Shipping Green
In this economy (are you guys getting as tired of hearing that phrase as I am?) it forces people to rethink how they can better save money in areas where they won’t feel the pinch. Shipping your artwork is one of those areas. I pack and ship a fair amount of stuff, (about 100 good sized boxes a year) which could potentially be a huge expense.
Anyone who has ever bought a role of bubble-wrap at your favorite business supply store knows that boxes, and bubble-wrap can add big costs to your bottom line. So I’m going to share a little secret (well . . . it’s not really a secret, just no one ever asked me) I get all my packing and shipping stuffs free.
So I’m going to share a little secret (well . . . it’s not really a secret, just no one ever asked me.)
Some of what I use, comes in from my framing orders. But most comes from other businesses. At one time I had an artist friend who worked at a furniture store and when he was doing a delivery in my home town, he’d pull the truck around and drop off a truckload (literally) of huge sheets of bubble-wrap and foam. Most furniture stores throw tons of it away and it just sits in our landfills. The furniture store was thrilled because that was a little less that they had to pay to get hauled to the landfill, and I was thrilled because it saved me fortunes (the savings of which I passed on to my customer.) And frankly, I have no way of buying huge sheets of wrap like that. (Picture blanket sized for wrapping up beds and couches. Lovely, glorious packing stuffs.)
Also, our local vet clinic is very green oriented. They get in heavy duty air packing pillows and sheets (usually a garbage bag a week.) that they save for me (or anyone else who asks.) These tend to be smaller bits which work well for shipping smaller works. I also collect this kind of packing material for Carol Herden, my sculptor friend, who uses pillows for shipping her dimensional stuffs.
So I guess the point of this is, to think out side of the box a bit (there’s another phrase I really hate) and see if you can’t get some of the supplies you need from local business’s who would just be tossing it away anyhow. Because this way the landfills, the furniture store, my customers and I, all win.
Tags: business
You’re so right about free packing materials. They are good high quality supplies, something good just arrived intact in them, why not save them and use them?
I’ve got a giant bag of bubble wrap including some pretty big pieces out in the garage and am starting a new stack in here. I saved some of the pillows on the off chance I’d need them to pack around art too. I’ll bet the frames you order come in wonderful packing — just put the art in the frame and reassemble the package the frame was in.
Good green idea!
It’s funny about this economy. The entire panic is being caused by a general trend for people to stop spending foolishly and save a bit more. Not even a lot. It went up from something like 2.4% of “disposable income” which I presume means what’s left after mortgage and bills, to 3.6% of “disposable income.
I look at my savings and I’m putting away a much higher percentage than that every month, or the amount would be pathetic. It would be different if I were earning a middle class income I suppose.
Robert
It’s a great idea, and definitely one I will look into when (if?) the time comes.
I am going to print this out or put a big note up somewhere, definately need to look into this. Great idea!!!
Hello All
In our area of the US if it weren’t for the news we’d not know we were in a recession. But I know in other parts of the US there is major job losses going on.
It’s been wonderful having those giant sheet of really good quality wrappable stuffs. Unfortunately most of my frames arrive in sticks (chop moulding that is unassembled) but my foamcore boxes works well for shipping once trimmed to size. I have also occasionally been known to do a little dumpster diving (also at furniture store) for boxes.