Keep Calm And Carry On and on and on and on

Just type "Keep calm and carry on" into Google images and see how many hits you get! Originally printed up as posters in Britain by the Ministry of Information on the outbreak of World War 2, the handmade community has got hold of it and now it is absolutely everywhere and crafters the world over have wrung almost every last drop of life from it.

Ever the pragmatist, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon before it was too late.

Think Star Wars. Think Yoda. What would the little green Jedi Master say to you if the Dark Side of the Force was stressing you out and getting you down? Calm you must keep and carry on you will, hmmm?


(it really does help if you read that in a Yoda voice. Can't do Yoda? Try Grover from Sesame Street - it's the same thing!)

So here's my take on the Keep Calm phenomenon:

Oh, and I also made some of these:

I'm not sure where the idea came from, it's certainly not mine. I think it was probably something someone shared on Facebook at some point and I filed it away in my mind for future exploitation.

Available from my usual outlets (Etsy and Folksy)

Merchandise for Crafters

Overview

Now that I've got my dye sublimation kit up and running, I'm able to start offering a service.
I'll only be talking about mugs in this blog post for the sake of simplicity and clarity, but the range of substrates is huge.

Firstly, make sure you've caught up on these previous posts:

1. Making Your Art Work For You
2. Make Your Art Work Harder
3. Making My Art Work For Me
4. Under Pressure
5. Zingy Rocks My World

Now then, there a million things I could suggest to you here, but try this:

If you're a crafter, have a look at your range. Would any of your designs look good printed on say a mug? If you're a painter it might be a good alternative (or sideline) to prints and cards.

Maybe you're a jeweller or a knitter. Would a photo of your work look good on a mug maybe just as a way of showing off what you do when having a coffee with friends, or as a promotional tool.

Or maybe you're thinking of a birthday coming up? Your friend is a dog lover and a mug featuring a photo of your friend's pet would be the perfect affordable gift! Perhaps you took a photo on holiday that you'd like on a mug? Personalised father's/mother's day gift? Put your thinking caps on and you'll come up with a ton of uses.

Well, you could go to Vistaprint or Funky Pidgeon, or you could keep it personal and spread the love by using a fellow crafter - me:-)

How it Would Work

You contact me with your idea and possibly your jpegs and I print your mug. Simple! What you do with it is will affect the price. A mug for your own use or gift is one price. A mug you want to sell online, from a shop, or at a craft fair will have a slightly different price. The amount of mug coverage and colour/b&w will affect the price too, but we're talking pennies. Conatct me for a quote - you'll be amazed when I undercut the big boys.

When you buy mugs from me, you have to add postage. This makes your selling price a little higher than you might like, but I have a solution. Oh yes! Once you've bought a couple of mugs to examine, keep, sell, give away, photograph for your own promotion, we can talk about a dropshipping arrangement.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is a great way of saving you money. You think a mug featuring your image would be popular but you don't know how popular. So how many do you order? Oh dear, you can't afford that, and look at the postage! 

You photograph and promote the mug you buy from me just as you would for any of your items. When you get an order, you send it to me along with a paypal payment for whatever split we decide on. I print and ship the mug for you. 

You 're not paying for anything upfront. You're not paying postage twice. You're not holding a ton of stock. You can afford to take a risk with a mug you're not sure would be popular because you're not paying for it upfront. Theoretically, you could have an online shop with hundreds of different mug designs and not spend a penny on stock! 

So there you go. Get in touch if you need more information or would like to discuss a design