Side-Hustles for Artists: Selling Fridge Magnets

When a friend of mine advised me to sell fridge magnets I was sceptical. He swore they sold really well on his stall and urged me to try.

I was torn, sure I wanted another sideline but let’s be honest, I thought they were a bit tacky and down market.

I followed his advice and he was right, they are so popular.

It’s simple to make them. all you need is few basic materials. In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to make them and display them for maximum impact.

Why Sell Fridge Magnets?

Fridge magnets are one of the best sidelines I ever added to my stall. I sold them for years, and some days I made more money from magnets than from selling my art prints.

Magnets blanks are cheap to buy, they’re easy to make, and the profit margins are high. What more do you need?

So who buys them?

They appeal to everyone to anyone , BUT especially to kids – and let me tell you, pester-power is a powerful force. Ignore it at your cost!

They also have appeal to tourists who collect them as souvenirs from the places they visit. Magnets are memories, and meeting the artist selling home made magnets with unique artwork hits the mark.

You also have collectors who buy ‘subjects’. You know the type, the aunty who buys anything with a cat on it. That kind of collector. As an animal artist I know that market well.

Then you have all the friends and family who want a token gift for someone. This is an impulse product a person can just put in their pocket and walk on.

They’re small, light, and take up almost no space, which makes them perfect for a busy market stall.

What You Need to Make Them

You don’t need much to make great-looking magnets. The setup is simple, cheap, and quick to learn.

All you need are acrylic magnet blanks, your printed artwork inserts, and a paper cutter or sharp craft knife. A metal ruler helps for trimming clean edges, but that’s about it.

The trickiest part is cutting the prints accurately. It’s tedious, but you can cut many hundreds in an afternoon, once you find your rhythm.

You can buy your acrylic blanks in bulk online. I ordered mine from a local supplier, but I know they imported them from China. Do your research, I cant advise you because, at the time of writing, the tariff madness is interrupting everything.

Blanks come in standard sizes, and most have a clear front panel that snaps shut. The quality varies, so order a small batch first and check they click together cleanly without scratches.

I sold 60mm x 90mm jumbo magnets. They are are the perfect size for me, not too big, not too small. and 2:3 ratio.

WARNING: Please note that you must be absolutely sure of the print dimensions for your fridge magnets before printing anything. Different suppliers have different blanks. The size might turn out to be 58mm x 88mm or even 64mm x 94mm. You must check.

You don’t need your own printer. A good local print shop can run batches for you at low cost, and the results should look sharp and consistent. Have your artwork printed on thin matte paper. Thicker paper can jam or stop the insert fitting snugly.

Don’t worry about archival inks, a dye printer is fine. These are fridge magnets after all, they will stay on the fridge for 2 or 3 years and that’s good enough.

That’s everything. No glue, no backing cards, no special tools. Just simple materials that give you a neat, professional finish every time.

Preparation and Printing Your Artwork

Getting your file set up right makes a big difference to how professional your magnets look. A few minutes of prep saves hours of trimming later.

You can choose not to do this all yourself and ask your printshop to do it for you. If you don’t mind the cost, go ahead. If on the other hand you want to save some money, it’s better to prepare things yourself.

Fitting Your Image to the Magnet Blank

Your artwork must fit perfectly inside the magnet window. That almost certainly means reducing the size. Sometimes you’ll need to crop the edges or add borders to make the proportions work.

When reducing a hi-res image down to a tiny size, remember to uncheck the resample box in your photo-editor.

I add black margins around my images to fit the shape better, and it gives the design a clean, framed look. You can also include your website or name in a corner. I place mine at the bottom right of my image for easy visibility. It’s simple, subtle marketing that works long-term.

Laying Out Your Sheet

Create an A3 layout with your image repeated in four rows and four columns. Keep the spacing even, so your cuts are straight and quick. A few millimeters of white space between each image will make trimming much easier and prevent overlap.

Image Quality and File Settings

Set your file to 300 DPI (dots per inch) for crisp, sharp prints. Anything lower will look soft or slightly blurry. Most print shops expect this as standard.

Save your finished sheet as a TIFF or PDF file. These are lossless formats, so it keeps all the detail and color accuracy your artwork needs. It also avoids the compression problems you get with JPEGs.

Then you have to save the work as CMYK color mode for the printer. This gives you a slight problem. Your monitor uses RGB color mode on screen. Unless your monitor is calibrated professionally, this will give you an approximation of the end result.

All you can do is judge the quality of the print and that is why you must always get a proof copy before agreeing to a full batch.

You may have some back and forth in the beginning until you get the quality you like. That’s just how it is. Your printshop can save the settings for your next order.

Just be aware that things change, the staff change, the paper stock might change, the printer itself might change or not be maintained properly.

ALWAYS GET A PROOF BEFORE EACH RUN

If you haven’t got an image editor go to https://www.photopea.com. It’s a free online editor.

Assembling the Fridge Magnets

Your blanks will arrive packed tightly in a small box and usually wrapped together to prevent scratches. Even so, expect a few damaged ones in every batch. Write them off straight away. They’re not worth getting annoyed about.

If you’re lucky, you’ll find a supplier who sells them individually wrapped. It makes a big difference because acrylic scratches easily and needs careful handling.

When they’re ready, sell them in small cellophane wrappers. They’re cheap, easy to find online, and they stop scuffs from handling at your stall.

These acrylic blanks have a window insert that pinches the print in place. I prefer the ones that insert from the back, not the front. They look neater, feel sturdier, and you get fewer rejects.

Your print needs to fit snugly inside the window. If it’s too small, it’ll slide around and look off-center. If it’s too big, you’ll waste time trimming it again.

Believe me, it eats your time when you have to fiddle about fixing every piece. Get the size right from the start, and assembly becomes quick and stress-free.

Displaying Magnets on Your Stall

I used two small, cheap white magnetic boards and hinged them together to make a folding display. It packed away fast and didn’t take up much space. I slipped a bit of cloth between the two sides before closing it to stop the magnets from scratching.

That setup worked perfectly because I had to set up and take down my stall every day. You will probably have different priorities.

Brighton market stall with fridge magnets on display — My modest magnet display made me so much money.
The large chimp print caught the eye

It’s worth knowing that people will move your magnets around constantly, especially kids. They love to slide them and swap their places. Don’t get annoyed. You’ll never win that battle. Just accept it as part of the job.

Besides tidying them up again gives you something to do, and looking busy always helps sales.

Keep your price clear and simple. I sold mine for £3 each or 2 for £5, and I rarely sold just one. Bundle deals make it easy for customers to justify buying a few.

Always display a good selection together. A handful of designs won’t grab attention. You need enough magnets to make it interesting. The more choice they have, the longer they’ll stay, and that’s how you sell. I used a large print next the board to catch the eye.

The Selling Process

To sell well, everything has to run smoothly and look professional. I worked out a system that kept things simple and efficient. It let me restock without any fuss, even during busy days.

I learned early on that I could make enough magnets before each day’s trading. With lots of designs, it’s impossible to keep everything premade. Instead, I’d make and replace. When I sold one, I’d make a new one on the spot and put it straight back on display.

To do that, I set up a file system for my printed inserts. Each design had its own labeled pocket/sleeve, arranged alphabetically. When I sold a magnet, I flipped through, found the insert, and popped it into a new blank. Quick and easy.

For best-sellers, I always had two or three premade magnets ready. If I had a rush, I could grab one instantly without holding anyone up.

Each finished magnet was wrapped in a cellophane sleeve, but a small paper bag works fine too. Just make sure the acrylic faces don’t touch. You can also sell two magnets back-to-back in one bag to save space.

That filing system helped me keep track of stock levels. I could see at a glance which designs were running low and find time to make some more.

Selling Fridge Magnets: Final Thoughts

Magnets boosted my sales from the start. I was worried they might cut into my print sales, but it didn’t work that way. I gained far more than I lost. They brought in steady income and added energy to my stall.

They worked for me because I had a niche people love. I draw animals, and kids always go straight for them. That made magnets an easy win.

Local scenes and landmarks sell well too, especially with tourists. People love taking home a small, affordable reminder of where they’ve been.

If your art has broad appeal and you think about what people want to buy, not only what you want to make, magnets can become a solid earner for your stall.

If you want to learn how to sell your art the easy way, my book Selling Art Made Simple explains everything I’ve learned from years of trading.

It covers pricing, display setups, customer interaction, and how to turn your hobby into steady income. You’ll find practical advice that actually works in the real world.

selling art made simple guide. A digital book — **Selling Art Made Simple**

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Hi, I’m Kevin Hayler
I’ve been selling my wildlife art and traveling the world for over 20 years, and if that sounds too good to be true, I’ve done it all without social media, art school, or galleries!
I can show you how to do it. You’ll find a wealth of info on my site, about selling art, drawing tips, lifestyle, reviews, travel, my portfolio, and more. Enjoy