I finished an entire painting on Saturday, which is a marked speed improvement over the last one! (I also discovered that I can paint while sitting on the couch, which is certainly comfier than the dining room chairs…will definitely try that again sometime.) But since my train of thought is still running down the Etsy + printing + prices track, I’m going to wait a bit for show & tell.

I really appreciate each of you who took the time to leave a comment on my printing post, and I’m adding Rosina’s name into the drawing mix since she spent a pleasant 15 minutes talking with me in person about the post. In continuing the discussion, I’m going to take the liberty of quoting from the comments since I always like it when someone responds specifically to my question/point and assume that others feel the same way. I don’t know how many of you readers have Etsy shops, have made purchases Etsy, run another type of crafting business, etc., but I hope that this discussion will be profitable for you as well and that you won’t mind the big long post.

(Esther said)
My input, as someone who likes to buy art but doesn’t have a big budget to do so, is to raise the cost of shipping and require delivery confirmation. I don’t mind paying more for shipping if I know it will help it arrive safely. But I know I would have to swallow hard before I started considering $45 prints, especially for my kids’ room.

Delivery confirmation (and insurance) seems to be the way to go, so I’m definitely going to change my shipping policy! You’ve confirmed my fear that I am starting to price my friends out of my prospective market for the big prints, which is something I’d like not to do–I really don’t know how to handle that situation. But then again, I’m also hoping that the individual letters provide a low cost alternative.

(Meg said)
You should make whatever art you want to make to sell- it sounds cheesy, but as long as you enjoy making it (and aren’t just making it to suit a particular market) it will show through and people will buy it.

Meg, this is an important issue that deserves its own post sometime. Quite frankly, it can be really hard to tell when I am orienting my work more toward my own vision and taste and when I am orienting it toward the market. I think any artist struggles with “to thine ownself be true” vs. paying the bills, and an illustrator is even more entangled since he/she creates art to fill a need and needs usually come with restrictions. (The items in my Etsy shop are really more fine art than illustration, but the art training that I’ve had has primarily been from the viewpoint of the illustrator and it’s hard for me not to feel as though I am illustrating for an imaginary client, the Average Etsy Buyer.)

Plus, there’s the added temptation to take a look around Etsy and see what other people are doing that sells well–it’s kind of like doing marketing research. I am not referring to copying outright, but if folksy animals or sweet vintage children seem to be the ticket to 1000 sales, it might not be a bad idea to make some notes. Take a look at this post over on A thing of beauty…see any themes?

The downside is that it’s hard to maintain enthusiasm about a style or subject matter that’s not your first choice, and I think that the buyers can tell this (which you alluded to). Plus, certain categories seem so often-repeated (ink drawings over old book pages, anyone?) that it seems as though painting one more would be like writing yet-another high shool essay on Shakespeare. I do not at all mean to knock the creativity of the first five (or ten or fifteen) people who tried this technique or to say that it doesn’t look good. I also don’t mean to imply that you have to create stunningly original works each and every time or that you need to find a market niche to belong to. I just mean to say that the issue is complicated and that I would LOVE to hear some honest discussion about issues of inspiration, originality, and the marketplace.

(Lauren said)
Prints probably sell better on Etsy than originals. Especially when originals are priced as they should be.

Pricing is so hard! In the Etsy forums, I frequently see new sellers encouraged to raise their prices, which is undoubtedly the right thing to do as artists frequently undervalue their time. Uncle Ted made the perceptive comment that “People are hardwired to believe that high price equals high quality in art. Perversely enough, you will sometimes see sales go UP if the price is higher, because they assume that you are an elite artist.” I remember this from my marketing course, and I am sure that it’s true. But it is also intimidating to raise your prices by $100 (which you certainly could!) since it really decreases the pool of potential buyers.

I think prints generally do sell better on Etsy than originals because prints are a low-cost, low-commitment way of experiencing an artist’s work. Which brings me to…

(Monica said)
As a previous buyer of an original painting that I absolutely love, I think you can definitely raise your price on original art and have more of those available. They don’t have to be big, so you can still charge more and still be affordable, but the buyer gets the pleasure of getting an original work of art and I think that counts. I like prints, but when the costs of a print start creeping up too high, I tend to prefer to buy some original art or craft instead.

Monica, it is quite kind of you to say this and I do believe that I will be taking your suggestion…I think I’d like to offer more originals (with prices raised but not out of sight) along with some inexpensive gocco prints. This is where the big Alphabet print is again uncomfortably in the middle–expensive for a print, but not an original. I might end up phasing it out in the end. Sigh.

(Mackenzie said)
And I second the original art thing, too. Have some prints available but original art, even if it’s teeny tiny is a HUGE draw (at least for people like me). Multiple products at multiple price points - have some more affordable prints and more lucrative originals and you can draw a wide range of customers, says I!

“Multiple price points” is a phrase that I’ve seen in a number of places, and it seems to be the key. I won’t forget this!

Uncle T, I don’t take issue with your keen business sense or your well-informed comments. Artists probably ought to talk with businessmen more often…I think it can often be viewed as selling out when it’s really just a source of selling wisdom. Right?

I don’t think I’ll change Paulabirdy at this point since it causes a small blip of recognition and, well, I just happen to like it. But if I was starting all over again, I’d just be Paula Gibbs.

I’ll quote you on Return on Investment, though, since I think it is a very necessary point for the independent artist:

With all the pressure on you, you will simply not keep something up that doesn’t pay back. What you need to do is say, “my time is worth $20 per hour, on average for each sale I am putting in around 10 hours of worth, therefore, I will charge $200. This means that you need to cut out all the bottom prints. Your intuition is absolutely correct.

I think that the problem with this concept is mainly an emotional one. The artist is keenly aware that his/her product is not as necessary for daily life as a hard drive. No matter how well-reasoned the arguments for the place of beauty in one’s home, the art market still feels like a luxury market. And when you feel as though you are selling something non-essential, you don’t want to ask people to pay a lot because you’re afraid they won’t. And then you’ll be stuck with the 10 hours of unpaid work, and at least $5/hour is better than $0/hour.

Of course, my impressions may be shaped by the fact that I leave in a community where people are usually cheerfully scraping by. I don’t know what it’s like to have neighbors with BMWs and expensive leather couches and Chanel handbags. I have seen these places and know that they exist, but my experience with this type of buyer is so limited that I find it easier to cater my work toward what I know than that which is unfamiliar.

…

Hopefully you won’t all think I’m a moron after reading this or that I’m completely money-driven. This blog is my place to think out loud right now, since I find that putting thoughts into words is a really good way to clarify them. If you have any other comments or want to continue the discussion, please please feel free to chip in. I do love feeling as though we are having a discussion instead of just leaving comments.

Oh, and you probably thought I forgot! The winner of the little drawing (thank you, random number generator) is…ROSINA.

And no, I did not rig the results just because you gave me some yarn. :)

The starfish painting is thisclose to being done, so I think I will (finally) have some art for you tomorrow. It’s been sitting on the dining room table all week, but last night I finally found my missing enthusiasm and spent a few hours working on it. I am very bad about leaving half-finished projects on the table, but husband is very patient.

So, the reason why I’m writing today is to ask for a little reader input on the problem of printing. Actually, I have a big problem with shipping as well, but it’s related to printing since outsourcing my prints requires shipping.

The backstory is that I have been trying and trying and trying to ship an Etsy buyer’s order for a large Alphabirdybet Art Print and have encountered THREE failures in row:

• Print no. 1 was shipped by the postal service but never arrived (I think it was probably swiped from her apartment’s mail area)
• Print no. 2 was sent first to me as part of a batch order but UPS left it sitting on my doorstep, which is next to a busy street, and I never got it. Am trying to get my money back from UPS.
• Print no. 3 was supposed to be sent directly by my printer via UPS (which I have since learned is an Etsy no-no), but due to a miscommunication with my printer TWO prints were sent to another buyer. And buyer no. 1 didn’t get any.

At this point, my poor buyer called it quits and I refunded her money. And felt like a really, really bad Etsy seller. And lost a fair amount of money on the deal. Also, the buyer seems very understanding but I am waiting to get my first negative feedback. :(

This is the sort of situation that eats up a huge amount of time, money, and concentration and is really not related to Making Art, which only adds to the frustration. I’m hardly expecting to become rich off of Etsy, but I really need my sales to generate enough money to make them worthwhile. And at the moment, it’s kind of a toss-up (especially now that I’ve done my tax spreadsheets!). I haven’t lost money overall, but I’m making like $3 an hour on some projects by the time you add up all the nights and weekends and lunchbreaks. Even the Idaho minimum wage isn’t that bad, people.

Sooo, I’ve decided that I need to figure out a better system. I like to keep my prices low enough that my friends can buy my stuff, and a few items (like the individual Alphabirdybet Letters) can remain priced as they are. But I think that I  need to raise the price of the big alphabet print since they are just so expensive for me to order and have shipped (especially now that I need to Fed-Ex them to ensure that a signature is required). And, I need to find a way to ensure that any new products I create don’t need to be outsourced.

Ideas for the shop that I am currently entertaining include:

• Raise price of the 11×14 alphabet print to $40 or $45 and only keep one or two in stock at a time. :(
• Add a bit to shipping costs and start using delivery confirmation on all items over $10.
• Phase out 8×10 prints (like this, this, and this), since they are printed on photographic paper and have a finish that I don’t love. May experiment with printing them at home with archival inks instead.
• Phase out all commercially-printed cards (these, these, and these), since you don’t even want to HEAR about all the problems that I have had with card printing.
• Offer more 5×7 gocco prints (like this, but with a simpler sketch) for $10/each.
• Offer some gocco-printed notecards for around $8/set.
• Have a really big sale so that I can clear out some inventory before I have to box things up and move. (The sale might include some original art from my school days, too.)

Another thing that I haven’t mentioned yet is the idea put forth by husband that I move away from the bird theme, since it is somewhat restricting and–quite frankly–rather oversaturated in the Etsy marketplace. I’d keep the name, of course, but what do you think about showing up at http://paulabirdy.etsy.com and finding prints of dogs, chairs, houses, people, etc?

And what do you think about all the other ideas?

Added bonus: Leave me a helpful comment, and I’ll put your name in a hat for the 8×10 print of your choice (or 4 alphabet letters, if you prefer). You have until Sunday at midnight….

I’m holding it together a little better today, so the new prints are finally out ‘n’ about!

Both prints are from a new series that I’m pretty excited about titled “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bird.”

My goal is to add a new bird to the series each month (the Young Cardinal was supposed to be the January bird, but he flew in a bit late).

I was madly jealous of all the artists who planned ahead and had calendars for sale last fall. So at the end of this year, I will have 12 birds and can make my own!

Each of these prints will be a limited-edition run of only 25-30, and each one has been hand-printed with all of the accompanying dots and dribbles.

I love the fact that they are each slightly different.

As you can tell, I like my birds to be of the literary persuasion.

In my two gloriously snow-bound days off, I did a little redesign of the ol’ blog and etsy shop banners that you might have noticed. There was nothing wrong with the old ones, I just got bored. I also wanted to change the look a little in preparation for my new gocco items (which should be out + about in a few days).

I ran with the image and also ordered some new business cards, since I’m almost out of the old ones.

Oh, and a postcard to add as a freebie to all my orders.

[I also wanted to say to anyone who might be jealous of my snow days that the inevitable bad news came trickling down this morning. It turns out that the snow days are mandatory annual leave, i.e. vacation time. Thanks, WSU. I always knew you had it in you.]

I have been a very good and patient girl as I have waited (and waited and waited) for a special Etsy order to arrive. It wasn’t the seller’s fault–she said very clearly that she wouldn’t be shipping anything until January 15. But when you’ve placed the order on January 2, it still seems like ages.

And what, you might ask, have I been waiting for?

I bought my very own Gocco!!

So tune in next week for Paulabirdy’s new adventures in screenprinting!

And because it feels like a shame to have a post with no pics…

Bye-bye lino cuts, hello gocco!

Taking photos for the shop has turned out to be a much bigger hassle than I had ever imagined. I mean, I like taking pictures + I like arranging stuff, so I figured that the photos would be the least of my problems. Not true! Between finding the “perfect” spot, coming up with lots of little vignettes, and creating the right lighting conditions, it has turned out to be an ongoing source of frustration.

The lighting is the main problem, of course–our apartment really only gets good light within four feet of the front windows between, say, 10 am and 2 pm.  On a good day. Since I’m usually not home at this time, it means that sunny Saturdays are my only option.

I’ve tried to work around this in the past by using various artificial setups in my craft room and even hauling all my stuff to a very generous friend’s house, but I still wasn’t completely happy with the results. So this weekend I tried again.

This time I didn’t even try to shoot with any light that wasn’t natural, so I set everything up in our little entryway. I used our coffee table and the framed Ikea fabric from our bedroom and just made everyone a lot simpler. And you know what? I am so much happier with the results! 

It’ll be kind of a pain to switch all the old photos out (making any change to an Etsy listing requires going through about 5 webpages for each item…and I have a lot of items now), but I think it will be worth it.

This little guy has flown (or is it waddled?) away already, but Mr. Cardinal is still there. :)

(Oh, and in case you’re interested…it’s STILL cold outside. The heat’s back on, but now the electricity’s all wonky–a third of our outlets work fine, a third don’t work at all, and a third are at about 25%. I’ve never seen the last one before, but it exists: the little lanterns in our front window have only a very faint glow right now. Weird, huh?)

Saturday turned out to be a very busy day at the Gibbs apartment. Husband filled out a job app and did schoolwork, and I packaged lots of cards.

Lots,

and lots,

and lots,

of cards.

(And took photos, obviously.)

Yup, the envelopes finally arrived for my quail and sparrow notecard sets, so I’ve added them to the shop. They make great hostess gifts for all of those holiday parties, hint hint.

I also added this little photo to my holiday card sets to show the gift tags that I include with every order. The little cardinal is especially cute - he looks like a little Christmas bandit who might just steal your presents when you’re not looking.

After I finished my flurry of hole-punching, ribbon-cutting, packaging, and photo-taking, I came to the kind of depressing realization that it takes a long time to get my orders ready to go out the door. So much time that I didn’t get to draw or paint anything new. This didn’t seem very distressing on Saturday because I really like all the little organizational details and had a great time putting card sets in plastic sleeves, but at the end of the day I didn’t end up with enough time make art. Saddoes.

Okay, that’s enough Etsy-talk for a while. Sick of hearing about my shop yet? Must be time for my only real piece of news for the day…

It SNOWED!

Flakes started drifting down yesterday morning, but they didn’t look like they’d stick around for very long. So I was shocked when I peeked between the curtains this morning and found a nice half-inch blanket of white over our car. It’s not very much (to the disappointment of every local school child), but it’s white! And it’s wintery!

Time to break out the JJ72.

I walked to the campus Post Office outpost in the pouring rain today. My packages were safely wrapped in a plastic bag, but I–alas–was not. There’s a very peculiar smell to wearing damp clothes and having damp hair, and a very peculiar feeling to having one’s jeans and sweater slowly dry out. It doesn’t rain here all that often, so it’s been a while.

As the title suggests, I’ve been thinking about hats. I’ve almost finished a hat I’m knitting for husband and I blocked one I made for myself, so I’ll probably have photos of those in the near future. Hats are such a satisfying knitting project for me: simple (at least mine are!) and useful.

I also put a print of Hats-the-illustration in the shop.

I’ve got two versions, one with the text of the little story printed on it and one without. I have to admit that I wasn’t initially all that thrilled with the painting, but it’s been growing on me.

The last hats item has to do with a little piece that fell off the magnolia tree in our backyard. (Timu-san, this is for you.)

I picked it up the other day when I took the dog out and was amazed by how much it looked like a little elf cap.

I immediately had a vision of closing the cap in my hand…

…and opening it to find a startled little elf staring back at me.

Happy weekend!

I got round two of my holiday cards back from the printer, and they’re in the shop!

The cards are offset-printed on lovely, glossy cardstock and come with cheerful red envelopes.

The price is $10 for a pack of 6, and I will throw in a pack of cute gift tags (which I forgot to take photos of) with every set.

I also picked up some prints of Hats yesterday, so I think those will go in the shop tomorrow. There’s so much Etsy in the air!

Sarah Mosley!

Congrats, Sarah! I’ll email you with details and to find out what letters you want (although I have a sneaking suspicion already…)

I also entered a little contest of my own this morning to pick the items featured on the Etsy homepage. I didn’t win, but it was fun putting the little gallery together. So, just in case you’re interested, here are my top Etsy picks for a baby boy.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, all.