Out of Office: I will be out of office and without internet starting Friday, February 21, and I will be back in office on Monday, March 3. Orders will not ship during this time. Thank you for supporting small.
Change is always hard, but it’s especially hard to say bye to something that has brought so much joy. But I, my family, and the world have changed a lot in the last 10+ years since I started offering wedding invitation design in my Etsy shop. So, my business will have to change to meet new challenges.
tl;dr
What’s ending (for the foreseeable future): custom wedding invitation design, semi-custom collection design and fulfillment, new product design, slow-selling products, and products affected by tariffs
What’s staying (for the foreseeable future): watercolor commissions, licensed artwork, a reduced greeting card line, and my fine art print line
What’s new: expanded licensing options, including the option for other designers to license any design from my semi-custom collection
Hard to Say Good-bye
This isn’t a decision I’ve come to lightly. I’ve been thinking about how to evolve my business over the last 6 months to fit what I need.
It’s been a hard year (and a half) for me and my family, which has meant I need more flexibility than before. Between taking care of a disabled parent, dealing with my own chronic illness, losing a beloved pet, and basically everything that has happened since Nov 4th, my creative fire is barely holding on.
I have always been driven to service and helping others. For a good while, I did that through my artwork and my products. I created cards that I hoped filled a need to be seen and celebrated. I donated (and still do) part of my profit to charity. Well, the last few months have called me to a different way of service that falls well outside the scope of CharmCat.
I have to follow that drive. Maybe one day it’ll bring me back to custom design work, but for now it’s telling me to use my creativity for the greater good.
Ooh, New Things!
CharmCat itself isn’t totally going away… I’ll be turning to some other ideas I’ve been slowly working on for years to make the most of the artwork I already have done. Yep, I’m going all in on licensing! I’ve secretly started adding some of my artwork to the website so you can find, purchase, and download a hi-res file in just a few minutes.
Plus, I’m going to be offering my *entire* semi-custom collection for other designers to use. Think of it as my own personal “creative market” for high quality, unique watercolor artwork.
It’s going to be a while before the complete working files for every design and colorway are available for instant download. In the mean time, if you find something that’s perfect for your client, just email me for licensing and file info!
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