< what is user_ERROR? >
user_ERROR started as a merch store for myself [userELAINE_EXE].
growing up i was always in my parents way, between them and whatever project they were working on, asking them how it worked. being a nuissance in this manner taught me everything, including how to pick things apart to figure out what makes them tick. this cursed me with the plight of Wanting To Make Everything Myself.
in my teens [a very long time ago] i vended a few art fairs selling handmade jewelry, patches, buttons, etc; but i never really sold anything until 2020. the covid shutdowns closed the strip club i called home, and i had to find other ways to survive.
i moved across the country to live with a friend of mine [cabin fever is a bitch, i needed a change of scenery], bought a used computerized sewing and embroidery machine to replace my busted ass plastic singer, and started making and selling masks on etsy under the shop name PUREMOURNING. they were freaky; covered in spikes and o-rings, made from PVC and faux leather. i only put them on etsy because everyone really liked the one i made for myself . . . i didnt expect to sell a single one. eventually i branched into jewelry and boot chains. [maybe these will all make a comeback on user_ERROR?]
puremourning has been dead for years. i closed up shop and went back to the strip club for a short time when they reopened, saving all my tips to buy a PC, but eventually quit when i realized covid absolutely demolished strip club money. i'll go back when i can, because i do miss it . . . but now i spend my time making [bad] websites, streaming on twitch, moderating for xxafterlife, making anything and everything i can with my own two hands, doing digital design, collecting physical media and vintage slogan tees, and touring with my band.
when someone introduced the idea of "streamer merch" to me, i thought - having a merch store for myself is kinda silly . . . id rather make it its own whole thing. so, the ideas of Userelaine's Twitch Merch and PUREMOURNING were merged: user_ERROR. why just make shirts about me for a niche audience when i have so many more ideas in my head? why JUST shirts when i could use a P.O.D. host like fourthwall who prints merch on demand but will also let me host more personal handmade items on the same site? who is going to fill the gap sikworld left behind all those years ago, and who says it cant it be me?????
> userELAINE_exe