Tag: struggling artist

A couple of Friday’s ago I wrote about digitizing art. Today I thought I would write a little bit about some of the many options that are available once a piece of art has been digitized. And let me tell you, there are so many options out there! I have learned over the years that art prints are not super easy to sell. Finding the right buyer for any given piece of art requires a large customer base. The internet helps a lot with that, as it can be a worldwide customer base if you do it correctly, but even with the internet, it’s about finding those people who enjoy your style of art. But putting art on other products gives people more options than just something to hang on the way. So today I will share several of the things I have done with my art.

Fabric. I love sewing, so this was a great extension of something I already enjoyed. Making the art into a fabric doesn’t require a ton of skill, I use a simple paint program to add a border and then upload the file to the fabric printing company. I use a company call Spoonflower to print my fabric. From there I order yardage and then cut the fabric into individual panels, package them, and then sell them as panels. I sell a lot of panels to local fabric stores at a wholesale rate, as well as have them on my website. If you would like to see my fabric panels, you can check them out in my fabric section on my website.

Guitar Picks. This was a fun one to find. I had never thought about even looking for something like this until I was trying to find a unique Christmas present for a friend who plays the guitar. I happened on this on a website called Zazzle. I have used Zazzle for a variety of projects, several that I am out of currently, like puzzles and playing cards. They have a huge selection of options for custom printing, and I love getting on their website and exploring. You can find these guitar picks on my website under gifts.

Vinyl stickers. This is one I never thought I would try. But one of my daughters convinced me it was the new and upcoming thing. I decided to try 2 stickers and see what would happen. The poppy was one of them, and I also have a giraffe which was the other I started with. I was shocked by how much people like stickers! I go through a company called Sticker Mule for my stickers. They have great prices, especially the more you order. They also have packing materials and other things. You can find these and the rest of my stickers under the gifts button as well.

Note Cards. This is one I make myself; it keeps the cost down. But I sell more note cards than anything else I have ever sold. I didn’t realize how much people like sending real, handwritten notes until I started selling note cards. They are easy to create in a word processing or paint program on a home computer. You can see the variety of cards I sell, or that I have uploaded on my website under Note Cards, and if you don’t see one of a different print you like, I can make it. I just get behind on getting them made and uploaded to my website.

Notebooks. This is an idea I hit upon last fall as school was starting and I was buying school supplies for my kids. I made a few and sold out really quickly. So, I made more, and sold out again. I now have these available in stores here in my local area but haven’t gotten them on my website yet. To make these I use an inexpensive, plastic cover lined notebook of whatever size I want. I like the smaller notebooks, these pictured are 6×9 inch. I then use the website Canva to create the front cover. I print the cover out on sticker paper and attach to the front cover. I have debated making a new front cover, removing the plastic one, but at this point it’s not happening. These aren’t on my website, time issues. But I enjoy selling them locally and in the summer at markets.

This is not all that can be done with digitized art, but it gives you a starting point to jump off of and find the many possibilities. So, if you are an artist struggling to sell prints, you might think about some of these other options and start exploring. There are so many possibilities out there.