Siteations Studio on Etsy: Niches and Neighborhoods
https://www.etsy.com/shop/siteations
I'm trained as a landscape architect and historian... so I love to draw and wander around checking out neighborhoods. My holiday card for 2018 (featuring Chicago scenery, like Garfield Conservatory and the Rookery) got a number of requested from friends for tattoo designs and prints - from custom imagery of their cities to a coloring-book version. I was thrilled but it also seemed like there might be a wider audience, especially with plants being 'on trend'.
Currently, I'm in the process of testing out materials and products, with only few ceramics and glass pieces for sale. That said, I anticipate my shop on Etsy will feature:
- a) glassware - mugs, canisters, vases - as 'miniature greenhouses',
- b) metalware - thermoses, ikea cabinets, etc - printing with different botanical and ecological niches and/or vernacular streetscapes from U.S. cities, as well as
- c) standard stationary/print designs for cards, tattoos, and mix & match sticker sets.
It's a lot to tackle, weekend by weekend, so I'm in the process of producing 'floor models' of everything, limiting myself to 4-5 basic designs, with black & white and color designs. I've been using my instagram (@siteations) to see what seems popular and what my friends (& others) will buy... eventually... even though most of what they see are rejects and screenshots of wip.
And, I've started wide (so I can refine/cut down the product line in response to sales) including a bit of pattern design, additional streetscape fodder, and poster ideas.
A lot of what I still need to tackle is editing and reinforcing the brand for the site. I've been testing a mixture of popular botanicals and colorful, modern elements for staging products and banners. Bucking the trend for minimalist and sparse domestic scenes, I want the b&w materials to nestle into cheerful surrounds and, in their own way, match the intensity of texture and hue in the colored designs. Being maximalist will be a juggling act... so I imagine the brand aesthetics will evolve, a lot. Selective focus and macro shots will have an outsized role, however I choose to photograph 'scenes'. (min and max below.... juggling, testing.)
