Month: August 2019

If you’re an aspiring artist and are keen on selling your custom printed melamine products, we’ve got the perfect guide on how to do just that. Selling in a retail environment is an exciting prospect for anything regardless of where it is. It could be anywhere from small independent boutiques to high street retail stores, but this can happen through various outlets.

It is the perfect way for many artists to sell your work, especially if you’re uncomfortable or too shy to sell it yourself. The best thing about it? You get your creativity seen a wider audience and a bigger footfall.

It is an ingenious way to have your custom printed melamine artwork promoted and sold for you, so you can busy yourself with your favourite activity – designing stuff!

This process is very simple; it basically involves you parting with your wares on a Sale or Return Basis, or buying your stock upfront. At the end of the day, people are not going to sell your work for free, so this comes at a cost! You need to be making a profit from your work so sometimes this doesn’t work for all artists. Materials, time spent making the items and other costs like studio expenses, printing, insurance and packaging all need to be taken into account. Below we have outlined some of the expectations, common situations and questions artists have when first selling their custom printed melamine artwork.

Initial contact

Never send out spam emails. Think about how many emails you ignore – you don’t want one of yours to be them. Tailor each email to fit the stockist and explain why your custom printed melamine artwork would be a good fit. If you have had good sales, tell them. If you think your work fits their brand, tell them. Give them an outline of yourself and what you make, with a link to your website or some examples of your work.

How To Find Galleries And Shops Who Will Sell Your Work

 

A shop or gallery may contact you in person, which is great, especially if your designs are different and unique, but how do you find a place to stock your work if no one has contacted you? One of the best ways is to visit and explore local outlets and speak to the owners. Never, ever approach them if they are busy with a customer though! They will want to invest their time in you as much as your work, so plan your approach and be realistic.

Bring examples to show them or photographs if your work is large. Sometimes they may take your work there and then if you are speaking to the right person. Others may have criteria for applying with a jury.
Another way is through the good old trusted internet. I mean, you wouldn’t be reading this without it so it must be doing something right. Search out artists who fit your brand (not similar work to yours, as they won’t want duplicate stock), see where they stock their work and email those outlets.

Think about where your work would be suited. If your custom printed melamine isn’t going to bode well in a pet shop, avoid them. If it is more urban art, seek out specialist outlets, if your work is inspired by the coast, seek out seaside-based establishments.

Selling Your Work At Exhibitions or retailers

 

This is slightly harder when it comes to selling your custom printed melamine products.
An exhibition is a short term selling space that can be equally lucrative with the right promotion but as we said, it’s short term so you have to make the most of it when you can. You can either put your own show on or get someone else to do the hard work! If you’re lucky enough to have retailers contact you then half of your job is done. However, many are pretty elusive people to get a hold of.

Usually, artists are headhunted by the buyers who are looking for something that fits their trends that season – pretty elusive people to get hold of! You may need to email a company to find out who you should contact if you cannot find their details.

Always remember

 

Be professional and don’t be scared of rejection. As much as we love custom printed melamine, others may not and you should know when to walk away. However, don’t give up straight away. Like yourself, they may be very busy so always be sure to stay in touch and be on their radar. You never know, you may have your art up on their shelves quicker than you know. Let us know if you’re interested in getting something printed today.

We’ve got a saying at Melamaster and that is ‘If we can print it, we can plate it’. It’s no secret that our Picture Plates are a great success when it comes to fundraising projects with melamine plate printing but it’s so much more than just receiving a painted plate.

Today, we’re going to look into the world of fundraising projects with melamine plate printing and how valuable they can be, especially when it comes to schools and how to get children to interact and fully integrate themselves into the projects they are tasked with.

How our fundraising projects work

Before we dive into that, we’ll take a step back and tell you how our fundraising projects with melamine plate printing work. Here at Melamaster, we love when we see designs and concepts come to life. Whether you’re in a school, holding a charity event or want to raise some money for a special cause, our products are the perfect choice for you.

Each child is given their own paper template so they can get creative in whichever way they want. They can design their own plates and can customise them with almost everything. Personalisation can come in the form of school logos, mottos and names, project titles and the list goes on – the options are endless. This is especially good if you’re counting down to a special time of year or a themed project such as the end of term or Christmas.

Once their designs have been agreed upon (We can appreciate it’s a big deal for aspiring artists), you can make the most of our melamine plate printing and get their custom designs printed to keep for life. It’s no secret we’re big fans of Melamine, so much so, we’ve gone as far as answering all of your melamine questions in detail so you don’t have to worry about what products you’re receiving.

 

How valuable is fundraising

It’s easy to solely pay attention to how fundraising projects will be conducted and around the type of products on offer, but another important factor that is often overlooked is the positive effect it has on the children who take part,

1) Communication skills – When you fundraise, especially with melamine plate printing, children will naturally be inquisitive and this will open up the opportunity for communication. Kids are going to be excited by their designs and they’re definitely going to want to see what others around them are designing, so encouraging the conversations and creations is very beneficial for them.

2) Goal Setting – When you give them a fundraising project, children are given deadlines and a set period of time to complete their design in. Having specific timeframes to work against is part of every adult’s life so engaging children in fundraising activities gives them the opportunity to learn the importance of reaching goals and experience what it means to meet deadlines.

3) Team building – When children participate in fundraising projects, the opportunity to get involved with melamine plate printing allows them to become part of a team. They learn to pull for one another as they work side by side and get the opportunity to see what everyone else is doing around them.
Fundraising projects can bring children together in a way that not many other activities can. They meet and work with children they may not have gotten to know otherwise and there’s nothing like the sense of togetherness that comes from working toward a common goal.

Sounds pretty cool right? Contact us for more information on how to get started today.