You’ve got a portfolio of beautiful artwork or photography and now you’re ready to create your own home and giftware range. But which products should you print on and how many designs should you print?
I’ve spent 15 years producing award winning homeware and gift ranges—for my own work and since launching the Lochside Print Company, for many other talented creatives.
Here’s how we advise artists and small brands in choosing the perfect product mix
Think About Your Audience and Price Point
If your customers are tourists or souvenir buyers, small, impulse friendly items like our affordable MDF coasters, ceramic mugs, and Fridge Magnets are ideal.
For gallery or craft fair customers, consider more unusual products like our black rimmed vintage ceramic mugs, jewellery, framed tiles or shelf blocks .
Build a Cohesive Range
It’s tempting to print all of your favourite artworks on ALL THE PRODUCTS! Before you start, plan a cohesive collection of artworks on a considered range of products. To set you off this might be 3 or 4 themed artworks, each on a mug, coaster, tote bag, ceramic ornament, fridge magnet and a couple of wall art products like giclee prints and tiles. This feels more professional and has greater visual appeal when displaying your products than a clutter of different designs and products.
Tailor Your Collections to Suit Your Sales Channels
I started selling at craft fairs but now I sell my own work to over 100 different stockists and we also have our own website and our gallery here on Skye, so I need a wider range to suit everyone from souvenir hunters to art collectors.
If you sell at craft fairs on a 6ft table you don't need a huge range. You just need a small well planned collection that will look great displayed together on a table.
If you sell on Etsy or on your own website, and have space to hold lots of stock, then you should have more products to sell to increase your visibility on these platforms.
If you are selling wholesale then it's even more important for your collections to be well honed and curated so that the shops that sell them can tell a story with your work and make beautiful displays. Aim to have new products and new designs every season (Spring/Summer, Autumn/Winter is fine) to keep things fresh and keep your stockists engaged. Phase out older designs and products unless they are stand out best sellers.
Match Your Artwork to the Right Product
Photographs look great on our contemporary surfaces like our wall art panels and shelf blocks but don't work as well on fabric products. Art and illustration look wonderful printed on our ceramic products like framed tiles and china mugs and can also look great as panel prints on tote bags and tea towels. Our jewellery products are fantastic for most artwork and illustration styles but can look particularly striking printed with bold abstract designs or repeat patterns.
We can produce prints of your work on a range of high end papers too. Art and illustration is best on our cotton rag or smooth matt fine art papers whereas photography is more suited to our satin finish photo papers.
Find a printing partner that understands your journey
(That's us by the way!) Having grown my own successful art business my team and I know how to help you develop the products that are right for your own business and customers.
Test, Learn, and Evolve
Start with a few designs and products, gather feedback, and take it from there. Artists who listen to their customers build stronger, more sustainable product lines over time. My first craft fair table was all floral artworks, the second table included a couple of landscapes and within 6 months I only sold landscape art. The biggest mistake I see people make is to plug away for years unsuccessfully trying to sell the same things. If your product choices and designs work, you will soon know. Once you know what works, add more products and designs to your range. I thought my flowers were good (see below - I'll let you be the judge!) but they weren't commercially successful so sometimes you have to be tough on yourself. Don't give up, change things. Try a new design style or a new product. Talk to us and see if we can help.
My craft fair flowers :)
With our experience in the gift and homeware market, we’ll help you create a range that feels beautifully yours and is a perfect fit for your business.
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