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Cafepress |
Lulu |
Deaf Quotations |
Etsy - original art |
For several years, we've had one online store-- the Cafepress site. So, when you came to this page you were automatically redirected to that site. Now, options have expanded, so we've added more online stores. Here's a rundown of what you'll find, where, and how it works.
Which store do I go to?
Cafepress (http://www.cafepress.com/purpleswirlarts) is the "department store." Not only does it have t-s hirts for adults and kids, but it has greeting cards, magnets and buttons, posters, throw pillows and tote bags. While Betty's work is all deaf-centric, not all of Nancy's are-- "meh" products and "short walk" designs are examples of Nancy's work.
Deaf Quotations (http://www.printfection.com/deafquotations) is only t-shirts and only quotations by deaf people. Printfection has a huge selection of colors -- 31 in the basic shirt -- and a variety of styles. Not all styles are in all colors. I started this store when friends asked me for a specific quote -- one wanted it on an orange shirt, and the other on a purple shirt. Well, Cafepress doesn't offer those colors, so my research led me to Printfection. Have a specific request, such as text on the front instead of the back? Just let me know.
Lulu (http://stores.lulu.com/purpleswirl) is the place for books. Lulu also offers a distribution package so that our books can show up on Amazon.com and other sites. Cafepress also offers books, but only in black and white.
Etsy (http://purpleswirl.etsy.com) is the place to buy original artwork. We reserve the right to use the images, but you'll be buying the original. Etsy allows you to use PayPal to pay for the artwork, which is a good way for us to accept credit cards, and you to maintain your financial privacy.
How it works
Cafepress, Printfection (Deaf Quotations), and Lulu are all one-off, print-on-demand stores. That's lingo for when you order it, it's printed and sent to you. This means that we don't keep any inventory at home, all of it is at the store's location. It's kind of like taking an original file to Kinkos' and running off a copy or two when you need it. I simply create an original file and upload it to the store.
This is great because there's no risk to us-- we don't have to produce a couple of hundred items of one design and hope to sell them. So we can offer a much bigger variety of items with lots of different designs. This frees us to be creative. The down side is that we generally can't offer these through other stores, such as Harris Communications or Deafbuy because the wholesale price is too high. The store itself, such as Cafepress, takes all the risk and does all the work including packing and shipping, so most of the money goes to them-- we tack on a modest profit to the base cost of each item sold, usually between $2 and $7 depending on the item. As you can see, we depend on you going to our online store to buy an item, rather than coming to us in person, or hoping to find it on a major online shopping site.
Etsy is completely different. On Etsy we will sell only original work by Betty, her father Ralph Miller, and me (Nancy). This means you're buying the one-of-a-kind original. While we retain the right to use the image on products or in books, you will have the real thing. This means we've got it at home, and have to pack it and ship it to you ourselves. Etsy offers the listing on the site (including search functions), and handles the funds. For that, they get 3.5% of the sales price. The rest comes directly to us.
How to find us
I'd suggest bookmarking this page in the "shopping" section of your bookmarks -- or put it on de.lici.ous or other indexing site. We're also on Facebook, search: purpleswirlarts, Nancy Creighton, and Betty G. Miller. You can subscribe to an RSS feed of our arts blog: http://purpleswirlarts.wordpress.com/. On the blog, I'll keep you posted of our artistic doings.
Or you can use search pages. On Google, searching on "purple-swirl," "Purple Swirl Arts," "Betty Miller," "Bettigee," and "Nancy Creighton" all return relevant results on the first page, mostly our home pages. We don't show up as well if you use "deaf artist," or "deaf art." I didn't expect to show up at all using "deaf quotations," but my blog did show up on the third page. So, whatever you remember when you sit in front of Google search will probably find us.
Our affiliate network
We joined Amazon's affiliate network. Most of the books we've worked on are available on Amazon, and if you use the links below, we'll get a small percentage of the price for referring you. Your cost is the same, but by using these links you help support independent deaf artists, namely us!
In general, if you're only interested in buying one book, it's best to get it from the publisher, such as our Lulu store, or the NAD. That way you give you financial support to the producers of the work because there is less overhead cost and more of a profit. If you want to buy several books, though, go to Amazon; if you want to buy several deaf-related items, such as one of our books and a new flashing alarm clock, then go to a site such as Harris Communications or DeafBuy.
Products we've worked on:
Products that feature Betty's work: