All you need to know about licensing print designs // A little talk about the basics of art licensing, creating a steady visual output and creating a coherent print collection

We’re already a couple of weeks into the new year and as we are finishing up some awesome new projects we made a bunch of custom designs for, it is time to plan and schedule our new exclusive design mailing. Last year we’ve welcomed over 30 new clients, and we’ve seen an increase in exclusive design buyers. With this little talk we hope to give you some insight into what we do and maybe it helps you a little figuring our how licensing print design works and what works for you and your business.


We've been on the art licensing market for almost 13 years now and I dare to say we probably have the largest portfolio of ready-made designs available. The market is getting more and more saturated so finding unique designs and using exclusive surface pattern designs is getting more and more important. Using unique designs for your brand is so very valuable for the credibility of your product towards customers. It makes you stand out from the crowd, builds trust and it lifts your product. We are passionate about creating not only a print design, but also creating a steady signature look that suits your brand. Reflecting the values and strenghts of every single business we work with. We love working with small businesses and trying to find a solution for various budgets. Design is our passion. You'll see.


Licensing artwork for your business
We have two different types of standard licensing available. If you are in need of on-trend surface pattern designs for your company and you are on a budget we have a great amount of ready-made print available in our non-exclusive library. All designs we create that are not licensed exclusively are added to this continuously growing database. At the moment we’re releasing this blog post we have over 30.000 designs available for licensing. You can find our current rates for licensing non-exclusive designs on our website. This is a great option if you’re on a budget or starting out and want to test the waters and find your own unique signature design series. The non-exclusive license comes with a standard duration for production usage of 24 months. And even though we license our designs non-exclusively we avoid licensing to competing businesses. A pretty sweet deal.

Our second licensing option is going full exclusive. This one is a little more pricey. But we always tell our customers this investment always pays back generously. A unique design is key for commercial products and selling on large scale. Most of our non-exclusive licensees grow into this license after a little while. We create new exclusive collections every season and send them out into the world in our exclusive mailing which you can also sign up for by joining our list on the website. These designs are available exclusively for a limited amount of time.


Yes you can hire us for custom projects!
We also take on custom projects. We’ve been working together with kids fashion brands for clothing, shoes, swimwear. Woman’s fashion and accessory brands. We create exclusive designs for online pet supplies and accessories. You name it, we’ve done it. The first step we take is determining what our clients wishes are. What their values are. Their target and ideal customer. Together we work on finding this unique one-of-a-kind voice for their business. For some businesses we create very minimal designs, abstracts with a Scandinavian touch in moody palettes. But we also create whimsical prints, full of fantasy and illustrations in bright popping colors for our clients that need a more playful tone in their designs. What we think is most important for our clients is finding that unique voice and translating that voice into print designs. Creating a strong one-of-a-kind coherent collection.

If you are looking for some guidance and are not yet sure how to find your way in using print designs on products we can make things a lot clearer for you. With our global client base we are always researching trends and markets all over the world, so we have a pretty good insight into what works, what doesn’t work and what trends will be coming next. Because your target’s market is constantly changing we offer free trend reports on our website to give you a general overview and give some basic insight about trends that are key for selling print-based products; how they work, if and when they are applicable to your product and what’s coming next. You can find them in our tools section and download the trend report pdf files for free. Every business is unique and so is every collab we have. We’d love to give some guidance and assist you in creating that perfect print collection.

Ready to know more? Check our website for more licensing info. Download our free trend reports. And sign up to our newsletter and receive new designs directly into your inbox and if you have any questions, please fill out the contact form so we can help you!

How to license artwork for your business? Licensing print designs in 3 easy steps // Everything you need to know to start licensing pattern designs

We work together with lot’s of small start-ups and usually these are the best collabs. It is lovely to connect with new business owners and mompreneurs that are starting their new ventures. But licensing can be a little scary. Every step you take is new and there are so many things to consider if you launch your own product. With this blog post, we’d like to give you a little more insight into licensing artwork for your products.

We’ve been licensing print designs for over 8 years now and every time we collab with newbies we see how this process makes them super insecure. We understand that hiring an artist for artwork can be scary, but it’s not all that complicated and expensive as you might think. This piece is for all you peeps who are on the break of licensing their first pattern designs. These are three easy steps to license artwork for your business.

Step 1 // What do you want?
Before you license designs, it might be good to think about the following. Are you looking for a complete visual brand-wide signature, a coherent collection containing print designs that involve working around a theme or season? Or would you like to license single print designs? Working in collections might be a little pricey. Most starting businesses we collab with ask us to license single prints and later on grow into licensing collections. Make sure you know what you’d like to tell your customer. What’s your vision? Together we can select prints that are carrying your own unique vision. We have lot’s of themes, color palettes and styles to choose from and we’re always up to date about trends and waves going on on the global market. If you know what suits your company best, what you’d like to reflect, we can assist you in picking the right prints. Free of charge.

Step 2 // Pricing
We have over 10.000 non-exclusive print designs to choose from. We have been building our portfolio for over 10 years now. These designs are also available in our Spoonflower shop, and because we can monetize our prints this way we can offer our print designs at low cost. If you license our non-exclusive designs know that we never license prints to similar companies. We always check availability first. This way you can have unique print designs and don’t have to worry about competition and you don’t have to spend a crazy amount of cash. Pretty good right?

Step 3 // The process
Once you’ve selected a bunch of prints, or just one (we value each and every customer!) we’ll prepare the files & invoice for you. Depending on what you’ll be using the prints for we can send you the files you need. The standard three we usually sent out are a high resolution .tiff. The original vector or .psd image. And a .jpg visual. Some designs are made in vector, some are made in watercolors, depending on the origin of the design we’ll make sure you’ll get the right files to send to your own printer or producer. Once payment has been completed these files will be sent to your inbox. Usually, the licensing process only costs two business days. Once you have all files but need further assistance you can always reach out and ask whatever you need. We’re here to assist you even when all files are sent.

Of course, we do not only license our non-exclusive designs. Each quarter we also send out exclusive work to customers who signed up for our mailing. You can also receive these in your inbox. Just send us a quick message. Note that exclusive designs are available form €268. If that’s a little pricey for you licensing our existing designs might be a better solution. We can always tweak colors and detailing and create a one-of-a-kind print.

If you are looking to create a series of print designs for your business and would like a fully exclusive range of designs, that is an option too of course. Since every single custom design process is different we’re happy to chat with you about how this works and we look forward to discussing this directly by email. Just reach out and send us a message.

Licensing print designs in 3 easy steps // Everything you need to know to start licensing pattern designs // A step by step guide to licensing

We work together with lot’s of small start-ups and usually these are the best collabs. It is lovely to connect with new business owners and mompreneurs that are starting their new ventures. But licensing can be a little scary. Every step you take is new and there are so many things to consider if you launch your own product. With this blog post, we’d like to give you a little more insight into licensing artwork for your products.

We’ve been licensing print designs for over 8 years now and every time we collab with newbies we see how this process makes them super insecure. We understand that hiring an artist for artwork can be scary, but it’s not all that complicated and expensive as you might think. This piece is for all you peeps who are on the break of licensing their first pattern designs. These are three easy steps to license artwork for your business.

Step 1 // What do you want?
Before you license designs, it might be good to think about the following. Are you looking for a complete visual brand-wide signature, a coherent collection containing print designs that involve working around a theme or season? Or would you like to license single print designs? Working in collections might be a little pricey. Most starting businesses we collab with ask us to license single prints and later on grow into licensing collections. Make sure you know what you’d like to tell your customer. What’s your vision? Together we can select prints that are carrying your own unique vision. We have lot’s of themes, color palettes and styles to choose from and we’re always up to date about trends and waves going on on the global market. If you know what suits your company best, what you’d like to reflect, we can assist you in picking the right prints. Free of charge.

Step 2 // Pricing
We have over 10.000 non-exclusive print designs to choose from. We have been building our portfolio for over 10 years now. These designs are also available in our Spoonflower shop, and because we can monetize our prints this way we can offer our print designs at low cost. If you license our non-exclusive designs know that we never license prints to similar companies. We always check availability first. This way you can have unique print designs and don’t have to worry about competition and you don’t have to spend a crazy amount of cash. Pretty good right?

Step 3 // The process
Once you’ve selected a bunch of prints, or just one (we value each and every customer!) we’ll prepare the files & invoice for you. Depending on what you’ll be using the prints for we can send you the files you need. The standard three we usually sent out are a high resolution .tiff. The original vector or .psd image. And a .jpg visual. Some designs are made in vector, some are made in watercolors, depending on the origin of the design we’ll make sure you’ll get the right files to send to your own printer or producer. Once payment has been completed these files will be sent to your inbox. Usually, the licensing process only costs two business days. Once you have all files but need further assistance you can always reach out and ask whatever you need. We’re here to assist you even when all files are sent.

Of course, we do not only license our non-exclusive designs. Each quarter we also send out exclusive work to customers who signed up for our mailing. You can also receive these in your inbox. Just send us a quick message. Note that exclusive designs are available form €268. If that’s a little pricey for you licensing our existing designs might be a better solution. We can always tweak colors and detailing and create a one-of-a-kind print.

If you are looking to create a series of print designs for your business and would like a fully exclusive range of designs, that is an option too of course. Since every single custom design process is different we’re happy to chat with you about how this works and we look forward to discussing this directly by email. Just reach out and send us a message.