writing on the wall

A carpenter once told me that one of the best ways to make a product feel custom and handmade is to not use standard thicknesses of wood. You can start with a standard thickness, but plane it down a bit and it’ll completely change the character. A 1” tabletop feels a lot different than a 3/4” top.

I think that prints are much the same way. There are many other sites online that sell prints and in almost every case they print them on “standard sizes” of paper – 8×10, 11×14, 16×20, etc. The artwork often doesn’t match those dimensions, so you’re left with odd borders around the art, really only half-solving the framing dilemma.

Each of our prints is printed one at a time (after choosing the perfect paper for the print), trimmed by hand, individually labelled & numbered, hand-wrapped in glassine paper, hand-packed and prepared for shipment. Your prints aren’t printed in a factory and other than the printing, nothing in the process is done by machine. Reflecting that process, we’ve chosen to use print sizes that feel right for the prints, preserving their ratio along the way.

In response to your feedback, very soon we’ll be offering custom framing for our prints – every frame will receive the same attention that our prints do and in fact the frames will each be made specifically for the print, one at a time. And believe it or not they’ll still be reasonably priced.

We are also considering offering a ‘just matting’ option – we’ll cut a custom mat for your print that will allow it to be placed in a standard size frame. There are definitely benefits to standards and we do realize that; a simple matting option may be the perfect solution – custom size prints in a standard frame.

What do you think? Looking forward to the frames? Is the matting option a good idea? Let us know in the comments (or email us)!

The idea for this came from a customer (thanks Mike!): “Both times I ordered prints I had to carefully watch and time my order such that I got all of the prints I wanted. It would be convenient and easier to dump items into my shopping cart and have them all shipped at once without having to hunt and peck my order.”

So, Drawer Service was born. Here are the details (which you can also find on the newly updated FAQ page):

What is Drawer Service?
Drawer Service allows you to buy prints over a period of time and have us keep them safely stored in a drawer with your name on it until you’d like us to ship all of them to you at once. It helps you save on the cost of shipping with every order. It’s great if you frequently order prints but aren’t in a hurry to receive them.

How do I get my own drawer?
Simply reply to your order confirmation email and mention that you’d like to start a drawer. You’ll get your own drawer, labelled with your name on it, and we’ll keep your print safely stored in there until you’re ready for your prints to be shipped. We’ll send you a unique coupon code to use for free shipping for any orders you want put in your drawer (you only pay for shipping for the first order).

How do I add additional prints to my drawer?
If you use the unique coupon code we send you, we’ll see that and automatically put the print(s) in your drawer. If you forget to use the code, just reply to the order confirmation email that you’d like the print(s) added to your drawer.

How do I get the prints from my drawer?
Send an email to info@wallblank.com anytime and let us know you’d like your prints to be shipped. We’ll get them sent out right away.

You’re Special!
If you have any special requests, just let us know – this is intended as an extra benefit for our many customers who frequently order prints from Wall Blank. We’re pretty young and flexible (for now) and are happy to bend over backwards for you.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, we started working on several major projects that have been on our to-do list for a while. We were getting so much done that we decided to take this week off from putting up new prints and focus on a few of those behind-the-scenes projects. Short-term you’ll notice a few new features and minor changes to the site, but most of the difference will be long-term. A few of the changes will increase our efficiency dramatically, allowing us to better serve artists and continue bringing great new artwork to you every day.

For the rest of this week, last week’s prints will remain available, as well as the prints in the Wall of Fame. We’ll be back with a great new print for you on Monday, June 1st.

Today marks our 5th print offered from photographer Joe Lieske.

Three hundred and seventy-three days ago, he set out on an unknown journey. He knew where he was starting – Vancouver Island, BC - but not where or when his trip would go or end. He’s written on his blog every one of those 373 days (!) and is about to return home, at least for the time being.

Today’s print, more than anything, is a symbol of his journey and an idea or inspiration that is within so many to do as he has done and just go – roll with the punches, travel where opportunities and friendships lead and see what happens.

To commemorate his journey and highlight a few of the shots he’s taken along the way, we’re doing a ‘buy one, get one’ offer. Buy today’s print and we’ll throw in one of the other four he’s had up on Wall Blank. Simply reply to the order confirmation email and let us know which of the other four you’d like.

Map: 200 Prairie St, Rockford, IL 61107

Questions? Email info@wallblank.com

• Ted Simmering Studio – Fresh Produce
• The Element Gathering

Big Thanks to Dave Decastris for designing the poster!

We’ll be hosting our first gallery showing on Friday, April 17th (5-9pm) and Saturday, April 18th (3-9pm). The show will be in our studio located at 200 Prairie Street, Rockford, IL 61107.

New Showing at the Old Brewery
Four local photographers take on the century-old brewery on the river. Featured artists include Pablo Korona, Brian Milo, Cari Ann Wayman and Ryan Davis. We asked each of them to spend time exploring and shooting in their own style amidst this massive, old, mostly-vacant brewery which now houses our studio (in one corner).

Two other shows are going on at the same time in the building – it’ll be a great place to come, hang out and check out some stellar work in an amazing space.

Feel free to let us know you’re coming or invite others on the Facebook event page.

Here’s your chance to win a free Wall Blank print!

Simply take a photo of a place you think could use a new print – an empty wall or space somewhere (maybe even to replace some horrible artwork you find). Could be in your dentist’s office, in your house, in your favorite coffee shop, in your parent’s house, the possibilities are endless. Creativity is encouraged.

There are three simple ways to enter!

1. Facebook – post your photos to the new Wallblank.com facebook wall.

2. Twitter – post a photo via twitpic (or similar service) and tweet about it including a #wallblank hashtag.

3. Email – email us (info@wallblank.com) a photo. We’ll then post it to our group on Flickr!

We’ll pick our 5 favorites from each entry point (15 total!) who will win a free print of their choosing. There’s no need to actually hang your new print in the place you took the photo, but you’re certainly welcome to!

Enter as many times as you’d like (though you can only win once). Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm (Central Time) on Monday, March 30th. We’ll announce the winners later that week.

Due to a few compounded server issues, our site was down for most of the day on Tuesday, March 24th. We apologize for the downtime – it was beyond our control and affected everything including our fulfillment system (meaning we couldn’t fill existing orders).

Most everything should be back to normal now and we’re working on a way of at least putting up an announcement if anything like this ever happens again.

Just as an aside – because we use an external payment provider (PayPal), we don’t have access to or store any financial information. We only receive confirmation that your order was paid for. So you’ll never have to worry about any sensitive financial information being compromised.

Will you help us spread the word about Wall Blank? Maybe you’re one of the hundreds who have already ordered a print, or maybe you’re just discovering us for the first time; either way, if you like Wall Blank, will you let others know?

As you tell others about it (in person, on blogs you frequent, by email, etc.), let us know. Besides helping us continue bringing great art to you every day, we’ll make it worth your time.

We now have gift certificates available in $25, $35, $45 amounts. We’ll email the certificate to you within 12 hours (usually a lot quicker) and you can then print it or email it. Want a different amount? Email info@wallblank.com

Buy a Wall Blank Gift Certificate