Creating A Gift

A programme from Studio Artistry by Ray

 

What is Creating A Gift?

Creating A Gift is a charitable giving programme from Studio Artistry by Ray, my art studio.   I launched the programme alongside the Artistry by Ray shop in 2026, and from the very first sale, a portion of every qualifying purchase goes directly to a chosen charity.

The name is deliberate. Every piece of work that leaves my studio is already a gift, something made with care, designed to be given to someone. Creating A Gift asks what happens when that act of giving extends a little further.

How it works

10% of the retail price of every qualifying card, card set and art prints is donated to that year's chosen charity. Not 10% of the profit. Not 10% after costs. 10% of what you paid.

Discounts belong to the customer. If you buy in a sale, the discount is yours. The charity still receives 10% of the full retail price.

Donations are calculated across all qualifying sales and paid annually, directly to the chosen charity.

Why smaller charities?

The larger charities are important. They also have large revenue streams, significant public profiles, and the resources that come with scale. A donation from a small independent studio makes a real difference to their work, but it is one of many.

Smaller charities operate differently. They tend to be more focused, more specialist, and often more able to put funding directly to work in the field. They receive less corporate attention, less public visibility, and fewer of the large donations that sustain bigger organisations. 10% of retail from my small art studio means considerably more to a small charity than it does to a large one. 

That matters. The intention behind Creating A Gift is not to generate a headline figure. It is to make a meaningful contribution to work that would otherwise be less visible and less funded.

Choosing a charity each year

Each year, I will chose a different charity to support. The charity choice will always have new art work that reflects the charity and it's work, so the art, the cause and the donation all belong together. 

The charity changes. The commitment does not.

 

2026, Butterfly Conservation

I have chosen Butterfly Conservation (registered charity number 254937) as the first charity to be supposed by the Creating A Gift programme.

The connection is straightforward. Flutter Theory I and II, and the Silent Wings collection, have been created with butterflies at their heart, but the reason goes deeper than that.

As a child, butterflies were everywhere. Meadow Browns, Small Tortoiseshells, Red Admirals, Peacocks, the four species featured on the Silent Wings cards.  These sightings were a regular part of my summer.  My art studio is in a semi-rural location, beside fields, woodland and a golf course. Given its location there is no obvious reason not to see butterflies, but this year I have not yet seen a single one!

That absence is what Butterfly Conservation exists to address. They work across the UK to protect butterflies, moths, and their habitats, running conservation projects, monitoring population changes, and campaigning for the conditions that allow these species to recover. The work is quiet, specialist, and essential.

10% of every Flutter Theory and Silent Wings purchase goes to Butterfly Conservation. Every pack sold is a small part of a larger effort to bring them back.

To find out more about Butterfly Conservation, visit butterfly-conservation.org