PERSONALISED PRODUCTS
Simon from Wraptious talks to TEN
magazine about his exciting business
Wraptious made its fi rst sale
on a rain-soaked market
stall in Manchester in 2013,
but the idea evolved over
the previous 12 months.
I would often be found
doodling in my old offi ce
job, and although I can’t
claim any masterpieces,
friends exclaimed they’d
make good gift wrap.
Now that sounded like fun!
24
now create coasters, prints, canvases,
sublimation mugs and our lush DTG
handmade vegan-suede cushions.
What’s really fun (and a little terrifying!), is
that it’s our customers – not us – who choose
our ranges! Every Spring and Autumn we
invite artists to enter five pieces of work which
are shared across social media and available
to buy print-on-demand on our products too,
earning entrants commission! We received
nearly 2500 entries in our last competition
and their entries were viewed by over half a
million people on Facebook, which was just
inspirational and a real privilege. Finalists
are chosen by points generated from sales
and social media likes, with the winners then
chosen by our trade customers.
I quit my career and the more I explored the
design industry, the more I realised there were
few opportunities for emerging artists to get
their work out there. If Wraptious can do even
just a little to champion artists, then great! I
began collaborating with others, creating
beautiful wrap and cards and attending local
artisan markets. I attended over 250 markets
in two years; hard work but a great foundation
on the Wraptious journey. Our competitions are my favourite time of
year! Katherine Williams won one of our first
competitions while she was still a student in
2015, and her stunning ‘Splatterworks’
range has gone on to win Gift of the Year,
and continues to be our best selling range.
Another previous winner, Laura Clamp,
gained confidence and inspiration working
with Wraptious that she has now gone on to
launch her own successful greeting card
business. We are so proud of her!
5 years later, we are blessed to work with
over 40 awesomely talented artists, and have
supported thousands of others. From young
students to retired hobbyists. Greeting cards
will always be our first love and still account
for 25% of our trade sales, though we also Last year, we also launched our bespoke
manufacturing service which has been so
well received it now already accounts for
30% of our B2B business, despite only being
promoted via word of mouth! We can print
any design on any of our products and also
MARCH 2019
The Magazine for the
Awards & Imaging Industry
TROPHIES AWARDS ENGRAVING DOMING PERSONALISATION SUBLIMATION BESPOKE EMBROIDERY PRINTING IMAGING LASER
help with artworking. It’s a really accessible
service as we offer no minimum per design
either! The wonders of modern printing
methods. Artists, Retailers, Events, Charities,
even teachers and their pupils are using our
bespoke service to offer something special
and unique for them and their customers (or
school project!).
Fundamentally, Wraptious is about
Championing Artists and ‘Going Further’.
From a customer perspective, this is about
going that extra step, providing the best
service we possibly can for our customers.
It’s also about supporting our team, going
further to make everyone feel valued and
challenged. Finally, it’s about our Social
Responsibility. We have just Partnered with
Trees For The Future for example, pledging to
plant 3 trees
for every
order we
receive no
matter how
large or
small. We
can always
do more, but
are excited
about what
the future
holds!
Simon
Visit: www.wraptious.com
twitter / facebook / instagram: @trophexlive