Hello, and welcome to House of Prints! This is an unusual way of ‘launching’ a new website, but I can’t think of a better way to launch at this unusual time.
Prints are a great passion of mine, I love the perfect mix of craftsmanship, provocation and beauty in printmaking – and it’s been a long-standing way of democratising art and making voices heard. If you want to find out more about House of Prints and its ethos, visit here.
I have been working on House of Prints since the Spring of 2018, and we were set to launch in May 2020. Over the last few weeks, I saw artists and print studios struggle – with loss of income; with cancelled shows; with lack of access to their studios; with care commitments and more.
But despite all these struggles, many artists are still helping others – donating Personal Protective Equipment for the NHS, creating free online activities for people in quarantine, and advocating for others under pressure.
So when I decided to postpone the full launch of the website, I also decided to do something to help.
Made for the NHS came to me as an idea in the morning of the 9th of April, while I was making breakfast using the last slices of bread – you never know when your best ideas come! In the days before that, I spoke to many people about setting up a crisis fund for artists and makers. We all know that one of the most fulfilling things for artists and makers is actually to sell their work – as much as the money will help, it is to know that their work is still valued and appreciated, but many also feel it is not the right time to be ‘selling’.
So here is the idea.
House of Prints is holding a special selling event in support of NHS, and also the Crisis Fund for Artists. We are donating 100% of what would normally be our profit from sales – 50% to the NHS and another 50% to the Crisis Fund.
The artists still receive their income from the sales, which will give them the much needed financial help through this difficult time. However, some artists have also decided to donate some of their income – this information is in the artwork descriptions.
We will be donating to the NHS via the NHS Charities COVID-19 Urgent Appeal and the artists Crisis Fund we are setting up – we will keep a full record of donations to both funds. Please do donate to both funds directly too!
This also means that the donations are not refundable – if you would like to cancel or return your purchase, you will only get refunded the price minus the donations.
I hope you will also appreciate that the courier services are not stable during the quarantine, and some artists won’t have immediate access to their work stored in shared studios, so the delivery of your purchase might be delayed. We will keep you informed in these circumstances, but we hope they will not deter you from purchasing.
Thank you – and let’s make it for the NHS!
With warmest wishes,
Tonia Lu