Big Cartel Blog

Featured Store Friday: Less Than Positive

Fri, 11 May 2012 15:08:01 -0400

Check out the full shop at: lessthanpositive.bigcartel.com

BC: How did you get the idea for Less Than Positive and where does the inspiration come from for your products?

LTP: Less Than Positive is a brand born out of disenchantment with the status quo. It was originally an outlet for my ‘pessimistic creative expression,’ and I started printing T-shirts with my designs after discovering that most people could relate to them.

BC: Can you explain the concept behind your brand and your messaging?

LTP: The brand aims to provide a cynical response to certain people, feelings and situations in life, regardless of whether it is politically-correct. It’s like a mouthpiece of sorts for the quiet rebel that manifests inside most of us. Hence, the messaging is intended to be provocative and raise a few eyebrows.

BC: How does living in Singapore influence your brand?

LTP: Singapore has an environment and mentality that used to be a lot more rigid, serious and conservative. That has changed, and we begin to see a much more assertive and vocal younger generation constantly trying to push the boundaries of self-restraint in creative expression. My brand attempts to reflect this shift in mindset.

BC: What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned since starting Less than Positive?

LTP: The biggest thing I’ve learned is to just get started, because there is no perfect timing and there never will be. It also means having to silence my own inner critic at times, as there are always 101 ways to improve something - it will never end. Just make sure that what you’re designing isn’t something half-baked, launch and listen to any feedback from customers and fans in order to improve.

BC: Can you talk about your experience customizing your store using Big Cartel?

LTP: Big Cartel offers me complete control over the design of my store. With the help of some CSS, I was able to go all out in achieving the look and feel of what I wanted. Setting up the store and populating it with products was also done with relative ease. Overall, it has been a great experience, and kudos to the Big Cartel team for this.

How to work the festival circuit, from Choonimals

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:34:00 -0400

Another helpful post in our series of tips from the experts, Chad with Choonimals talks us through the best way to use festivals to promote and market your brand, and have a little fun while you’re at it.

Since Choonimals was founded in late 2007, we joined the festival circuit in hopes of building the brand by exposing ourselves to the thousands in attendance. As former attendees of iconic festivals, such as the Vans Warped Tour and the Bamboozle Festival, we used our past experiences, knowledge, and creativity to get the most out of each festival. After nearly 5 years of taking Choonimals Clothing Company on the road, we came up with some quick tips and tricks that helped separate us from other vendors and continues to grow our brand.

Be noticed

Having a unique, eye catching display is invaluable. It might be the first time anyone has ever heard of or seen your company, and it can be the difference between a customer and someone who walks away or to another booth.

Interact with fans

Create an experience that they’ll never forget, and you might turn them into a lifelong customer.

Get ready to network

From the booth next to you, to bands you might want to work with, to the festival staff - large festivals provide more opportunities to directly connect with others. Make friends with everyone!

Content content content

Whether it’s video (Youtube), pictures (Flickr), tweets, (Pinterest, Vimeo, even more videos) or tags on Facebook, creating content that fans can refer to after the festival has ended keeps them interested and will continue to drive traffic to your sites and social networks.

You’re there to work

It’s hard to not want to run around and watch your favorite bands, or party given the atmosphere, but if you want to be successful, plan on sitting in your booth from set up to tear down. We recommend a comfy chair and a lot of water.

As we gear up for this year’s festival season, we can’t help but think back to our first festival and how different it might have been knowing what we know now. That being said, we hope these tips can help some of you not make the mistakes we did. And don’t forget to stop by the Choonimals booth this summer at The Bamboozle Festival or on The Vans Warped Tour!

Welcome Nick Endle

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:29:46 -0400

The Big Cartel Support Fort just got a little stronger with the recent addition of Nick Endle. Joining us from Eau Claire, WisCAHNsin, midwestern accent and all, Nick’s background in web design will help answer all of the many coding questions thrown our way each day.

When he’s not offering tender-hearted assistance to our many shop owners, Nick is nurturing his own baby over at deadformat.net. He’s what we call an analog nerd, and we’re happy to have him on board. Please help us give Nick a warm welcome to the Big Cartel team.

Featured Store Friday: Jointed Jewels

Fri, 04 May 2012 16:13:00 -0400

Check out the full shop at: jointedjewels.com

BC: Can you tell us what Jointed Jewels is all about?

JJ: Jointed Jewels represents a union of new and old, organic and industrial, functional and decorative. At the heart of the project is the intention to transform complex and separate elements into a new kind of whole.

A clean and striking jewelry collection was created around this innovative concept. Each piece has been made with the same technique: it seems like an intricately assembled object but is in fact one single piece that was made in one go. Although the jointed pieces share the same birthing process, each item has a different identity.

BC: How has your brand grown and evolved over the years?

JJ: That is a hard one - I think I am still working on which direction the brand is going. I have 2 lines that I produce, and I always walk the line of “to produce myself or not to produce (and find another distributor/manufacturer)”. Because ultimately a designer wants to design and not always develop each product in-house. On the other hand it can be very satisfying and fun.

2012 will be the year where things will change a bit, but not sure which direction yet!

BC: Each piece is so special and interesting. What inspires your different collections and overall design style?

JJ: In general, I like to look at shapes and objects that we already know and understand - then I like to create a new perspective. I find that materials and technologies also inspire my different collections.

Questioning value and just questioning things in general, are a big part of how I work and think.

BC: What words of advice would you offer to someone just starting out with an online store?

JJ: Make sure you have good images of your products.

Also think about what you would like to know if you were buying your product. What information would you need to be convinced to purchase something?

A clear and compelling design also seems very useful for an online store. Even if people do not buy every time, they will keep coming back to check out new products (or old ones).

BC: What are some of your favorite features or reasons for using Big Cartel for your shopping cart needs?

JJ: Big Cartel is really a super easy way to setup an online store - it is user friendly, it has similar features to the larger back ends, but it is much more comprehensible. So it is a perfect way to open your online store.

Product Showcase: 8-bit Zombie

Tue, 01 May 2012 17:08:01 -0400

Whether you were a child of the 80s, or just into all things retro, you are certain to love the over-the-top decade love from 8-bit Zombie. Their apparel and accessories, featuring 80s movie icons and video game legacies, are radical to the max.

View the full store here: 8bitzombie.bigcartel.com

Featured Store Friday: Patterns From Above

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:03:51 -0400

Check out the full shop at: patternsfromabove.com

BC: How did you get started in aerial photography?

PFA: We are two ambitious artists with a passion for photography and the arts, with a particular interest in aerial photography. For the past 5 years, we have been flying around in a Cessna 172 airplane photographing the spectacular terrain of the United States. It began with the Sonoran desert of Arizona, working our way down to the southern states of Louisiana and Texas, then back up to the spectacular gorges of Oregon and the Northwest. We became increasingly amazed with what we were able to capture from the air, which included so many wonderful textures and vibrant colors printed into the terrain.

The farther we explored, the more intrigued we became. Over time, we found letters engraved into the earth and faces printed into the mountaintops. Each photograph reminds us of how connected our wonderful world is. It became apparent to us that everything in daily life is echoed throughout the patterns in nature.

BC: Can you walk us through your process? From finding a location to taking the images to printing and selling in your store.

PFA: Most of the locations are spotted while airborne. When a high priority area is found, it is marked on our flight map so we can return if there happens to be complications due to haze, cloud coverage or fuel shortage not giving ample time to fully photograph the terrain below. Most all of our aerial photos are in locations no one would bother visiting from the ground because they don’t know about it. We constantly find ourselves scouting locations on the ground with a vision of what will be there when photographed from the plane.

Patterns from Above came about after we had accumulated thousands of aerial photos from flying around the country for 5 years. We had been looking for an avenue to display and sell these unique pieces of art when an opportunity presented itself in the form of Patterns from Above.

BC: What are some locations you plan to shoot at in 2012?

PFA: We are pretty content with our coverage of North America, however Louisiana is one state we wouldn’t mind photographing again. As for other countries, first and foremost, Greece would be at the top of the list. Following would be Switzerland, Wales, Japan, New Zealand, Brazil, India, and Morocco just to name a few.

BC: How has your experience been selling prints online?

PFA: It has been a lot of fun! We got featured on fab.com and written up on a variety of blogs as a result. We send our PayPal receipts to a local giclee printer, and they fulfill and ship the orders. So, each sale is a simple as one email.

BC: Why did you choose Big Cartel for your store?

PFA: Our friends and collaborators at Good Apples (www.goodappl.es) recommended using Big Cartel. They customized and built the site.

NYC meetup recap

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:15:31 -0400

We’d like to send out a huge thanks to everyone who made it to the meet-up in New York City last week. With a couple meet-ups under our belt, we felt like we knew what to expect, but we were once again floored by the talented artists and entrepreneurs who showed up to chat. From completely custom leather belts and accessories with hand-printed bags, to unique Choonimals tees and Brooklyn Bombers hoodies, this NYC crowd stepped up our expectations and kept us on our toes.

We definitely plan on making it out to a few more cities this summer and can’t wait to see what you all have in store for us. Thanks again, New York. We’re kinda developing a crush on you.

Feeling neglected in your neck of the woods? Let us know where you’d like us to plan our next meetup.

Thanks to Miguel from Inspired by Design for the photos.

Product Showcase: Chee'Bonnet

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:54:31 -0400

These delicious cheesecake bites from Chee’Bonnet taste like a million bucks - they were almost worth a million bucks too! This little-shop-that-could made it to the final three in Macy’s Million Dollar Makeover contest last week. So order up some dessert and taste what the fuss is all about.

View the full store here: shop.cheebonnet.com

Featured Store Friday: Ocular Invasion

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:25:13 -0400

Check out the full shop at: ocularinvasion.bigcartel.com

BC: Can you tell us about the life of an illustrator? What is a typical day like for you?

OI:I can’t speak for all illustrators, but my life is a pretty lonely one. That may sound negative, but I assure you, it’s not :) I’ve always worked best on my own so quitting my job and working out of my home was a very natural decision for me.

I typically wake up around 6:30 am and head down a couple flights of stairs to my basement/office. The first thing I try to work on everyday is my daily drawing project An Exquisite Beast. After that, it’s pretty much working on whatever’s on my desk at the moment. My wife is in grad school so while she’s spending all her time studying, I spend my time working. Admittedly, it doesn’t sound very exciting, but getting to draw and design all day is all the excitement I need during the week. Nevertheless, I tend to get pretty bad cabin fever when Friday rolls around so I like to play board games and brew beer with my friends on the weekends!

BC: Why typography? Who is doing typographical work that inspires you?

OI: Typography is an effective way to get an idea across—you get the chance to say something literally and metaphorically. One saying can have any number of meanings based on how it’s depicted visually. Trying to emphasize or contradict the intention of a phrase is a fun visual puzzle. Some contemporaries that really inspire me are Simon Walker, Dan Cassaro, and Erik Marinovich. The list goes on and on, those are just a few off the top of my head.

BC: What are some of your current influences?

OI: I’ve recently been watching A LOT of Saturday Night Live. The fact that they crank out a consistently good (I know some people might disagree with me) show every week astounds me. They have a short time-frame to take common experiences and present them in an engaging way. It’s something I try to do with my work.

BC: When did you decide to start selling some of your work online?

OI: Selling my work online something I’ve been toying with in various forms for a few years. I’d never really been serious about it until I became comfortable with my artistic abilities. That’s when I wanted a more personal place online to sell my work.

BC: What Big Cartel features are most important to your online shop?

OI: Customization is huge for me. If I was going to start selling online more seriously, I needed a place that could feel like me. It’s really important that my shop is able to reflect a little bit of my attitude and work!

Marketing tips from Gussy Sews

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:04:00 -0400

Hi there, I’m Maggie Whitley — also known as Gussy of Gussy Sews! I write a lifestyle blog and design a line of handmade accessories and bags based out of my Minneapolis home. I put a lot of time into my blog and shop, and just recently launched a mentorship program - built specifically for bloggers and Indie Biz shop owners!

In just a few short years I discovered Etsy, and my journey into handmade began. I learned to sew, perfected my signature ruffle, relocated to Minneapolis for a job, moved my shop from Etsy to Big Cartel, attended my first Blissdom blog conference, planned for and then successfully left my day job, and am now getting ready to celebrate TWO YEARS of Indie Biz life.

And oh, my goodness - this Indie Biz life has been a beautiful mix of challenges and rewards. Not only have I learned so much about what it means to run a handmade shop, but I’ve learned so much about who I am. Getting to this point required A LOT of determination and consistency. So with that, I’d like to share with you some of what I’ve learned.

5 TIPS TO MARKETING YOUR INDIE BIZ:

Know your direction Set goals, write-out your plan and be intentional. What direction do you want to go? How much money do you want to make? How much time do you want to commit? How much time can you actually commit? What kind of milestones do you want to make after 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years? How interested are you in becoming a leader in your industry? By knowing the answers to these questions you’ll have a much better focus when marketing your Indie Biz.

Create buzz You can do this by launching new projects 3 to 5 times per year. Hayley of The Tiny Twig does a fantastic job doing this! She markets her brand by launching projects such as an ebook or pop-up shop throughout the year. “I don’t like to bombard my readership with a million new product releases, but I do try to keep on the top of their mind,” she says.

Know your customer Ask yourself: How old are my customers? Where do they shop? What do their spending habits look like? What are their hobbies? Where do they live? Once you understand WHO your customer is, you’ll have an easier time marketing to them. This ties in with my first tip, knowing the direction of your Indie Biz includes knowing what your customer looks like.

Connect regularly Twitter and Facebook are excellent for connecting with customers, but my personal favorite is Instagram. We also love to send newsletter updates, keeping our focus of the email clear and precise. Another way to connect with your customers is to feature them on your site. Ask if you can share a photo of them wearing or using your product. And make sure you write a blog. I post updates about what we’re doing in the studio, new product launches, share my Indie Biz journey, and just recently we added a new column called Handmade Husband. Your blog can be anything you want it to be!

Network with like-minded business Heather of Just Love.ly recently shared with me that she believes in networking with women who are passionate about their business and blogs, and ones that are encouraging and supportive have been the best. Networking with like-minded business can also help when it comes to marketing, too. You’re more likely to have a similar audience/customer base, along with their loyalty towards handmade.

One extra tip As your business grows it’s important to continue to share links to your newsletter sign-up form, your favorite posts, that new product you launched last month. If your goal is for your Indie Biz to grow then as the months pass you’ve certainly found a few new customers, and they may not know about your newsletter or your recently-launched product. Don’t bombard your online community, but don’t announce something once and assume that’s good enough.

Alrighty — that’s all I have to share! Thanks so much to my friends over at Big Cartel!

Your #1 fan, Gussy [xo]

Top 10 customization gems

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:13:11 -0400

From the looks of all the newly revamped stores out there, you’re definitely putting our new customization tools to good work. These new features are a big improvement from our old system, but there were also a number of smaller details we added that we love just as much. Here are just 10 of our favorite little, hidden gems.

WYSIWYG Editor

Style and format your custom page content with clicks instead of code.

Re-order pages

Drag & drop your custom pages into any order you’d like.

Background images

Easily upload a custom background image in Sidecar. A great feature, coming soon to our other themes.

Themes for all

All of our themes (including our newest, Sidecar) are now available to all plans.

More fonts

Themes now include new font options to help your store more closely match your existing brand. We support all web-safe fonts and hope to add more soon.

Functional preview

Our real-time preview area isn’t just great for looking at, you can use it too! Play with your theme’s features, add and remove items from the cart, and more.

Fullscreen editing

For those big edits that require a big canvas. Great for advanced coding.

Preview quicknav

Quickly jump to those hard to reach pages like Maintenance and Success using the quicknav, or hide it to get it out of the way.

Transparent colors

Now when you want something to blend into its surroundings, it can.

Direct links

If you edit a particular page quite a bit, say your Home page, you can get there easily with a direct link, like: /admin/design#advanced/home

Featured Store Friday: Sidecar Showcase

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:32:01 -0400

Last week we unveiled our newest theme, Sidecar. This theme offers great new features, and we couldn’t wait to see how you would put it to use in your own stores. Here are some awesome shops using Sidecar that we discovered in the last week.

Pelle

Check out the full shop at: pelledesigns.bigcartel.com

Out of their Brooklyn studio, Pelle offers a stunning collection of lighting, furniture, jewelry and more.

Bandito Design Co

Check out the full shop at: banditodesignco.bigcartel.com

Bandito Design Co wants to adorn your walls with colorful art prints and hip gig posters. Not to mention greeting cards, mystery packs, and t-shirts among other goods for sale.

My Mu World

Check out the full shop at: mymuworld.bigcartel.com

The stylish hats and wedges at My Mu World are just what every fashionista needs. Unique and well-crafted apparel can help anyone stand out in a mainstream crowd.

Hey, NYC. We're coming back!

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:08:24 -0400

It’s the city so nice, we’re visiting twice! That’s right, New York, Big Cartel is coming for you again. We’ll be hosing a lil’ meet-up next week where we’ll dive a little deeper into the recently launched customization features. We’ll talk shop with other users, swap tips on running a successful store, eat, drink, and maybe even hand out some goodies. We hope you can join us for a treat, a handshake, or maybe a side-hug (or whatever it is you cool kids are doing these days).

Where: Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream | (Map)
When: Wednesday, April 18th - 7pm
RSVP: Facebook Event

Product Showcase: Friends Records

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:15:00 -0400

Friends Records out of Baltimore features some of the city’s finest music exports on vinyl and cassette. Analog is king when it comes to their releases, which range from synth pop to No Jazz and everything in between. You can even pre-order the highly anticipated solo release from Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, aka, Flock of Dimes.

Check out the full analog lineup here: friendsrecords.bigcartel.com

Featured Store Friday: A Famous Lyre

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:57:00 -0400

Check out the full shop at: afamouslyre.com

BC: What is behind the name A Famous Lyre?

AFL: The name ‘A Famous Lyre’ is in reference to the Lyrebird, a rain forest bird which is known for both its superb vocal ability and its beauty. A Famous Lyre has two main goals inspired by the Lyrebird: excellence and aesthetics.

BC: Why a clothing line? How did you get started?

AFL: I am a graphic designer by trade and have some experience and contacts in the fashion industry. This, along with a great love for British menswear, and in my opinion, a lack of higher quality independent streetwear inspired me to start AFL. We started slow with t-shirts, vests and hats, but all of these have been printed and made to the highest standard on the best quality garments and finished and delivered in the greatest detail from Liverpool, England.

BC: What are some of your design inspirations for your current line?

AFL: As this has essentially been our maiden line, we have created a core set of designs based around the Lyrebird itself which have been overwhelmingly popular. We are also currently working on our first custom pieces, for later in 2012, that are inspired by modern British lifestyle, which is really exciting.

BC: What can a young clothing brand do to set themselves apart?

AFL: The only way to truly set your brand apart is to try to do something different. Every Tom, Dick and Harry owns a clothing brand these days, so you have to stand out or you’ll just blend in. Do it properly and don’t cut corners, have the skills and the contacts to do it right, be brave with your decisions and don’t rush into anything.

BC: How does your Big Cartel store work with your brand?

AFL: Big Cartel made it possible for AFL to reach out further than the stores in England who took on our product. We wanted a website that looked totally unique while, at the same time, was easy to manage. With Big Cartel we were able to totally strip down and customize the basic layout but keep the shopping cart and product features that make the site run so smoothly. Without Big Cartel we would have really struggled to get the brand off the ground, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you not only for providing the platform that our business needed to go global, but for choosing our brand to be featured on this blog.

Introducing new customization features

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:30:00 -0400

It’s official! Our completely rebuilt customization area, and our newest theme, Sidecar, are now yours to enjoy. We put everything we had into building these tools, and we’re very excited to see you use them to bring your stores to life.

Building a custom shop that perfectly matches your brand is now a cinch. Simply login to your admin, head over to the “Customize design” link, and start playing around in the new design area. None of your changes go live until you hit “Save,” and our new preview area let’s you see all your customization ideas come to life in real-time.

Update: With such a huge update, it may be easy to overlook all the details that make this feature so nice. Check out our list of the top 10 hidden gems in the new customization tool.

Video soundtrack: “Full Metal Whacket” by Young Buffalo

Product Showcase: The Original Tree Swing

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:28:46 -0400

Spring is in the air and on our minds, so it only seems right to feature The Original Tree Swing. Offering so much more than just a good ol’ fashioned tree swing, this shop can keep you busy indoors and outdoors with their line of natural toys. So take their slingshot for a spin on a sunny day, or tuck yourself inside with the Knights & Dragon Play Set. Everything is a sweet interpretation of eras past.

Check out the full line of natural toys here: theoriginaltreeswing.bigcartel.com

Featured Store Friday: Herb Lester Associates

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:26:29 -0400

Check out the full shop at: shop.herblester.com

BC: Herb Lester Associates writes, prints, and distributes maps. What inspired a map-making business in the era of GPS and Google Maps?

HL: Google is really helpful for planning and researching, but it doesn’t have an opinion, we do. People have limited time, so we make things easy by recommending a few great things, rather than telling them about every possible option. We don’t ask people what they want to do. We just say, here’s what you should do.

BC: How does a map come to be - from picking the city and selecting hot-spots, to design and, finally, printing?

HL: It’s a process of first thinking about what places interest us, then trying to decide whether anyone else would be interested. After that we look for a designer we think would be suitable and we start researching. We compile enormous lists using every possible source – books, blogs, Google, lots of friends – and then whittle it down. We then visit the place, edit the final list based on what we’ve seen and liked, and then we start writing and the designer starts designing. There’s usually some back and forth, a great deal of map and fact-checking, and that’s about it. Off to print.

BC: What cities are on the horizon for Herb Lester Associates maps?

HL: We like to keep that secret so that our subscribers get a little surprise when the new map arrives. We have a pretty busy itinerary ahead, we can leave it at that.

BC: Your store is beautifully designed by Stuart Hobday, right? How did you choose him to design your online presence?

HL: While planning our site we bookmarked sites we liked and noticed that some shared the same designer, Stuart Hobday. That seemed to tell us something. So we made contact, had a chat, and Stuart made it all seem very easy - which it sort of was.

BC: How has your experience been using Big Cartel to power your store? What are some of your favorite features?

HL: It’s been great. We set it up before we were working with Stuart and found it truly idiot-proof (a feature we tested to the full). It’s really useful to be able to see stock levels, user views, referrers, searches. For anyone starting out, it’s fantastic.

Thanks to Ben and Jane of Herb Lester for the interview

Rachel Gollay, super sleuth

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:34:58 -0400

The people we work with at Big Cartel are one of the best reasons to keep showing up to work every day. The staff here is full of fun art-lovers, designers, DIYers, and musicians. For this showcase, we’d like to introduce you to our customer support super sleuth, Rachel Gollay. She’s picked out a few of her favorite Big Cartel stores to share with us here, in addition to answering a few personal questions.

BC: For the record, please state your name and occupation at Big Cartel.

RG: Rachel Gollay, Super Sleuth (Customer Support-er) at Big Cartel.

Miles To Go - Rachel says: “Gorgeous tees and prints for literary nerds”

BC: How long have you been with Big Cartel?

RG: Since March of 2011 — my one year anniversary is just around the corner. (Editor’s note: Her anniversary is tomorrow, March 28! Hurray!)

Brainbow - Rachel says: “Quirky, beautifully crafted accessories”

BC: When you’re not helping store owners make the most of their shops you make music, right? Can you tell us about your song-a-week endeavor for 2012?

RG: I decided it would be a fun challenge to write, record, and upload one new original song per week this year. So far it’s been a really great experiment in testing my limits creatively. In the past I had a bad habit of writing songs, revising them to death, and never letting anybody else hear them. With this challenge, I’m pushing to put together something new and release it out into the world in that moment. And so far, the feedback from friends and listeners has been really positive and encouraging, and the end goal is to have a nice little batch of songs to keep working on and polishing up.

The Silent Giants - Rachel says: “‘One I came across recently, nice gig posters”

BC: In addition to making the songs available to stream you sell them using our sister-site Pulley. How’s it been getting out from behind the scenes and using Pulley as a customer?

RG: Pulley is incredible and crazy simple to use. In just a few clicks, my songs are out there and available for purchase. No jumping through hoops or coding, and I can post up purchase links anywhere—Facebook, my blog, e-mail, wherever—which lets me get back to doing the fun stuff: playing and writing. And it’s a special little reward each time I get a notification e-mail from Pulley that somebody has downloaded my song—kind of addictive!

BC: Since we’re already talking music, tell us, what are the top 3 records you’ve got on rotation lately?

RG: St. Vincent “Strange Mercy” - excellent new album by a guitarist/songwriter from my home turf.

Midlake - “The Trials of Van Occupanther” — they also just so happen to sell their merch using Big Cartel.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - “I Learned the Hard Way” - for that daily dose of soul!

Featured Store Friday: Many Hands

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:15:16 -0400

Check out the full shop at: manyhands.bigcartel.com

BC: What was the inspiration behind Many Hands as a brand and business?

MH: The idea was to bring together illustrators and artists whose online shop was a part of their business but not a primary focus, and create a platform for customers to see all these prints and products in one place. Our artists have established successful careers as illustrators and designers and work full-time for commercial clients, so their personal projects are where they can have complete creative freedom. Many Hands is an outlet for that work, offering fresh ideas straight from the artist.

BC: Can you tell us how Many Hands works? How does the “From Ideas to You” concept come to life?

MH: What makes Many Hands unique is that the artists not only design and produce the products, they also wrap and send them to the customer personally. So when a product arrives from a Many Hands artist, you know it has been posted to you by the person who created it. It breaks down the barriers between the maker and the buyer, and connects customers directly with the people behind the ideas.

BC: How do you track down and select artists to work with? Do you have specific criteria?

MH: First of all, we look for talented and creative people who are established in their field, and whose work stands out as exciting and original and produced to a high standard. Importantly, they need to show initiative in producing their own products separate to a corporate brief. We want to offer new and exclusive products as often as possible, so they need to be driven, ambitious, and have a real love for image making.

BC: What are some of the benefits and challenges that come with working with multiple artists at Many Hands?

MH: Working as a collective of creative people with a variety of styles means that our shop is more eclectic and interesting to a wider audience. It also means we have a larger contact base and more social media impetus. When it comes to exhibitions and events there is definitely power in numbers, so where a project might seem daunting as an individual, as a group it seems less so.

The main challenge we face is that all the artists are very busy with their main work commitments (which is the majority of their income), and it’s important the artists continue to update their products regularly, so sometimes they need encouragement. It’s also vital we keep a balance between everyone, letting each artist have a say in the direction that Many Hands takes.

BC: What has been your favorite Big Cartel feature for your store?

MH: Big Cartel has a good balance between an easy-to-use store format and a customizable layout, which is important to us as a group of graphic artists. One of our favorite features is the Artists option, which allows us to organize our shop by Artist as well as Category. Without this function we wouldn’t be able to run a multiple artist shop, as the artists would not be able to have their own pages. Also, it allows the customers to either browse by category or by the artist they like. Perfect.

Images by Many Hands, thanks to Adam Ellison and Ciara Phelan for the interview