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Redbubble is an online merchandise platform for independent artists to sell their designs on hundreds of items, such as stickers, pillows, apparel, and now masks. Since 2007, the site has expanded and evolved into a community of over seven-hundred thousand creators and has generated over a hundred million dollars in sales for those artists. (( Redbubble. “Redbubble Celebrates 12 Years of Creativity.” Redbubble Blog, Feb. 2019. )) This provides an amazing platform for digital artists, photographers, and creators to share and earn a profit on their work.
One of Redbubble’s slogans is “Find Your Thing.” I think this slogan really encapsulates the user experience on the site, which is tailored to user interests and preferences. The site encourages the consumer to find designs among their millions of options that will allow them to celebrate their interests and personal aesthetic. With an abyss of content that includes everything from memes, to artistic calligraphy of quotes and lyrics, to fan art, the site has become a space for fans of just about anything to find merch that celebrates their fandom.
I first discovered Redbubble a few years ago while looking for a fun, fandom-specific Christmas gift for a friend. I became fascinated with their business model, in which they print the designs of independent artists and creators to cultivate an inexhaustible library of designs. I fell in love with how there’s pretty much a sticker for everything that I’m passionate about… and if there isn’t one already, I have the ability to make one myself. So, I did! I eventually opened up my own shop, mostly to illustrate quotes from my favorite old school musicals that I couldn’t find anywhere else. I quickly became immersed in the Redbubble community, and have been a creator on the platform for almost four years now.
Officially Licensed Fan Art
Unsurprisingly, fandoms thrive on Redbubble’s platform and their brand is all for it. The site even partners with brands to facilitate a space for artists in those fan communities to create officially licensed fan apparel. Current brand partners in their Partner Program include the shows Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Love Island, Rick and Morty, and Jane the Virgin, the movies Back to the Future, Jurrasic World, and Jaws, and the musical artists KISS, Panic! At the Disco, and Fall Out Boy among others. (( Redbubble. “Create Fan Art with Redbubble’s Partner Program.” Redbubble Blog, 15 Aug. 2019. ))
This program has specific guidelines and requires pre-approval of designs before they are up for purchase. However, these measures aren’t too intrusive onto the creative process. The rules are necessary for the creation of mutually beneficial opportunities between fan creators, who get to license their work, and brands, who simultaneously get to promote their own content. It also proves Redbubble’s support of their artists. By providing an opportunity for creators to safely and unabashedly celebrate their interests, the site is giving legitimacy and protection to fan culture in a unique and exciting way. (( Redbubble. “Create Fan Art with Redbubble’s Partner Program.” Redbubble Blog, 15 Aug. 2019. ))
Fans Supporting Fans
In the age of the internet, it never ceases to be exciting to find niche, fandom-specific content. Now, merch that specifically represents your fandom is only a quick Google search away, no matter how small or how popular the fandom. Through a unique algorithm with a personalized dashboard of recommended content and a sophisticated tagging system, Redbubble helps to get the designs of their artists into the hands of people who will appreciate them.
As a creator on the site, I’m constantly amazed at the audience that the site attracts for my content. Every time I get an email about a purchase, it’s a rush to know that someone else out there appreciates the same Shakespeare quote that inspired my design. Unlike big fast-fashion companies that rely on trendy sayings and logos for their t-shirt designs, I love that the platform can recognize that fan merch is best created by actual fans.
Before the digital marketplace allowed for a rise in creator-driven sites, a fan might have needed to attend fandom-specific conventions or pay insurmountable sums on a backdoor site to purchase merch for their thing. How many of us have accidentally purchased counterfeit fan merch somewhere, or moped about not getting to go to ComicCon for exclusive fan art or merch?
By self-printing all of their designs, the company removes artists from the manufacturing process once they have uploaded their work. Not only does this make the site a great side hustle for creators, but it also makes buying merch a more affordable, accessible, and trustworthy space for the consumer. With a simple Google search and a little over a dollar, you can have apparel, specifically designed for your fandom, delivered right to your door.
Additionally, artist profiles on the site are easily compatible with social media sites like Pinterest and have a “Bubblemail” inbox, which encourages creators to maintain an open channel of communication with their audience of followers. This cultivates safe and direct channels for artists and consumers to share their love of fandom. If you ever venture to the site and make a purchase, be sure to send the creator some love — it goes a long way, and might inspire them to make some similar designs!
Fandom Pride
You know that amazing feeling you get when you find someone with a common interest? Maybe a passerby at the train station is repping a hat for your favorite baseball team, or you discover that your colleague is also binging all of Friends. Showcasing your passions and interests can spark exciting connections and bonding moments with the people around you!
Now that just about anyone can rep merch for their fandom, these moments can happen all the more often. For more mainstream fandoms, such as Harry Potter, Hamilton, or The Office, these interactions might occur on a daily basis, perhaps without even needing a t-shirt or strategically placed sticker to prompt the conversation. Contrastingly, for smaller fandoms like off-off-Broadway plays and up-and-coming musical artists, or even for sub-fandoms, displaying a laptop sticker or donning a fandom-inspired sweatshirt presents the opportunity to share, express, and bond over more specific and underrepresented interests.
Beyond being a conversation starter, finding other people who love what you love is the best feeling in the world. I think Redbubble has accomplished this both in the online sphere and in the real world. On the site, I can connect and bond with other users who like and follow my work, but even in real life, I come across people that can now easily and proudly rep their own interests. I think making fan merch more accessible has made the idea of fandom itself more mainstream. Every time we proudly display a niche interest with a laptop sticker or on a baseball cap, we are de-stigmatizing fan culture, welcoming it out of the depths of the internet and into real life. So, yes… please ask me about my laptop stickers!
The Ethics Of Fandom
There’s always a question in fan culture of the ethics of fan-created content. This is a dilemma that has been faced by the fanfiction community, the fan-art community, and by cosplayers as well. Anytime you are using the characters, ideas, and artistic property of another person, you should be advised to stop and check-in with yourself and with copyright rules. All fan art and writing is inspired by something else, so you always have to consider the context, the platform, and the legal and ethical consequences of going public with a fan creation.
Although Redbubble has faced questions of ethics, they have a lot of measures in place that not only protect fandom creators but also protect art creators. A review committee screens new content and artists have the opportunity to appeal if they feel that their creations have been unfairly removed from the site. When I first started selling on RedBubble, I was devastated that my Harry Potter inspired designs were never approved. In hindsight, I know that this was to protect the site’s integrity and I’m thankful that RedBubble was able to identify that all Potter-related art is off-limits… although I’m still seeking a t-shirt that says “wizard hair, don’t care” with a Sorcerer’s Stone Hermione on it.
Additionally, all content posted on the site is automatically copyrighted and protected, to prevent content stealing and piracy within the community. This includes offering watermarks to creators and making it difficult to download design files. And, of course, the opportunity to create officially licensed designs creates a space where fan culture is supported and legitimized cultivates a positive and mutually beneficial between the fans and the franchise. The measures in place on Redbubble manage to simultaneously encourage artistic integrity and adherence to copyright laws, while also looking out for their creators.
The Future Of Fandom
I’m constantly impressed by Redbubble. The way that the site highlights fan culture, and the way that consumers and artists have embraced it in return makes me excited for the future of fandom. I think the success of interest-specific sites like Redbubble, ArchiveofOurOwn, DeviantArt, and even the very algorithmic app TikTok are indicators that we are moving towards a world in which having a passionate interest in something can be normalized and celebrated.
It’s easier than ever to connect with other fans across the globe through the internet and social media, but Redbubble takes that relationship a step further. It has created a space for fans to financially support other fans by purchasing their designs legally and has made it possible for fans to purchase real-life, tangible products that represent their fandom. Redbubble is at the forefront of a natural extension of fan culture into the digital marketplace. It’s a new and positive frontier for fans to engage with and celebrate their “thing.”
