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• Help for Redbubble members
  by Mel Brackstone

  Karin Taylor, Jo O’Brien, Stuart Chapman and Dave Pearson have added some very useful tutorials and links for those members who’d like so…

  Karin Taylor, Jo O’Brien, Stuart Chapman and Dave Pearson have added some very useful tutorials and links for those members who’d like some help in learning a few extra tricks to make their time on the bubble easier. I have this link in my profile, so it’s going to be easy to find. I’ll add to it as I learn of new helpful information. How to enhance your profile Text formatting Links to other helpful pages Where to get help/critique/FAQ Help on how to sell your work How to TAG your work effectively Redbubble hacks with Dave

• 6 Quick Tips For Selling Your Art On RedBubble
  by Jo O'Brien

  Keep your portfolio short and sweet. Show only y…

  Keep your portfolio short and sweet. Show only your absolute best work and ensure your portfolio can be flicked through in under a minute. People have really short attention spans Use tags. But only use relevant tags which describe key features of the work. Use your journal to give buyers a glimpse into your motivations, inspirations and learning. Don’t put anything negative in it (people can see it!) Remove negative or critiquing comments from under artworks- potential buyers can read them and you don’t want them to be put off Personalise your work by adding meaningful descriptions that tell your audience about how the work was created, what it was inspired by or the story behind it Think about and make a deliberate decision on how much to charge for your art

• Selling Art At Markets
  by Jo O'Brien

  Selling Art At Markets Without repeating the points I made in my Selling Greeting Cards Through Stores...

  Selling Art At Markets Without repeating the points I made in my Selling Greeting Cards Through Stores post, here are some of my pointers for selling artwork at markets. It’s going to be another long one so I’ll use headings and give you some pretty pictures to look at on the way :) / Pin-Up Strip Collection – Cards : Freedom by Helen McLean Know The Market You are Attending / Visit the market first! This step is often overlooked and yet it will help you a lot. Some markets can be described as ‘glorified garage sales’ (nothing wrong with that) and others are almost outdoor shopping centres with every convenience. Make a special trip with your stall in mind and ask yourself some questions: What is already being sold? How would you categorise the shoppers? How many people are buying things vs. having a look? How much do things cost there? Is there an entry fee for customers? Have a talk to the current stallholders who will give you the gossip on which spots are the best and how much you can charge for your stuff. Find out about how to get a stall/space. Some markets will ask you to pay an stallholder fee and rock up on the day, others will require a formal proposal in writing and an interview. So find out how to go about it and get advice from current stallholders. By the way, if you’re freaking out about approaching store holders for advice, get over it. Market folk are the nicest people and love a good yarn, just make sure you don’t keep them from their customers. Know Your Target Customer / In an ideal world you would look at your art and work out whom it is best targeted at. Then you would strive to get their attention by stocking your art in places that they go. In the market circuit, things are backwards. You find the market with its existing crowd of shoppers and find a way to sell them what you have. Or you could even make artwork especially to appeal to them. (This is known to some as “selling your soul” – I prefer to call it “paying my bills”) / Since you have visited the market, you have some idea of who goes there. Think about what they are likely to buy and aim to supply it. So take your lovely florals to the nursing home charity fair, your brightly coloured clown shots to the school fete and your super chic city shots to the tourist market. Always have some variety but you can often work out what will be popular before you pay for a heap of printing. / Matilda and Scarlet by Lisadee Displays Are Important / Displays are important. Displays are important. Displays are important. I can’t stress this enough! Most people who sell at markets will at some point learn (usually the hard way) how true that statement is. Think about it before you get there. How do you want it all to look- even if you are artistically challenged like me, draw a picture of how you are going to set everything up. Do you have any space restrictions you need to consider? Are you allowed to hang things? Put them on the floor? Allow people to walk around your allocated space? Are their any other restrictions such as number of displays or tables? All markets have their own (seemingly random) rules so find out before you spend money getting your display units. If you can, do a mock up at home first and see what it’s like from the customers’ side. Some pointers from me on this topic are: / 1) Make sure people can ‘try before they buy’ i.e. can they touch your products to see what the quality is like? / 2) Display things at an appropriate height. Putting your work on the ground degrades its value. If it’s a children’s item, keep it lower, if its wall décor hang it at eye height. / 3) Protect your stock from children, accidents and the weather Packaging / Just a brief note here that in addition to packaging you items to look great, in a market situation they have to withstand the weather. It is also a good idea to have shopping bags so that people can easily carry their purchases around with them. Charge the Right Amount / If you are at a busy tourist market, you can usually set higher prices. As a general rule, I charged 50% more than my ‘shop’ price at tourist markets. Yet at less commercially driven markets you may find the price point has to be a lot lower. You simply have to suss out what is reasonable before you get there by checking out other stalls. The other thing to be aware of is that a lot of market shoppers are out for a bargain. So be prepared for hagglers and decide before you get there how flexible, if at all, you are going to be. You can try and nip it in the bud by having special deals planned ahead of time. It’s also a good point to drop here that human psychology is a wonderful thing and in terms of prices and deals- something displayed in writing will be treated with more respect than information giving verbally. So use price tags and signs. / So Pedestrian by Melody Let People Give You Money / You’re thinking, “Jo, of course I’ll let them give me money- that’s why I’m sitting at this cold, wet market to start with.” But are you really? Are you really letting them give it to you? Do this little task right now, while you’re sitting there at the computer. Pull out your wallet or purse and count how much cash you have. Now think about how much lunch would cost you and deduct that amount, now deduct half a tank of petrol or train fare, which you used to get to this hypothetical market and see what is left. Do you have enough money there to buy heaps of fabulous art? Most people will say “no.” Some will be lucky to break even. What is my point? If you were your own customer, you wouldn’t be buying much- if anything. I can hear you saying “But if I was going to a market I’d get cash out first.” Maybe you would, but, and I mean this in the nicest way, most people will forget. So idiot-proof yourself as much as possible. This might mean knowing where the nearest ATM is to direct people, it might mean having credit card facilities, it might mean having business cards with your online store URL for customers without cash. It seems ridiculous but I have encountered so many customers at markets that simply don’t have cash and therefore can’t buy anything. So have a way around it. / Jo’s little tip: bring a calculator with you. Like They Say in The Scouts: Be Prepared / Make a list of what you need to bring and check it twice. It’s laughable but I’ve seen stallholders forget their trestle table, which is basically the most important part of their stall. So don’t think it won’t happen to you. I know it sounds pessimistic but it’s important to think about what can go wrong. At markets the most common problems are… / 1) The toilet paper runs out in the one and only unisex toilet which is a 5 minute hike across town / 2) You run out of change to give customers- and then you realised none of the stall holders have enough change so you can’t even beg for it, and because it’s a Sunday you can’t get any from the bank… / 3) You are bored stupid waiting for people to start arriving / 4) The weather lets you down. We often prepare for rain but the real killer is the wind and in summer intense sun / 5) You can’t find anything decent to eat for lunch / 6) You need to go to the toilet or eat something but because your ‘help’ is late or didn’t make it, you are literally tied to your stall all day, and the stallholder beside you is too busy to keep an eye on it for you, and you wouldn’t trust them anyway. / 7) You forgot your big warm coat on a freezing cold day or your sunnies on a really bright day. / 8) People keep shoplifting your stuff or even steal your money tin/bag (much more common at markets than in shopping centres with video surveillance) So ask yourself how you will prepare for some of these situations and have a plan. Bring extras of everything and generally don’t feel bad when you can’t even move in your car because of all the stuff you’ve piled in there. When I was doing markets, I prayed for the day I could afford a van. Logistics / Think about all the stuff you need to take and work out how you are going to get it there, set it up and keep it supervised. Can you park your car behind your stall or do you have to move it? Are there strict set up and pack up times you need to consider? If you need to park away from the stall, can you do it securely and do you need to pay for parking? Can your stall be covered if you need to leave it unattended for a bathroom run or are you happy to ask a fellow stallholder to keep an eye on it? And this is a big one guys- What are you going to do with your rubbish at the end of the day? Expect to take it home because the public bins will be overflowing by lunchtime and littering is just not on. / CLOWNS by Mugsy Budgeting / It’s really the first thing you need to do but it scares people so I thought I’d hide it down here at the bottom. When you set up a market stall, you are essentially running your own business and like all small businesses, money, is important. You need to think about what it’s all going to cost you and decide if you are going to make a profit. Let me keep this very simple, the three things you need to think about are… / 1) Things that you buy once to get set up / 2) Things that will keep costing you money as you go / 3) Things that make you money I could write about making budgets all day but I’m trying to keep this post relevant to art. Basically, you want to make enough time to pay yourself back for any major set ups costs like buying new display stands, as well as any ongoing costs, and on top of that you want to make a profit. And please don’t forget to factor in your time. Decide if you are worth $20 per hour or $10 and hour or whatever and include “paying yourself” in your calculations. Keep Financial Records / Another scary one but important one. Keep a list of what stock you bring with you and what you sell. That way when you get home you can determine if anything was stolen or if any money went missing or the wrong change was given. It’s also good to keep a more general record of how much money you are making and what you are spending for each market so that you can see if your business is growing or struggling. It will also show you patterns; for example, an outdoor market would most likely have a quiet period during colder months. I will have to create a separate post about budgeting and financial records because they are both huge areas and very important. For now, my best advice is to get some advice! Oh the irony! I hope that is useful to a few people. And if I made it sound like hard work, well it is. But it’s also good fun. / Nurses by Samantha Thompson

• Selling Art Through Galleries- My Advice
  by Jo O'Brien

  I recently received an email from a fellow RedBubbler and thought I should share my response… DISCLAIMER: this is just my opinion an…

  I recently received an email from a fellow RedBubbler and thought I should share my response… DISCLAIMER: this is just my opinion and advice so don’t take my word as gospel! ____________ Hi Jo, I ‘discovered ’ you on Red Bubble and love your work.. You mentioned you work for a gallery that takes work on consignment. I’m interested in getting some of my work into galleries but don’t know how to. My stuff is here… http://www.redbubble.com/URL So just wondering if you have some advice?? Cheers & thanks, ____________ Hey M First thing is you will notice that the footer of this email has all my phone numbers- please do not hesitate to call me and we can have a proper conversation about this. I have a lot of artists ask me about this and am only happy to help out. I have found that the best way to get your stuff into galleries is to do what you have just done- send an email with a link to your work. Your webiste is basically your CV in the art world – it doesn’t have to be flashy (and redbubble is totally appropriate) but having work that loads quickly is important. You will be lucky if a gallery spends more than 1-2 minutes looking at your site. The other thing you can do is to print out samples of 5-8 images of your work, a biography or artist’s statement and any quirky info that could be used to market you. Put this together into a CV or folio and make several copies. Then you do the door knock thing. If you take this option be aware of a few things- Gallery staff at some places (certainly not us though) can be quite snobby to artists who come off the street and try to sell their wares. I suggest being pleasant but do not try to take up too much of their time. I’m more receptive to a “here’s a copy of my folio, here’s my contact details, i’d love to have a chat some time but obviously now isn’t the best time for you- maybe give me a call if you’re interested?” than a lengthy rehearsed sales pitch. Each gallery will have a slightly different way of doing things. Some will ask for a tax invoice when you bring in art and they will just pay you when it sells. Other will ask for an invoice only once something has sold and they may or may not request a consignment note when you deliver your art. Other places do 90% of the paperwork for you but these are rare. We keep a running file of what work you bring in and if anything gets returned to you because it wasn’t selling. Then if something sells we call or email you the same While I’m on this I should mention that some galleries will not deal with you unless you have an ABN. GST normally doesn’t make a difference but I have heard of a couple of fussy places who have insisted on dealing with GST inclusive artists only- go figure? The other thing that changes between galleries is the mark up of your work. In some of the artist run galleries you can get a 30/70 split of the sale (with the artist being better off). Other places will rip you off majorly and mark up your work by more than 100% and therefore will get more money than you do when it sells. Don’t let people bargain with you for your cut and THEN try to add 10% on for GST- insist on bargaining on the final price inclusive of GST. I make this bargaining process sound difficult but the truth is most places have a policy about how they split things and you either take it or leave it- my advice is more to show you the difference between money grabbing and artist appreciating! Which brings me to my next point- look at the attitude of the gallery. Some places are really picky about what you give them to sell which can mean that they either have no idea OR it could mean that they know their clientelle really well. You just have to be good at reading people to wrok that one out. The places that I would steer clear of are the ones who don’t seem to fussed by what you give them or don’t really care about having a biography or any information about you. They should be interested is selling ‘you’ as a product as well as your stuff. You have to balance out the financial side of things with the personal side. At our galleries we go 50/50 on sales which is considered a bit high. The upside however is that you get a mini cheering squad who will rave about your amazing talents to anyone who glances at your work sideways. We don’t have artists complaining about the higher mark up because we make up for it in branding and promotion you. This is a call each artist has to make for themself. If you’re stuff is considered sellable (which is decided on a case by case basis) we will give it a decent chance of selling- normally I put new stuff on display straight away or in the shop window. Then we see hwat the reaction is. Sometimes we find out very quickly that there is no interest, or everyone loves the image but thinks it is too small, or red, or badly framed or whatever. We aim to have open lines of communcation with our artists so that they don’t keep sending us stuff that no one wants! But in the end if after 4-6 weeks things are not going so well I send things back and invite the artist to try again if they begin experiementing with a different syle or medium. I certainly invite you and any other RedBubble artists to contact me about selling work through our galleries. We are always very keen to see what people have got to offer. Jo O’Brien Work: +61 3 9349 4333 (Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday) Work: +61 3 9827 3338 (Monday)

• Learn How To Sell Art
  by Jo O'Brien

  My primary goal for the next 3 months is to help you sell your art. Selling stuff used to be my profession, but now it is my passion. And…

  My primary goal for the next 3 months is to help you sell your art. Selling stuff used to be my profession, but now it is my passion. And I have plans about how I might help you make more money from your art and designs. But before I spend hours doing research, conducting interviews and writing articles, I’d like to know, what you want to know. I don’t profess to know it all, but I’ll be giving it my all to find out! Do you have a question about marketing or selling your own art? I’d like to hear it

• Our Book is Published!!!!!
  by Karin Taylor

  / !http://www…

  / / She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore / A short story by iAN Derrick with illustrations by Karin Taylor (me)!! Karin’s storefront iAN’s storefront This has been an amazing experience to be a part of….an enormous thank you to Matt Mawson who has tirelessly and generously worked over the past 2 days to bring this little book into being….. I could never have done it without you Matt! And of course a huge thank you to the amazing writer and friend of mine, one of those great Aussie characters that just keeps on keeping on, keeps on getting better with age…. that is iAN Derrick I first met iAN through a journal Matt wrote about one of iAN’s books, and since that day, we sorta hit it off….. I talked to iAN about my father and he also was inspired to write another short story called Understanding Harry and correct me if i’m wrong, but i think he may have been inspired to write a story that reflected some of the goings on with Matt’s four legged friend also. One day I got an email from the amazing iAN, saying although he thought my father should be the one to tell and publish his own stories, he’d had a little idea and brought it to life in Understanding Harry and not long after this i received a second email saying that he’d done it again, but i would have to wait til the morning when he loaded the story to red bubble, and he and I and hubby all savoured the moment….....waiting with baited breath, until upon waking in the morning two days ago, I was thrilled to discover this wonderful story had been written. A story about my characters…involved a certain Mrs T….but i will tell you no more, as it’s a must read…and you can read it over here She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore Thank you iAN and Thank you Matt i am eternally grateful

• Ways to sell your art
  by selling

  Empower Others To Sell your work It can be emotionally difficult to talk yourself up and sell your own work directly to a customer. ...

  Empower Others To Sell your work It can be emotionally difficult to talk yourself up and sell your own work directly to a customer. But it’s easy for other people who like and believe in what you do to tell customers how great your art is. Give family and friends a portfolio of your work and make it easy for them to sell your work for you, including handling payment. Give them order forms, show them how to buy your work from RedBubble, give them information on you and your art to give away, make sure they have really good photos of what the products look like or physical samples. Remember, these people are doing you a favor so make sure they are not under pressure to sell. Of course a financial incentive to close a sale never goes astray and gives people an incentive. LayBy / LayAway There are many customers out there who really want to make a purchase but are still a few days away from pay day or need some time to save up enough money. Offering to LayAway your work means that these people are not excluded from buying. Always always always document your layaway terms and conditions and make sure a copy is signed. Most countries have rules about layaway/layby so make sure you are abiding by them. For example, almost all layaways will require a cancellation agreement. Tip: Order the print once the base price has been paid for so you are never out of pocket. Deposit + Balance Probably one of the more common methods for accepting payment. A customer pays a deposit to secure the product and then pays the balance upon collecting the item. Deposits can range from 10% to 50% of the total cost. Make sure you give receipts with outstanding balances recorded (and always keep a copy for yourself). If you can cover your expenses in the deposit amount, that is great. If not, why not include a 3 week production and delivery time so you are never out of pocket. (you can order the print after being paid) Accept Different Payment Methods RedBubble has the advantage of an online checkout where credit cards and paypal can be used. Of course when you are selling your work face to face, sending someone to a website doesn’t really make sense when they have their wallet right now. Creditcards, Debit Cards & Eftpos: Most banks will allow you to accept credit or debit transaction into a business account. Depending on the frequency of these transactions, you may use the telephone to authorize payments, or a machine. Cash: Many people like to use cash. Just make sure you keep it somewhere safe until you can deposit it, and always keep copies of receipts. A Way Out / Give people a cooling off period in which to cancel a sale, have an exit clause in your layaway agreements, and document a returns policy. A customer who doesn’t feel locked in is more likely to buy from you, and a customer who has a good experience when returning something is more likely to buy from you in the future. It’s relatively common practice for deposits to be not refundable, or for canceled layaways to have a cancellation fee. These measures protect you, but still give your customer freedom to back out without feeling like they have lost everything. Offering to exchange items means you still get the sale, and the appreciation of the customer. Jo Images used with permission. Thank you Helen, James, John and Rebecca If you have an idea for an article or question about selling, drop me a bubblemail

• Rainbows of Happiness
  by Karin Taylor

  Geez, lately …. i just can’t get rainbows out of my head…....so I’ve been doing lots of them, you’ve probably noticed….. there’s a …

  Geez, lately …. i just can’t get rainbows out of my head…....so I’ve been doing lots of them, you’ve probably noticed….. there’s a message in that….. just HOPE / Hopefully, the rainbows bring more HOPE and more thinking about HOPE…. often I find I lose hope…so this influx of rainbows is as much for me as anything….i think i’m very focussed on them right now, because it’s so easy to lose sight of hope, and Christmas is a time to refocus on that which brings hope to ourselves, and gives hope and spreads a light to others i guess….. Anyways… enough rambling….did you make it this far.?? thank you if you did….. I wanted to share a few sales, and a few features…. and say a few thank yous to people i ain’t been able to, coz i dunno who bought the gear….so here goes …. THANK YOU for buying this…...... / / Skater Girl White Tee THANK YOU for buying this….... / / Tigre in Lime Fur in Grass Green Tee THANK YOU for buying this…... / / Save our Whales – Matted Print – Black Matt THANK YOU to the hosts for featuring this 5 days ago…... / / Heart of Gold in the Music Inspired Art Group THANK YOU to the hosts for featuring this 2 days ago…... / / Wheat Hurts in the Owl Artwork Group THANK YOU to the hosts for featuring this 1 day ago…... / / Flower Power in All the Colours of the Rainbow Group THANK YOU to the hosts for featuring this 4 hours ago …... / / Scuba Diva TShirt in Art & Stories Made for Children Group T H A N K Y O U E V E R Y O N E *

• PUBLISHED!!! She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore..............
  by Karin Taylor

  BOOK IS NOW PUBLISHED!!!! ....

  BOOK IS NOW PUBLISHED!!!! / She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore / A short story by iAN Derrick with illustrations by Karin Taylor (me)!! Karin’s storefront iAN’s storefront This has been an amazing experience to be a part of….an enormous thank you to Matt Mawson who has tirelessly and generously worked over the past 2 days to bring this little book into being….. I could never have done it without you Matt! And of course a huge thank you to the amazing writer and friend of mine, one of those great Aussie characters that just keeps on keeping on, keeps on getting better with age…. that is iAN Derrick I first met iAN through a journal Matt wrote about one of iAN’s books, and since that day, we sorta hit it off….. I talked to iAN about my father and he also was inspired to write another short story called Understanding Harry and correct me if i’m wrong, but i think he may have been inspired to write a story that reflected some of the goings on with Matt’s four legged friend also. One day I got an email from the amazing iAN, saying although he thought my father should be the one to tell and publish his own stories, he’d had a little idea and brought it to life in Understanding Harry and not long after this i received a second email saying that he’d done it again, but i would have to wait til the morning when he loaded the story to red bubble, and he and I and hubby all savoured the moment….....waiting with baited breath, until upon waking in the morning two days ago, I was thrilled to discover this wonderful story had been written. A story about my characters…involved a certain Mrs T….but i will tell you no more, as it’s a must read…and you can read it over here She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore Thank you iAN and Thank you Matt i am eternally grateful / for all my friends :) and those who are new to red bubble or haven’t crossed paths with me before ….. a hearty welcome to my part of this big bubbly place! I have some news to share with you!!! It is both brilliant wonderful enchanting and delightful all at the same time!!! Friend and writer iAN Derrick who, to quote his own words has been Socialistic humanist, designated friend of Fishes of Sahul, survivor of numerous occupations including commercial referee, motel management, professional aquaria and wildlife collector, book & record shoppe proprietor, Asian food business. Personal cancer creator, wheatgrass and sprout producer, brewer of green tea with fresh ginger, and sometimes as she is writ sorta bloke and who’s favourite food is yumcha, has just written a wonderful SHORT STORY and dare i say it, it’s all about MWA, me, and my girls (my creations)!! You must read it….it’s sooo good…..tooo good to miss out on…. / the story is called She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore Of course, it’s only an imaginery story, but it has so many elements of truth in it, that i was gobsmacked and honoured…. i think i can die happy now :D Being honoured in this way, is a biggie for me :) iAN for being the great character and writer you are, for somehow being at the helm of my dreams and spreading the word about the magic of ‘seeing’ , truly ‘seeing’....... there is a message in this story…. _*Mrs. T gathered them all around in a circle and whispered, ‘The magical land is close enough for you to visit, but way too far if you do not see.’ something to make you think, something to help with pondering….... something to cheer your day and take you back to your childhood, and the carefree-ness of that time!! Please VISIT iAN’S BOOKS on Lulu.com here Here are the stars of the story!! Meet some of the the characters/stars of the story - / Beach Betty / Mi & Yuu / Miss Teapot / Linda Longface / Party Girl / Dippy Love / Stargazer

• Bubblers Meet!
  by Karin Taylor

  ...

  / Heymae and Ben / Above is an image that Matt Mawson took of Heymae (iAN’s poodle) and my son Ben at our picnic, and Matt has made this into a gorgeous vector!! Ben’s saving for a poster of this to put up in his room…!!!! but ijust bought him the poster, as couldn’t wait ….. it’ll look great in his room!! Here is a photo Matt took of iAN and mwa, with our new book!! We had a really really special day yesterday meeting fellow Red Bubble friends for the first time. A picnic day was organised at the beachside town of Kingscliff, a halfway mark for us all…. Meeting iAN Derrick who authored our book She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore was just so special. iAN has a really wicked sense of humour, but underneath all that is a real sweetie, a big softie!! iAN’s lovely daughter was so generous inviting us to ‘picnic’ at her place, a lovely spot with a real beachhouse feel… i will model my future home on her place i reckon!! She made us feel so welcome, and had lots of funny stories to share with us all!! a great host!!! ..and then to add to this, we met the lovely Matt and Sandra, Bob their young friend and author of a book about raising blue-tongue lizards, and stars of the show BLUEY the blue tongue lizard who i got to cuddle and pat and HEYMAE, iAN’s sweet little (supposedly ferocious) black poodle.. lol lovelier folks you could not meet, it’s always a bit scary to meet people for the first time, especially after you’ve been chatting to them online, coz you wonder what the heck they’ll think of you in person, but this meeting has just made me appreciate each one of them so much more, and realise them as very real and special people, it felt like visiting with family. My son Ben came along and had the time of his life, he enjoyed all the banter and a lovely book given to him by iAN by Terry Pratchett… I got iAN to autograph all my books which i later gave to my folks and my sister and her children. Here are some pics from the big day!! / The Marvelous Matt, the Enigmatic iAN, and Krazy Kaz…. three bubblees meeting for the very first time… another case of the internet bringing people together in real life, I’ll never forget this day, it was so special! / Young Bob and Bluey the blue-tongue lizard who came to visit us too.. Bob autographed my copy of the terrific book he wrote on how to keep and raise blue tongue lizards and we had an awesome chat!!! / My Dad John and myself, together with the wonderful vector Matt created for us of Polkadot Snake / Dad was so thrilled to get this mounted print, he raced off this morning and showed it and the book to his best fishing mate and his wife, and they were most impressed too!!! / My little sis Melissa (Missy) who’s 7 years my junior but a heck of a lot taller than me, and her kids (my nieces) Indi (Indiana Ruby) and Maya (the little one) with an autographed copy of our new book She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore / which everyone loves! / Heymae (iAN’s beautiful black poodle) A very happy day was had by all!! / Thanx for looking !!

• Two Things!!!
  by Karin Taylor

  / 1. Spotting Rainbows....

  / 1. Spotting Rainbows just got featured in All the Colours of the Rainbow Group and I want to thank the hosts or whoever chose it!! / Little Green Teapot TShirt sold just a few hours ago to a mystery buyer….thank you whoever bought it and hope you have heaps of fun wearing it around or giving it to someone else who’s gonna wear it around :D

• Need Help With A Consignment Contract?
  by Carrie Glenn

  This Journal started out as a request for help with a contract, (Thanks George!) “Hey I was wondering if anyone currently has a good c…

  This Journal started out as a request for help with a contract, (Thanks George!) “Hey I was wondering if anyone currently has a good consignment contract they are using or can reccomend? If so maybe you could post it or b-mail me with it? I am looking for one more fashioned for a retailer rather than a gallery” There was little to no response…and after seeing this journal favorited several times with no comments I realized there must be quite a few people who are also looking for help in this area. So I did my own research and wrote / customized an existing contract of my own for a retail sales situation. There are now two contracts posted here for your use. Just change the pertinent details to fit your needs. Feel free to post any current consignment contracts you are using to help others Enjoy these and hopefully they help! xoxo

• Paintings, Plays and Cheesecakes :)
  by Anni Morris

  What a weekend. yesterday spring had definitely sprung, temperatures rose to 20C and the sun shone all day. / I attended the dress rehear…

  What a weekend. yesterday spring had definitely sprung, temperatures rose to 20C and the sun shone all day. / I attended the dress rehearsal of a play I had written with a few friends-it is being performed tonight to the public :) It is only a short play but has all the components which add that sense of drama > a funeral, conflict, comedy, missing jewels and a secence; complete with thunder claps and spirit activity. It was so much fun writing it. Yesterday was also the day for setting up and hanging for an art exhibition I am part of. 16 South Island NZ Art Guild members are set to wow Cantabrians (people from the Canterbury region) with their eclectic collection of artworks in a first of a kind exhibition. “Common Ground” is showing from Monday 15th – 21st September 2008. / Mon – Sun 10am – 5pm / Opening Day – Artists in Residence – Monday 15th September. / Gallery “O” in the Christchurch Arts Center, Christchurch, New Zealand. / Level 1, Boulevard shops and galleries / Worchester Boulevard (stairwell adjacent to Coffee Corner) The Exhibition titled “Common Ground” will raise the bar for artists throughout New Zealand as this group of well known artists showcase their talents and make their original works available for sale to the general public. The public are invited to a unique opportunity to meet and watch the “Artists in Residence” who will be creating paintings onsite during the opening day celebrations, Monday September 15th. The Artists involved are excited to share this experience with everyone. All the participating artists – Amanda Hook, Anni Morris, Barb Warren, Chavah Kinloch, Cheryl Irwin, Elissa Ramsay, Janet Marshall, Jude Blake, Kirsty Black, Maria Hartley, Pam Buffery, Rachael Inch, Ron Esplin, Sharon Burger, Shelly Van Soest, Tanya Dann, Viv Hansen – are proud members of the NZ Art Guild. The NZ Art Guild is a nationwide organisation which is committed to promoting, supporting and providing resources and opportunities to all kiwi artists. I got a phone call last night to say I had sold a painting ‘The Sisters’ before it opened. It was totally unexpected,and a big suprise. A fellow artist had bought it. / Fingers crossed for lots of sales over the next week for all the artists involved. Oh…yes, the cheescake. I have a weakness for raspberries and made a raspberry cheesecale. The recipe is soooooooooo easy and definitely worth a go. End result is impressive and incredibly yummy so thought I would share the recipe here. So creative vibes to all and happy painting and eating ;) ~ Hugs Anni Raspberry Cheescake -Easy / Serves 8 / Prep 20 mins / Cook 40 mins / Ready in 1 hour Ingredients: * 8 digestive biscuits * 50g butter , melted * 600g cream cheese * 2 tbsp plain flour * 175g caster sugar * vanilla extract * 2 eggs , plus 1 yolk * 142ml pot soured cream Method 1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Crush the biscuits in a food processor (or put in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin). Mix with the butter. Press into a 20cm springform tin and bake for 5 minutes, then cool. / 2. Beat the cream cheese with the flour, sugar, a few drops of vanilla, eggs, the yolk and soured cream until light and fluffy. Pour into the tin. Bake for 40 minutes and then check, it should be set but slightly wobbly in the centre. Leave in the tin to cool. Try – Put a handful of whole raspberries into the base before pouring over the cheese mixture. Mash and sieve a further 200g raspberries and drizzle 2 tbsp over the top, running a knife through any large blobs. Bake as before and serve the rest of the sauce on the side. Top the cheesecake with more fresh raspberries.

• Here is a chance to display and sell your work in a art market
  by Rosina Lamberti

  Melbourne & Victoria group challenge For …

  Melbourne & Victoria group challenge For those that live around Melbourne,Australia Here is a chance to display and sell your work in a art market The Challenge Rosina Lamberti has scored us a free market stall at the 9” x 5” Quality Makers Market in 14 Ivanhoe Parade, Ivanhoe on Sunday December 14th (hello Christmas shoppers) Melways Map 31 Reference F7 9″ x 5″ Quality Makers Market showcases premium quality arts and crafts available for purchase held every second Sunday of the month. Please contact Rosina Lamberti for more information. have fun / rosina

• Do you want to sell your art?....Then read this
  by kim Davitt

  Hello everyone .................twrphotography .......................... / came up w…

  Hello everyone .................twrphotography .......................... / came up with the idea and asked me to help start a group to help artists sell their art work here on redbubble…........... We love redbubble for the community but also hope to sell a few things as well do many others on redbubble and we hope this is a way for us all to acheive this. Please take a few minutes of your time to go view and join Wishing you many sales —-—-—-—-BUYER R US —-—-—-——

• Fab News New BOOK!
  by Karin Taylor

  the book – “She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore” by iAN Derrick and Karin Taylor – is about the girls I draw on cards, all living at t…

  the book – “She Sells Sea Cards by the Sea Shore” by iAN Derrick and Karin Taylor – is about the girls I draw on cards, all living at the seaside with a mother figure called “Mrs T” who introduces the ‘_card children_’ to the magical wonder of rockpools by the seaside It takes EXACTLY TWO MINUTES for the image of the front cover to load over on Lulu.com (so just give it a couple of mins or so) / / ! / It takes EXACTLY TWO MINUTES for the image of the front cover to load over on Lulu.com (so just give it a couple of mins or so) The book looks fabulous and reads wonderfully, the pictures all turned out fab!!

• How do you get your images sold on here???
  by John De Bord Photography IPA

  Call me discouraged, call me frustrated, but how in the blue hell is everyone sellin’ shit but me? Ya call this a rant….idk….just kin…

  Call me discouraged, call me frustrated, but how in the blue hell is everyone sellin’ shit but me? Ya call this a rant….idk….just kinda down I suppose. Thought the Sunflowers actually woulda sold, but spose I am wrong. Ya I know, I sound like a whiner and that I am complaining, but I am honestly starting to question my images’ abilities to be sold. Here, DA., etc…..Sure, my stock does ok I ‘spose, in a sense, but my really best images….nada…..maybe it’s just not fit for people’s walls…..I just don’t know what the hell to think anymore. I honestly don’t. Sigh….

• 20,000 views Yippee
  by Shane Walker

  My artwork just hit 20,000 views I’m so excited, I just like to thank those who bought my images and thank everyone for commenting on my …

  My artwork just hit 20,000 views I’m so excited, I just like to thank those who bought my images and thank everyone for commenting on my images and shirts. / I just love taking photos, and playing around with art, my imagination just runs wild. / Would like to see a few more buyers, haven’t had anyone by my artwork on canvas or framed yet, so get your wallets and purses out and buy something for Christmas. / There is some great artists and photographers on Red bubble and a lot of it inspires me to do more.

• First Sale!!...After only 26 days of starting to sell here!
  by Lisa Weber

  I’m shocked! Surprised, thrilled, excited, grateful!! Thanks so much for purchasing my art! Enjoy! / !http://i57.photobucket.com/al…

  I’m shocked! Surprised, thrilled, excited, grateful!! Thanks so much for purchasing my art! Enjoy! /

• Why We Photograph.....
  by John De Bord Photography IPA

  Why I am writing this at some ungodly hour of the morning is really beyond me, I am not even sure…..blame on me sitting here looking, t…

  Why I am writing this at some ungodly hour of the morning is really beyond me, I am not even sure…..blame on me sitting here looking, thinking, taking in, reading into, seeing, all the images on Red Bubble. I suppose at 5:52 in the morning, under-coffee’d, let’s the mind wander, especially when viewing art. In fact, it made me wonder straight to the topic of this journal…...”Why We Photograph….” For me, it is not easy to describe nor easy to write about. It is rather personal in some ways, and obvious in others. It is about feeding my creative right brain, .....it is funny when I sit here editing a shot how I get lost in “the zone” and my world around me almost stops….the same way it did when I used to draw and paint. Therapy. Plain and simple. It is my meditation….. This is one simple aspect and there are probably 1000s of other little ones along the way as well. I also shoot for a higher purpose, a higher sense of romance, and a higher sense of hope and feeling. Some of you here know exactly what I am in reference to, having followed me on deviantArt for years. Others, well, you will have to read in to that as I am kinda restrained from talking about it….sadly. And it isn’t my choice. Let’s just say that in these last 3 years, I have learned a lot, about me, about what it means to be alive, about what it means to be accepted, loved, and given an opportunity that few will ever have. And every night I thank the Lord above for that. It is odd though, and many ask why I am on so many sites for photography…..and honestly, for once, I seriously think I have an answer to that question…... After much soul searching the last few years on that subject, looking for an answer and never finding one, I now know why. I am what is called a ‘visual learner’, meaning that I learn things by seeing them…..this all goes back to my childhood and how I am learning disabled, still am, but have serious learned to compensate. It also explains my whole creative side…..see I suck at math, and anything along those kinda lines, but I am the only one in my whole family that is a creative. This is where I compensate at…..I am not to good on left brain kinda things. but the right side, I will jump right in the fire in a heartbeat! This has all lead up to the above question---and now an answer why I am on so many sites…... When I view photography, I suppose I take it in differently than most. I de-construct the image, and examine it, usually I am able to do this quite quickly….having done it since my childhood. I look at it like a doctor looks at a patient…..trying to find out more about the image, how it was shot, exposed, compensated for, processed, etc etc on and on…..I learn this way! And the more photography I see, the more i learn also! As I said, I am a visual learner. I dive in, I want to know all, and photography is something I want to know more about. The technique, the process, the marketing, the professionalism, the workflow, all aspects…..all areas. How it is done, how it is presented, how it is sold, how it is bought, how it is shot, every single aspect that there is. And by being on so many sites, it allows me to take it all in…..my right side of my brain has a massive appetite…....to say the least. However it also doesn’t come without frustration. being a member of so many sites has caused some problems for me in the real world….sometimes I get a lil lost, never realizing just how much time I spend looking at this damn screen. When I sure as hell should be doing something else. It has caused issues in my personal life, issues which shouldn’t be issues, issues that are so far unresolved. And issues which must be solved asap. Hell, I have probably said to much already…so moving forward…... I aspire, I dream, I create, I want to sell my images and dream of the day I can really make an honest living from my work, I dream of the day editors call or email me asking me if I have some shot from Colorado…...I aspire to be the best I can be….and I hope one day my shots will grace the cover of the likes of magazines which you can buy in the super market. Will it happen??? I don’t know. I wrestle with inner demons a lot, I struggle a lot with the actual ‘marketability’ of my shots. I really am not that confident in that aspect at all….I want my shots on greeting cards, yet when I try to sell them, no one buys them.What scares me the most is the thought of this-—- / My pictures are nice, pretty, and well done, but not something which would sell. So I examine this, I reflect on this, I try to learn from this, and I try to compensate for this. A lot of it though is left brain, and well…..it is hard for me, honestly. I look at peoples work that does sell and I think “ok so so and so did this, so what if I…....”, see I learn….always am lol I think all of us in many respects are on this big journey together…...we never really know where it leads us, but we do know what we enjoy, and we all have our reasons why we shoot. If photography has taught me anything, it has taught me to have a better eye, and how even in the most ugly of circumstances, there can always be beauty. It has taught me to see the world and nature in a whole other way. It has made me think….and to become aware of conservation. Yeah, I know why I shoot….I know why…...I shoot because it is something I not only love, but must do. / —-John

• I can't believe it...
  by Keegan Wong

  First and foremost, I would just like to say thank you very much to all those who’ve purchased my art. I am absolutely gobsmacked – this …

  First and foremost, I would just like to say thank you very much to all those who’ve purchased my art. I am absolutely gobsmacked – this is wonderful! Ever since I’ve been part of the Redbubble community, I have sold three of my art in cardform: 1) Two Become One – card / 2) Taking Love to New Heights – card / 3) Pulse of Perth – card And all this has been happened in less than a month! As opposed to my deviantART page which I have participated in almost 2 years now, my sales count still remains at ZERO. How shameful. So at this point in time, I would just simply like to say THANK YOU. /

• A card sale!
  by Keegan Wong

  With the new Redbubble purchase system, artists can now identify who purchased their work…so I just wanna say thanks to Dave Aarons...

  With the new Redbubble purchase system, artists can now identify who purchased their work…so I just wanna say thanks to Dave Aarons for purchasing my card Nature’s Own Power. I am truly flattered, hope it serves you well. =) Cheers, / Keegan

• “Your most important sale is to sell yourself to yourself”
  by Paul Hamilton

  Just got back from a trip to Melbourne to find I’ve sold 22 cards. A big thank you. What a wonderful start to the week. After several f…

  Just got back from a trip to Melbourne to find I’ve sold 22 cards. A big thank you. What a wonderful start to the week. After several features in my groups and National magazines it’s safe to say my confidence is high. How important is confidence and self-belief? “Your most important sale is to sell yourself to yourself” – very true. Have a great week everyone. Regards Paul

• New domain names for the art-fine Online Gallery
  by Samuel Durkin

  I now have alternate names for visitors wanting to visit www.arts-fine.co.uk You can now also visit www.arts-fine.com...

  I now have alternate names for visitors wanting to visit www.arts-fine.co.uk You can now also visit www.arts-fine.com and www.arts-fine-gallery.co.uk I bought these to make sure visitors can find the site even if they get it a bit wrong and so the search engine take my main site even more seriously. Over the last two months I’ve increased the unique visitors on arts-fine from 10-15 a day to 60-100 a day. I’m working very hard to make arts-fine the place to come for original paintings. If you make original paintings and feel you would fit in. Take a look at my Sell your art Page.