Okay, so, yes I have a Etsy store and that’s great but it is confined to work that I print, trim, wrap and pack myself – working full time this can be a little tricky. NOT impossible, but not easy.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Etsy has its pros and it’s cons, just like every platform out there, but with so many artists and makers out there in the world, it can be really hard to etch your own path amongst a vast ocean of talent, it can be really discouraging, I’ve certainly felt like throwing in the towel several times over the years, you get these peaks and troughs of work coming through, of fantastic feedback…. to suddenly nothing, Aaaaaand then the anxiety kicks down the door and you start to feel as though no-body likes your work, you’re terrible compared to other artists, no-one will want to buy that!…. But you have to push past that, it takes time and it takes practice before you can really be self assured in your own talent…. As creatives, we are our own worst critics, doesn’t matter which creative field you work in.
Down by the Sea Digital Illustration Print – from £5.00
And so whilst I have had sales come through Etsy, its not often and you can end up paying far more on ‘advertising’ and see very little return… and again, that just adds to the anxiety trains fuel, so, I decided enough is enough, stop sitting on my laurels and do something about it… no one said you have to stick to one platform, there must be more out there surely! maybe one that is specifically for artists!?…. and that’s when I remembered a site called Redbubble….I had heard of this site previously and had completely assumed it was a site much like Etsy, OH, my friends, how I was wrong…
Redbubble is a POD (Print on Demand) site for designers, illustrators and artists galore! Essentially in a nutshell, you upload your artwork and boom! it’s suddenly on a whole host of products, from t-shirts, hats, mugs heck even duvets! it’s crazy! So, naturally I took ATS Illustration and I uploaded six designs, sat and tweaked until I had them just how I wanted them to look on the products.
It really is just brilliant, and the best part, it costs me nothing to upload, no monthly fees, everything is handled by Redbubble, and they pay me a margin of the cost of sale.
So my lovelies, go and check out my Redbubble store, and not to forget the other amazing designers on the site!
Of course I’ll still continue to sell my artwork via Etsy, and use that platform for custom items that need some personalisation and that still continues to work really well for me, but with this new platform I was so stubborn against joining I absolutely love that I can now see my artwork on a whole host of products – It actually made me a little emotional, you get so used to seeing your work in a 2D format you never really stop to think how it could look on a notebook, or a phone case with your watercolour illustrations on them…. I guess you could say I was a little ‘shook’..
So my dear readers, who ever you are out there in the big wide world, have a gander. It’s all there for you to enjoy.