Finding the product that sells

As much as I love my floral patterns and my mandalas, that isn’t always the products that sell. Some of my biggest sellers are pop-culture inspired pieces based on board games, books, movies, television shows, and the like. I couldn’t tell you how many coasters I created for the board game Carcassone. When Brian asked me, however, if I wanted to take it off the shop my answer was a resounding “No! Why would I want to remove my best selling product!”. We don’t always get to make the things we want to make but, rather we make the things that folks want us to make.

The custom conundrum

Let’s face it: custom orders are not always fun. It is much more enjoyable to make pieces that are purely your own vision. When I am doing a market, however, people will often look around at the products I have on display and love them but, then that light bulb moments happens, and they ask me “but could you do this?” and a custom order is born. So, with that, I am no working with them on creating their vision. Personally, I enjoy this, but not everyone does because it means you may have to compromise your own artistic choices. In my case, though, it would also mean turning away anywhere between 25 – 50% of my income. So, instead of turning them away, I embrace them. I look for ways to create their vision but, also, to incorporate in my own design desicisions so that it remains uniquely me.

Expanding your range

Last year I wanted to pivot my business to more fine art. I wanted to make sure I was able to charge prices that allowed me to pay myself what I was worth. I encourage you all to do this, but, at the same time you still need to make sales and not everyone has hundreds or, possibly thousands, of dollars to spend on art. To solve this I tried to diversify the products I sell. The focal point of my website and my booth is my high-end pieces. These are the ones that are going to draw people in. Then I have my mid-range pieces. These are the smaller, less detailed pieces, that I can create much more quickly and sell at a lower price point (think $25-100).

The third category is my small pieces. These are earrings, bookmarks, and other smaller items. These pieces are nice because I can sell them for $20 or less, I can offer discounts when people buy two or more, and they allow me to offer my hand-crafted art but without the fine art prices. The final category are the impulse items. Keyrings, magnets, pop-sockets, and other low-cost products that can be priced below $5. I keep these up near where we check people out so that they might just add one in for a few extra bucks. These also make great options for kids coming through looking for cost-conscience gifts for their parents.

Have you had to pivot your business to adapt to customers. What are some of the things you did to make sure you were able to meet the needs of your customers while staying true to your goals? Share your stories with us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

The post Adapting your Business appeared first on BZ FurFur.

The B in BZ FurFur

Here at BZ FurFur HeadQuarters, there are two sides to the coin. The artist (Zona) and the man behind the curtain: Brian. Brian does not like the spotlight (he was not in favor of being the subject of this week’s blog), but I feel like he needs to be in the spotlight. He deserves my gratitude because truly, without him and his support, this little dream of mine would never have existed.

Brian wears several hats behind the scenes at BZ FurFur. There’s “The IT Guy”, creating all our digital content and our website bzfurfur.com.  Then there’s “The Wordsmith” helping me to write our blog posts and IG posts. I assist with ideas, and facts, and sometimes I write them, but he always goes through and does the final edits. Sometimes he’ll simply ask me questions, note down my answers, and then turn them into a blog post. Lastly, there is “The Executive Producer” of PyroToasty Talks, the podcast we started with It’s David and Renee earlier this year. (Subscribe on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Episode 003 releases on Wednesday, June 12 to hear about how BZ FurFur got their start. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

The Person

Outside of BZ FurFur, he is an amazing person. His a full-time job, a Senior Software Engineer, has his days filled with writing code, debugging, working with his teammates, and problem-solving. This is the culmination of a career that has spanned over 20 years, steadily growing after receiving his B.S. in Computer Science from NYU back in 2003. His next scholastic ambition is to get his Master’s with a dual concentration in Information Security and Software Engineering from UNCC. 

Brian is a self-proclaimed “nerd” with a love of board games, 8-bit animation and music. In his free time he likes to create pixel art (he’s pretty good at it), play guitar, and draw. He also has a good heart and volunteers every chance he gets by helping non-profit companies with their websites and other IT-related things.

The Dad

If you asked him what his greatest achievement is, though, it would be being a father. We have two teenage boys 16 and 14, who are a full-time job all on their own. Raising them has had it’s share of ups and downs and busy weekends. Brian is a leader in the Boy Scouts and has been since they were cubs, and his love of nature, self-reliance, and perseverance serve as an inspiration to the boys. Over the years he’s taken them on many adventures: Climbing and repelling, camping, hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, and countless other excursions. His favorite memory is taking them to Battleship Cove in Falls River, MA where they stayed overnight on a WWII-era battleship in the same quarters that the crew stayed in when it was deployed. 

A huge part of his life is his strong connection to music, always going to concerts, and teaching himself both guitar and piano. This love of music has been passed on to the boys, one who’s developed a love for musicals, the other loves everything from Hip hop to Classic Rock. When I asked Brian what he felt the best part of being a Dad is he said: “Knowing that in no small way, you have been able to shape someone’s life in a meaningful way”.

To all the dads, the granddads, the uncles, the big brothers, the stepdads, and the father figures who make teach us, praise us, and push us to be the best we can, thank you. Thank you to my dad, God rest his soul, for teaching me to be the person I am today. Happy Fathers Day to you all. 

Do you have a special man in your life you want to share a story about? Tag us @bz_furfur and, of course, stay unique.

The post Father’s Day appeared first on BZ FurFur.

The post Taking a break – be back soon appeared first on BZ FurFur.

• More original, one-of-a-kind pieces. Our focus over the break is new techniques, new tools, and new original patterns. I have been hard at work on some new Mandala patterns that will make amazing adornments in your home.
• Juried shows, art walks, and bigger events. This year we are looking to get more of our pieces included in local art shows, juried shows, and other events that focus on local artists. We’ll also be looking at more events like Charlotte Pride and Small Business Saturday which got us in touch with so many new people.
• Commissions, commissions, and more commissions. We have started off the new year with some amazing commissions right off the bat with more coming down the pike. If you have something you would be interested in now’s the time to start talking so we can bring your idea to life.
• Calls for artists. With so many programs in Charlotte that are looking for artists, we’re hoping to have our pieces showcased in more venues throughout the year.

This is not to mention pop-up markets, our stalls at Peddlers Paradise and 923 Fabrics in Monroe, more products on the online shop, blogs, newsletters, and so much more. We’ll be sure to keep you up-to-date on all the plans as time goes on. As always, stay unique.

The post What’s in Store for 2024 appeared first on BZ FurFur.

The post Wishing you all a Happy New Year appeared first on BZ FurFur.

Unlike our lovely Zona, I am not an artist. That is to say not an artist in the1 traditional sense. But we here at BZ FurFur don’t like to impose limits on what is considered art. What I do is called Pixel Art and I’m going to give you a little primer on it

My Life for a Pixel

The other day Zona asked me why I love pixel art so much. To be honest I hadn’t put a lot of thought into it before then. I think the reason is that, when I was a kid, I loved video games. Not just playing them, but the entire culture surrounding games. We would sit at lunchtime with our friends reading through Nintendo Power, GamePro, and EGM looking at screenshots, reviews, and maps of the 8-bit and, later, 16-bit games that just hit the market. 

This era of games was unique because the sprites were more well-defined than the earlier consoles such as the Atari meaning they did a fair job of representing the thing they were trying to depict but they weren’t so detailed that they didn’t leave room for imagination. Creating pictures in that same style harkens back to those days and reminds me of how happy they made me.  I still listen to 8-bit “chip-tune” music while I work and would sooner plug a cartridge into a GameBoy than play a mobile game on my phone because of how these games shaped my life.

A Picture is Worth 1024 Words

So what exactly is pixel art.  It is a method of creating digital images where every pixel is carefully placed on the screen.  They generally require working with a limited palette and resolution although they can easily be expanded to entire landscapes and highly detailed pictures. The idea is that you don’t rely on advanced image manipulation tools to create the image. In fact, there aren’t really any barriers to entry for creating pixel art. Pretty much any drawing program can be configured to make pixel art from MS Paint to Photoshop.  

Me, personally, I use two main pieces of software.  Working on my laptop I use a program called Aseprite and on my iPad I use Pixaki. Both help with a lot of creating pixel art by offering tools that are specific to the medium. When working on the laptop will also use a tablet for drawing rather than a mouse for better precision and a more natural hand movement.

Some Key Concepts for Creating Pixel Art

Creating believable curves If you don’t space your pixels out perfectly you end up with jagged edges, or jaggies, that can absolutely ruin a picture. Getting the right ratio of pixels in your curves is key.  A lot of programs designed for sprites do this for you using a feature called “Pixel Perfect”

Blending Colors When painting you can blend two colors together when you are transitioning and you don’t want a sharp contrast. With Pixel Art, since you are often working with a limited palette, you will often use a technique called dithering where you alternate pixels of two colors to create a smooth transition.

Pixel Art is Better on Vinyl   

Pixel art has always been a hobby for me and never something that I figured would pay the bills.  If, however, you like my designs and are interested in supporting me as an artist you can buy some vinyl stickers of some of my creations over at BZ FurFur.  Stick ‘em on your laptop or iPad as a cool conversation piece or just because they look cute.  Hey, it’s your stuff, I’m not gonna tell you what to do with it. I hope you learned a little something about a different medium of art and, if you are interested in learning more, don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.

The post The World through a 16-bit Palette appeared first on BZ FurFur.