Creativity can be a double-edged sword (albeit a colorful one, surely). On the one hand, it’s what drives us as right-brained art-makers. On the other hand? It can be just as energy-draining as it can be energy-fueling (thank you, creative anxiety and perfectionism). That’s why we love Christine Nishiyama of Might Could Studios. She’s made a whole career out of using her personal experiences, artistic learnings, and of course, her creative struggles as fuel for helpful posts, drawings, guides, and classes. She’s builtRead more
8 Things Artists Who Sell Their Own Work Hate Doing
Selling your work involves two very different sides of the same coin. On the one side, every artist knows how rewarding it is to start selling their artwork. But every artist ALSO knows that the busywork needed behind the scenes can also take away from time you could be spending creating new work. Le sigh: the struggle is real. Luckily, as creatives, we can all gripe about it together and we can also find solutions together! Here are 8 things artistsRead more
How Much Should You Charge for Your Art?
Any creative, artist, and entrepreneur can relate to the tricky business of figuring out how to price your products. How much is too much? Too little? While it’s only natural to worry about overcharging, you also want to be sure you’re charging enough so that you’ll actually make money, whether it’s for yourself or for a good cause. That’s why we created a tool that will make calculating your prices a snap: the Artist Shops Pricing Calculator. Those of you who canRead more
How to Take Awesome Lifestyle Photos With Your Phone
It’s easy to think that in order to take amazing lifestyle photos, you need 1: an incredible location and 2: a top-of-the-line, thousand dollar lens. But in reality? You can take incredible photos using just your phone! Chicago photographer, aspiring developer, Creative Pro at Apple, and all-around creative Ozzy Cardenas put it best: “I don’t think photography is about the camera, I think it’s about your perspective.” Ozzy takes amazing photos and, much of the time, uses just his phone toRead more
Adam J. Kurtz on Finding His Own Creative Career Path
“Things are what you make of them.” That may be the title of artist and designer Adam J. Kurtz’s newest book, but it’s also the philosophy at the heart of much of his art and advice. Kurtz left a job at Buzzfeed (yes, the Buzzfeed) to go full freelance while working on his first book, 1 Page at a time: A Daily Creative Companion. It’s since been translated into 15 different languages and has given a positive artistic boost to creatives all overRead more
New Year, New Us: Introducing Artist Shops 2.0!
Happy New Year! They say, “New year, new you”, and for us? That means announcing that Artist Shops has officially been upgraded to Artist Shops 2.0! 2017 was huge; there were tons of updates made, and we couldn’t have done that without your input! We took all of your feedback from last year and used it to make your Artist Shops experience even better. Let’s look back at some of the biggest changes and additions made in 2017. Artist ShopsRead more
Let’s Reflect: The Threadless 2017 Year in Review!
Happy 2018! It’s hard to believe that the ball has been dropped, the kisses have been kissed, and the new year has officially been rung in. 2017 marked Threadless’s 17th birthday and before we start our 2018 resolutions, we wanted to celebrate the Threadless & Artist Shops community with a little year in review. 2017 was an innovative year; Artist Shops became discoverable on Threadless with the Discover Feed, released tons of new Artist Shops features to make Shops even more customizable,Read more
4 Ways to Creatively Use Samples of Your Own Products
New year, new goals for your online store! And we’ve got a great place for you to start: have you tried ordering samples of your own products yet? Besides ordering a shirt for your mom who’s been dyyying to wear it so she can brag about her child’s artistic skills, it pays to order samples of your own items (especially since with Artist Shops, you can order your own items at just the base cost, plus score free shipping*). From selling yourRead more
Going on a Holiday Road Trip? Listen to Our Podcast!
Going on a road trip for the holidays this year? We’ve got just the thing for you to get through those hours on the road: The Threadless Podcast! If you haven’t checked out our podcast yet, 1: we forgive you and 2: here’s the gist: we talk to creatives from all different corners of the creative world about art, creativity, and everything in between. From comic writer and illustrator Sina Grace to Bojack Horseman production designer Lisa Hanawalt to guitarist and founder of Bad Religion,Read more
How to Tell Your Brand’s Story
Marketing genius Seth Godin once wrote, “Great marketers don’t make stuff. They make meaning.” Creating a brand isn’t just about selling products; it’s also about selling a story and lifestyle that customers want to be a part of. Having a strong story and personality for your brand can help spark a human connection with people, and that can turn into sales. Find out how to tell a strong story, how it connects you to customers, and why it matters. . Read more
Ideas For Creating Awesome Email Marketing Campaigns
Why do you subscribe to email lists? To find out about deals? Because their photos are ridiculously good? Maybe just because their emails are hilarious and crack you up every time? We all get some promotional emails in our inboxes, and it’s time to take note and start sending your own! Sending marketing emails is a great way of delivering urgent deals, limited time designs, giveaways, etc. straight to your customers. Here are some awesome email marketing campaign ideas and aRead more
How to Get More Followers on Social Media
“How do I get more followers?” It’s the age-old question…well, of the Internet age, that is. Now that we can all be celebrities from our couch and smartphone through social media, we find that building up a following is often easier said than done. But while it’s not as simple as “if you post it, they will come”, there are many simple tricks you can utilize to help out. Because more followers means more potential customers to buy your amazingRead more