Saturday, July 7, 2012

HahpiStuff

Your shop name *
HahpiStuff
Zazzle to me is a... *
Full time job - with full time pay
What is the best advice you have received from a fellow shopkeeper about your shops or designs you would like to pass on to another shopkeeper? *
The best advice I ever got was when someone taught me how to make a background transparent so I didn't have that big ugly square around my images! I didn't go to school for art or anything, so my training is more than limited, so everything that I have learned how to do I have either learned from trial and error on my own, or from advice from fellow Zazzlers. I know it seems like a small piece of advice and something that just about everyone knows how to do, but to a girl who was as computer illiterate as I was back in 2006, it was like the holy grail of info!
What PODs do u currently use or have shops on? *
  • Zazzle
  • Cafepress
  • MySoti
  • Greeting Card Universe (GCU)
  • Redbubble
  • Wordans
What did you do with your free time before zazzle or other POD's....and what do you do with it now? *
Honestly? Before I found Zazzle back in 2006, my free time was spent doodling in sketchbooks and notebooks, not making a dime off of any of it. Now...well, now I can't say that I have free time because every moment that I have is either drawing something that I know will be published and sold as a product, promoting myself, creating custom designs for clients, or promoting my fellow artists of The indiExhibit.
What programs do you use to make your designs *
  • Illustrator
  • Gimp
Tell us more about what you like and do not like about each software you use, what makes it special. *

I use Gimp for 99% of my work 1) because it is what I know, 2) because I am too busy to take the time to learn Photoshop (or all of Illustrator for that matter!) and 3) well, it's FREE! You can't beat free, I don't care what anyone says :)

I use Illustrator to clean up my edges, or to enlarge images, that is about it, not because I don't want to use it, but because I haven't had the time to learn how to use it. I know how to 'trace bitmap' and um, that's about it.

If you have time to learn a program, I suggest that you learn with the best--Photoshop and Illustrator. I have heard that there are a lot of great tutorial videos on YouTube and I'm sure if you ask around, there are plenty of people willing to give you step by step instructions. Again, lol, if you have the time to learn. If you are stubborn like me, you will learn in time :)
Will you make custom orders? *
Yes - sometimes free, sometimes fee required upfront
Elaborate on your answer above regarding custom orders... *

I typically ask for at least 50% in advance for custom orders, although there have been times that I have just started them without an advance.

I do suggest that you have a deposit just in case you take a horrible client who refuses to pay you after you have sent them their image. Also, WATERMARK EVERYTHING that you send to them before giving them the final image. Send everything, other than your final image, in low resolution. This *helps* keep someone from cheating you, but it doesn't always prevent it. There is always some cheap loser out there who will attempt to use watermarked material on stuff. Sad, but true.

I go back and forth on custom orders. I enjoy doing them when a client is all happy about it and the fact that they wanted ME to do something special for them always makes one feel good. THEN you get one of those clients where nothing is ever good enough, their vision is something that will look horrid and even though you try to tell them that, they don't listen, and you are forced to chose between making the client happy and being paid, or having something you are not 110% happy with having YOUR name on it.

List your shop URL's *
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