In the last seven years I've put my art on so many products it's unreal: bone china mugs, organic cotton tote bags, recycled paper letter sets, recycled paper cards, candle holders and trinket trays, posters, art prints, temporary tattoos . . . the list goes on. A few of them I've continued with to this day, and a few I've dumped, but here are my favourite three that have stood the test of time . . . and the ones that were duds.
RECYCLED PAPER CARDS
My recycled paper cards are one of my favourite products I've ever created, because they have everything: they are printed on recycled paper, come with recycled envelopes, can be recycled themselves, and are packaged without plastic, thereby closing the loop; no new trees ever need to be cut down to make these cards, they just go round and round!
They are easy to print in my home studio, a steady seller and (dare I say it?) attractive. And at a £2.50 price point, I think they are super easy to love. Definitely worth creating. If you are an artist and want to have a go at printing your own cards, check out eco-craft.co.uk, where I buy all of my card stock from.
POSTERS
Ah, my posters, I love creating my posters. Printed partially with website alocalprinter.co.uk, who are one of the most sustainable printing companies I can find, and partially with print-on-demand company Gelato (to save on waste) packaged in a triangular toblerone-style box featuring no plastic at all (for my markets), available in three different sizes, framed or unframed, and two different formats (printed and digital download) at great price points, these brightly coloured nature posters are perfect for kids and adults alike. They have been one of my most enduring sellers, and I think I'll keep printing them til the day my business collapses.
TEMPORARY TATTOOS
Ah my temporary tattoos, one of my favourite things I've ever made. Using my dotwork drawings from my sea creatures posters, I had black and white temporary tattoos printed which sold like hot cakes. They honestly looked so cool and I loved them. But, but . . . in the end I stopped creating them, because temporary tattoos are coated in that thin layer of protective plastic, and I couldn't reconcile chucking out more plastic into the world. Safe to say though, if anyone ever makes them with biodegradable plastic, these would be the first thing I'd re-stock.
THE DUDS
Now for the duds: the organic cotton tote bags come high up on this list. I thought they would be a cool addition to my stock, but actually, I think they went kind of against the principles of my business. They went into a market saturated with tote bags, and when I see things like that, I just think the world does not need more tote bags. If I can reduce waste, or printing or even the machinery running costs used to create my products then I will.
Secondly: the bone china mugs. They came out so pretty, but they were a nightmare to lug around to markets and I think this was another product that diluted what I was trying to do. I try to keep things simple and minimal. Getting bone china mugs printed was not the way to do this.
Thirdly: my trinket dishes. They were fun to create, but I made them all from scratch; both the pottery and the painting. They took forever and were not worth what I sold them for. I think I'll just stick with the pottery as a hobby from now on!
CONCLUSION
So that's it! My three favourite items that I've put my art on: recycled paper cards, posters and temporary tattoos. And my three worst: tote bags, bone china mugs and trinket dishes.
INTERESTED IN READING MORE ABOUT MY PROCESS FOR CREATING NEW PRODUCTS?
Right now, I'm looking into printing paper wrapping, because I'm trying to vamp up my postal packaging and I reckon some beautiful printed recycled paper packaging wrapping up your orders will make a lovely unwrapping experience. I plan to document the process of finding a supplier, designing and printing from start to finish, so if that's something that interests you, check back on my next blog!
As always, thanks for reading!
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