The Threadless Artist Shops team relishes the opportunity to showcase artists who are not just pushing the boundaries of creativity, but also making significant waves in the print-on-demand world. For this Community Spotlight, we’re casting our beams on three exceptional artists whose designs have captured the imagination of the wider Threadless community: meme maker Frogwitch, multi-media artist Rosie Moon, and designer/creative director Tobe Fonseca. Dive in as we celebrate their artistry and learn more about their creative journeys. Amphibian-obsessed artist andRead more
Posts tagged: #inspiration
Build a Successful Merch Brand Over Time with These Three Essential Steps
Unless you have an incredible stroke of luck, overnight success is highly unlikely for any career path. Though it’s not impossible to have a viral moment that speeds up your trajectory, it usually takes a prolonged, sustained effort to get where you really want to go. The same is true for artists who aspire to build a successful merch brand with their art. If that’s your ultimate goal, Artist Shops can certainly give you a head start. This free-to-use platformRead more
Top 10 Trending Keywords in the Marketplace This Summer
If you started your own Artist Shop with the goal of growing your art business, the Threadless Marketplace will help you get discovered. One way you can use it to attract new customers is by creating designs around search terms that are currently trending. If you’re interested in this strategy, we’ve gathered a list of popular keywords that have been trending in the Marketplace this summer. Before we start, here are a few things you should know about the ThreadlessRead more
10 Artist Spotlights That’ll Inspire You to Make More Art
Artists inspire artists. On the Threadless Blog, we regularly feature interviews with extraordinary members of our global artist community, from comic book illustrators to photographers to stop-motion animators. These Artist Spotlights often provide a glimpse into each subject’s creative process and how they accomplish their artistic feats. These conversations may help put your goals into perspective, or maybe even inspire you to try an entirely different form of art. At the very least, they’re interesting reads! Here’s a list ofRead more
Ink Tuesday, Month 2: My First Sale, the TikTok Algorithm, and More
Starting a brand from scratch is thrilling, but after that initial enthusiasm wears off, things get progressively harder. Especially when you don’t see much success posting online to keep you motivated. It’s easy to get frustrated making artwork no one sees. This is part of what I experienced during Month 2 of Ink Tuesday, my 365 project where I freehand paint for 52 weeks straight. Even though I didn’t see the kind of growth I wanted during September, I’m stillRead more
8 Popular Design Trends for Fall Home Decor
Do you smell that? The faint aroma of pumpkin spice? Summer’s not technically over, but fall is hot on our heels. That means your customers will soon plan to redecorate their homes for the upcoming season. Now is the time to add seasonal designs to your Artist Shop and build a collection of Fall home decor. Make your Artist Shop the first place your followers look for ideas on embellishing their abodes. If you aren’t already aware, the Artist ShopsRead more
Art Trends: Basquiat’s Rise to Global Notoriety
The last Art Trends post covered the work of 15th century Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. Now, we’re exploring more contemporary art as we dive into one of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s paintings. The late Basquiat is a well-known artist typically associated with Pop artist Andy Warhol. However, despite his close connection with Warhol, Basquiat himself was not a Pop artist. In fact, he was a Neo-Expressionist. Why are we talking about Basquiat in an Art Trends post in 2021? Well, on MarchRead more
5 (Easy) Ways to Stay Inspired Right Now
Productivity, creativity, inspiration—it’s all happening a bit differently right now. From workshops to shared studios, art museums to neighborhood galleries, your go-to spots for a dose of inspiration are most likely in varying levels of openness. There’s also a good chance physical distancing has changed how you’ve been interacting with your circle of creative colleagues and friends. Which means that staying inspired takes a little ingenuity these days. Luckily, when you approach finding day-to-day inspo as an ongoing creative project,Read more
How to Build a T-Shirt Business: Week 3
Building a T-Shirt Business: Week 3 Artist Shops is a platform associated with creatives, designers and artists, but it can be used for anything. What I’ll be attempting in this series is to build a t-shirt business from scratch within the limitations of 30 minutes a day. Expect a lot of hacks, automation, and stealing to get this done. Read the rest of the series here: Week One & Week Two Day Eleven Social Promotion It’s time to get a couple social media accounts created. I’m going toRead more
It’s About the Process, Not Just the Result
There’s a great episode of RadioLab where they set out to discover the secret of what goes on in a caterpillar’s cocoon while it’s transforming into a butterfly. Most of us assume that inside this chrysalis, there’s some half caterpillar, half butterfly hybrid mid-transformation, kind of like a tadpole turning into a frog. But no. When they crack open the chrysalis? It just looks like sludge. You’re probably reading this thinking 1: ew, and 2: what does this have anything to do with theRead more
Don’t Wait Around for Inspiration
We’ve all heard the phrase, “good things come to those who wait.” It’s been tweeted, tattooed on many-a body, and photoshopped on inspirational nature photos a million times over. Because it’s reassuring to say, “if I’m patient, good things will happen,” especially for creatives in times of the inspiration-less doldrums, or waiting for your first online shop sale – all of which does take patience. But there’s a difference between waiting to, say, push your online shop until you’ve got enough designs uploaded, and just waiting around forRead more
10 Podcasts You Should be Listening to
There are a ton of helpful ecommerce and marketing books out there. But you’re a busy artist growing their business, maybe growing your online store. You don’t always have time to sit down and read Ecommerce For Dummies. That’s where podcasts can come in handy. Podcasts allow you to multi-task, maybe make some art and tend to your shop, while you passively listen and get some amazing advice. If you want lots of ecommerce answers with none of the hours put into scouring through booksRead more