For years, people have requested that I make a calendar with my botanical designs. I loved the idea, but no regular drugstore calendar design would cut it for me. I wanted an eco-friendly, luxe paper feel, spiral bound and with a hook hanger …. yet that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to produce- seriously, some of the print companies I would’ve loved to work with would’ve cost me near $1,000 for 50 or so calendars!

Last year, I attempted to create a calendar, but the whole process turned out to be such a nightmare! I’ll fill you in on what heppened…
First, I designed a series of 12 botanical illustrations for types of florals found in the Appalachian region. Each illustration would correspond to the time of year you might find that item in bloom. Completing these illustrations took me a couple of months, as I was trying to fit painting time in between my full-time job, and a hectic personal schedule. Whilst working on these paintings, I was doing hours and hours of research to find a production partner. When I finally found a company based in the UK that could produce calendars that met my standards and budget I was so excited!

After completing the paintings, I had to edit them digitally to reproduce them on a calendar file. This involved scanning each painting, editing it in Photoshop to remove the background, and even modifying the designs a bit to fit in with the calendar layout, then dropping those files into a calendar layout InDesign document.

Once I submitted the files to the print company and placed my order, it was just a matter of 3-4 weeks, or so I was told. About three weeks out I still hadn’t heard that my order was even in progress, but after emailing customer service (my only way of contact), I was assured that my calendars would be printed in time for my deadline. Well….that never happened, and after each email with the company, it became clear that something sketchy was going on with that company’s business, and there was no telling when/if they’d be able to produce my calendars. I was devastated, but at least I was able to get my money refunded. I still held out the hope that I could try again next year...

So, that brings us to this year! I recently discovered a print-on-demand company, Gelato, that I can connect with my website for products such as stationery, art prints, and more. Print-on-demand means that I don’t actually have to keep inventory on hand (which is necessary in the tiny home that I live in) and when someone places an order for one of those products on my website, that order information gets automatically routed to them for fulfillment. Before adding the products to my website, I did a test print of one of the calendars, and I’m happy with how beautifully the colors turned out, so I am confident that my customers will be just as happy with them!

Designing this calendar has been a labor of love, and I am so happy to share that love with you all!

-xo

Marianne