Application Process

Yes! We built Sapling specifically for small batch creators that intermittently open and close their shops. Our only requirement is that you open your shop for sales at least once every 6 months.

Basically, it means that it must be clear to us that you sell your work, intend to continue doing so, and that you are actively involved with and investing into your business.

Most often, simply stocking items such as keychains, hoodies, plushies, etc. is enough proof of these qualities because we recognize the MOQ requirement as investment into your business. On the other hand, digital downloads (not including digital commissions or customs), patterns, bases, courses, make on demand, and similar are all low investment, high output items, which don't give as much of an indication of your involvement or investment into your business. That's not to say that you can't sell these items, or that you won't be able to qualify for Sapling. It just means that shops with products that are in these categories will need to prove investment in their business differently. Most often this means more regular product drops, and consistently high quality offerings.

To be clear, most artists will not struggle with this requirement. It mainly exists to ensure that all shops on the site are active and supported.

We are rather flexible on this as we recognize that there is lots of nuance around this topic, especially on the issue of outsourced vs handmade products.

If you do not manufacture your own products, you must design your own products to a high degree of originality, and you cannot sell products that you did not design outside of credited collaborations. We are fairly lenient about common paradigms, but do not tolerate near 1:1 usage of source material (e.g. selling anime screencaps as stickers, tracing another artist's YCH emote base, using default or bought fonts as the core of graphic designs).

If you hand make your products in house, you must design your products to a modest degree of originality. You must display skill within your medium and your product must be relatively distinguishable. We are lenient about common paradigms, but do not tolerate near 1:1 usage of source material (e.g. using screencaps as embroidery, selling recolored plushes made using another artist's patterns, etc.).

Products that are excessively generic or derivative fall below our standard for minimum creative effort. If we are unsure if you've stolen your idea from someone else, traced the design, used someone else's pattern, etc. we will not be able to accept your application.

At Sapling we firmly believe that the best way to support artists is to build a platform that attracts and retains customers for them. In order to do that, we must lower the barrier of entry into the indie art community by showing customers that they can find and purchase artwork with relative ease.

If you do not have an obvious and accessible point of contact, especially if you are primarily a customs or commissions artist, many customers may be turned away due to the perception that indie art is unapproachable, unprofessional, or inaccessible. We cannot accept applications where the only available contact is social media DMs, telegrams, etc.

Generally we ask that you have less than 5 artists on your design team. Helpers, fulfillers, etc. do not count towards this number.

Yes, however we do not allow fandom art that is near 1:1 with the source material (e.g. screencaps or tracing)

Yes, we are very supportive of customs and commissions work on Sapling! We hold the same requirements as we do with shops that stock products: we must see substantial history and intent of business. What this means exactly depends on the kind of work you do, but it must always be clear that you are active and invested in your business. We gauge this using publicly available information such as reviews, sales numbers on marketplaces, commission showcases, etc.

Generally, no. We take artistic integrity very seriously. We permit collaborations only if you received permission from the artist and these products constitute a small portion your sales. Additionally, you must credit or acknowledge the other artist(s) in each of your product pages otherwise we must assume it is a case of theft. Note that we are extremely lenient in the case of obvious collaborations such as zines or artbooks.

No, we do not consider use of common patterns as stealing, but we still require that you fulfill minimum creative effort in your products. If your products are generic or derivative to the point where it is difficult to distinguish them from others, your application will not be approved.

If official merch for your project is the primary thing you are selling, unfortunately the answer is no. Sapling is a platform for small artist-run businesses, not a merchandise platform. We allow selling merch for your other projects, but it should not be a majority of what you sell in your store.

All post content, discovery images, and profile content should be kept PG-13. You may link offsite to NSFW work, but we do not allow “teasers” or highly suggestive promotions for those links.

While we do support the sale and production of NSFW content in principle, due to regulations around this content, we are unable to support those businesses on Sapling at this time. We are planning to expand our features to allow users to opt in to sensitive content while maintaining a safe space for users of all ages in the future!