Manufacturer List

Since I'm creating a brand a client list wasn't really what I needed to do, instead I was advised to a list on Manufacturers.

Clothing 

sublab
sublab is a uk based printing company they produce all over print t-shirts which I have noticed are getting more popular lately. I personally love the look of all over prints. The prices start from £26 for 1 and £18 each if you are ordering 26-50 t-shirts. They also offer neck label printing for 25p per t-shirt. They have templates for both photoshop and illustrator on the website making the design process easier. They also do standard t-shirt printing starting at £24 per t-shirt.

identity manchester
I'm not 100% sure they are still up and running but they do/did t shirts, hoodies, shirts, hats, bags and other clothing. I have used Identity before back in A level and my Dad is friends with the owner.

Rapanui Factory
Offers screenprinted t-shirts (which I could do in college anyway) and digitally printed t-shirts. They also do embroidery but there is a local place I could go to get that done.

They also own a site called Teemill which functions like Redbubble but I think you get a bigger cut of the profits.

Headmasters Embroidery & Schoolwear
Local company going to them would help support the local economy and keep businesses like this up and running. I have seen patches made by them and they are just as good quality as any other company. The website might look naff but they get the job done.

stockingshock
I have personally had a piece of clothing made by Stockingshock and it is fantastic quality. StockingShock is an British Gothic and Lolita brand, based in the English Midlands. On the website they say "All our regular designs are tweakable- i.e. if you don't like one feature you can swap it for another, or add some optional extras. Hardcore individualists can select the 'Custom' option and build an entirely one-off piece. You can also supply your own fabric; if doing so, please mention the fabric type (ie. fibre content, such as poly- cotton, wool etc. or a brief description of the fabric if you aren't sure of its composition) and width, and we will advise you of the amount needed."
They also offer custom designs at a discount if you supply your own fabric.

sewport
London based "SEWPORT helps the fashion industry with clothing production capabilities.

We make sure designers and brands don’t get held back because of lack of machinery and labour to produce clothes". They do long runs and short runs, they cover everything I would need help with. They can work from a sketch and design the pattern and go through every step of the manufacturing process.

Fabric

surface pattern print
100% UK based "create your customised fabric and wallpapers with no minimum meterage". "Student discounts available please get in touch for your unique discount code". Silk, Cotton & Polyester Fabrics from £15.99 per metre. They also print wallpaper which would be nice if you had a booth at a trade show or something similar, wallpaper starts at £19.99 per metre.

lacunapress
Based in Gloucestershire, next working day despatch, create your own fabric starting at £10.00 a meter, they advertise that their fabrics are created with environmentally friendly inks and processes. They have a wide range of fabrics to choose from.

printmepretty
Uk based, only seems to print on 195gsm plain cotton and doesn't have any price lists on the site.

citrus rain
Manchester based they produce towels, tablecloths, cushions, blinds, wallpaper, fabric etc. They offer a large variety of printed fabrics and they have pictures on the site so you can see which are better for colour and what the texture is like. Slower turnaround than some of the other companies.

Prints and Other

dstudio
UK based, offers prints on Hahnemuhle Bamboo paper which is more environmentally friendly, I have ordered samples from this company and the Bamboo paper is really nice and is great for coloured pieces. I've made a whole separate blog post on this company and the samples will be in my Ideas and research book which I'll hand in with the rest of my work.

beespokeprint.
UK Based small scale printing company which specialises in creating stock for conventions they do prints, holographic prints, stickers, holographic stickers, printed portfolios, custom sketchbooks etc. Sadly they often have to close shop to work on orders especially around convention times so the shop is closed at the moment because of the up coming London MCM. I have spoken to the owner before and she did say if you were doing a convention she was also going to be at she would bring your stock with her so you don't have to transport it.

jimiagency
Not UK based but I am including it because it has options I can't find elsewhere.They are based in South Korea which would mean I have to consider customs charges and handling fees. They can get designs printed on clear acrylic, card wallets (the kind you would carry a bus pass in), memopads, stamps, washi tape etc. I'm particularly interested in the memopads, stamps and washi tape. I think I have purchase washi tape which was produced through this company and the quality is excellent.

zap creatives
UK based company they do custom acrylic charms for jewelry, zippers, phone charms, shoes. They also do things like badges, papercraft models, phone covers, posters, greeting cards, stickers, wall mirrors, clocks, cupcake toppers, tea light holders etc.

Hopes and fears

In this blog post I will be talking about some of my hopes for what I want to achieve post degree and some of the fears I have.

Unlike some of the others on my course my aim isn’t to go into editorial illustration, instead I’m building a brand which has been the goal even before I took this degree. The course has helped me come up with new ways to do this and has also let me see what alternative paths I could have taken. It sounds like I’m just set in my ways but I can tell you I have given each avenue suggested to me plentiful consideration. I have come to the conclusion building my own brand is the best way to get to get my work to its intended audience and maintain my artistic integrity while doing so. With my style of working I can’t wait around for art directors see that my style does have a place in their publications.

 One of my hopes is that I will become a better salesperson; it’s something I will need to work on. The course has helped me build confidence in my work, now I just need to become more socially confident. One of my fears is I could set up my brand in the wrong way since I don’t know much in terms of registering a business and how small businesses are taxed. To remedy this fear I intend to take a short course in business to help me market and properly set up my brand, since I’m not going down a more traditional illustration route there are gaps in my knowledge that need to be filled.

The course has also helped me step out of my comfort zone before I would have been hesitant to email people but now I find it a lot easier and know that the skill will be necessary to contact stockists.  Due to my anxiety I would often catastrophize things like sending an email or asking someone to give me feedback on my work but through repetition it’s getting easier. This takes me onto a fear of mine I’m afraid my anxiety will get in the way of potential opportunities, there are techniques I have learned to help with my anxiety through the past few years which will hopefully help me in this regard.

Another hope of mine is that through my brand I can help de-stigmatize mental illness and work with mental health charities to help fund services for people suffering from mental illness and raise awareness of what people can do to help those who struggle with mental illness. Mental health is a subject I have often brought forth in my practice and I fully intend to continue to do that outside of university.

I think a lot of people leaving art and design courses have a fear of getting sucked into jobs not related to their preferred field, I can say that in my case I’m not scared of having to pick up a day job to support what I want to do. If anything I’m actually looking forward to having that experience. I don’t think I will ever be able to stop making work which is why I don’t feel threatened by having to do other things to get by. Being an illustrator is not a stable job which scared me a lot at the beginning but I’m not limited to just being an illustrator. With that I don’t fear failure because I will never stop trying and that’s the only true way to fail.

The fear I have had is that my direction is a lot more fluid than others; it can come across as me not knowing where I am going because there is not as many boundaries to what I can do. There is no need for me to limit myself to just doing t-shirts, prints or books. The thing about creating a brand is you can explore many different outcomes under that umbrella instead of limiting myself to just illustrating other peoples book or articles. Creating my own content suits me better otherwise most of the time it feels like I’m forcing my style to match up with content that it doesn’t go with.

Final show considerations

I've been thinking more on how I want to brand myself, while looking at places to get my work printed I stumbled across dStudio which is a printing and framing service which offers bamboo paper which is more environmentally friendly www.digitalprintdesign.co.uk/papers/. 

There is also a 20% discount on getting your work printed on Hahnemuhle Bamboo 290gsm paper which is a nice incentive. It says on the website it is especially good for vibrant colours so it should be perfect for my work. 

Visiting Practitioners: Group portfolio feedback

On 20/04/2016 I went to Cake and Doodle and asked if any of the illustrators there could take a look at my portfolio and give me a bit of feedback. Most of my feedback came from Luis Gainzarain who is a Graphic Designer and comic artist from spain and Marta Gonzalez 

Luque who is a freelance photographer who also dabbles in illustration and animation.

Feedback from Luis Gainzarain

You should think a bit on the Why? What? and Where?

Why do you do the work you do? Is it self expressive? Does it have a message? Are you pursuing a stylistic ideal?

What are you going to do to convey what your work is about? What form will best convey what your work is about? What audience do you need to market your work to? (Who will appreciate what it is about).

Where can your artwork go? Where is your audience going to be? Where will your work be seen by the right people?

There isn't a right or wrong answer to these questions you just need to know what your answers are so you can take a step in the right direction.

Reflecting on the feedback

For why I create my work I would say it is primarily self expressive but I would also say I was pursuing a stylistic ideal but I have gotten to a place where I am happy with my style but I still like to play with different mediums it keeps my work fresh and exciting. 

Not all my work has a message behind it and I've come to terms with that. I think in the illustration world right now creating decorative work is frowned upon and seen as fluff in a way. But maybe I just want to create bright and cheerful work sometimes that doesn't particularly have a hard hitting message behind it, I don't think it is wrong to do. There is a Japanese principle called "ma" and I think ma can explain why I do my work the way I do. Ma is the space inbetween the action, if you want to see ma in practice Studio Ghibli is a great example. So my work which is mostly for decoration is my ma as you will, it is the break I need from my hard hitting work. In terms of studio ghibli ma comes after important parts of the story to help the information sink in and to transition to the next plot point. Ma comes in the form of mundane details for example a girl has a hard day at school lots of bizarre things happen. The ma could be she goes home and runs a bath and just goes about her normal routine before she is thrown into the next set of ordeals.

 But I do also create work that does have meaning to it, I mostly focus on mental health and opening up that conversation and making the whole subject less taboo. That work is often very introspective and it takes a lot of energy to translate it into an image.

The what for me it to make prints, to make stories and t-shirts, I basically want to make the topic of mental health as accessible as possible. The more people are exposed to it the easier it becomes to talk about it. And I want to approach my decorative work in the same way, if someone wants to wear my designs doesn't want to wear a t-shirt about mental health instead they want something a bit lighter in tone I can also supply my customers that option. My main audience is 13-25 I think the younger end of my audience will like my work for it's style and the older end will appreciate the message behind some of my pieces.

I think in terms of where I could sell or display my work I think there is quite a few pathways I can explore. Comic conventions are where I have had the most success up till now and I think with me producing t-shirt they are going to continue to be one of the best places to sell. I've had varying levels of success when it comes to selling my work locally, children and teenagers are my main buyers when I sell locally. I have recently started to see a raise in street artists taking an interest in my work and I feel like paste up's might be a good way to reach that audience. I think selling my work online could work if I concentrate on actively advertising, as of now I have had no success with it but I think that is all down to me not giving my etsy and redbubble enough exposure.

Marta Gonzalez

Sometimes you need to experiment with platforms and what you are creating, the best thing you could do is just try things to see what is a viable option or not. And I would recommend just getting a regular job first because it helps you develop as a person and helps you gain confidence.

(when I mentioned Fig Taylor and her feedback regarding my work) Even professionals can give bad advice sometimes, just because one person tells you something won't work for you doesn't mean they are right. I don't see why you couldn't do editorial illustration for more alternative magazines. Don't let one person tell you what you can or can't do.

What might be unpopular now might be popular next week or next month, trends change so don't base your decision on where you want to go with your work on what is popular right now. What is selling now might fade out of fashion in a few months, what has faded out of fashion a few mouths or years ago might have a resurgence. If it is selling even if it's not selling much keep doing it, if it isn't selling at all that's when you need to consider shaking things up a bit. Just keep doing what you love doing and keep developing it.

Reflecting on the feedback

I think Marta really helped me realise that just because my style isn't popular with art directors at the moment it doesn't mean it never will, and maybe it's not worth worrying about how popular or unpopular my style is. Sometimes you just need to go with the flow.

Other thoughts

When I mentioned Fig Taylor I quickly found the people who did know of or have encountered her have a rather low opinion of her. One woman said when she was a student Fig Taylor gave her feedback and she said it was useless to her and ended up being completely off. She said Fig had been out of the industry for too long and didn't really have much of a grasp on what is currently popular. and to take what she had to say about my work and what direction I should take it with a pinch of salt She also said Fig was the one approaching universities to do these feedback sessions not the otherway round which it's a very good sign. 

Client: Lyn Bannister

Lyn Bannister is a local art director and artist heavily involved in our annual art trail, this year she has managed to secure a piece of Banksy's Dismaland for the festival and art trail. Since she is close by I thought it's worth a shot and if I do get a response from her I will have at very least made myself known to her.

Hi Lyn,

I'm an illustration student living in New Mills. As part of my course I have been asked to contact art directors and gallery owners to get some feedback on my portfolio. Please let me know if you can help me with this. 

Thanks in advance
Sophie

19/04/2016
Lyn got back to me she said she could possibly take a look at my portfolio as long as it doesn't require her to write an essay which I reassured her that wasn't the case. So hopefully I'll be able to arrange to meet with Lyn in the next few days.

Contacting artists: Miss Wah

Miss Wah is a manga inspired street artists which I have been a loyal follower of for years and I've seen her grow from being a small artist on youtube to a successful street artist. She has a website where she sells her prints and stickers. It's been very inspiring to see a female street artist gain such an audience.

The email is quite casual since I have actually spoken to her before and she has previously given me advice on how to get into street art legally. So I thought I would contact her again since she was very helpful last time.

Hi,
as part of my course I have been asked to contact artists in a position I aspire to be in to give me a bit of feedback on my portfolio. I have a small PDF portfolio I can show you that isn't very long and won't take much time to look at. I would really appreciate it if you would take a look. I think your work is amazing I have been a follower of yours for years (from before you started doing street art) seeing you grow as an artist has been really inspiring to me, so your feedback would be really appreciated. 

Thanks in advance
Sophie

20/04/2016
Miss Wah got back to me unfortunately she is quite busy at the moment so her feedback would be after the blog deadline. I will still send my pdf portfolio to her anyways because I am very interested in what she would think of my work.

Client: Identity Printing Manchester

One of the clients I'm approaching is identity printing Manchester, I'm not sure weather it is above board but one of my Dads friends owns identity printing Manchester so he contacted them on my behalf.

Leo the owner created the very iconic "On the sixth day, God created MANchester" and now runs a t-shirt business selling his own and other designers work and printing t-shirts for everyday folk and designers alike. He has worked with many musical talents and with an interest in music and designing merchandise for bands this further convinced me I needed his input on my work and how it could be translated to t-shirts.

Website
http://identitymanchester.com/

I will update this post when I get a reply from Leo.

Update 17/04/16
My Dad drove past Identity Printing today to find they are now just called Identity, so it is possible they have now dropped the printing part of the business which might explain why there has been no replies since I was looking to get some t-shirt samples printed up as well as getting some feedback. But if I get any replies I will update this post but it is looking unlikely.

Client List part 2

So thinking further into my artwork and how it fits into the industry I have decided Art Directors are the wrong people for me personally to be going to. A lot of them are quite adverse to hiring anyone with a manga influenced style. So the next port of call is small independent gallery owners.

Richard Goodall Gallery

I have visited this a gallery in person and felt like my work would fit in with the other artists work. They display one of my favorite artists camilla d'errico who has inspired me a lot through out my degree.

Gallery owner Richard Goodall



Nottingham Contemporary

Looks to display a variety of work on their about us section  they say "We work to attract new, diverse audiences to contemporary art through innovative educational activities, our communications and our events." and that "Our audience is relatively young – around 50% are under 35" which is around the demographic I am aiming at.

Sam Thorne Director


ascot studios

As soon as I looked on the website I saw a manga inspired piece of artwork under the category of urban art.

Gallery Director Phil Harwood

From the website "Phil writes for a number of Arts & Culture Magazines, curates the exhibitions held at the gallery, and represents over 20 artists – including established international painters, mid-career artists & talented emerging artists based in the North West of England. Having gained the respect of international collectors and with an impressive client list here in the United Kingdom, Phil has earned his reputation as one of the most influential and successful art dealers of his generation."

Hang-Up

After searching for urban art galleries this gallery popped up and the art they display seems to be in line with what I do "an East London based contemporary art gallery located in the vibrant and bohemian neighbourhood of Stoke Newington. The gallery presents a dynamic exhibition program of fresh and forward thinking work from our roster of artists, photographers and makers. We show both young artists at the early stages of their careers alongside established names from the art world. We tie it together by seeking out and showing only those who are inherently creative, artists whom in some way break the mould from the traditional, pushing the boundaries either in terms of their work, their message or both."

Gallery Director Ben Cotten 


Upfest Gallery

"Situated on North Street, Bedminster is Bristol’s longest running urban art gallery, with the largest range of spray paint colours and Posca paint pens in Bristol. With regular exhibitions from some of the top Bristol, UK and International graffiti and street artists, the Gallery offers Bristol’s widest selection of Urban, Illustration and Contemporary artwork alongside a bespoke framing service, limited run artist t-shirts, and a fine selection of Street Art, Graffiti & Bristol books." The upfest gallery is another possibility especially since I am considering getting into selling t-shirts.

Gallery and festival Director and Founder Stephen Hayles


Identity Manchester

I have always wanted to branch out into t-shirt design since my A-levels when I printed a t-shirt (via  Identity Manchester) for one of my final pieces. I feel the time has come to revisit Identity Manchester. The owner Leo is a friend of my Dads and for what he doesn't have in qualifications in design he more than makes up with his experience.

Even though a bit unorthodox my Dad sent Leo an email on my behalf he didn't discuss this with me prior otherwise I would have contacted him myself. 



Will definitely looking into more ubran art galleries to contact.

Business card designs and considerations

I started thinking about my business cards back in February, I started by ordering a sample pack from Moo and deciding on their minicards. I loved the feel and look of the luxe minicards but because I wanted to attach a plush character (I call him Clarence) to the cards it would mean having to punch a hole. Even though I really like the luxe it would have probably been to thick to punch a hole through. So I ended up going for the original matte minicards.

Upon further feedback I have decided to match the characters bow to the colouring of the card design, and I have decided to only make 10 cards with plushies attached and to make sure the designs can hold their own.

First draft 

First Draft and Second Draft

Final Clarences (without bows)

For my final Clarences I switched the handmade pom poms out for pre-made ones, making the process a lot faster and the final outcome a lot neater.

For the cards I choose two designs from work I had already done, the design on the left was for my research project but the version put into my research project has been edited further to be a better fit. The second design is from my personal work and I added the purple to make the design fit in more with the other design.

Feedback from Fig Taylor

Yesterday Fig Taylor came in to have a look at out work and suggest directions we could go in.

First she gave a talk on finding clients. She talked about having a strong style with diverse subject matter is what art directors might look for in a portfolio, if an art director can't see in your portfolio you draw cats for example they won't hire you to draw cats. She warned us against buying mailing lists of clients and sending out generic copy and paste emails because it is a fast track to being blacklisted by those clients. She told us to only target clients who you think will be interested in your work, if you are contacting a client who is the wrong fit you are basically just wasting your time.

Fig talked to us about two different illustration pathways

Mainstream which is editorial which has a fast turnover, book publishing where your designs will be heavily shaped by the retailer, and advertising which is where you can make a lot of money but it has to go through a lot of people who will demand a lot of changes.

Gift industry which more about making products like greetings cards, wrapping paper and I assume things like t-shirts and apparel etc.


Fig's Feedback

After the talk she sat down with groups of us and gave us some quick feedback on where we could go with our work.

When she got to my work I couldn't help but feel she didn't know what to really suggest, she told me that art directors don't like manga influenced styles but she didn't know why that's the case because it is rising in popularity with consumers. So pretty much editorial would be hard for me to get into but there maybe some more quirky children's magazines like Aqila I could try. She kept wavering on if my style would be a good fit for children or would be better aimed a tweens and teens.

She suggested I could try and get into character design and if I was to include some of my roughs in my portfolio but otherwise stick with finished pieces. She also suggested I could try selling my work for tattoo flash.

Her biggest suggestion was for to try and sell my work online on sites like etsy and redbubble. But she also said hardly any artists get popular selling online.

My Thoughts

I don't think Fig Taylor seemed to grasp my work and it's audience. I have most success selling to people aged 11-25 yet Fig kept telling me my work was only for children, tweens and early teens. She didn't explicitly say I should go into the gift industry even though that seems to be the obvious best fit for my work. The whole experience was very de-motivating for me but I have to keep in mind my work is a bit out there and is very niche so I can't expect everyone to understand it.

Doki Doki Festival

Saturday last week I sold my artwork at my first anime convention. DokiDoki before this year was held in Manchester every two years, but is now running every year in November.

This year was more of a trial run for me so I could see how others set up and what sells, it defiantly helped seeing how others dress there stalls and how I can improve on presentation. But I did manage to make nearly £70 (£69.50) to be precise which was a nice bonus.

I have a lot of friends in this community I had actually interacted with some of the other artists who were trading prior to the event. It was great to interact with my target audience properly for the first time, I got some great feedback on prices and what I should focus on in the future. 

I will defiantly be doing it again next year, it was a really enjoyable experience.   

Uni project and upcoming stall

My university project 'Outside The Penthouse' is about dispelling preconceptions of the homeless.
Going straight into doing work about homeless people didn't work out very well, I found myself really hitting brick walls, thinking that my super vivid style just wouldn't fit the message I was trying to convey.

I had the idea of depicting the homeless people as monsters because a lot of people seem to adopt the attitude that they shouldn't exist and to validate this I feel people connect negative connotations to homeless people. The most common being drunks, druggies, lazy and uneducated.
I wanted to pull the carpet out from peoples feet and show them how they have been thinking about homeless people compared to how they should be viewing them.

A big challenge with this project it to keep it out of the realm of being too condescending but also try and make it so it isn't a guilt trip. Talking to members of my class they told me that most charity ads are patronizing or tell the viewer though the use of black and white that this should make them feel sad. People don't like being told what they should feel on a subject, that's the reason why differing opinions can spark arguments. I have thought at length how I can stay clear of all of these things and realized it's probably not possible to do, my priority instead has to be keeping these factors to a minimum.

People told me they would rather see something that is uplifting and that will inspire people to help rather than something gloomy which would just depress the intended audience.

My tutor recommended I step away from the theme of homelessness for a bit and focus on creating characters (which is what I enjoy doing) and that has really unblocked me creatively. Since switching the focus I have been coming up with concepts I really enjoy. The project before had become a chore but now it has become something I do for enjoyment and if I have learned anything forcing creativity rarely gives good results. Also my tutor's lecture on metaphor really helped me come up with new ways of communicating my chosen message without blocking myself off creatively.



Switching topic, I have a stall coming up in November and I am focusing on making things that are reproducible in order to keep the balance between my stall and uni work. So far I have come up with the idea of doing lino prints, I had a little look on etsy to see if anyone does pop culture inspired lino prints and found one person by the name of Chase or TheBeardedGoldfish as the shop name is called.

If there is one thing in this world I love, it is Pokemon. And Chase does very unique Pokemon lino prints (if only he shipped to the UK). I have always loved the bold look of lino prints. 

He prints them on to rice paper of different colours depending on the character in the print.

I think the boldness of a lino print would look absolutely amazing paired with a vivid watercolour background that I have recently been creating with Dr Ph Martins concentrated watercolours.

This is also something I would love to experiment with for 'Outside The Penthouse'. Maybe I could even bind them into a zine format.

The etsy shop for TheBeardedGoldfish

PDP Interview #1 with Jellie Bee

I first discovered Jellie Bee via her YouTube channel after buying some of her artwork I had the pleasure of meeting her at Japan Day 2014 in Manchester. Since Jellie Bee is influenced by very similar things to me I thought she would be interesting to interview.

See the picture on her Facebook page

1. You're work looks anime/cartoon influenced; did standing out from the crowd ever cross your mind when you were developing your style?

Actually, when developing my work, I actually wanted to have my work look more like everyone elses, particularly successful artists. However, people started to compliment me on the fact my work was really recognisable to them and that's when I realised being myself was easier and better all along.

One of Jellie Bee's digital paintings, she often does these on a single layer.

See the picture on her Facebook page

2.When did you start selling your artwork and how long did it take you to build a steady amount of people who buy your work?

I started selling my artwork on stickers from around early 2010 and it picked up quite quickly. I started my own online store in 2011 but it took until 2013 for it to become a lot more steady. Convention selling has kept the interest in my online store going strong.

 3.What is the most interesting medium and/or canvas you have ever worked on?

My absolute favourite canvas is the sketchbooks that I customise. There's a real sense of achievement when I've finished one, because it's original art, but also a useable product. I find it interesting every time, as they always come out more special than I expected.

One of Jellie Bee's custom sketchbooks she sells on storenvy, she sells some pre-made and is often commissioned to do custom designs. 

See the picture on her Facebook page

4. What are your favourite artists? Have they influenced your style?

Massively so. My favourite artists are Lois van Baale (Loish); Marc Brunet (bluefley/Cube Brush); Mary Blair and Victoria Ying.
Each one has inspired me in different ways: Loish represents the skill levels I've always wanted to reach; Marc Brunet's techniques have always pushed me, his tutorials improve me in a way no-one else's ever have. Both of these artists pushed me to try single-layer painting, colour experimentation and portraiture and even though my painting skills are lightyears away, they've helped form who I am today with my digital art.
Mary Blair and Victoria Ying represent the illustrative side to my work, the side I find more relaxing and easier, but also the side I tend to criticise more.

See the picture on her Facebook page

 5. Do you feel your style is still developing?
Oh, always. I had a funny conversation with someone in a livestream recently, who said they felt comfortable with their digital style after only two weeks of experimentation. I said that it's taken me 9 years to become comfortable with my approach and to have more pride in my work. I started in Dec 2005 and it wasn't until Dec 2014 that I really felt connected. It will always develop, because I'm always torn between sticking to one style - painting, or illustrative?
Not only that, but I also like to practice with sumi-e and ukiyo-e style art a lot, so there's a third style I like to do. It's so confusing sometimes, but I'm happy right now with the progress I'm making. I'm just excited to see how I improve over the course of my life!

See the picture on her Facebook page

Want to check out Jellie Bee for yourself?

Here are some of the places you can find her.

Art Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/MorganAmeliaBromage

Business Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/JellieBeeNews

Storenvy

www.storenvy.com/stores/120039-jellie-bee

Looking forward

Recently I have been wondering if markets really are a good platform for selling my artwork. And after a market I had on Saturday, I have decided I should try and sell my work primarily online.

After observing the visitors that look at my stall I have come to the conclusion my artwork is rather niche. And that niche is not present where I am currently doing my stalls.

I think etsy is the best way to go, I know that I am the kind of person who would buy my work. I regularly comb through etsy I think my work would have a better chance at being seen and bought. Since I do a lot of one off pieces my work would still stand out and have appeal.

As for my offline revenue I would like to gear more towards conventions such as Doki Doki, Japan day and MCM Manchester. These will cost me more than my average pitch BUT I think I would do a lot better at those kinds of events, and with less events to worry about it leaves more time for my uni work. Not to mention how many people have told me that my target audience is much more abundant at conventions.

At the moment I have too much to sell and not enough like minded people to sell it to.

So my plan is
-Set up my etsy
-Get my head around shipping prices (maybe only ship within the UK at first)
-List the things I already have before making more artwork

In the future I need to look at
-registering as a small business
-getting a website
-making an online portfolio
-branding

Tips for holding a stall

Tips for holding a stall and selling your own artwork

1.Presentation is key

Have key pieces even if you are selling them for a high price display them it'll draw in customers, potential clients and contacts.

Having different levels plays a big role in  making your stall visually interesting, potential customers will take more time to look than if you have everything on one level. To achieve different levels use box's of varying sizes and put them under your table cloth, if your selling canvases invest in some cheap easels I got mine from here the works. 

An easy way to add interest is to have a table cloth that stands out in the pictures below all I'm using is some curtains but they stand out from the rest of the stalls that have a plain Jane black table cloth.

Also make sure you properly label your products, people don't like to ask about prices so try not to make them ask.

Before using levels.

After using levels.

2. You don't have to spend much 

(spend more on stock, less on presentation)

As I said in tip number one as a table cloth I use curtains so you don't have to go spending a tonne of money to make your table look better. You are having a stall to sell your products not the table your products are sitting on, even though good presentation is good practice don't go mad spending all your money on it until you are better established.

The scheme I take part in means I get a free table BUT this is normally not the case so pick and chose your events wisely, work like mine wouldn't do well selling at a church but would sell in Manchester or Camden. Think about your audience and where they are more likely to be, then invest in the table fee's for events in those areas. The free stall I do normally doesn't really suit my audience but it's still great for handing out business cards and promoting my business. 

Instead of replacing your price tags every time get some pieces of MDF or stones which will be easy to write/draw on and paint them in blackboard paint. I used Posca pens on mine since they are liquid chalk pens they don't rub off easy but with a bit of elbow grease it should come off, if worse comes to worse you can always give them another lick of blackboard paint. These also add interest to your table.

3. Know the competition 

Have someone with you to mind the stall while you go undercover and have a snoop at the competition. Try and avoid setting up near bigger stalls than your own THEY WILL pull attention away from you if you have a smaller stall. On my first stall I unknowingly set up my stall right opposite a massive stall and they drew people away from my stall all day. 

Size up the competition are your products stronger than theirs? No, then don't set up next to or opposite them if you can help it. 

Be friendly exchange business cards and talk to them the people at my first market were very nice and gave me loads of tips. Make friends, if the day is long and you haven't made many sales it's good to have a friend in the know to cheer you up.

4. Have plenty of business cards on hand

Better to have to many than to run out before the event is over. Be sure to offer your business cards to people some people maybe reluctant to pick them up or forget to pick one up, if they say no don't be offended business cards tend to get thrown away anyway. It's also handy to have a friend who is willing to go and give some out to get people who wouldn't otherwise check out your stall to come over and check it out.

Make your business cards eye catching, don't skimp on your business card design think of it as a miniature showcase of what you can do.

5. More lower priced items

On markets in particular lower priced items are your best sellers on the day. Have a good range of lower to mid priced items and a few higher priced items. I have a few higher priced canvases I display to draw potential customers in. People don't tend to come to markets especially to spend on stuff they wouldn't normally buy, they tend to go to them with whatever money they have on them at the time.

6. Price your items right 

Remember to cover the cost of materials you use to make that product and then think about how much effort you put into making the product. Try not to price too high or too low, I originally priced my tote bags at £10 and ended up reducing them down to £7.50 which I think is a much better price and it still covers my costs and yields a nice little profit.

7. Have fun

It's always nice to have your work complemented even if you don't sell anything. Don't get upset if you don't sell anything.

8. Have a Facebook page

Having a Facebook page for my business was the best thing I ever did, I have made more sales after the markets then on the markets, by posting everything I have for sale and the prices. Also to go with this get yourself a Paypal it makes everything so much easier.

My Facebook page 

https://www.facebook.com/Raelxarts

I hope these tips helped you out please comment if you have any other questions.