Let’s jump right into it – we have 24 hours left before Be Not Apurred on KickStarter ends! This is your last chance to back it, and be the first to get these celestial key chains.
We have hit our base goal, but we haven’t hit our stretch goals yet. If we get even 4 more backers, we can make these Biblically accurate cat angel key chains ~HOLOGRAPHIC~ yo!
The more support this campaign gets, the more key chains we can rain on the world – which means more cat angels.
SO…if you have the means to back the campaign, be sure to…
Broke? Feel free to share the link to the cat lovers in your life. Sharing is caring and it helps more than you know. If it makes it easier, just copy/paste tinyurl.com/bnakeychain to make it happen.
And lo, the two-tailed cat gazed down upon the children of Creation with its three faces, and out of their multitude of mouths declared,
“BE NOT APURRED.”
With a puff of smoke and a shining golden light, the angel disappeared, only to reform as…a keychain?
WHAT?
Here’s the thing: I run a project called Kitties By Kelci. With it, I draw cat-themed art to make into products. These products began on RedBubble, which may have a wide selection of things to print designs on – but it doesn’t have everything.
In fact, I have to get keychains printed myself. Which is why we’re here!
These keychains will be about 3 inches tall, with double-sided printing and an acrylic epoxy on the front. It would come with a standard keychain loop and chain attached.
WHY THIS DESIGN?
You mean, besides the fact that it looks cool?
I want to get this printed to make it real. And, if this project succeeds, that means more designs in the future from Kitties by Kelci that exist outside of RedBubble. I want Kitties by Kelci to grow! And this campaign is the first step.
To bestow Biblically accurate cat angel blessings on your bags, head over to…
You have UNTIL JULY 6 at 7:45 am! So back it if you can, and/or share the link and spread the word! Be sure to use tinyurl.com/bnakeychains to make it easier to share.
Funny story: I turned in my notice at my office job. To get ready for returning to full-time art-making, I took a hard look at a bunch of numbers. For this story, just know that I was looking at the tally of sales I made online.
(I have a separate spreadsheet for convention sales, but I’ll get to that).
After looking at the data, I realized a surprising fact…
Prints made up 47% of all online sales. That’s close to half of everything!
This blew my mind. When I looked at the spreadsheet for convention sales, prints didn’t even make it to the top 3 categories. But prints DID make it in the top 3 sales categories on Ko-Fi, right up there with original art and PDFs.
So people are buying prints. Which goes against what I initially thought in the original announcement.
WHY IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVENTIONS AND KO-FI?
What makes prints sell better on Ko-Fi than at conventions?
I think it’s two things: prints don’t usually appear on my convention table due to space restrictions. And the best-selling prints on Ko-fi were limited edition AND framed.
Keep in mind that shoppers are, above all, lazy. If you can offer a framed piece of art (original or print), that saves the shopper the time and effort of finding a frame to fit it. Shoppers are willing to pay for the convenience if it means less work for them.
SO MOVING FORWARD…
Prints are coming back – and staying exclusive to online. That means Ko-Fi, crowdfunding campaigns like KickStarter and Crowdfundr, and possibly even Faire.com. (I’m not on Faire yet, but I’m looking to join.)
That said – prints and original art will be collected into art books. So if you have the means to get upcoming prints, great! If you miss your chance, watch for future art book announcements.
The best way to know when new prints and original art is coming out is to be on my email newsletter (shameless plug). So be sure to sign up to get the first sweet, sweet notice when new stuff comes out.
This may sound scandalous to my fellow artists out in the convention circuit, but I’m not going to sell prints at my table (or my Ko-Fi shop) anymore.
WHY?
Let’s start at the top.
I made a Forest Spirit print back in 2016, and for the most part, she sold pretty well! She was a big show-stopper at conventions. Like, she would catch your eye and keep your attention there. And she did sell well. So I branched out into other designs.
However, sales of prints have been declining for me since 2018. It’s gotten to the point where prints are not my top 3 selling category anymore (as of June 2023).
Plus, the feedback I get from fans often boils down to, “I don’t have the space to hang any more prints!” It’s hard to sell something when the fans don’t have room for it.
The other problem is that prints are a pain in the ass to transport.
This is especially true now that I live on the top floor of my apartment building, towards the back of my complex. I really do not want to make multiple trips to the third floor in a building with no elevator.
Not to mention that you need print bags or rubber bands to bag up prints when you sell them. And I can’t seem to source print bags that aren’t crap.
All these problems are for selling at conventions. But online? Forget about it. Shipping tubes are tricky enough for me to find. Everything else I sell online can either be delivered digitally or flat in a padded envelope. Prints are more difficult to ship the larger they get. And I can’t ship prints in the same bundle as everything else I offer – thus making me charge more for shipping (which customers and I are NOT psyched about).
I’d rather not deal with the headaches. Especially since prints are not the bestsellers at my table or online.
So, no more prints from me.
IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE?
Funny enough, art books are the best thing I’ve ever offered! At conventions, my art books sell the most. And the more art books I sell, the more books in general I sell. There’s a reason why my #1 category in sales is Books. And they are the LARGEST sales margin. For me, books make 5 times more than the #2 best-selling category. FIVE TIMES. It’s bonkers.
And honestly, that’s fine with me. I like making art books, and I want to make more of them.
If you are new to selling your work, please remember this: what works for me may not work for you. Some artists are really successful at prints! I’m more successful at books. Each artist’s mix is different. You won’t know what will work until you try it yourself. I just wanted to share what’s been working for me, and what hasn’t, so you can understand my process.
Find me at SPACE this weekend! That’s the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo in Columbus, OH. I’m sharing a table with Canonwrite Productions. Find us at table W26, yo.
If you’re in Columbus – I’m sending a special email to my newsletter subs. It’s about a reward for folks who can make it to SPACE. If you want to know more, get on the newsletter.
At SPACE, I’m marking down all stickers and mystery bags. Stickers are 2 for $1 (or get 1 free with a book purchase), and mystery bags are 2 for $5 (or get 1 free with a book purchase). I want to clear out all the stickers and mystery bags to make room for new things, like more keychains and pins!
I’m also bringing misprints of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1, available for $12 each. I still have a BUNCH of these, too.
Also at SPACE: original pages from my sketchbooks, a framed piece of art (this one will be pricier), and the last of my 11 x 17 prints. Again, I want to clear out a BUNCH of stuff to make room for new things.
IF TIME ALLOWS…I’ll bring along BOYZ, my Dragonball Z zine. I make no guarantees on this one, though.
There will be a newsletter sign-up sheet there, as well. Do you think I WOULDN’T talk about my new tabletop RPG, Toe Beans & Broomsticks? I mean, it’s coming out in less than 10 days, on June 17! It’s available on my newsletter first before the rest of the world gets the game. That’s why I’m bringing the sign-up sheet – so folks can sign up to get the game!
Toe Beans & Broomsticks is a game where players roleplay as magic-casting Cat Witches, Dog Warlocks, Crow Witches, and Owl Wizards. Practice magics like Neko-mancy, cast spells like Meow-maturgy or Purr-estidigitation, and fight alongside friends against the dark forces of The Madam.
If you can’t make it to SPACE, but you reeeeeeally want Toe Beans & Broomsticks – good news! You can sign up for the newsletter using this link and get the game on release date.
And with that, I must be going. I have some last-minute prep to do for the show.
BY THE WAY…
I was featured this week on the Columbus Cartoon Coalition’s YouTube channel! Check it out, yo.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you at the show!
