I finally decided to take the plunge and make my own Etsy store. This is a great opportunity for me to sell prints at the same price (or less) than my print-on-demand stores, but more of the profit actually comes to me!
With each of my Etsy orders:
- The A5 print is quality checked by me, the artist, before it is sent out to you.
- There is a sticker on the back, with:
- My signature (hand-signed)
- The number it is (e.g. print 1 of 10)
- The piece’s official name
- The year of completion
- Which print run it is
- The thank you note is completely hand-written and personal to the customer.
Protecting the print
The print is packaged in a plastic sleeve for protection against water and a reinforced envelope to protect against bending.
Is it eco-friendly?
The prints are all on recycled, or part-recycled, paper and were delivered from the supplier to myself in a carbon neutral way.
The print is protected from water by a plastic sleeve, which is not recyclable. However, once my stock is used up (100 sleeves), I will look into more eco-friendly alternatives.
The envelopes, as far as I am aware, are not recycled but are recyclable. I strongly encourage you to do so!
I have definitely got room to improve in terms of how eco-friendly my small business is. I know this is important to a lot of people, so I would rather be transparent about where I am up to in terms of that. Hopefully as my business grows, I will have more available to me to invest into eco-friendly packaging. If I could have 0% plastic usage, that would be incredible.
What is the quality like?
To be absolutely clear, the prints in my Etsy shop are not giclée prints for now. I think the quality is beautiful though, and I think they would make a gorgeous addition to any room. I could not guarantee the level of lightfastness that you would expect from a giclée print – which if stored correctly supposedly last 100+ years. You can purchase giclée prints of my artworks, in a variety of sizes, from my Saatchi Art store.
Are they available internationally?
To start with, I’m sticking to UK delivery only for my Etsy store. This is until I have the chance to build up more funds to make that leap. At my current prices, I would barely break even if I shipped internationally due to the cost.
Is there anything else you need to know?
If you’re at all curious about my prints, please feel free to ask questions! I would love to answer them for you!
Nicola Lucy 