Spoonflower Anyone?

No idea what I'm talking about? I didn't either until a few hours ago thanks to a friend's shared link on Facebook. It is a website that offers custom fabrics printed in full color without a minimum purchase requirement. Those last three words are huge. You can make your own print to be on a fabric and not have to order a hundred yards! You can order a yard, or even just a fat quarter or a swatch!

You can upload your own image or shop and purchase from other users (similar to Etsy). If you upload a print and someone orders a cut of your design, you get a commission (10%). Oh how I loved looking around at all the different fabrics, like these baking ingredients, or various types of mustaches, and found these nuns to be quite funny and cute. And one more, the black and white zoo animals are fantastic!

They also offer a themed contest each week to submit a design. The winner receives $100 Spoondollar credit to use on the site in addition to being featured as the Fabric of the Week. And they have a blog!

Spoonflower is only a couple years old and I love start-ups. It's the entrepreneur in me I guess. I love stories behind businesses and how start-ups find success based on how well they are at meeting a perceived need. This [older] interview with one of the founders gives a bit of insight on Spoonflower's story.

I'm not sure if I missed the boat completely on this, but I haven't seen anyone mention this. Maybe because it's pricey (starting at $18.00/yard), but boy, it sure is cool. (Huh. I just read on the website that they have been featured in "New York Times, Associated Press, Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, Make, CRAFT, ApartmentTherapy, Photojojo, and many other terrific publications and blogs." I must have been sleeping.)

Someday, I might just have my own custom fabric printed. How awesome would that be?