Everything Happens For A Reason

It’s really hard to believe that 2011 is over. I could say I have no idea where the time went but I do, it was spent with some of the greatest people I have ever known- my Fright Rags family. When I say family I don’t just mean my amazing boss Ben and co-workers Tim and Jes, I mean all of you too. Every day I get to work and take a look at customer service emails and orders that have come in and I smile at the names that come up because I recognize most of them. I have never in my life worked a job where I felt close to the people I serve, but I think that’s because for me, this isn’t a job. Fright Rags is my career. I’d even go so far as to say it’s my lifestyle. Every day, whether I work or not has something to do with Fright Rags and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When I first met Ben I don’t think that I could have ever seen what was ahead of us. It’s much like the quote from Steve Jobs about how you can’t connect the dots looking forward, only looking backwards. I was at the Monster Mania convention in August of 2008 in Cherry Hill, NJ. I had been obsessed with horror movies since I was 3 years old  but had never really found friends that shared my love til my mid twenties. Luckily these friends were already experts in conventions and via them I got to go to my first.  I was overwhelmed with all of the nerdery around me. As we turned the corner to walk to the vendor room I got my first look at Fright Rags. I was blown away by how beautiful the shirts were. I had never seen anything like it. The friend I was with already knew Ben and introduced me. First impressions, not only was Ben a good looking fella, but he was extremely polite and friendly. After a few minutes of chat I found out he lived in Rochester. What were the odds that I traveled over 6 hours away and found someone who lived in the same town as me? The first thing I remember asking Ben was if he would ever consider making a shirt for the film Popcorn (a dream that was realized this past Fall!) and if he needed any help. He politely said “Well not really, but maybe at some point.” In my Kristy brain this translated as “I should probably keep asking him all the time til he relents.” I couldn’t really explain it to myself  but in that short meeting I knew that I wanted to be a part of what was going on. I knew this company was the real deal- nerds who wanted to make awesome shirts for other nerds. It wasn’t about money for them, or for me, I just wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself.

 

Over the next few months I sent Ben relentless texts and MySpace (I know, right?!) messages. He slowly started to hint that maybe he could use help around the office once in a while. The day I went to his house to discuss me working with them was in February of 2009 and it was practically blizzarding out. I walked in to find him with a stack of Friday the 13th shirts, picking out tags with pliers one at a time because the printer had made a mistake. I remember being so impressed that the boss of the company was doing the dirty work. Ben told me that little by little he’d like to have me help him with customer service. I worked a soul-sucking full time job in an office building at the time, and I was grateful to even have a part time job where I was doing something worthwhile. I offered to help Fright Rags at the next convention which was coming up a month later. Ben made it clear that they had enough help for that one but if I wanted to stop by the table I was more than welcome to. I stopped by the table and sort of implanted myself there. It wasn’t about selling the most shirts, I just wanted to show Ben that I had mad customer service skills, but the fact that I sold a ton of shirts didn’t hurt my cause either. When I left on Sunday Ben took me aside to tell me he had been blown away by my attitude and personal skills, and he welcomed me aboard officially. That was that, I was a Fright Rags employee.

 

The first year I worked 40 hours a week at my full time IwishIdidn’thavetoworkherebutIneedtopaymybills job, and about 20 hours a week at Fright Rags learning the business. I always had to struggle to get weekends off from my dayjob to go to conventions with Fright Rags, but it worked and I was glad. Conventions were a time where I felt like I belonged. Every convention weekend made up for me having to walk back into that dayjob when the funtimes were over. In the Summer of 2010, I was called into the boss’ office at my dayjob. I was being accused of using my time there for Fright Rags. They had found an email I had sent to Ben, and even though it had nothing to do with my job at Fright Rags they were trying to make an example of me. I left that day, job still intact but realizing more and more that I didn’t want to work there anymore. I had realized it before but more and more I knew my heart was completely immersed in Fright Rags and that was all I wanted. I called Ben and told him that I didn’t care if he could only have me on for a few more hours a week than I was, I had to quit my dayjob. After some thought Ben told me he would try me out full time for the Summer and we’d see how things went. I remember how elated I was when I walked into my job the next morning, packed up my desk and walked out. I knew this was what was supposed to happen.

 

We got through the Summer and Ben said he was keeping me on full time. I don’t think I had ever been so happy in all my life. Not only would I get to work in an office where I didn’t feel like gouging my eyes out every day, but I would get to go to conventions and have a boss who actually cared about me.  From the start of our friendship Ben had always been supportive of my desire to be a professional writer and once I started working full time at Fright Rags he pushed me even further. I started writing online thanks to him and insane inspiration from John Squires and his blog Freddy In Space. Within a year I was writing articles in Fangoria and Famous Monsters, to now writing exclusively in print for HorrorHound Magazine, one of my nerd dreams come true!

 

Through Fright Rags I have had so many good turns of fortune, whether it’s meeting new friends or meeting celebrities I have dreamed of meeting since I was a child. Fright Rags has given me some of the greatest memories I could’ve never imagined I would ever have. What am I trying to say about all of this? I am forever indebted to Ben Scrivens, the man behind Fright Rags for giving me an amazing life. Moreover though I have to thank all of you for supporting Fright Rags and me so much. I really do feel like I have a third family, outside of the one I was born with and the friends who sustain me, and that’s my Fright Rags family, a lot of whom fall into my friends category. Thanks to all of you for always being you- horror nerds, in the end that’s what unites us, isn’t it?

 

I wanted to end this with giving you a glimpse into my life over the last couple of years through conventions. Granted this is such a small vivisection of my life at shows, but I wanted to include some pics of me meeting some of my favorite celebrities, and more importantly pics with some of you. They aren’t in chronological order, so you can see how often my hair changes, and that I seem to wear the same shirts at conventions!  I apologize that I couldn’t include all of my pics with Fright Rags fans, but know that you all mean the world to me.

 

To quote one of my favorite musicians, Matthew Good, “There is an unseen direction that is both unfelt and unimagined.” You really never know when you meet someone how they might end up being a huge part of your life.

 

Thank You and Much Love!

Kristy