I had an idea and it worked

Here's what I did

I had a problem. I am taking five pieces into a gallery exhibition at the end of this month, but the gallery has the very unusual requirement (by ‘very unusual’ I mean ‘I have never heard of this anywhere - who the heck dreamt this one up?’) that artwork must be delivered in a protective bag, eg a Stiffy Bag (yes that is a thing, more of that later), which must be left with the piece and WILL BE GIVEN TO THE BUYER to take their purchase home.

The perceptive reader will guess from the capital letters that this is the bit I find astonishing. I do have a stash of Stiffy Bags which I bought years ago and which have safely transported my work back and forth from many an exhibition and fair. That’s the whole point, they are meant to be a long-term investment and re-used over and over again. They are not designed, or priced, to be treated as single-use carrier bags. I worked out that in terms of cost, delivery and the gallery’s commission on top, I would have to add £15 to the wall price of each piece just to cover the bag. I’m not sure many gallery customers would be thrilled if they realised they had been charged £15 for wrapping; after all a lot of people still chunter about the obligatory 10p charge for a plastic carrier bag.

So, I put my mind to finding a solution. If you are neither in the regular business of transporting 2D art nor about to pack up for a house move then I would imagine you might stop reading now, but what follows could be useful for fellow artists.

My good idea

I searched for ‘foil bubble wrap’ and discovered this stuff on Amazon for £20.99.¹

It’s supposed to insulate shed and garage walls or be put behind radiators. It is the same sort of stuff as Stiffy Bags, but considerably thinner, no doubt less robust and, importantly, much cheaper. This 10 metre roll is 60cm wide, which suits me perfectly as I want bags about 55 x 45 cm. I should get 10 bags out of this roll, so long as the ‘approx size’ advertised doesn’t mean ‘just over 9 metres really’, so that’s £2.10 per bag.

I cut metre long pieces and folded them in two with an overlap on one side, in case I should want to fold over the top on a rainy day.

I then stapled along the two open sides…

..and stuck wide decorator’s masking tape over the edges to cover the staples and seal the sides.

And now I have five completed bags and half a roll still to be used. It was ridiculously easy and very quick. I’m chuffed to bits.

They won’t last 15 years and multiple trips but frankly that’s not my problem. They will absolutely do the job on this occasion.

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Festival of Print

My part in the York Printmakers Festival of Print is largely over now having had the the three weekends during which my work was displayed in our pop-up gallery and I was there greeting visitors. It has been (and continues to be with different printmakers) a stonking success. While we had publicised the event extensively in the local area and on social media, a huge proportion of those coming in to have a look have been visitors to York who have just stumbled across us and been delighted with what they find. (I say ‘stumbled across’ but the gallery is just yards from York Minster - sufficiently close that we have to stop talking when the bells are ringing - and on one of the main pedestrian routes from the rail station).

I will be back in for one more morning when I give a free demonstration of Japanese Watercolour Woodblock printing on Saturday 5th July, and then at the end of July I will be one of those wielding filler, paint and brooms as we make the walls good and tidy up.

Members of York Printmakers will continue to exhibit, demonstrate and teach workshops at the gallery from now until 20th July. For full information click the button.

Open for business

Now that I am back in the studio and have done a stock take, my own online shop is open again for unframed prints, greetings cards and homeware. As always, delivery is free for orders over £30. (UK only I’m afraid).

Thanks as always for reading and I’ll see you again soon.

Jane

1. Since I bought it last week the 10m x 60cm roll has become ‘currently unavailable’ on Amazon UK. At the time of writing there is a 5m x 60cm roll listed here or a 10m x 120cm one here.