All About “SpoonFlower”

Founded in 2008, Spoonflower was created by Gart Davis and Stephen Fraser. Both of their wives are extremely creative and asked why there was not yet a company to design your own custom fabric (later referred to as “the question”). The idea was turned into the first of its kind out of Durham, North Carolina. The online Print On Demand Company allows you to design your own fabric , wallpaper,and gift wrap to make your crafts stand out from the crowd.

I love learning about how entrepreneurs got started, and wanted to give you a quick run-down on Spoonflowers co-founders.

About the founders:

Gart Davis was a past President of Lulu.com (a self-publishing site) which is one of the largest self-publishing platforms on the internet. He founded Avista Solutions, which was the dominant mortgage technology SAAS provider to small and medium sized credit unions and banks. Gart’s businesses have been listed with the Fast500 and North Caroline Companies to watch. He has received a Web2.0 award, NC Idea Grant, AND won the Facebook Big Break for Small Business. He is a strong supportor and mentor for others.

Stephen Fraser was a past marketing director for Lulu.com, a consultant for internet start ups, and co-author of the book, “The Spoonflower Handbook” which helps others learn how to design your own fabric, wallpaper, and gift wrap, . Stephen is a graduate from University of North Carolina, lives in Chapel Hill currently with his wife and many animals. His wife was also a passionate crafter that asked “the question” which ultimately shaped the course of this company.

What to Use These Awesome Designs for:

A decade later the Spoonflower community grew to over 3.5 million individuals who use their own custom designs to make things like:

curtains
bags
furniture
pillows
dolls
costumes
banners
framed artwork

…and so much more.

Spoonflower is a company that allows you to create and shop original designs printed on fabrics, wallpaper, and gift wrap, so all of your projects can be truly one-of-a-kind. You can just upload your design for a certain project or become a designer and try to sell your designs to other Spoonflower shoppers. Or you can just shop other cool designs created by independent artists from all over the world.

So, that is the basics of how they started and what they offer, but I am going to get into more details of how to shop with them, sell with them, and be inspired by them.

For Shopping:

You can shop on Spoonflower to look for original designed fabric, wallpaper, and giftwrap. What you do is pick a design you like, or design your own fabric . Next, choose the material you want it printed on, then checkout, and within two weeks your personalized item will be shipped and sent out for your crafting needs.

Their blog will give you DIY ideas, video tutorials, and free patterns. They run Challenge Designs all the time, so you can find all the information you will need about the challenges here. Even if YOUR design does not win, you will have thousands of eyes on your beautiful creations during the voting period.

Here is the link to their design challenge winners…and you might have noticed all the circle pics I have between some of the paragraphs…these are design challenge winners:)

Fun facts:

get 10% off when you order your own design
happiness guarantee
eco-friendly products: the digital printing process they use produces less fabric, ink, water, and electrical wastes. They use water-based pigment inks that produce much less waste:)
There are over 65,000 designs and more added every single day
wholesale discounts are available
There is no minimum order

For Designers/Sellers:

It looks like there is not an affiliate program per say, but if you design your own fabric, upload your design, you will make a 10% commission! You will also get a 10% discount for ordering your own design.

If you are a DIY Craft blog or someone who can sell a lot of your own designs n($3000 in sales or more), then you can make a higher percentage.

They offer an online magazine (I have the link below) that lays out fun ideas, tutorials, which materials to use, AND you can shop right through the magazine by click on the link. Click on the pic below to check out their magazine ↓

They offer two sister companies:

*Roostery– this extension gives you more home related items like pillows, tea towels, chairs, and home decor all designed by Spoonflower’s independent artists from around the world.

*Sprout Patterns– this extension shares patterns and crafting tutorials, so if you get some fabric but still need to find the perfect pattern, head on over to Sprout Patterns to find what you need.

There are direct links to both on the Spoonflower menu.

They do offer a Pro Membership, for $249/year, so if you are interersted in wholesale buying this could be of great interest. What you will receive with your Pro Membership:

Free Shipping on normal orders
faster shipping turnaround
half price expedited shipping
unlimited half priced swatches and swatch bundles
dedicated help team
Pro forum
Pro EXCLUSIVE fabrics

Spoonflower is a powerful place for arts and crafters, whether you design or shop these beauties, you will gain a lot from being a part of the Spoonflower community. If you have always dreamed of being able to design your own fabric, wallpaper, and/or gift wrap, then Spoonflower is the place to visit.