Gluckhaus Boards In the Works!

I'm happy to help spread the word that the Scarlet Onagers Guild is getting into selling stuff online. They hope to get costume accessories, entertainment, and jewelry into your hands before the next Renaissance Faire Season.

Gluckhaus Boards

The Gluckhaus board artwork I posted previously is going to be sold on fabric and vinyl boards. So far, it sounds like they'll sell the Gluckhaus board on it's own, or as part of a Game Set with a nim & tic-tac-toe pouch to hold all your game pieces and bar money.

I've recently seen the boards and am really excited they are going to be offering these items online soon. I'll keep you updated here when they launch their online store! You can also watch for updates and learn all about them by following them on facebook or on the Scarlet Onagers blog!

Roots

I quite like the Roots design. I'm not sure how this design came about, though. It was a moment of wanting something simple yet complex, and it developed before me with little thought about where we were going. This is what I ended up with: Roots, with dark pastel high lights.

This design looks better on lighter shirts, me thinks. This off-white, barely grey shirt is my favorite. I'm also a fan of how it fits on many of the other products, especially the notebooks and water bottles.

I look forward to more designs with a little more flair than just text; although, I do enjoy playing with the text-based designs best. Sometimes, outside of other craft and design projects, a design fits best in the RedPress family even when it does not focus on text.

Look for this design and more in the RedPress Shop, and follow us on instagram @RedPressPrints or on here for many more designs to come!

Scarlet Onagers Guild Design

The Scarlet Onager Guild of Oregon is raising funds for next year by selling their logo on Threadless. As the designer of the logo, RedPress has added it to their store to help spread the word.

The Scarlet Onagers are a Volunteer Guild for Canterbury Renaissance Faire in Salem, Oregon. Funds from their Vending Booth at Canterbury helps pay for expenses related to the Faire. These expenses include buying inventory for the next year, buying camping and vending equipment, and feeding Scarlet Onagers and other Faire Volunteers.

This past year a much needed French Press, Tea Kettle, and a camp stove were added to the equipment inventory. This coming year, the Scarlet Onager Board hope to expand vending inventory, buy fabric to create  a couple new spare uniforms, and perhaps buy a camping shower and curtain.

Help the Scarlet Onagers out! Buy a shirt, sticker, or a variety of other products with the Scarlet Onager Logo. There are also other ways to help, as well. Check out their Blog here, or like and share their Facebook page here!

New Card Game In The Works!

We're still working in the background on the next card game for the Bellingham Game Company, but I just previewed the digital version of the cards! They're so clean and simple and amazingly portray exactly what is needed for the game!

I can't show them off just yet, but soon they'll be posted to the Bellingham Game Company's Facebook Page and Instagram account ( @bellinghamgamecompanyllc ).

I'm really excited about this game because it is an amazing large group game, perfectly casual for chatting throughout and helping each other play. It's kind of a luck game, and it really takes the stress off learning a bunch of rules. My game playing focus lately has been to search for casual games for large groups, but also quick-to-learn games so the fun of playing manifests quickly. Can find them? Well, make them!

Gah! We'll be able to show it off soon, but the designer on our team really came through on this one. I love the designs and can't wait to share them!

Just Business

With prices of goods going up so much faster than wages, sometimes it's hard to remember: it's just business.

Inspiration For Design

I have a few businesses and hobbies where I have sole responsibility or share the responsibility in setting prices. This is hard to do, and sometimes it means dropping a product in it's conception phase. All these ideas of things I want to create and put out there are just not within my reach for price-points anyone (including me) is willing to pay.

Business Motivations

I can't imagine how some small businesses keep their storefronts open, the lights on, the insurance paid, and the employees happy: I appreciate and envy them for figuring it out and making it work. I'm a fan of low profit margins in my own businesses, and that comes from my personal motivations more than anything else.

All businesses I have my hand in are low-overhead and efficient by design. I attempt to keep material costs proficiently balanced in terms of quality and cost, then I add a small percentage for my time and effort. I like the extra money -- don't get me wrong -- but I'm much more motivated by the knowledge products I had a hand in are out there, being used and appreciated. It still costs money though: materials, equity tied up in stock on hand, storage space until it is ordered, shipping costs, booth & storefront fees, perks for employees or volunteers. I'm willing to take the cut and spend the time; whatever it takes to get it out there!

It is, at the end of the day, just business. Sometimes business costs a pretty penny, and we should remember that. That small business owner is just trying to keep the doors open and feed the family.

Want to have this printed on a sign, shirt, or something else? Check out Red Press Print's Artist Shop on Threadless.

Other Designers & Helping Each Other Out

I've recently started a game development company with a couple others that involves an amazing graphic designer. I favor typography related graphics, and while I can do logos and other stuff, I'm really not great at creation and I know this. Understanding my own limits and what I need to practice are important to me. I've realized I really do enjoy and excel at helping a graphic designer see what can be done better with their graphics, and knowing when a project is finished and should not be tweaked any more.

None of the graphics from the Bellingham Game Company (click to see facebook) are mine, so I won't be posting them on this blog, but I truly do enjoy working with our graphic design partner on concept, digitizing, and knowing when to stop. One of the hardest parts of graphic design sometimes is knowing when to call a project done. Constant tweaking of an image or vector can make someone crazy. I have a person in my life that peers over my shoulder and says "What are you doing? No one else will be that zoomed in..." and I enjoy being that person for others.

My Role Is Not Graphics

While I love working on my own stuff, like I said mostly text and typography, that sort of graphic stuff is handled in the company by someone far better than I could ever be, from concept to sketch to digitize to finalize for print. My role in the company is more promotional, networking, and office management.

I quite enjoy this side as it allows me to focus on typography, terminology, and networking. It also allows me a lot of "office" time for researching all of the tips and tricks of advertising, networking, acquisition, and related tasks. If I love anything more than graphics, of which I truly do appreciate more than create, it is learning and then implementing what I've learned.

Do What Makes You Happy

I am hoping this helps me come up with new sayings and catch phrases for this Red Press project I'm working on now, but I won't be constantly updating. I'll post graphics here with their inspirations, but only things that I feel I'd wear on clothes or my phone case will be posted for Red Press. It's all good if no one but me ever purchases things from the artist shop, but I hope the random explanations I post here really do help inspire others to do what makes them happy.

Sometimes what makes you happy are the things you do without thinking about it. The sayings you live your life by and repeat to others. Fix up a graphic of your happiness and post it for others to see. Start a blog of your favorite photos. Start a shop of your best drawings and artwork. Join a fair or market with your crafts.

Advice, Business & Sharing Your Stuff

I have another blog in the works that will focus on building a small business or utilizing a sole proprietorship -- much of my little "nickle & dime up" hobbies will go there -- but many are related to artwork and crafts of a wide variety. Once it's a little more established, I may throw a link in here when there's an artwork related business post. However, feel free to message me or comment if you have specific questions. I may even turn it into a post on this or another blog that it fits better.

I'm always up to swap stories, look at your site, and give any advice about the business side of hobbies, and I have resources and references I used to learn all of these things in case I can't answer a question myself. I feel that it's better to say "let's find out together" if I don't know how to answer something or know I'm bias on a topic.

Questions, Thoughts, Word of Mouth

Comment your questions. Send me a link to check out your stuff. I'm up for networking and helping spread the word if I like your stuff!

Why Threadless?

I discovered Threadless when I was looking into merchandise platforms for Bellingham Game Company’s logo and pending game releases. After reading many reviews, I was hesitant, but thorough research has shown me that Threadless had a rough patch when switching from printing in runs and printing on demand (Introducing: Artist Shops!). This bump in the road is completely understandable to me, especially since they were quick to respond and begin repairing their business and reputation.

Nickel and Dime Up

The profit margin isn't great on Threadless because the base costs are a little high per item, but I set my margin fairly low... so it is also a my fault. I would much rather see my stuff out there than make a bunch of money; although, some money is nice. The Red Press brand is just a hobby and an outlet for me to create graphics, order prints of my own graphics, and click a box for others to wear the same design if they wish.

Artist Shops

It is fairly easy to set up an Artist Shop on Threadless. Create an account and upload a design. You can mess around with logos and banners, or you can skip those. There are simple templates for layout, fonts, and colors of the shop so you can keep the setup simple and get to what you want: put mah stuff on shirts!

They have an interesting mix of products: typical shirts & hoodies, coffee cups, stickers, skateboards, phones, duffel bags & backpacks, towels, pillows, shower curtains, stretched canvas and other wall mounts. Once your image is uploaded (per the specs clearly laid out or any of the supplied templates), select the items and colors you want available. This can all be changed at any time, but the image placement editor is quite a bit buggy. Remember to slate a little extra time and be patient for this part.

Work Together

Threadless also has the option to list another account as a "collaborator" on a particular design.  This means you and a buddy can each have shops, but also work on something together and give each other credit. Have great ideas, but not the right software and know-how to add the finishing touches? Work with a buddy, agree on a profit split, and have them list you as a collaborator! Threadless will then deal with splitting the profits each time a sale is made. Teamwork made easy!

Show Me Yours?

Do you have an artist shop? On Threadless or Cafepress or another platform? Comment below and link your shop! Free advertising! :)