Want to know what a real RedBubble buyer looks like?
Then let me introduce you to Esther and Ross, my local greengrocers at Glenbrook. Esther and Ross bought the little greengrocer business about 3 months ago. As locals, we all waited with anticipation wondering what sort of changes they would make to what had been a tired little fruit and vegie shop.
Please take a close look at the artwork on their walls…look familiar?? They certainly looked familiar to me and finally, after doing a little project for Esther and Ross, I got around to asking them about their artwork. The conversation went sort of like this:
Adriana: Esther, I’ve been meaning to mention to you – that apple print, where did you get that from?
Esther: Oh, from the internet…
(Adriana immediatley jumps to conclusion that the image has been bought from a fake site, rather than original owner’s site. Cue melodramatic music. Facial expression is one of shock and horror and perplexion. Esther, seeing this and hearing the music, quickly clarifies.)
Esther: You see this friend of mine told me about this website where you can buy all this artwork. It’s called RedBubble.
(At this point, Adriana promptly faints flat on the floor not believing what she’s hearing.)
Esther: (while picking Adriana up off the floor continues) She told me if I wanted to buy artwork for the shop, I really only needed to go to RedBubble and I would find all the images I wanted. So I searched for the fruit and vegie images I was after and bought the posters.
Adriana: Wow, OMG, I have to journal this and let the others know that there are real buyers out there _ And that all they need to do is tag their work. _(wistful look that lingers like a daytime soap cliffhanger dream sequence. Cue more melodramtic music.)
(End of conversation, and reality descends once more)
So, here’s the photo I took of a proud Esther and Ross showing the artwork they bought on RedBubble. You’ll recognise the artwork of Jerry Alcantara here, here, here as well as an image from shall here and an image from Renee Tran here . There are 3 other posters hanging on the opposite wall, also by Jerry Alcantara’s .
And what have we learnt:
1. Tag your work. Pretend you’re a buyer – how would you find your work on RedBubble? Use appropriate tags that are relevant to your image.
2. That real people buy artwork on RedBubble, and not just friends and family and ourselves.
3. That Redbubble in Melbourne can act as an avenue to sell the work of photographeric artists in Italy, the US and UK to a business in Glenbrook, NSW, Australia and is seen by hoardes of tourists everyday.
3. That I needn’t bother with pursuing scriptwriting in the future. ; p
jerry alcantara
this is awesome,,,,i cant believed it..thanks for sharing…say thanks and regards to them please .you took this photo beautifully also…how i wish to see it in person…can i see the other side? ha ha ha…i am asking too much right? .you really made new week ahead.lol jerry
Adriana Glackin replied
Ok, when I go and get some fruit and vegies later today, I’ll take my camera and take another photo from the other side. : ) I’ll post the image back in this journal.
Karen Cook
They’ve got the shop looking great haven’t they?! And how wonderful it is to know that there are non-Redbubble people out there buying work from this fantastic site!! Thanks so much for sharing that Adriana.
Adriana Glackin replied
It looks beautiful Karen, and they’re such lovely, friendly people. I’m always taken aback at the riot of colour I’m faced with when I walk in and the produce is lovely and fresh, too. : )
Jess Andrews
wow, this has inspired me to keep going :)
thanks!
Adriana Glackin replied
...and don’t forget to tag your work! : )
Jules Campbell
What a wonderful thing to discover! I wouldn’t have believed it either Adriana!! Thank-you for spreading the hope and sharing the loVe…
Faizan Qureshi
LOL. Awesome!
Adriana Glackin replied
Yeh, it’s neat, isn’t it! : )
Jules Campbell
Oh Adriana can you share what sort of print products they are? ie are they large mounted prints?
Adriana Glackin replied
Esther and Ross bought posters of each of the images – I’m not sure what size that translates to. I smile everytime I go in to buy my fruit and vegies, knowing that I’m surrounded by RedBubble artworks! : )
CapturedByKylie
That’s great news! I wonder if the shop owners would mind putting up a small sign somewhere saying that their images are sourced & purchased from Red Bubble? That would help get the RB name out there more!
Adriana Glackin replied
Ooo – now that’s an idea – I’ll ask them when I pop there later today. Thanks for the suggestion. : )
Joyce Dickens,...
That is sooooooooooo awesome!!!!!!!!!!! Jerry congratulations to you my friend! and to you Adriana…..you did a wonderful job in presenting this….....it is so encouraging to know that people on the outside really do look and buy…thank you so much!!!
Adriana Glackin replied
Yeh – and don’t they look great – and they haven’t gotten around to paining the walls yet. the shop these days is standing room only – I’d like to think it’s because the artwork is so eyecatching! : )
C J Hummel - ...
That is wonderful. Congratulations to all the artists who are now featured in this great looking shop. I have been a great admirer of Jerries work for some time.
I hope the shop owners would be so kind and tell everyone where people can buy some great artwork
Adriana Glackin replied
Hey CJ, I know they’re rapt with the images they bought and the quality of them. I know they love Jerry’s work! : )
jerry alcantara
ha ha ha ,,, sounds you are getting mad…no just kidding…hey i keep on reading and reading this awesome journal,,,everybody are in bed now…tomorrow,,i will show it to everybody….i cant sleep right now….GREAT STORY TOO! very clever you are…lol thanks again
Adriana Glackin replied
You naughty thing – you’re supposed to be in bed! You won’t be able to sleep now! Just go and wake everybody up! (Only joking) Ha ha – I thought I was going mad that day when I made the discovery – do you how many times I looked at your red apple, wondering where I had seen it before…ha ha ha! : )
CapturedByKylie
That’s cool Adriana. When i was reading your journal entry i was thinking “if other businesses are also buying works from RB wouldn’t it be great if they could let their customers know where all this great work is coming from! It wouldn’t hurt their business and it would help promote the works and artists at Red Bubble!”
Or maybe RB admin could possibly make up small cards (A5 size? Possibily laminated?) and the customers could note in their order if they are a business and if they’d like a card to promote the site further?
Adriana Glackin replied
Another good idea – maybe it can be added to the RB feedback and suggestions forum. I’ll certainly let you know what Esther and Ross have to say about the suggestion. : )
Bluesrose
hehe… great story!
Congratulations, Jerry :)
Adriana Glackin replied
Glad you enjoyed it – it was a great discovery! : )
RockyWalley
congrats. Jerry
awesome work…
Adriana Glackin replied
Yep, good on Jerry and the other photographers for having work that is now on full display in my local fruit and vegie shop! : )
Nancy Polanski
Wow, fantastic story, and how perfectly you wrote it, Adriana!! It was fun to read!
I’m proud of Jerry and extremely pleased for him. It really couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy!! Jerry is one of the first people I started watching when I joined in January, because his work is so obviously professional looking!
Way to go, Jerry!
You’ve made all of us “Jerry fans” happy!
Adriana Glackin replied
Oh Nancy that’s so sweet! Glad you enjoyed the story – and I agree with you, Jerry’s such a nice, sweet guy – I can imagine he’s over the moon to know his work is on display! : )
Angel Warda
thats so awesome!!!!
Adriana Glackin replied
Yep, I’m still grinning that I get to see a litte piece of the bubble everytime I buy my fruit and veg : )
Will Barton
Fantastic to see that RB is starting to get out there and word of mouth is beginning too.
Great find Adriana – and go the Mountains!
Adriana Glackin replied
Yeh, that’s good isn’t it – we just need to think like buyers and tag our work, as people obviously do go looking. Go the Mountains, as you say! : )
Annabel Hollin...
Very cool. I might pop in and say hello. :D
Adriana Glackin replied
Ooo, you should drop me a line and we can have a coffee! : )
Nancy Stafford
that is awesome.. way to go Jerry..
Adriana Glackin replied
Yeh! Well done to Jerry! : )
Murray Swift
Excellent! And thank you Adriana for sharing.
Adriana Glackin replied
Glad you enjoyed the tale, Murray! : )
sigfusson
That’s fantastic news Adriana – so glad you shared this positive story with us! It’s always great to hear about real people buying artwork from the proper sources. I’ve had a few of my works “stolen” via the internet from other sites and used without my permission, and it’s quite maddening. Cheers, s.
Adriana Glackin replied
Yes, yes – that’s why I initially panicked. I was worried that the wrong person had benefitted from the sale. Instead Jerry is over the moon. I’ve sent links to the other two artists, so I hope they’ll be just as excited to know their wonderful images are hanging up and being admired everyday. : )
Rosalie Dale IPA
I’m glad you journalled this Adriana – it sure is encouraging!! Congrats to the artists, and to you for your great presentation. BTW Martin did say at the lunch that MORE THAN 50% of sales (more than half!!!) go to non-Redbubble buyers! So, off we go and check our tags!!!
Adriana Glackin replied
Indeed! It’s just nice to see there are real buyers out there, but how will they find their perfect image, if we don’t tag them appropriately? And it’s nice to see that Jerry is so rapt to see his images up on display. : )
Anthony Hedger
That was so cool of you to do this for Jerry, he is a dear friend of mine since being on RB well done, you rock.
Adriana Glackin replied
Hey it was a pleasure – I’ve told Jerry I’d take some more photos of the opposite wall where another 3 images of his are hanging. : )
Kelly J
Well done you!!!! Brilliantly spotted!
Adriana Glackin replied
Hey thanks Kelly – I just knew I’d seen the red apple image before…so glad that it belongs to a fellow RBer : )
Anthony Hedger
cool my friend and well spotted
Kelly J
I remember when Jerry announced that it was found in Australia… he was so excited!!! Did you find it originally???
Adriana Glackin replied
Yes I did – it just took me longer that I would have liked to get the image and journal up on RB. I was so excited when Esther said she had bought the images from RedBubble, that I really did just about fall over – I knew other RBer’s would be really excited to know that a real person had bought artworks from RB.
Kelly J
Fantastic – well done!!! I have no idea how to do tags!!! LOL..
Adriana Glackin replied
Ok, Kelly – you need a quick lesson in tagging your images! TAgs are what you use to identify your images so that others (as in buyers) can find them when they search for them. To read more about how to tag, and why you should tag, refer to this article – and if you get stuck, just bmail me. : )
Alan Coote
What a brilliant story – very uplifting.
Adriana Glackin replied
Thanks Alan – glad you enjoyed it! : )
Kenny Gulley Jr.
i saw the wall and said Jerry A!
lol
Adriana Glackin replied
Yep, pretty cool isn’t it – and I get to see them almost everyday! : )
AnaCBStudio
wow…awesome Jerry…congrats!
Adriana Glackin replied
They look great on the wall don’t they! : )
Kali3838
This is so encouraging. I might start uploading some of my work again. I was under the impression that more sales were made to friends and family. Thanks for sharing this with us Adriana.
Adriana Glackin replied
Hey, Kali3838, upload your work, and you just never know when that next sale is coming – but one thing I certainly learnt was to tag, tag, tag your work – that’s how Esther and Ross found those images. : )
Juilee Pryor
hey this is so fantastic Adriana…. well done on the scoop…...:)
Adriana Glackin replied
It’s pretty neat isn’t it – I always smile when I walk in the fruit and vegie shop, as I know just how much those images on the wall mean to artists like Jerry, shall and Renee. : )
Kelly J
LOL.. thanks :))
nesi
Thanks Adriana! Tag is the key word! :-))
Adriana Glackin replied
It is indeed nesi – and thanks for reading the story! : )
chasingsooz
This is a fantastic story Adriana and you did a great job of journalling about it. Your enthusiasm for RB is infectious :-D
Great photo of the shop too. This would make a great “feel good” story for the local paper.
Adriana Glackin replied
Ahhh – now there’s an idea! ; )
nodakami
Wonderful insights
Adriana Glackin replied
Thank you! : )
amarica
Fabulous…What a nice thing for you to do Adriana!!!
Adriana Glackin replied
Thank you – it was nice to share it with the RB community : )
lallymac
Wow Adriana – that is awesome!!!! Thanks for encouraging all of us:)
Adriana Glackin replied
Hey – thanks for reading it : )