On 23rd October 2020 I posted the first link to my redbubble profile. I found redbubble after researching how I could get my prints onto actual products. Redbubble is a global online marketplace for print on demand products from artists uploading their own artwork.
I was my instagram page to promote my designs showing the creative process from sketches to prints. So being able to upload my designs onto redbubble was such a helpful start to get my designs out and allow people to purchase these designs on a range of products without having to invest or hold stock right away. Of course, I was only testing the waters too. I had no idea if anything would even sell.
Redbubble was a great stepping stone into understanding how to get your designs on products, what products sell, what designs sell and in general what does and doesn't work. While redbubble was a perfect start, there wasn't a personal element to buying from me as a small business when the packages arriving to your door were essentially from redbubble. While using a platform like redbubble you get a very small margin of the products sold, but the benefit was more about the exposure and having somewhere to send my followers who were interested in my designs to.
Following on from posting my redbubble profile, sales ticked away for the next month or so as I could constantly upload and promote new prints. Eventually, the work I was putting into my prints & social media but not being able to be behind the scenes of the orders, packaging, seeing the quality ect I knew my next step was finding suppliers, getting stock and launching my own website.
On 22nd of January 2021 I launched my own website.
Laura x