I’m a big fan of functional items and must confess never been much of a one for ornaments so putting art on useful products makes great sense to me. I have spent some time and effort doing it myself at home (see below) but there is a limit to what I can do myself.
Magnetic Wildflower Bookmarklets
Geraniums
Wildflower Cushions
Stickers
I am also putting art on to jewellery but that is not ready for the shop yet so you can see there is a limited range. To go further and see what other items art can be applied to there are a number of online print on demand services. I have created accounts on Zazzle and Society6, where you can find a range of my art on a variety of products. Popular art I have on print on demand products are Frog Music and Elephant Music. There are many other services out there too. Just Google print on demand services to find them and the original art uploaded by many talented artists. Because this stuff is not mass produced you are sure to find original and rare gifts, unlikely to be a repeated present.
Here are some more sites to try:
The most popular items for shoppers, according to envato, tend to be “t-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, stickers, notebooks, phone cases, posters, and pillows”. These are items that allow you to appreciate the art often or show it off, reasons that apply equally to owning originals. So if you can’t afford or don’t have anywhere to hang originals, print on demand could be a real option to enable you to take part in the art culture.
The disadvantages are that the quality can be variable on some sites where the production is outsourced to many small businesses. And the prices can be quite high in comparison to a shop bought printed item.
I hope this post has given you some food for thought and another look at ways to buy art.
Hugs, Ceri xx
