in some between is a tiny independent business from Groningen, NL. it came into being because after art school and university, i needed some chill activities to recover from the near-burnout i contracted during my studies. painting t-shirts, designing stickers and making buttons became a nice and hands-on way to channel my creative energy and social justice convictions without obsessing over the artistic or academic merit of my work.
now, i’m using this practice as a baseline to slowly develop more elaborate projects, e.g. zines and workshops that use narrative and poetry as instruments to make sense of personal and collective experiences. in this, i try to resist perfectionism, and work with local partners who share my ethics.
below, i’ll give you some background info on my products and shop set-up. if you still have questions or feedback, or would be interested in a collaboration, please reach out.
motte (they/them)
products
while i have to divide my time between different jobs to pay rent and stuff (thanks, capitalism), i try to put a lot of attention into each thing i make:
STICKERS i design digitally, sometimes using scans or photos for structure. then i send them off to be printed. for now, i offer three formats of stickers. since i want to fully transition to vegan stickers, i am fading out the format for which i don’t know whether it is vegan (round, Ø 64 mm). most designs in this format will eventually be rebooted as vegan stickers. if you have a request or suggestion of a sticker slogan, pleas let me know.
BUTTONS take a lot of work: i cut birch branches and wooden rods by hand (as in, i use an electrical saw, but this is not an automated process), sand them, paint them in several layers, seal them and glue on the pin. this takes a while altogether, and even if i make multiple copies of the same kind, each button turns out unique. hence the relatively high price.
the TEXTILES i sell are all made from high-quality thrifted clothes. for clothing, i plan to only sell this one batch i have online now, since fashion is such a messy business – buying new clothes contributes to environmental pollution, but systematically buying up items from thriftstores for the purpose of upcycling and reselling them at a higher price feels very wrong, too. plus, photoshoots with human models are expensive and would drive up the price for those products. i do plan to make patches from old fabrics/rundown clothes though, so there will be new textile products eventually. for the time being, i do maintain a teepublic shop (for micro-income, bc once again, thank capitalism), where you can order t-shirts etc. with some of my designs on-demand.
ZINES are an interesting format for me to play around with narrative and poetry in an approachable way, elevating interdisciplinary thoughts and conversations without having to adhere to specific publishing standards. i hope to expand this category over time; for now, enjoy momentum, a collaborative project with spouk.
payment system
i tried to come up with an accessible pricing system without falling into the trend of small artists/designers undercharging for their work, so now you can choose how much you pay for each product:
the LOW PRICE covers the cost for my materials, so that i don’t make a loss, but doesn’t fully account for my labour. i offer this option because you deserve nice things also if you get screwed over by capitalism.
the REGULAR PRICE covers the full production cost, including materials and labour. at this price, it’s sustainable for me to sell my products.
the SOLIDARITY PRICE is higher than the production cost; by choosing this option, you support me in maintaining this pricing model and make it possible for me to offer the low price.
The exception are digital zines, for which i charge a very low standardised contribution in recognition of the work that went into them.
shipping
i usually ship everything as letters (no tracking, no insurance) or standard packages with post nl, depending on size. if you’d like more security, just contact me and we can pick the service that suits you best and adjust the price. i am based in groningen (nl) and can offer local pick-up here; within the town, i might be able to deliver your order directly per bike, depending on where you are and how much there is to transport. again, just reach out and we’ll talk about what works best for both of us :]