What supporting an independent artist actually does

Where the money goes

When you buy a product carrying an artist's design here, a fixed share of the goods value goes to them. It is added on top of what a plain version costs, so choosing the design is what pays the artist rather than something absorbed elsewhere.

That structure matters. It means the artist is not competing with the printing for the same rupee.

Why it changes what gets made

Artists make what they can afford to make. Reliable income from work that already exists is what buys the time to make something new and uncertain.

A purchase is therefore not only a transaction; it is a small vote for more of that kind of work existing.

• A share of every sale goes to the artist
• They keep the rights to their work
• Nothing is exclusive, so they can sell elsewhere too

Things that help beyond buying

Say where you got it. Most artists' sales come from people who already follow them, and a recommendation reaches people advertising cannot.

Leaving an honest rating after a commission is worth more than it sounds, because a new client has almost nothing else to go on.

Buying is not the only way to hire

If you need something made rather than bought, commissioning is direct and often more affordable than assumed — particularly for an occasion where the alternative was a generic product anyway.

Be a reasonable client

Clear briefs, prompt replies and agreed scope cost nothing and make a project profitable rather than punishing. Artists remember, and good clients get priority.

Buying is a vote for what gets made next

Independent artists work within what they can afford. Steady income from existing work is what funds the risky piece, the new medium, the thing nobody asked for.

That is the honest case for buying directly rather than from a large retailer selling something similar: the money changes what exists later.

Say where you got it

Most artists sell to people who already follow them or who were told by somebody who does. A recommendation reaches people no amount of advertising would.

It costs nothing and it is, in practice, the single most useful thing a customer does for an artist after buying.

Commissioning is support too

Buying an existing piece pays an artist for work already done. Commissioning pays them to make something new, which is the harder thing to fund and the thing most artists want more of.

For an occasion where you were going to buy something anyway, redirecting that to a commission costs little more and produces something that did not exist before.

How to start

Everything runs through one place. Artists sign in at the artist studio, upload work, choose which products each piece suits, and see what they have earned. Customers browse the artwork, pick a design, and choose what to put it on.

Nothing about it is exclusive. You can sell the same work elsewhere at the same time, and there is no listing fee and no minimum.

• Apply with three pieces so we can see how you work
• Choose which products each design belongs on
• Get paid by bank transfer on what sells

Common questions