ACEO

ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions, and Originals. These originated as artist trading cards (ATC) and are made by artists to show off their work. Often artists give them to each other. Artists also create these for sale for the general public and for collectors. I have just learned of this art form and have found out that it is a unique and affordable way for people to collect original art and prints. These are miniature works of art with the only qualifying criteria being that they must have the dimensions of 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. And as I have found out is very popular with collectors and buyers. Fascinating!

When I found out about ACEO's my mind began racing. This would be a wonderful alternative medium for my art photo prints. Properly sized and then mounted on a bristol board paper backing or other suitably stiff and acid-free backing, my original photographs would be great. I will offer them at this size in signed, limited, numbered editions.

Then my mind raced on. What else could I do in this size?

I have been designing punchneedle embroidery for over two years and primarily sell my designs as pattern kits. I have offered miniature punched rugs for sale and I have made miniature punchneedle embroidery pins which have sold well in a gift shop in Pennsylvania. The pins have been ideal because they are small and can be made to be affordable. Even though punchneedle embroidery works quickly, a completed picture can take many hours of time and must sell at prices accordingly. But using the ACEO guidelines, I could produce original, frameable or collectible finished embroideries that could sell at an affordable price. This is something now to explore. Create designs of quality and punch these designs on fabric, mount the fabric on a backing board, and the result is a miniature, collectible work of embroidered art.

Then I thought about my wife, Meryl's skill as an accomplished and award winning embroiderer. Her work takes many, many hours of time and she will often work for months or longer on one large piece. Whenever she has been approached to sell her embroidery her reaction is that the labor of love took so long that she could not place a price on it - at least not one that the average interested patron would be able to pay. With the ACEO, Meryl could create a miniature embroidery that takes a short amount of time to complete - a single element of a much larger work - and mount that to this miniature size. Again, this would be affordable to most.

So this will be our new endeavor. So often we get side tracked and motivated to something new. This will be something that will be available on a limited basis. Primarily through our shop on Etsy (www.qbranchltd.etsy.com) Off we go to dream, think, plan, and execute!