While dressing up is certainly a right of every Queer person, it’s important to recognize that this month is about more than just looking fabulous. It’s also a valuable opportunity to make sure that the money you spend celebrating 2SLGBTQIA+ folks actually ends up in their pockets.
If you’re excited about sporting some new threads for Pride Month, designed by Queer, independent artists, you can use a print-on-demand marketplace like Redbubble to find clothes, accessories, gifts, homewares and more.
In preparation for Pride Month 2022, I headed to Redbubble to get kitted out, and here’s how that went for me.
How It Works
Redbubble is an online marketplace that connects independent artists with the people who want to buy their work. Honestly, the range of things you can find is hard to believe until you start exploring the designs available. If there’s something specific that you’re looking for, you can find it on Redbubble.
As a community of over 700,000 creatives sharing their art, it’s one of the best places to find unique designs and have them transformed into a staggering number of high-quality products — from stickers and t-shirts to phone cases and doggie bandanas.
I’m a long-time Redbubble fan, and I follow them on Instagram to get inspired by the stunning designs. Especially as a Queer person, I find their online marketplace to be an invaluable way to discover designs representing my identity that I struggled to find anywhere else.
First Impressions
Redbubble offers a massive range of designs and products, and their user-friendly site makes it easy to find what you’re looking for. You can browse by product, or use the search bar to plug in keywords to help you discover designs.
When you’re browsing around, you can look up designer profiles to find out more about them and where to follow them on social media. Since my goal was to support 2SLGBTQIA+ artists, I found this very interesting and helpful.
I could have shopped forever, but in the end, I ordered a dad hat, a t-shirt, a tote, two pins and two stickers that all came to under $100 before shipping.
How Shipping Works
Once I had placed my order, it was then split up and sent to the fulfiller or printer who was to take care of that item. In the end, I received four parcels that trickled in over the course of about a week, each of which came from a different ethically run business in the US or Canada.
It’s a pretty efficient way to deal with an order like mine — when something was ready to send, off it went! It was fun to get a new goodie in the mail every other day too. That said, if you’re ordering a lot of different kinds of products, it’s worth knowing they’ll probably arrive separately.
At first, I was a bit surprised by the shipping total, but once I understood the way that Redbubble works, it made more sense. If you want to save money on shipping, I’d say stick with one type of product and place an order with some friends to split the cost.
I had so much fun unboxing my order. Everything turned out great, and I’m still really impressed by the quality of both the designs and the products.
"Everybody’s Perfect" Dad Hat
When shopping for Pride-Month apparel, I was certain that there’d be a hat involved. So when I saw this artwork by Cabin Supply Co., I knew it was the one.
This design is a heartwarming twist on the classic remark "nobody’s perfect," and it’s the kind of sweet message I want to share — particularly during Pride Month.
I had a choice of five colours and two styles (dad hat or baseball cap). In the end, I went for a beige dad cap that’s comfortable, has an adjustable fit and looks great. I’m looking forward to breaking it in this summer.
"Gender Is Such A Drag" T-Shirt
When I say Redbubble is a great place to find unique designs, this funky t-shirt design from The Peach Fuzz is what I’m talking about.
I never expected to find a design that so neatly expressed my experience as an agender person. Not only does choosing an outfit often feel like I’m putting on a costume, but sometimes it can really bum me out — gender truly can be such a drag.
The shirt itself is made of 100% preshrunk cotton with a nice heavy weight. I chose an extra-large classic t-shirt, and it ended up being pretty roomy. I enjoy wearing oversized shirts with bike shorts on hot days, and this is just the right size and shape for the job.
"Cis-Normative Nonsense Snail" Tote
I was very excited to receive the tote bag featuring this design by Harry Grace. The snail demanding "what cis-normative nonsense is this?" made me laugh out loud. It also summarizes how I feel about tissues branded "for men," among other things.
The second I saw this judgy snail I knew I needed it. The snail has pride of place here as one of several animals that have become popular among Queer folk for doing gender a little differently. (Shout out to seahorses too, you guys rule.)
The tote bag itself is made of sturdy cotton, and it will be great for grocery shopping or stashing in my backpack while I’m on the go. I also found it perfect for displaying my brand-new pins.
The Pins
After browsing a million pin designs, I finally settled on two. The first was this "she/they" pronoun pin by Skyler Orion X, and it’s the kind of unique design I can trust Redbubble to help me find.
My pronouns are "she/they," which tends to be less commonly available as far as designs go, especially compared to "she/her" or "they/them." I use both interchangeably, so this pin will definitely get some use this June.
The second pin features a design by Fishbiscuit in support of trans kids. It’s a matter I care about deeply, and I’m glad to be able to support a Queer artist and display this message at the same time.
The pins themselves are a classic round design with a scratch- and UV-resistant coating, making them really durable. Along with the stickers, I think the pins are among the best products available on Redbubble.
The Stickers
Speaking of stickers, I also picked up these two lovely designs. An artist called Wandering Kotka created the "Space Pride" sticker, which is available in several different colours, each representing a different Queer identity. Mine features the pansexual pride colours with text that reads "through love to the stars" in Latin.
The second design is by nevhada, an Italian artist who has a whole bunch of hand-drawn, witchy designs. I loved this illustration the second I saw it because this is actually something a dear friend said to me once, and it meant a lot to me.
Redbubble’s stickers are really hardy. I’ve bought them before and stuck them on everything from my skate helmet to my water bottle (these ones are destined for my laptop).
I ordered them with a matte finish, but you can also get them glossy or with a transparent background — all of them water resistant.
Final Thoughts
I couldn’t be more delighted with my Pride-Month haul. Through Redbubble, I was able to find practical and beautiful objects created by artists from my community.
Knowing that these designers would also get paid for their work is really important to me, especially during Pride season, when we want to do our best to raise each other up and celebrate the things 2SLGBTQIA+ people have achieved.
If you’re looking for ways to support Queer artists this Pride Month (and find some really unique goodies while you’re at it), give Redbubble a visit.
To check out amazing artists on Redbubble, head to their website or follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Although products were provided for free in this review, the author's opinions are genuine and do not reflect the views of Narcity Media.
