Shop opening!

Whoop whoop! I can’t belive I’m really saying this: The shop is open! Yee-haw! This is truly amazing. Almost the whole last year I worked on building up an online shop to sell my work. And finally the moment is here!

I am so proud and happy to present you the place where you can now purchase my artworks – a combination of Kurrent script calligraphy and illustration – as fine art prints.

To begin with you can choose between the fine art print “Morning – Morgen” and “Water lily – Seerose”. Variety of designs will grow over time. As soon as I finish a new piece and it’s ready to get printed the shop will be updated.

You might notice that not every piece you find in the blog is available as a print. Well there are several reasons for that.

Before opening the shop I ordered trial prints of the artworks “Violet – Violett”, “Ocean green – Ozeangrün”, “Vermilion red – Zinnoberrot”, “Morning – Morgen” and Water lily – Seerose”, each in two sizes (30×40 and 45×60 cm).

When I first saw the trial prints I noticed that one of the two sorts of paper I draw the original pieces on came out too roughly structured on the print. It even distracted from the actual design! That was the case for “Ocean green – Ozeangrün” and “Violet – Violett”. So unfortunately those pieces were no use as fine art prints. Now I am especially aware of the paper I use for the original artworks. Structured, but not too much.

Another reason was – and that can be worked on – the light situation. To make the original piece available as a fine art print I digitalise it. That means taking a photo or scanning it and editing it digitally. Adjusting the colours and light to get as close to the original piece as possible. This is something I still have to learn a lot about!  For example I was quite happy with the digital version of “Vermilion red – Zinnoberrot”. But again, when I saw the trial print I was honestly shocked! The upper left corner was not white but dark grey! It was horrible! Obviously the light situation when taking the picture for digitalisation was far from optimal.

I could have worked on that but also that kind of motive did not work in the sizes I wanted to offer. So “Vermillion red – Zinnoberrot” did not make it in the shop as well.

Fortunately the remaining two pieces – “Morning – Morgen” and “Water lily – Seerose” – worked out perfectly and even better in the bigger size (45×60 cm). What a relief! That is why these two are the very first shop items 🙂

And though it is quite sad that three designs did not make it I learnt so much from that process! What works and what doesn’t and how I can design future pieces in a way that they match the print size. 

This is also why I will always order a trial print myself before it enters the shop. I would have died from shame if a customer would have received that greyish “Vermilion red – Zinnoberrot”!

Also I would like to tell you about the paper the artworks are printed on. It is high-quality Hahnemühle paper, matt and slightly structured. It feels amazing! I pondered on the sort of paper for a while as the printers’ company I work with offer quite a variety of papers. One trial print came on super smooth and sleek paper. The paper itself was great and premium-quality but it did not work for my designs. The print (it was the “Water lily – Seerose”) seemed somewhat shallow and was lacking character. Painted on structured paper originally the fine art print should resemble that so it became clear that the printing paper should feature a certain kind of structure, too. And I am so happy with the actual choice! Slightly structured it feels elegant (even a bit soft!) and matches the design perfectly. That way you not only have an enjoyable visual but also haptic experience!

Please note that for now orders can be placed and deliveries made within Germany only. I am desperate to expand that to EU-wide level during this year and will let you know immediately!

Hop over to the shop if you are curious and don’t be shy to ask if there are any questions! Excited to meet you there!

Also I would like to say a huge “Thank you!” for your interest, your kind words and the purchases that are already happening! I am happy and overwhelmed and can’t thank you enough.

I honestly hope the artworks inspire you and bring a vibe of historical adventure to your everyday life.

Big cheers

Annika