I switched from SpreadShop to Threadless Artist Shops because the company seems to be more inclusive, professional, and have greater opportunities to help artists grow their businesses. I’ve also purchased enough items from artists who use Threadless shops to know that their quality is good. I would have probably started with them if I had known they were open to artists who are just beginning their business ventures. I’m actually pretty excited about this particular sales channel! (The others I’m more cautiously optimistic about tbh). I have some ideas for more mainstream designs to try to get noticed on Threadless. Like cryptids and general magickal things. I’m not going to sell out and do mainstream things I have no interest in at all, like sports or whatever.
I also went ahead and started my Etsy shop. Currently I have items shipped by two different printers/manufacturers. I currently have listings for a few different t-shirts and art prints. I also have a welcome mat featuring the Sumerian cuneiform for “Go Away.” I call it an “unwelcome mat.” I also have a few metal cuff bracelets, which are honestly my favorite item in my Etsy shop. It seems like a lot of Etsy sellers tend to be slightly less forthcoming about the fact that they use outside manufacturing partners to print/manufacture certain items in their shops than you’d hope, but I’m trying to be as transparent about my business practices as possible. It seems kind of sketchy to me to hide how you are creating items that people are spending money on.
I also have to print providers to manage printing and shipping for my art prints. Both sites have onsite marketplaces, so I thought it might be beneficial to promote my art on both sites for now. I’ll reassess down the line to see if it actually makes sense to keep both sales channels active.
I received the samples of my first batch of products from Spreadshop. Some items turned out great, while others… need to be pulled from the shop before I start promoting it. I only bought samples of a handful of the items to review. I still need to order items with my newer designs to test out.
First, the apparel:
This is the knotted t-shirt in mauve with my til zu-bir ki-aĝ (Live Laugh Love in Sumerian) dseign. In some lighting conditions, the text is a bit difficult to see, but as I wore the shirt throughout the day, I started liking it more and more. In bright light, I think it looked great, so I’m keeping this shirt in the shop with all the color variations.
This is the same design on the lightweight terry hoodie. Its a bit big (I forgot unisex sizes are much bigger than normal women’s sizes and got the XL), but I really like the fabric. It does have the “raw” edges, so some people might not like that. I do have normal hoodie styles available too. The design shows up nice on this color too.
This is the women’s flowy tanktop with the black text version of the Live Laugh Love design. I haven’t worn this shirt yet, but the print looks great! I think I prefer the brownish textured version of the design though, but the flat black version looks great printed on pink fabric!
Accessories/Home items:
I ordered a variety of stickers in different variations (clear background, matte, glossy). These look pretty nice. Which type to order depends on your preferences and where you want to put the sticker.
Metal magnets. These were printed off center. The metal itself is nice, but the off centered printing is a deal-breaker. I removed all of these from the shop. Maybe later on in the future I’ll look for a different magnet manufacturer if there is any demand for magnets.
Pillow case. The design was printed much smaller than I had it in the mockup. I also didn’t pay enough attention to the listing to realize it was just a pillow case and not a whole pillow. I feel like other people will probably make that mistake too. Between that and the tiny printing, I’m pulling this item from the shop.
The buttons looks fine. Just as good as the buttons I used to make back in high school until the teacher banned me from playing with the button maker. I should have tested it with a more colorful design though.
I’m about to start promoting this shop, I think. I just have to get all the branding and tax stuff squared away. Its ready for orders, now though.
I am also testing out another print provider, Printful, which seems to be more highly esteemed by artists than Spreadshop/Spreadshirt. Printful doesn’t offer a standalone shop page, but it does integrate with Etsy, Ebay, and a bunch of other eCommerce platforms. I’m thinking of just launching the Etsy shop earlier than I had planned, and offering a few print-on-demand items featuring my digital artwork while I work out the details with my handmade items.
I had an idea to start an online shop to sell artwork, particularly sculptures and cuneiform tablets, which then led to the idea to make other kinds of more marketable wearable art too. Since I found a website that will print and ship items with my designs for me, I’m starting with that while I work on deciding where to sell physical artwork (as well as testing and choosing the best clay and other materials to use for my sculptures, and working on creating molds to reproduce small figurines, altar tools, etc that I make).
Anyway, since I already have my LLC that I haven’t done much with, I’m going to relaunch it for my artwork. Since in was originally for my game Petal Quest, and then I added my self-published books as part of the business, I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to also add other types of art.
I’m using SpreadShop to sell shirts, stickers, mugs, and more. I have a few simpler designs ready to go, and a few more complex design ideas I’ve started drawing (I have a bad habit of jumping between different pieces as I think of new ideas, but they will all get done eventually). I have two different categories so far: “Fun and Memes” for silly things I think of, such as a shirt that says “Live Laugh Love” translated into Sumerian; and “Sumerian Polytheism” for designs to show your devotion to the deities of the Sumerian pantheon. I’m planning on making some designs for other pagan paths as well. My SpreadShop link is nybiru-studio.myspreadshop.com.
A few of my designs so far.
I’m waiting to promote anything on social media until the sample items I ordered arrive. I want to make sure everything is good enough quality, especially for the items bearing deities’ symbols.
For the physical artwork, I’m looking into using either Etsy or ArtPal, but I want to see what other options are out there too. Etsy is the most well-known site for selling artwork, so it’s probably the best choice for gaining exposure, but a lot of artists I know are moving away from there because of their excessive fees. I don’t know much about ArtPal, but it looks like they don’t take so much profits, and they also offer print-on-demand art prints in case I ever want to offer something like that as well.
I want to redesign my business website one of these days too. There’s a way to embed the SpreadShirt shop into my own website, so I’ll probably do that to make it more professional. I’ve started rewriting the copy for Nybiru Studio too. I’m also in the process of replacing text containing the accented ý with a normal y since it gets rendered weird sometimes, and the legal name is Nybiru Studio, LLC. This is what I put for the About page:
About Nybiru Studio
Nybiru Studio is in the processes of relaunching with a new array of Mesopotamian- and pagan-inspired artwork, altar tools, and clothing items.
The first phase of this relaunch will include wearable items and other accessories featuring my digital artwork. These items will be processed, printed, and shipped by my manufacturer.
Next, I am planning on launching a shop for handmade clay artwork, including figurines, altar tools, cuneiform tablets, and more. This is going to take more time to launch. I’m still looking into options for hosting this shop/processing payments.
I originally started this company to publish and market my game Petal Quest. Eventually I expanded it to include my books and other artistic pursuits.
About the Artist
Jennifer is an artist, writer, and Sumerian polytheist. She started working with clay to practice writing cuneiform while learning the Sumerian language and quickly discovered a love for sculpture, which she has found to be an excellent creative outlet and means of regaining fine motor strength after suffering neuropathy of the hands after chemo for breast cancer.
She began learning Sumerian as a means of connecting deeper with the Sumerian deities, particularly the goddess Inanna.
Aside from art and sculpture, Jennifer has a background in writing and graphic design for a variety of different genres and industries. She has published several books including a YA novel, a comic book, and a children’s ABC picture book.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University, and an Associate of Applied Science in Computer Games and Simulation Design and an Associate of Arts from Lorain County Community College.
What Does the Name Nybiru Mean?
Nybiru Studio comes from Jennifer’s nickname “Ný” and the word “Nibiru.”
Nibiru is a term that appears in ancient cuneiform tablets to refer to a crossing point over a river, such as by boat or ferry. It can also be used to refer to certain astronomical phenomena involving crossing points of the planets, particularly Jupiter.
“Nibiru” may also refer to a fictional planet that conspiracy theorists claim is the home of aliens who visit Earth from time to time. These theories have no basis in reality and no scientific or archeological support, but they can be fun for science fiction writers to play with!
