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| Photo of the True Friends print from Luvart.net |
I recently had the opportunity to review a personalised giclee print from the website Luvart.net. It was a tough decision to decide which one to pick as there are so many lovely prints to choose from. In the end the thing that swayed my decision was the fact that as I write this blog anonymously I knew I couldn’t have one with names or photos on. Which is such a shame as one of the things I love about the prints is how they can be personalised to your specification.
However I was not to be disappointed with my final choice as when it arrived I was delighted with the product. I had decided I would like a ‘True Friends’ quote on my print as I would give it to one of my best friends. I had emailed Conrad (the founder of Luvart.net) to see if he could turn my chosen quote into a print and he said it wouldn’t be a problem. When he sent me the email containing a PDF for my approval I spotted the fact I’d forgotten to state my final colour as he had made it with a purple background. I contacted him to ask if the final print could be on an aqua coloured background instead as Turquoise is my best friend’s favourite colour. I knew it would make the print all the more special if that colour was in the print.
Here is the photo that was in the PDF sent to me for approval:-
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| Photo courtesy of Luvart.net |
After my approval Conrad made my 10 x 10 inch print for me and it was despatched very quickly. The product was really well packaged in bubble wrap and there was not a scratch on it when it arrived. So the careful packaging did the trick!
The review print that I received was in a black box frame and the print has a white heart shaped double mount which gives a stunning shadow effect. The true friends quote which I requested looked absolutely beautiful in the white calligraphy style font set against the aqua heart with lighter coloured ornate background. There is red heart detailing on the flourish of the letter ‘F’ and also on the letter ‘H’.
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| Photo of the True Friends print from Luvart.net |
The quote that I chose for my print was ‘True friends are never far apart, maybe in distance, but never in the heart.’. It is a touching sentiment that I know my best friend will treasure. I have not yet given the gift to my friend as I haven’t seen her since receiving the framed print last week. I am 100% positive she will love it and I know it will take pride of place on her wall. This is exactly the kind of present that I know she will love…it is not cheap at around £51.99 but I wouldn’t expect it to be for the fact that is has been made by a professional graphic designer, it is personalised and it is made with the finest quality paper and inks.
The paper is acid free 225gsm fine art approved 100% cotton somerset velvet and the inks used are fine art approved archival quality with a 100yr lifespan. That’s a long sentence but it basically means this giclee print is top quality and will make a fantastic keepsake gift that could be passed down through the generations as an heirloom due to it’s long lifespan. The term ‘Giclee’ is used to describe any fine art print which is produced on a special ink-jet printer which has been adapted for printing fine art. The term was invented by print maker Jack Duganne back in 1991. You can read more about the definition of a Giclee print on Wikipedia.
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| Photo of the True Friends print from Luvart.net |
The majority of the 10 x 10 inch prints on Luvart.net cost between £20 and £25 to buy on their own with mounts but if you would like them personalised with a message / name, date or photo this normally costs an additional £10 to £15 and then if you would like the prints framed this is an extra £15. The standard postage costs are £6.99 which although it sounds a little high there is little or no profit made on this when the framed prints are sent to you. The print I received cost about £4.80 to be posted to me and by the time you have added in the price for the bubble wrap, packaging materials and time involved this would easily come to £6.99. I would however like to see a slightly cheaper postage cost for orders which involve just a print as without the weight and bulk of the frame the parcel should hopefully be slightly cheaper to post.
Here are some examples of the prints available on the Luvart.net website:-
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| Christening gift…. Photo courtesy of Luvart.net. Click here to see this print on the Luvart website |
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| Where this is Love….. Photo courtesy of Luvart.net. Click here to see this print on the Luvart website. |
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| 3-8-1…. Photo courtesy of Luvart.net. Click here to see this print on the Luvart website. |
The man behind these Luvart prints is Conrad Davies. He has been a self employed graphic designer for nearly 30 years and he has done graphic design work for many well know household names, such as Tesco, Asda, Rexam Glass, Coolabi and Manchester United. He has produced all sorts of literature, branding and packaging designs and even worked in the field of character licensing and merchandising. He told me that he loves working on 2D and 3D imagery and sculpture projects and the largest project he has done of that kind is the Munich Memorial Tunnel within Old Trafford, Manchester United Football Club.
Conrad describes himself as being ‘Old School’ and he says that being brought up in design has meant he has a strong love of typography. This love for all things typographical has encouraged him to launch his new website Luvart.net. This is by no means his first website, as he has two other sites where he sells limited edition art prints, it is however the first website where he gets to sell prints using his much loved typography.
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| Photo of the True Friends print from Luvart.net |
Conrad’s other fine art websites are http://www.hammerfilmsart.com/ and http://www.art4walls.com/. He also has his professional ‘graphic design’ work website http://conraddavies.com/ where you can see his portfolio of completed projects.
On the ‘Hammer Films Art’ website Conrad sells limited edition licensed prints from Hammer Films archives and on the ‘Art For Walls’ website he sells limited edition fairy prints taken from an Edwardian story book that was never published! The unpublished book first came to light on Antiques Roadshow when it was taken to the show by the author’s great niece, who had discovered the book in the attic. You can read more about the book and how it was discovered by clicking here. Conrad spent 8 months painstakingly scanning in the original watercolour pictures from the book ‘Child Hazel’ by Ida Bogue. It took a lot of time to get the colours to accurately represent the original watercolours and it is with a lot of pride that he now sells the prints here.
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| Logo courtesy of Luvart.net |
Conrad is hoping that his new venture, Luvart.net will appeal to anyone who is looking to buy a piece of quality fine art at an affordable price. His prints would make a wonderful gift for a new baby, christening, birthday, wedding or engagement. I am quite sure that he will go out of his way to make sure you are happy with your print and if you have a bespoke ‘memory’ you would like immortalising into a fine art giclee print then Conrad is the man to talk to about it. I can imagine a typographical print with the first words said by your child, or maybe a section of your wedding vows printed with the date of your wedding. There are so many things you could choose to have printed on one of these fine art pieces and Conrad can be contacted here to discuss your requirements for your original print which will be cherished forever. The prices will no doubt depend on the work involved but for something as special and personal as that it really wouldn’t matter to me.
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| Photo courtesy of Luvart.net |
Luvart.net also sells canvas wraps and 16 x 16 inch prints on the Somerset velvet paper. There are lots of background colours to choose from and I’m sure you will find a print that you will love.
At the time of writing this review (July 2011) Conrad has a special offer on his site where you can buy a 16 x 16 inch canvas and receive a free 12 x 12 paper print!
To visit the Luvart website and buy a gift to be remembered, please click here.
I would like to say thank you to Conrad for supplying me with the True Friends print to review. It will make such a thoughtful gift for my friend. He has added the True Friends print to his collection of prints available to purchase. You can buy your copy here.