July 22, 2017: Farewell, Geek Chic

A few of us here at SJ Games have talked – gushed, really – about our custom furniture from Geek Chic. It is a very sad duty, therefore, to report that Geek Chic recently had to close operations. Details are scant at this time, but founder Robert Gifford's statement about the closure was posted on the Geek Chic home page (which currently seems to be down, but it's also shown on their Facebook page), along with a promise to update that page with more information as circumstances permit. (If the page comes back up, click the "Products" link to see all the cool stuff you could have had, if only.)

Robert and the entire Geek Chic team were a fixture* at conventions for many, many years, and I can say from personal experience, as a customer and a fellow industry professional, that they were a delight to work with. Other companies have sprung up in the "bespoke gamer furniture" market that Geek Chic pioneered, but they were first. It's going to be weird to go to Gen Con this August and not walk through their booth.

Best of luck to the entire Geek Chic team, and particularly Robert and Brenda. We'll see you around.

-- Andrew Hackard

* Pun absolutely intended.

Mid-July update: I wrote this back in late June. Since that time, Geek Chic has hired an attorney and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. There's a discussion on reddit (warning: link leads to reddit) going over the filing in some detail, along with the usual fulminations that make reddit such a beloved site. (Warning: link leads to WIkipedia.) The takeaway seems to be that they ran out of money in the bank to pay the bills, but there are definitely some surprises in the filing. –AH