Save Sterling Quest: Support Billy King's Studio

It’s no secret that Sterling Quest has hit hard times. With our last fundraiser we were able to pay off the studio’s sizable past debts, and with a dramatic downsize, we were able to stay afloat for the past 12 months. As Billy’s health has continued to decline, the possibility of taking on students has completely disappeared. Billy now solely relies on the people who rent desks to pay the rent and provide an income for him. The ability to pay the rent in 6 month increments using the GoFundMe money we raised last year convinced the landlord to keep the price of rent low… but unfortunately the fundraiser money has finally run out. To stay afloat, Sterling Quest has doubled the desk rent, taken on renters who did not receive full training from Billy (a BIG change from the past), and relied on the people renting to run the studio (organize and buy all the chemicals/gas/oxygen, make sure the bills get paid, care for the tools) but we’re coming up short. At the end of August we no longer have enough money to pay the rent AND pay Billy. We are all preparing for the studio to go under at the end of August, but we thought we would try one last thing to keep this beloved SMA institution alive… ask our community for help!

It’s time to be brutally honest, Billy is in poor health. We worry about his mental health as well as his physical health. The studio provides a small income for him, as well as something for him to do. We all know that as we age, life can become lonely, and without an opportunity to socialize and put our minds to good use, our mental health can decline. Billy himself said that Sterling Quest is his purpose, the reason he gets out of bed in the morning. We fear losing his weekly visits to the studio would be detrimental to his mental health. We KNOW that losing his only income source will be detrimental to his health. So we are searching for a way for the studio to survive, even if its only for another year.

To be clear, all of the people currently renting at Sterling Quest have other options for studio access. Many of us have our own home studios, or can rent space at another local studio for a good price. We are deciding to stay with Sterling Quest because we love it, we love Billy, and we can see that Billy needs help. His business is not sustainable as is. We are working hard to find a way for Sterling Quest to live a little longer, in hopes that Billy can enjoy his life’s purpose a little longer, while his health still allows it.

We all donated last year, and it was because of this outpouring of love we were able to stay afloat while Billy’s health continued to decline. This year we are asking again. Here in SMA we are holding a pop-up fundraising event to try to bring in some money. We will run art workshops, sell our second hand clothing, provide silver cleaning/repair services, donate pieces of jewelry to sell, and hold a raffle for the grand prize: a ring making class at Sterling Quest, taught by one of our renters. We are also raising the desk rent again. So everybody currently here in San Miguel is donating their time, money, art, and anything we can come up with to help raise funds to keep Sterling Quest alive.

If you aren’t able to give anything right now, we understand, and we still love you! If you can, we would greatly appreciate the help. We know this isn’t a permanent solution, but we love Billy and we want to help him keep Steling Quest alive for as long as possible!

Thank you,

Billy King and friends.