convention will be, but whatever it may be: We hope to see you there soon!