Selina Fenech's Blog, page 5

2019 was quite the year…

This is kind of my favourite part of the end of the year.

The time when I take stock and look back at everything I accomplished in the year. It’s a good practice, because it often feels like a whole year has just disappeared into nothing, but when you look back, often a lot got done. That time was well filled. And oh boy has 2019 been a busy year!

I finished the Empath Chronicles

The first in this series was published in 2011, and I always on-again-off-again intended to write more. I’m feel so fulfilled to have finally given this series the continuation and completion it deserved. And the plan is they are just the start of more new fiction projects in the future. Finishing this series meant writing (or re-writing for the first book which got a major overhaul and new edition published), revising, editing, and publishing around 130,000 words. And also illustrating new covers.

Emotionally ChargedBuy This Book Online


Emotionally UnstableBuy This Book Online


Emotionally PowerfulBuy This Book Online

Other titles I published in 2019

2019 has been my most productive year of publishing, with 17 total titles published (above plus 2 other pen name titles). 2016 was the winner until now with 13 titles published, which didn’t include any fiction (which takes significantly longer than the colouring books to create). I also hit the milestone of 20 colouring books in my main range now available.

Painting

I only finished one major painting this year, which feels a bit terrible, but I also completed heaps of colouring designs of course, as well as a lot of concept and development art for other projects that I can’t share yet. I also continued semi-regular life drawing sessions which have been great for improving my drawing.

Travel

I was away from home for over two full months this year!

In January I attended the 20BooksBali conference, which was incredible, then went from there to a family holiday in Thailand. Also in June/July we had a one month family holiday in China, Italy, and Malta, and also a week in Melbourne which was part work part holiday.

General Business Stuff

I ended sales of prints and colouring books from my store on this site in February – That means now I no longer ship anything directly from my studio other than original paintings, which has freed up my time and headspace so much and probably helped me achieve how much I did this year.

I got a BookBub – This is a special thing for indie authors. It’s an EXTREMELY selective advertising service that you could try for years to be approved for and not get in. When their ads run, you’re in for an exciting time!

I attended 2 small local events, Central Coast Comic-con + Central Coast Kids Day Out – I’ve been on a bit of an events ban as well as I focus on creating new content instead, but as these were small events and very local, I let them slip into the schedule.

Switched to Xero – Accounting software! Fun stuff! But actually, I’m really loving my new accounting system and feel like it’s making changes and improvements in my whole business. I’ve been meaning to do this for YEARS so finally getting it done is a total milestone.

I was interviewed for the SPF Podcast – The SPF podcast is a pretty big deal in the indie author world, so being interviewed on it was very cool, and also good for helping me get over my shyness.

I sold somewhere in the region of 34,000 books – which is honestly pretty mind blowing still since my brain is unable to fathom quantities over 1000.

I wrote a children’s picture book – But then decided to go a different way with projects so haven’t scheduled in time to illustrate it yet.

The Not Fun Stuff

I’ve had two car accidents this year. Within 6 months of each other. After 15 years of not. Only minor, but still, boooooo.

I’ve had one trip to ER (not related to the car accidents and also not in my home country! Fun times!). My overall health has been a bit up and down all year.

And one spider bite (also not related to ER visit). It was a great big White Tail, so not serious, but it felt like “the real deal”.

The Mum Stuff

My daughter is eight now (where DID those 8 years go??). She’s always been strong willed, refusing to take advice or guidance ever since she was a baby. I swear some of her first words were “I know how to do it!”. But just this year I’ve noticed a change where she is finally actively listening to and even seeking my advice and instruction! It’s so wonderful to have reached this point, and I hope I get a couple of years like this before the teen years hit, lol.

Also, in another milestone, she finally likes my colouring books (specifically the Faedorables Fantasy Beasts, because she only likes colouring creatures, not people). She’s also really been getting into creative writing this year, and I’ve been helping her with her story structure and editing.

Onwards to 2020!

This year has been amazing, but as you might have guessed from the list above, I kind of stretched myself a bit to breaking point with stacking too many projects and deadlines too close to each other. I’m giving myself a bit more room in 2020. I still have ambitious goals, but they should be more achievable with more space between to actually breath and celebrate the thing that was created before burying myself in the next job.

Currently, that plan is looking something like roughly two-to-three all new colouring books and some other minis and bundles titles, and new fiction (I’d LOVE to get a whole trilogy done, but would realistically be happy to get two books written and published). I’ve decided to work on the urban fantasy/paranormal romance/horror/mystery concept titled Beshadowed that I’ve had in my concepts file for years now.

Colouring books and fiction writing are really my main focuses right now. One day I’d like to get back into painting again more, but at the moment, creating these books and publishing them is what is rewarding me the most creatively and financially. I still like the idea of bringing picture books into the mix as this would help bring painting back in as well, but that might be something for 2021 at this point of the plan.

Did I miss anything? What do you think of my 2020 plan?

 

What Next? Help me choose a project!

This year I finally got back to the Empath Chronicles and finished that series, and now I’m looking at my range of ideas I’ve been toying with over the years, and trying to decide … What next?

I have a whole bunch of options.

And all of them are appealing to me in some way or another. I’m still going to be creating new coloring books, so I really only have time for one other major project at the same time. How do I choose just one?

I figured I’d ask for help, and get some feedback on what YOU would like to see me create. I often get people saying “just create what you want”, but you know what’s more fun than that? Creating things that other people get excited about too. Seriously, it’s so important as an artist and author to have that sharing of excitement with your audience. And I would love to work on any of these projects, so don’t be shy about giving your opinion- jump in and tell me what you want to see!

Here are my options:
More Memory’s Wake

While the trilogy’s main story is complete, I still love the characters and created a whole world already there that could easily have more stories told in it. And I’m a little in love with the title idea “The Queen with the Silver Hand” as a potential next book in that world.

Memory’s WakeBuy This Book OnlineAngus & Robertson


Hope’s ReignBuy This Book OnlineAngus & Robertson


Providence UnveiledBuy This Book OnlineAngus & Robertson



More Empath Chronicles

Having just been in this world, with these characters, there is definitely A LOT more I could write in this series. I’d love to explore the side characters more, with stories about Sway, Ash, and Rayni, high on my list. And so much can happen with Limbus in the fall out of events from the first three books.

Emotionally ChargedBuy This Book Online


Emotionally UnstableBuy This Book Online


Emotionally PowerfulBuy This Book Online



Early development ideas –

The rest of these are still in early idea/planning stages and could change somewhat from how they are presented here, but these are the bones of the ideas as they currently stand.

Legends of Elundrae

An all new, epic fantasy world I’ve been developing. Set in a realm haunted by a shadowdragon, who raises the dead wherever it touches ground. The Dragonlords, those who tame and ride dragons, protect the land and people from the undead threat, but at the cost of enslaving them. Some choose to flee from both, and live underground in the ruins of a forgotten magical culture. Into this world, a unique creature is born, one with powers that will change everything. I’m already quite fond of the characters that are part of this world, and the story has strong environmental/social themes which are important to me.

Picture Books/Chapter books

I have a few ideas for picture books, or perhaps chapter books (early reader short novels with illustrations through). It makes sense to me that I should do something that combines art and writing, being they are my two main things, ya know? One of my ideas is for a series with magical cats…

Beshadowed

One I’ve had in my ideas folder for AAAAAGES. This would be an urban fantasy that I could really take my darker side for a ride in. I love authors like Dia Reeves, and anything with Lovecraftian vibes, so this would be the series that would let me explore those. I’m talking monster hunters, demonic creatures, and shapeshifters with a serious twist.

Cast your vote!

Still have some questions about any of these to help decide? Just ask in the comments, I’d love to chat about these ideas some more! Or if you think I should be working on something else entirely, throw in your suggestions.

Loading…

The Empath Chronicles Continue

It’s been a long time coming.

I’ve been promising on and off to continue the Empath Chronicles since the first book, Emotionally Charged came out in 2011, but too many other projects kept getting in the way. I even reached a point in December of 2018 when I made an announcement saying I just wasn’t going to finish the series and would move on with other things.

But try as I might, I just couldn’t let it go.

I had the outlines for two more books planned out, and half a book written, and just couldn’t turn my back on these characters.

Early in 2019 I decided to go for it. I kept it quiet for a long time, because I didn’t want to tell anyone I was working on the series again until I had solid progress. I wanted full drafts of books 2 and 3 done and dusted before breathing a word. I hit that point in July, and bookings with my editor were made and a launch plan laid out.

Now it’s all happening.

I’ve reworked, revised, and expanded Emotionally Charged. It went from around 23 thousand words to almost 40 thousand words with the additional content, and is being relaunched as a second edition on September 2nd. Even if you’re read this story before, you might want to grab the new edition, as the new content covers some time after the original events where the characters deal with what has happened, and sets up the next book. If anything else, you might want a catch up if it was years ago that you read it. If you read it recently, you could probably get away with moving straight on to book two with only minor confusion.

Emotionally Unstable, book two, will be following it on October 28th, and then book three in the series on November 28th.

What’s next?

After finishing these books in the Empath Chronicles, I’ll be moving right on to developing and writing an all new series. I have half a dozen concepts I’ve been toying with and developing on and off, and kind of love them all. Choosing is going to be really hard.

Once the Empaths are finished, I might do a Story Concept Battle Royale, and pitch all my ideas to you guys and see which one crawls out as the bloody survivor.

Until then…

I hope you enjoy seeing where Livvy and Dean’s story takes them. Emotionally Charged and Emotionally Unstable are both up for pre-order, and I’m hoping to have a cover and title reveal for book three soon!

Happy reading!

Changing focus, following my heart

As an artist it’s always been important to me to create from my heart.

As a commercial career artist, it’s always been important to me to balance that with creating work other people want in their lives as well.

Because I need to sell my creations to put food on the table and pay my bills.

It’s a fine balance, and one I’ve been pretty lucky to have a lot of cross over with. It’s humbling that so many people connect with and enjoy my creations.

What people have wanted, overwhelmingly, for the last few years has been colouring books. They have been my main focus for a while, but I’m at the point again now of re-examining my path. What do I want to create, from my heart? I enjoy creating the colouring books, and I LOVE that it is a way I can help people. I love that my designs have a positive impact in people’s lives, offering them some peace and joy when they are suffering in other ways. 

But they also conflict in some ways with who I am.

I have some pretty heavy political tendencies. Inside, I’m a roaring progressive humanist raging against what I feel are crimes against vulnerable people and our world.

People have a lot of different opinions on how outspoken a creator should be about political things. I’d like to be more outspoken. I feel as though it’s my duty to speak up, to fight back, to raise awareness and stomp out misinformation. But I also understand that particularly as an artist of escapist fantasy and colouring books, my work is where people go to get AWAY from the horrible parts of our world. Fantasy art and colouring should offer relief. And people NEED relief sometimes.

Having the creator then also sharing some of the most depressing issues facing us hand in hand with pretty fairy colouring? Not a great combo.

But I need to vent. I desire to make a difference. So what do I do?

I start writing again. 

In the final episode of Game of Thrones, Tyrion says “There’s nothing more powerful than a good story.”

And I believe that. Stories teach us and change us. It’s proven that reading books increases empathy.

I have so many things to say, and paintings just can’t say enough anymore. A picture tells a thousand words? I dunno. Many things can happen in one thousand words of story. And I plan on writing a lot more than that.

I dream to create something that becomes a transformative part of our culture. I know that’s a BIG goal, but I’m not putting a deadline on that one. It mightn’t be until my 50th novel that I achieve that, or never.

But I will never get there if I don’t start.

What does this mean for colouring books? 

I’ll still be creating them. I’ve worked out a schedule that’s a split between writing tasks and colouring book tasks, so you can expect new releases to continue on the colouring front for now.

What does this mean for my art?

I’ve made the decision that any painting or art I create from now on will only be art that is part of some larger project or publication. That means things like story concept art, cover art, colouring book art, or tarot deck art, but not stand alone fantasy paintings.

What’s next? When will there be new novels out?

I’m keeping the content of my writing projects pretty quiet for the moment. I want them to be close to the point of completion before revealing them. But the plan is to have books (yes, multiple) out by the end of 2019. Stay tuned for official announcements, soon.

What about kids books? 

Picture books were on my list of things to work on this year as well. It’s something I felt like I should do, being as I have some skill in both writing and art, it seemed like a no-brainer. But picture books are a whole different career and huge learning curve in their own right. I dipped my toes in and started developing a couple of stories, but I just had too many doubts and questions about the direction at every point. I’ll keep tinkering with those ideas in my “free time” (*laughs crazily at the idea of free time*), but they will be side hobby projects for now.

Ultimately…

This is about doing what I feel driven to do. Life is short and I WANT to do what I WANT to do. And I’m so privileged to be in a place where I CAN. Of course it’s still scary. Maybe no one will like my new books. I can’t deny that external validation is super important to my ego. Those likes and good reviews are my mana from the heavens that buffer the damage of my own crushing self doubts.

But this feels right, and while I’ve been pondering this change and decision I’ve had a number of signs confirming my choice. I mean, I got a flippin’ Bookbub, first one approved in like five years. Other authors will know understand what a big deal this is.

Haven’t tried out my writing before?

I already have some novels out that you might be interested in trying now I’m heading down the writerly path again. If you pop you email address in below and sign up to my novels newsletter, you’ll get a bunch of stuff to read for FREE, and also be the first to get the news about my new writing projects.

Simply enter your email address to join Selina’s novel newsletter subscribers for updates on new books, and your FREE starter library.

I value your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time. View the Privacy Policy.

Thank you for reading my ramblings, and I hope you join me in the journey of reading my even longer ramblings in book form soon! 

2018 Wrap Up and What’s up for 2019

It’s that time of year, the time I reflect on all I did in the year almost over, and look forward to plans for the year ahead.

Business Things

Cutting down on the manufacturing side of the Fairies and Fantasy business really did free up a heap of time for me. That, along with help from my super awesome assistant Kim from KILA designs has meant a fair bit got done this year. 2018 also meant a slow down in colouring book production so I could focus on other projects.

Publishing Things

I published-

Mermaid Inspiration Coloring Journal
Unicorns and Dragons Coloring Book

 

 

My colouring designs were also reprinted in a number of Colouring Heaven specials

My art was licensed to products like new figurines, 3D purses.

I created new covers and “Pen Name” S.A. Fenech for my Memory’s Wake trilogy, and  Editions Du Chat Noir released the French edition of Providence Unveiled, completing the trilogy in French.

My art was published in- Magical History of Mermaids

2018 also saw THE BIG MOVE from the company previous printing my colouring books to other (very similar) companies. Which was a lot of work. But had to be done, and should improve quality of the colouring books, and availability through in-store catalogues for those who like to order in through their local bookstore.

I also worked on four secret projects which took quite a few months of time out of the year. They are all done, and it feels weird that I can’t share them to say “Hey I really have been more productive than I seemed to have been!”. You’ll just have to trust me there. I also helped my husband’s film and tv production company out with a bunch of concept and animation development artworks. Also secret. Soz.

Art I did

I’d hoped this year would be a flood of new art. I didn’t get as much work done as I’d hoped, but I’m quite happy with what I did do in terms of quality and quantity considering other projects and time commitments. I continued playing more with mediums, and almost went back to digital before getting drawn into working with water soluble oil paints, which most of this year’s works are in.

And I’m still hoping to finish Lady of Water as well by the end of this year.

I continued life drawing classes as regularly as possible and feel a pronounced improvement in my figure drawing and overall sketching ability.

What I didn’t do

No calendar again for 2019. Again, this is part of cutting down on the printing/warehousing/shipping that I do personally. And while I feel bad that I’m not offering you guys a yearly calendar anymore, you’ve got NO IDEA how much this has improved my time and work balance. Right now, in mid December, I would normally be a hectic hot mess trying to get holiday orders shipped. But this year is SO civilised I don’t even know myself. It’s fantastic, and feels like I made the right choice to step away from the hands-on production and get back to what I love most- creating!

No new Empaths books. Still. I KNOW. I know it so much that line was copy-pasted from LAST year’s round up blog! And I’ve also come to the decision that there won’t be new Empaths books. My heart isn’t in that series. I want to write fantasy, and if I force myself to finish Empaths before I can move onto fantasy stories again, I’ll never do any of it.

Random Stuff

One of my coloring books got redacted so it was appropriate for inmate use (See the story here).

We worked together to raise over $500 in one “Green Friday” day for Greenpeace.

Kim and I worked on building the yafantasybooks.com website into something great for readers.

I majorly cut down on events I was attending as well, with Central Coast Comic-con being the only one.

Moved my studio to a new room in the house. And I’m laughing now at my mention of the “trusty scanner” as it died very soon after that. But yay, got a new scanner.

What’s happening in 2019?

Getting more creative time in 2018 was great. Really. So great, I want more! I’ve been questioning whether to even continue stocking any products myself in the store on this site. I could close it entirely. Something I’ll be thinking about a bit more, because I do like having something local for fellow Aussies, and for people who like signed products, and I’ll always need to make original paintings available from ME, that’s something I can’t really have someone else manage.

Painting again has been fun, but I still feel like I’m a long away away from the skill and quality I want for my paintings. I’ll continue to push my learning and practice in 2019.

In 2018 I only did one new colouring book, but with new skills and drawing strengths I’ve developed through 2018 I’m confident I’ll have time to offer three new colouring books in 2019.

In 2019 I’ll be developing a new writing project. Something in the fantasy genre. Something that I want to love and be proud of. And that might take a long time but I’m willing to take the time with this project. I’d love to really combine my art and writing into one project like that, but most feedback I get from fans feels like they like my art and writing separately. What do you think? You can also have a say in what you like about fantasy at a survey I’m running right now Here. 

I’d like to blog more too. But lately it feels like I only really get to these yearly posts! If you want to see more blogs from me, poke me and tell me so!

What would you like to see me do in 2019?

Dark Moonlight Angel

Digital art by Selina Fenech 2013

Available at Fairies and Fantasy

The post Dark Moonlight Angel appeared first on Selina Fenech - Enchanting Hearts with Fantasy Worlds.

New Year, New Studio!

Since moving into this home almost 10 years ago, the room I’ve done my creating in has changed a few times. I share a separate building with my husband’s post production company, which is where I do my order processing and shipping from, but have a second “office/studio” where the art and writing happens. That room became a nursery for a while and I moved to another room, but we’ve just shuffled everything around again and I’ve moved back. It’s a cosy room with better light than where I’d been, and I’m excited to be in this space again, and to turn it into a lovely area for super productive creativity!

Here it is. It’s simple, but has everything I need: storage, an art table, a computer desk, light. And picture rails, that are waiting for me to get some new frames to put some work up on that blank wall there.

And the bed? It’s the top half of my daughter’s bunk bed which we built in the room, and discovered wouldn’t fit out the door again. We could have disassembled it, but left it in the “later” basket. Of course, the cats think we’ve left it there just for them. What studio isn’t complete without a dedicated cat lounging area?

You can play “spot the living animal” in the photo below. One is a cat, one is my Fennec Fox mascot (Fenech and Fennec are pronounced the same way, and they are the cutest animals ever, so I had to have one).

Also in this photo- two matching OttLite daylight lamps for even more light, and my trusty old Microtek A3 size scanner for scanning artworks.

The computer desk! This is a standing desk, which means I can wind the handle to raise it to standing height so I’m not always sitting down. Honestly, I mostly use it sitting, but when I do get motivated and wind it up (mostly when digital painting or outlining colouring pages), I feel SO much better. Otherwise it’s just the basics over here. In-trays to keep work sorted, water, notes, and a Wacom Cintiq for digital art. I like having a wall beside me, and am planning on sticking post-its all over it next time I’m planning a novel.

I’ve created a little pretty things nook in this room. It has some of the figurines based on my art, and other favourite things that make me happy and inspire me. Some of those books are over two-hundred years old (which may not be very impressive to those in “older” countries, but in Australia it’s hard to come by beautiful old books).

And of course, the art desk. I’ve labelled this photo as much as possible to show how I’ve sorted my art supplies. I did a lot of experimenting over the last couple of years, trying oils for the first time, trying canvases and panel and different mediums and surfaces. After all that I’ve got a much better understanding of what I like and don’t like, what works for me and doesn’t. I’m excited to get started painting again more regularly with that knowledge behind me.

In fact, my first painting for the year, painted half in the previous room and half in this one, is compete! It was a small 5×7 artwork, and the original has already been sold. Being small, I can’t reproduce it very well onto larger products, but I am offering a very limited edition of prints direct from my studio HERE.

The post New Year, New Studio! appeared first on Selina Fenech - Enchanting Hearts with Fantasy Worlds.

Ending 2017, Beginning 2018 Report

Normally at this time of year (well, earlier than this, I’m running a bit late!), I like to do a wrap up and reflect of all I did in the previous year, and look forward to plans for the next year.

I’m going to keep it pretty concise this year.

Businessy Things and BIG changes

I ran sales and clear outs, closing down the Fairies and Fantasy store as it previously existed. That means no more multi-artist range, no more wholesaling, no more manufacturing from my studio, and no more dye sublimation printing. The Fairies and Fantasy store has been around for over ten years, so this was a big change for me, but will free up a lot of my time to create art again.

Replaced the old Fairies and Fantasy store with a new range of products. All my art prints are still available, and products from this store are all managed and shipped by a third party, again, this is a huge time saving measure for me. Because 2018 is about CREATING ART AGAIN!

My Printable Fantasy Etsy store was finally loaded with downloadables for all my colouring book designs, stationery, and more thanks to my super awesome designer assistant, Kim from KILA designs.

Publishing Things

I published-

Faedorables Minis Colouring Book
Faedorables Cute and Creepy Colouring Book
Victorian Romance Memory’s Wake Colouring Book and Grayscale Edition
Ponds and Flowers Colouring Book
Fairy Magic Colouring Book
Emotionally Charged audio book
Fairy Inspiration Colouring Journal
Grayscale Fairy Companions Colouring Book

My colouring designs were reprinted in/by- Colouring Heaven specials, Nemesis Now special editions, Spanish editions

My art was licensed to products like- travel mugs, pillows, clocks, lamps, trinket boxes, jigsaws.

I released the Memory’s Wake Omnibus edition in paperback, and Editions Du Chat Noir released the French edition of Hope’s Reign

My art was published in- Magical History of Unicorns, Oracle of the Unicorns

I wrote these blog posts- Let’s Talk Writing- The Promise of Genre, Defeating Procrastination, and when it Defeats You

With the help of amazing fans I created this video about why colouring is awesome.

Art I did

Not much. This is pretty dismal really. This year will be different.

I DID start going to life drawing classes again which was wonderful and I’ll be doing more of in 2018.

 

 

Personal Stuff

I went to Japan! It was amazing.

My daughter started school! Also amazing.

What I didn’t do

I didn’t publish a calendar for 2018. I have done calendars every year for a long time, but with the dismay selection of new art created, and the wind down of the manufacturing I’m doing from my studio, I decided to skip this year. Instead we created digital printable calendar options. 

No new Empaths books. Still. I KNOW. But I did write stuff. Secret project stuff. Stuff was written. Just not Empaths.

Attended

Books by the Bridge, Mind Body Spirit Festival in Sydney, Supanova Sydney, Sydney Comic-con, Central Coast Comicon.

And this year?

A lot of the bigger changes in 2017 were designed to make way for more creative time for myself. Having more help with my business, and cutting back on the non-creative side of my work was a big focus. 2018 is going to be all about writing and painting. I want to PAINT again. Colouring books have been fantastic, but I feel like I’ve done nothing but outlining art for two years straight and I need to PAINT. With value, and colour and shading and PAINT.

So there will be less colouring books. I’ll try and release something for colouring fans, but new paintings and writing will be my main focus.

After much soul searching, I’ve decided that writing is still really important to me too. I have stories I want to tell, and I enjoy the process of crafting a novel. I have a bunch of plans here, some secret projects, and some distant future ideas. You might not see much on the writing side for a while, but it will probably be happening behind the scenes.

What do you think I should be doing? Have your say in this super quick survey…

Create your own user feedback survey

Also at- https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RML6ZLT

If you have any more ideas about what I should be up to in 2018, leave me a comment

New Store, New Products, and SALES!

It’s here! The new store to replace the old Fairies and Fantasy online shop is here!

I’ve been making some big changes in how I work, and you can read about why I closed down the previous store in my last blog post here. The tl;dr version is that I am moving toward less manufacturing myself so I can paint more again.

The new store, which can be found at the same www.fairiesandfantasy.com address, has a heap of fun new products and designs featuring my art, including lots of things I’ve had many requests for. HUGE art prints and stretched canvas? YES. They go up to 24×36 inches in size (16×20 was the largest I offered before). Clothing? YES YES! Homewares? OH YES!

Dive right in and have a browse now at fairiesandfantasy.com

And you can use the coupon code NEWNEWNEW to get 10% off your order during the grand opening sale!

Although the old Fairies and Fantasy range is now mostly gone, I still have some products left I’m clearing out of my studio for good. Which means clear out sales are also still happening!

NOTEBOOKS are down to 9.95aud!

are 50% off over on my Etsy store!

Looking for Something?

I’m currently taking requests for the new Fairies and Fantasy range! I’m not offering any new product types just yet (although hope to in “Phase Two” once “Phase One” settles in!), so please don’t ask for products that aren’t on the site (e.g. blankets). But, if there is an artwork you love that isn’t available on one of the products offered, let me know and I’ll try and set it up for you! Want Storykeeper on a towel? Sure! How about a Tote Bag with Bubbles? CAN DO. Just let me know and I’ll try and get it online for you ASAP.

What do you think of the new store and product designs?

 

The post New Store, New Products, and SALES! appeared first on Selina Fenech - Enchanting Hearts with Fantasy Worlds.

Closing Fairies and Fantasy – End of an Era

Along with this website, I’ve been running the online store Fairies and Fantasy for many years now. It was always a fairly ambitious project with lots of products from lots of artists. The site itself was a very complicated custom set up that worked in tandem with an offline database to manage all those products and orders.

But the site has gotten old. And the database has too. And my life has changed, a lot. Running that store stopped being a priority for me, and it also took time away from the work I wanted to be doing. I’ve been working slowly on closing the site down for a while, selling off products slowly, but not really taking the plunge, because Fairies and Fantasy has been part of my life for so long, it’s hard to say goodbye.

Then recently, the website went down. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. The site is a dinosaur in web-technology terms. We managed to get it back online, but it continues to have some issues which are difficult to repair without a complete overhaul. And now the offline database is playing up as well, only just hobbling along.

So it’s time. It’s time to say goodbye to Fairies and Fantasy…

What exactly are the plans for Fairies and Fantasy?

A new store is being built to replace the Fairies and Fantasy store and range. With the new store, all product manufacturing and order shipping will be outsourced to a different company. Using a fulfillment company will mean more product options (T-shirts! Duvet covers! Pillows!) and cheaper shipping for those outside of Australia, as orders will be made and shipped from the US and Europe.

For me, it means less time printing, packing, and shipping orders. Hint: that means more time for me to create new things. Have you realised how little I’ve painted over the last few years? It’s time that changed, right?

What won’t be available anymore?

Silk bags are already sold out, along with other products I’ve been clearing out recently (jewelry, messenger bags, etc).

Greeting cards and bookmarks will be discontinued.

All products from artists other than myself will be ended.

Wholesale ordering won’t be available for the new store. I may offer a wholesale discount to select, long-term wholesale customers for my range on this site, or for book orders, however wholesale is not an area I plan to continue in. Primarily, I’m an artist, not a manufacturer, and I need to start treating my time that way.

What will remain available?

Notebooks with my designs will be moved to the store on this website.

Doll patterns will be available from my Etsy store for a bit longer, but at some point will all be moved to Spoonflower.

Tubes and digital products will be moved to my Etsy Digitals store.

My store right here on this site will remain as is, with a small selection of prints, original art, and colouring books, sent directly from me in Australia, however I may change to only shipping orders occasionally, like once a month.

What new stuff will there be?

The new store will have-

An almost complete range of Selina’s artworks available as art prints, as well as some as stretched canvas and framed prints.
Pillows, Beachtowels, mugs, pouches, duvet covers, notebooks, tote bags, blankets.
T-shirts, leggings, dresses, hoodies

FUN STUFF RIGHT??

When is this happening?

It’s a big build, and I’ll be working on it along with a few helpers. The plan is hopefully to have it live by the beginning of November.

As soon as the new store is live, the old Fairies and Fantasy store will be closing down for good. It’s sad to see it go as it’s been a big part of my life for so long, but times must change.

If you’re keen to grab some art prints from the other artists, or some cheap bookmarks and greeting cards, head over to Fairies and Fantasy before it’s gone for good. 

 

The post Closing Fairies and Fantasy – End of an Era appeared first on Selina Fenech - Enchanting Hearts with Fantasy Worlds.