Inspired by the SUPER XMAS PACK I've done some packs for my regular cards. I reckon this might be a nice cost effective option for bulk buys, as it's quite strained market selling individual cards online.. Anyway, pass this on!
Showing posts with label greeting cards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greeting cards. Show all posts
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Friday, 7 November 2014
Xmas cards on sale!
My Xmas cards are up on my online shop, including a nifty Xmas pack option which is lovely and cost effective. I'll follow shortly with some packs for my regular cards but in the mean time:
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Um update!
Aloha!
I'll have to apologize again for such a beefy 'lots of updates' blog post, I simply haven't had the time to do regular posting due to a hectic schedule/life creeping up on me. But fear not! I have an excuse or two, and they're pretty valid ones at that. Please, indulge me...
New ends
The main reason for my time being very limited and busy is that I've been moving flat. A couple of friends (Dave and Steve for future reference) and I have moved to the lovely leafy affulent area of Chiswick. Home to nice pubs, parks and expensive shops (We snagged a great deal on our flat). I moved in a few days after the other two and was welcomed by 'Pippa' outside my bedroom. NOPE-NOPE-NOPE!
So we've been quite giddy explorers discovering new bits and bobs in our area. I've come across a lot of shops selling greeting cards that I'm going to pop into with a few samples with a view of selling at some point. I popped into a local pub the other day, they had an advertisement on one of their chalkboards asking for artists to get in touch, which is what I did! I gave them my details and they said they'll zap me an email, so all very exciting.
Generally though, Chiswick seems like a very promising area in terms of being a bit more artsy swayed.
At the end of our main road there's a squat that has loads of great graffiti outside it. Dave was explaining how he and Steve knocked on the door of the squat a couple of nights ago and how it was met with no answer despite clear presence inside - which is understandable. He went on to continue to talk about this mosaic graffiti outside their back wall:
It's about an inmate on death row who was wrongly convicted, that's his real I.D card in the top photo, with his final statement in the next photo. The inmate goes onto say that he insists that he did not murder the victim and that he hopes justice will prevail finding the real killer. The statement actually twirls and twines along the rest of the wall, so it's quite hard to take a photo of all of it. Nonetheless it seemed like a very powerful piece of street art, and it's only down the road from us.
Fathers Day cards
My Father's day cards went down a treat to my surprise. I liked them but didn't think Father's Day would be as popular as Mother's Day sales. Overall, Mother's Day did better but Father's Day eclipsed Mother's Day with online sales. Maybe because we find it harder to find Father's Day bits and bobs or maybe there just isn't enough of a selection out there? Anywho, I was quite chuffed. You can find the designs on my Instagram if you fancy a gander.
Re-hashing old work
In relation to moving flat, I had to do the obligatory clean out of stuff I don't want or need anymore. I came across some old works from my days at art school. Some were decent, some were terrible. Considering it's the best part of 4 years ago since I graduated (Wait, what?!?!) I was pleased that some still held up in quality. The others I was very disappointed with. Rather than chuck them away I decided to recycle them, adding to their existing 'quality' with my 4-year mature, refined style. Here are 3 in particular that I've improved upon. Interestingly, I actually added photos of the originals to this blog when I first done them, so click on the hyperlink below each picture to see the original, god damn, awful piece!
I'm doing a few more re-hashes at the moment which I'll post shortly, but otherwise more card venues are on the horizon and I've had a few inquires that I'll divulge about at a better time, kind reader...
TTFN
I'll have to apologize again for such a beefy 'lots of updates' blog post, I simply haven't had the time to do regular posting due to a hectic schedule/life creeping up on me. But fear not! I have an excuse or two, and they're pretty valid ones at that. Please, indulge me...
New ends
The main reason for my time being very limited and busy is that I've been moving flat. A couple of friends (Dave and Steve for future reference) and I have moved to the lovely leafy affulent area of Chiswick. Home to nice pubs, parks and expensive shops (We snagged a great deal on our flat). I moved in a few days after the other two and was welcomed by 'Pippa' outside my bedroom. NOPE-NOPE-NOPE!
So we've been quite giddy explorers discovering new bits and bobs in our area. I've come across a lot of shops selling greeting cards that I'm going to pop into with a few samples with a view of selling at some point. I popped into a local pub the other day, they had an advertisement on one of their chalkboards asking for artists to get in touch, which is what I did! I gave them my details and they said they'll zap me an email, so all very exciting.
Generally though, Chiswick seems like a very promising area in terms of being a bit more artsy swayed.
At the end of our main road there's a squat that has loads of great graffiti outside it. Dave was explaining how he and Steve knocked on the door of the squat a couple of nights ago and how it was met with no answer despite clear presence inside - which is understandable. He went on to continue to talk about this mosaic graffiti outside their back wall:
It's about an inmate on death row who was wrongly convicted, that's his real I.D card in the top photo, with his final statement in the next photo. The inmate goes onto say that he insists that he did not murder the victim and that he hopes justice will prevail finding the real killer. The statement actually twirls and twines along the rest of the wall, so it's quite hard to take a photo of all of it. Nonetheless it seemed like a very powerful piece of street art, and it's only down the road from us.
Fathers Day cards
My Father's day cards went down a treat to my surprise. I liked them but didn't think Father's Day would be as popular as Mother's Day sales. Overall, Mother's Day did better but Father's Day eclipsed Mother's Day with online sales. Maybe because we find it harder to find Father's Day bits and bobs or maybe there just isn't enough of a selection out there? Anywho, I was quite chuffed. You can find the designs on my Instagram if you fancy a gander.
Re-hashing old work
In relation to moving flat, I had to do the obligatory clean out of stuff I don't want or need anymore. I came across some old works from my days at art school. Some were decent, some were terrible. Considering it's the best part of 4 years ago since I graduated (Wait, what?!?!) I was pleased that some still held up in quality. The others I was very disappointed with. Rather than chuck them away I decided to recycle them, adding to their existing 'quality' with my 4-year mature, refined style. Here are 3 in particular that I've improved upon. Interestingly, I actually added photos of the originals to this blog when I first done them, so click on the hyperlink below each picture to see the original, god damn, awful piece!
Such a nice place! Rehashed (2014)
Protective layer (2014)
Original piece done in 2008
Noir meet up (2014)
I'm doing a few more re-hashes at the moment which I'll post shortly, but otherwise more card venues are on the horizon and I've had a few inquires that I'll divulge about at a better time, kind reader...
TTFN
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Summary of updates and schtuff.
Aloha.
As promised a bit more of a visual-y one of recent shenanigans:
- First up, I was hired to do a commission for a wedding present. It was from a group of friends to the bride, who wanted to re-capture special moments they shared with her. Originally, it was going to be in the format of a book but the timescale would've proved to have been very tight to accomplish this. Instead we settled for a collage illustration of the different memories combined. This would be in the style of an old school, vintage-y pencil feel to help evoke the aesthetic of memories past. I was sent over a rough idea to work from and I developed it from there (Forget how much fun pencil is to use!). I also made a cheeky vine of some parts of it below:
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- The Turpentine Ltd down Brixton way is a lovely new shop which has opened on Coldharbour lane. Such a great location and lots of nice bits and bobs. If you're ever in the area you'd be silly not to pop in and admire the treats that are on display. This includes a selection of my greeting cards, let's see how South London fares with them!
- Next up was a commission for a clients friends birthday, it's a illustration based on the original 'We can do it!' poster but re-appropriating it for their friend and with a few added accessories. Really enjoyed doing this. I've been doing more airbrushing over the past few months, it's so addictive building up blends of colour and shape.
I'm starting to consider combining this method more into my own work. Below are a few screenshots of the work when it was in progress. I'm really drawn to the first screenshot, the rough unfinished look could be quite a nice aesthetic to play with, especially with the element of rogue negative space.
I've also made a GIF of the process, just wanted to show much can change along the route of making an illustration like this (apologies for the quality of GIF, it really doesn't like computing lots of colours):
- As well as all this I'm in the middle of helping friend, actor and comedian Keir Carroll develop his own showcasing website. Now, I'm not much of web designer in general, I've built two websites from scratch and absolutely loathed it. What we're doing is similar to my own website, we'll build it up using cargo collective templates and then modify bits and bobs with an upgraded account if we wish to do so.
Bish, bosh, bash.
This will be completed in the next month or so, in time for Keir graduating from his MA in Acting at East 15 and taking a twirl in the acting world. Huzzah.
TTFN
Sunday, 11 May 2014
Trending insight and freelance advice yo
Well hello,
I realized the other day that I haven't posted here for about a month, I want to apologize to my dedicated fans (Mother) and give an insightful reason why that's been the case.
Well this past month has been crazy busy, I've been making out card orders and invoices, 4 artwork commissions and a host of other small bits and bobs that made me lose track of this beloved blog.
Then it occurred to me.
It's April. Of course. It's so bloody obvious!
I'll elaborate, (slightly nodding to a previous blog post about trends) I've noticed after the last few years of doing freelance (coupled with working in an art gallery/retail environment) That times of the year peak. It seems obvious now you think of it, different parts of the year are obviously more popular than some parts, with some being in particular very slow and inactive. I have made this rather amazing crude line chart based on my experiences, to give a better visual example to what I mean:
You can see that the most popular time of year is April and November - December.
April - beginning of the new tax year, people will be tight leading up to this but soon as you pass go again, it all kicks off.
November - December: Leading up to Christmas, hugely popular and busy.
Least popular months are January and July.
January - Everyone will be a bit sore after Xmas and the New Year, so wouldn't necessarily indulge in art and design bits and bobs.
July - This is a bit of a vague one as June and August can apply too - it's holiday season. The majority of people would rather spend their hard earned cash on a break away and with a few cheeky cocktails in the sun.
Like I said it's seems completely obvious when you notice it, and explains why freelancing in a creative career can not only feel massively inconsistent but can also feel like your career is a living manic depression.
Point is - for anyone who'd like to take my advice that is - don't get discouraged. It's bloody hard, but helping notice the trend in your field (I do feel that chart above can apply to a lot of different areas) can help you address where you need to improve. For me, I needed something that sold consistently which is how the greeting cards came about - because everyone has a birthday! This has proved to be a successful venture as I've sold 480 cards in the past 12 months (more than a card a day!) I'm sure you can find your 'greeting card'..
Anyway, enough of me trying to solve life's problems. I'm going to do a follow up blog post later in the week so you can get your fill of stimulant for your visual palette.
Apologies for a more wordier blog entry than usual - it feels good have to a small break from making/thinking about visuals to be honest. But nonetheless reminds me of what my old tutor used to say me at art school, in his thick Belfast accent:
"We're visual animals Jamie! We need to be taught how to read but not how to look"
Until next time. Toodle do.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Flurry of updates.
Hello Hello.
This is a bit more of a wordy blog post than usual, thought I'd give a quick update on what's turning out to be a very eventful couple of weeks:
Designers / Makers
This has been quite an exciting development, Designers / Makers is an agency for contemporary design, looking to help promote and develop freelancers and brands. The premise is that you apply for a year long membership, if they deem you suitable, you're in. Think of it like the Justice League - but for creative types. That's how I like to view it (I'm Batman).
They organize marketing and selling events for your work (also via their online shop) and offer advice on professional development. I have my own profile up on their site, scroll down to the bottom to see. Definitely more news to follow soon.
For Arts Sake re-stock
Had a re-order of stock at For Arts Sake which is always appreciated.
Brand spanking new card designs
I'm also happy to announce that I've released some new designs onto my shop. I've produced 5 new designs with a view of making 5 more in the next month or so. I'm happy with the results. I surprised myself with the quick turnaround of just a week to think up and complete them all. Hopefully they'll do just as well.
I have a few other projects in the pipeline including a Film Noir comic based in a school environment which I've been dipping in and out of for the past year, more info to follow soon. As well as that, I'm currently planning a 'video comic' collaboration which I'm very excited about. These things always take a while to process and finish off so patience is a virtue (for now).
TTFN
This is a bit more of a wordy blog post than usual, thought I'd give a quick update on what's turning out to be a very eventful couple of weeks:
Designers / Makers
This has been quite an exciting development, Designers / Makers is an agency for contemporary design, looking to help promote and develop freelancers and brands. The premise is that you apply for a year long membership, if they deem you suitable, you're in. Think of it like the Justice League - but for creative types. That's how I like to view it (I'm Batman).
They organize marketing and selling events for your work (also via their online shop) and offer advice on professional development. I have my own profile up on their site, scroll down to the bottom to see. Definitely more news to follow soon.
For Arts Sake re-stock
Had a re-order of stock at For Arts Sake which is always appreciated.
Brand spanking new card designs
I'm also happy to announce that I've released some new designs onto my shop. I've produced 5 new designs with a view of making 5 more in the next month or so. I'm happy with the results. I surprised myself with the quick turnaround of just a week to think up and complete them all. Hopefully they'll do just as well.
I have a few other projects in the pipeline including a Film Noir comic based in a school environment which I've been dipping in and out of for the past year, more info to follow soon. As well as that, I'm currently planning a 'video comic' collaboration which I'm very excited about. These things always take a while to process and finish off so patience is a virtue (for now).
TTFN
Monday, 11 November 2013
Xmas cards at For Arts Sake.
Monday, 4 November 2013
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Big cartel shop.
My new shop
This has replaced the tab above as well. I was using totomerch store to sell t-shirts before and that was a massive fail. Most likely due to the huge mark up costs where they'd charge £20 for a t-shirt and I would get something like £3. £20 it's way too much for a t-shirt.
But yeah, on this site I plan to trial and hopefully expand upon it, starting with a few of my greeting cards and then moving onto digital prints and we'll see from there.
TTFN.
This has replaced the tab above as well. I was using totomerch store to sell t-shirts before and that was a massive fail. Most likely due to the huge mark up costs where they'd charge £20 for a t-shirt and I would get something like £3. £20 it's way too much for a t-shirt.
But yeah, on this site I plan to trial and hopefully expand upon it, starting with a few of my greeting cards and then moving onto digital prints and we'll see from there.
TTFN.
Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Cards preview.
Over the past couple of weeks I've been developing and investing in ideas, materials and equipment for my own range of cards. Those of you who may not be aware, this is what my Mother does as a self employed artist for a living, selling handmade cards and goods. Where I differ is that mine are digitally hand drawn and printed myself. So you could say like Mother like Son..
I have a range of 10 different cards at the moment which I'll try out and see which appeal to the market and those that don't.
I have loads of ideas for the next step, it's just about presenting them to the right buyers and shop owners, in which I have a few contacts listed already.
Below is a sample of 3, I'm really happy with the quality, the Kraft brown envelopes sealed in a plastic envelope make them they look very professional.
I have a range of 10 different cards at the moment which I'll try out and see which appeal to the market and those that don't.
I have loads of ideas for the next step, it's just about presenting them to the right buyers and shop owners, in which I have a few contacts listed already.
Below is a sample of 3, I'm really happy with the quality, the Kraft brown envelopes sealed in a plastic envelope make them they look very professional.
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