The Birth of a New Product?
Posted by Keith on Tuesday Apr 29, 2008 Under Creative Process, Entrepreneurship
In my never-ending quest to milk every cent out of my art… errrr… I mean, to broaden the appeal of my creations… I have been experimenting with different ideas on how prints, cards and other reproductions might be made. Frankly, because it’s fairly easy to do, everybody seems to have cards and prints of their works and some even have mousepads, puzzles and mugs! I make such items available through sites such as Zazzle and DeviantArt but to be honest, I don’t really like having the same old stuff as everybody else. I do it because I need to make some money in order to keep creating but I hope someday to end my need for those external outlets and focus on my own end-products. Until that day comes, I keep experimenting!
So far, the cutting board idea didn’t work. At least, not for existing art. However, reverse-painting a clear glass cutting board shows some promise if I can find a design I really enjoy for the kitchen. Seeing as I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you’d think more ideas would pop up, but they really don’t though every once in a while the urge to do a mural on my refrigerator creeps in but I don’t think my apartment manager would have the same appreciation for it that I would!
There is also the idea of turning a couple of the brighter pieces into quilt patterns, especially the Aster garden piece. But frankly, I haven’t completed a quilt yet in my life so who am I to create a pattern? Especially since I’d then have to make a sample from the pattern to test it and as I just said, I’ve never finished a quilt? Bad idea. At least for now….
The most recent idea that popped into my head I was able to test pretty quickly, and that’s the idea of a ‘window print’ where I print the artwork onto clear re-positionable plastic. I tried this with the Aster Garden painting and it worked pretty well (see above). The darker colors are more visible, as you would expect. I’m going to have to play around with the lighter colors and determine how much darkening that would need to show up well. But I think this is pretty neat and much easier for me to do that to try and make a stained glass item (though I want to do more stained glass).
In any case, I don’t have any specialty items that I feel are ready for prime-time yet, but thought I’d share this part of the creative and entrepreneurial process with my readers. That leads me to ask: what are some of the ideas you’ve played around with for presentation of your art?
April 29th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I am having an inner conflict about this subject, in my own work. I make jewelry, and although only some of it is Asian-influenced, my presentation of it at events is very Asian. So I like to accessorize my table with Asian trinkets. But if I don’t make those myself, people ask me how much they are, and I have to say they’re not for sale and I didn’t make them.
On the other hand, if I start making Asian trinkets…which, believe me, I would love to do…it’s a whole ‘nother business. And I don’t organise my time well as it is. But as an experienced sewer, I know I can make pretty things that would dress up the table, and obviously people would buy them because they ask about the non-jewelry items. So I keep going back and forth in my mind about it.
I’ll stop rambling now. Very interesting subject! I need to really think and prioritize. (Easier said than done! What is your secret?)
April 29th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Prioritization and time management are not strong suits for me by any means! I’d be much more productive if I could focus on one thing at a time. instead, I have two paintings in progress, some sewing accessory covers, two articles of clothing and am experimenting with fabric painting! I’m actually going to address this is an upcoming post, but I wanted to make it clear that I’m not a prioritization guru so you are probably even better at it than I am!
My ultimate advice is that you determine your level of enjoyment versus the time spent promoting another line of business. Myself, I’d do all of these non-painting crafts regardless of a business so I might as well put them into a shop and give it a little bit of effort but nothing is going to get the effort that my paintings do!
By the way, I love your sweet pea earrings!
April 29th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Yeah, I’ve contemplated making an owl onesie so maybe my stuff will sell, but I just couldn’t get myself to do it and do what everyone else is doing. I know my stuff may not be exactly what’s “hip” but it’s my art, and I don’t want to change it for anybody, even if my stuff doesn’t sell. And luckily I’ve got a husband making money to support me so I can be stubborn
April 30th, 2008 at 1:38 am
Thank you for the compliments on my earrings, Keith! I see we are both the kind of person who can’t resist getting into new things all the time. My works in progress: three new jewelry designs, one crocheted doily, one shawl (a Mother’s Day gift, deadline coming up), knitted hats for a local charity (ongoing but starting to gather dust), and of course more pieces of jewelry for the current line.
BabyLyons, I am fortunate to be supported by my husband as well, so that is a blessing. But I keep hoping I’ll be able to build this fantastic business with my designs…maybe I am a bit of a dreamer, but I don’t want to stop trying even if I am “business-impaired”.
Looking forward to that post about prioritization!
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I love the way the light filters through . . .