For those who may not know, I've been selling my designs on Spoonflower since 2016. Spoonflower is an online marketplace where designers can upload their patterns, and they can then be purchased on fabric, wallpaper, and home decor. Back then, gift wrap was also an option (I wish it still was). Through Spoonflower, my passion for surface pattern design grew and completely changed the course of my focus as an artist, especially once royalty payments from my designs started to become more than pocket change.

In 2021, Spoonflower was acquired by Shutterfly. This acquisition was presented to us artists as something that would be beneficial and allow for growth on both ends. At first, I did see a lot of growth. This year, however, things are much slower for me, and it's been a little discouraging. It's hard to tell if the slowdown is due to growing pains from the acquisition or because of world events, the state of the economy, etc. But could things be changing for the better?

Starting January 2024, Spoonflower will be changing the way they determine royalties, in addition to what I consider to be a few more really big changes. While it's easy to get caught up in the fear that comes with changes like this, I am choosing to be optimistic and hoping these changes will bring some light back into the tunnel that I'm trying to work my way out of! So, let's explore these changes, and I'll tell you what my thoughts are.

Royalty changes

Royalties start at 10% and increase up to 15% depending on an artist's threshold of sales. Our commission used to be based on the original retail price; the change will base it off the sale price. The concern among artists is that this means less overall income. However, my thoughts are that this will allow Spoonflower to have more sales, making the purchase more appealing to buyers who might otherwise just be window shopping. I haven't met anyone who doesn't love a good sale, and sales often come with a sense of urgency. So while a 30% off sale means less commission on that particular sale, it could also mean many more sales that we wouldn't have otherwise had. My hope is that this is a good thing.

Free proofing with a limit of 25 designs a week.

Swatches start at $5.00, less if you have a Pro account or do it through the Fill a Yard option. My point is, this adds up. Over the years, I've spent a grip on swatches, and some of these designs have never actually sold. In addition, artists have to write in to get new scales of previously proofed designs up for sale.

Effective December 31, 2023, artists will no longer have to purchase swatches to proof their designs. They will use a digital proofing tool. Currently, Spoonflower designers have to purchase swatches of their new designs to proof them before making them available for sale. This sounds a little scary, and some of us artists are concerned that this will open the platform up to spammy accounts and designs or it being taken over by endless AI-generated art. I share this sentiment, but I trust that Spoonflower has thought this through and has a plan to stay on top of this potential issue.

With those concerns aside, I think this will be a huge relief for some very talented artists who are currently not able to make their designs for sale as often as they'd like because of the cost. I think this is also going to free up the staff and the printers at Spoonflower, which will result in faster production times.

In addition to free proofing, there will also be a limit of 25 designs a week. This seems limiting, but I understand the need for a limit. I personally like to create multiple scale and color options for a lot of my designs, as do many other artists. I don't have much to say about this one at the moment, but I am hoping Spoonflower has something in the works for scale adjustments. I don't mind creating the color variations, but having to upload four different scales of one design seems like a way I'd rather not use up my 25 weekly design slots.

De-listing Stagnant Designs

If a design hasn't sold in over 2 years or doesn't have at least 50 likes, it will be de-listed. This is the announcement that seems to be getting the most attention. In my previous point, I touched on the cost of the swatches required to proof. A lot of artists are upset about this because they've paid to proof those designs. At first, I was also a little disheartened to read this, but after looking through my own shop, I've seen plenty of designs that no longer reflect my current skill level. If our Spoonflower shops were a real storefront, those stagnant designs would be taking up valuable shelf space, and that could be overwhelming for a customer. This will be an opportunity for many of us to review old designs for either a refresh or retirement.

I have a lot more thoughts on these changes and some ideas for saving those designs that just haven't had a chance to shine because of competing designs, but I'll save that for another post. I just felt like I needed to write something about these upcoming changes to the Spoonflower platform and hopefully bring some optimism to the topic.

Resources:

Click here to read more about how Spoonflower commissions work.