I grew up feeling different.
I was raised in the Catholic Church, but even at a young age, there were things about religion that did not make sense to me. I often felt like fear played too large a role, and I never truly felt like I belonged there.
For much of my life, I felt like the black sheep.
I was drawn to things other people around me did not always understand: witches, psychics, the supernatural, alternative fashion, and the idea that there might be more to the world than what I had been taught.
Those interests were never just an aesthetic to me. They felt familiar. They felt like me.
But for years, I did not always have the freedom to express that.
I spent time in relationships where even the colors I wore or the way I dressed could be controlled. When someone else decides how you are allowed to present yourself, it becomes easy to lose pieces of your identity.
Once I finally had the freedom to make those choices for myself, I began discovering who I had been all along.
Years later, my life changed in ways I never expected.
I had built a career in photography that I loved. Creating memories for people meant something to me, and I was proud of what I had built.
Then I became disabled and could no longer work the way I had before.
Around the same time, I was grieving the loss of my youngest son.
I was in one of the darkest periods of my life. I had lost much of my independence, I could no longer do the work I loved, and I was trying to figure out what came next.
Then I saw a commercial for Poshmark.
At first, I simply thought I could sell a few things from around the house.
I had no idea it would change the direction of my life.
Poshmark gave me something I had been missing: connection.
It was not only about listing products. There was a community there, and I began meeting people from all kinds of backgrounds.
I discovered that I was good at selling, but more importantly, I loved connecting with people.
It gave me a way to begin rebuilding my independence from home.
Over time, I started listing more of the things I personally loved, including alternative fashion and witch-inspired pieces.
That was when I began seeing another side of things.
Some people did not understand it. Some even blocked me because of the products I sold or because I openly identified as a witch.
It hurt, but it also showed me something important.
There were other people out there who felt judged for the exact same reasons.
I eventually created a second Poshmark closet focused entirely on alternative styles.
From there, I started a community called The Black Roses.
It became a place where people interested in alternative fashion and lifestyles could connect without feeling judged.
I began hearing from people who were grateful simply to have somewhere they felt comfortable.
That stayed with me.
These were people who wanted gothic fashion, witchy pieces, punk, emo, horror, cosplay, anime, and styles that did not always fit neatly into what the rest of the world considered “normal.”
And there just were not enough places serving them.
The more I listened, the clearer the idea became.
I remember realizing that this needed to become something bigger.
There were alternative brands already out there, but I believed there was room for more.
More variety.
More accessibility.
More aesthetics.
And most importantly, more places where people could explore what they loved without feeling like they had to explain themselves.
That was the beginning of A Gothic Universe.
I did not want to build a store around one narrow definition of gothic fashion.
I wanted to create a universe.
A place where witches, goths, punks, emos, horror lovers, grunge fans, anime lovers, cosplayers, curious newcomers, and anyone drawn to the alternative world could find something that spoke to them.
Being a Grey Witch is not a costume or a marketing idea for me.
It is part of how I see myself and how I try to move through the world.
To me, it means caring about people, animals, nature, and the Earth. It means trying to help rather than harm and treating people with compassion, no matter what they believe.
It also means understanding the importance of boundaries and protecting the people I love.
My beliefs are personal, but one principle sits at the center of them:
Harm none.
I spent many years feeling misunderstood for who I was and what I believed.
That is one of the reasons acceptance matters so much to me now.
A Gothic Universe is not meant to be a random collection of anything dark or edgy.
I am personally involved in choosing what belongs here.
If something does not fit the spirit of A Gothic Universe, it does not belong in the store.
I want the products to be interesting, expressive, wearable, fun, unusual, or meaningful.
But I never want the store to become only about being provocative or shocking.
That is not the point.
The point is self-expression.
When you visit A Gothic Universe, I want you to feel comfortable.
I want you to feel safe exploring what you like.
I want you to know that you do not have to prove anything to belong here.
You do not have to be goth enough.
You do not have to be witchy enough.
You do not need the right label.
You might wear black every day, or you might only be beginning to explore alternative fashion.
You might love horror, anime, witchcraft, punk, grunge, cosplay, or something that does not fit neatly into any category at all.
You are still welcome.
Being different does not make you bad.
It does not make you less than anyone else.
Sometimes it simply means you see beauty somewhere other people do not.
Building A Gothic Universe has not been easy.
When I started, I knew very little about building an e-commerce store or turning the vision in my head into something real.
There have been setbacks, wrong turns, long nights, and a lot of learning.
My partner, Roj, eventually joined me in building the store. He taught himself coding and Shopify development along the way so we could keep moving closer to the vision I had imagined.
We are still building.
Still improving.
Still learning.
And I do not plan to give up on it.
Because A Gothic Universe has never been just about selling products to me.
My dream is for A Gothic Universe to grow into a real community.
I want it to become a place people enjoy returning to, not only because they find things they love, but because they feel understood here.
I want someone exploring alternative culture for the first time to feel just as welcome as someone who has lived in this world their entire life.
And yes, I hope A Gothic Universe grows into a major alternative retailer.
But the dream goes beyond that.
I want to build something meaningful enough to outlive me.
Something my children can continue.
Something that started with one person who never quite felt like she fit in and grew into a place where other people could finally feel that they do.
If you have ever felt like the black sheep, there is room for you here.
Come as you are.
— Luna
Founder of A Gothic Universe
