Photowall Product Review & Discount Code + Mini Crash Course

I think we all have a bit of 'I want to travel the world' in us - there's so much to see and so much to learn about other cultures. About a week ago, I was approached by Photowall to collaborate.

Photowall is a Swedish brand that specializes in Canvas Prints & Wall Murals to beautify your home and sprinkle some nice aesthetics around. And do you want to know the best thing? They are environmentally friendly AND their Canvases and Wall Murals don't fade in the sunlight! Yes, yes, I know it is winter, but it's nice knowing that if the sun felt like living its best life and started shinning as if I were out in the Sahara Desert, my canvas is going to stay its perfect self.

On their website, there a lot of different categories: animals, cities, music and of course there's architecture (and a lot more other categories to add a special touch to your house)! The architecture category details the most aesthetically pleasing places, and of course this was the first category I found myself diving into. One print that I really loved was the Reflection of Amsterdam, I had a tab of it open for a couple days while continuing to browse- it has such nice bright colors and interesting colored buildings all lined up, it was practically saying PICK ME PICK ME PICK ME.

I then ventured into the Map's category, and instantly knew the Map's section was the one for me (SORRY AMSTERDAM REFLECTION PRINT). The map that really captured my attention was the Paint Splashes Map 2 by British Artist Michael Tompsett. It was a map of the world but with multiple paint splashes filling out the world map (clearly Michael knew what he was doing when he named the painting Paint Splashes.)

On the Photowall website, underneath the information tab of each print, it let's you know the estimated delivery time and when I tell you it's accurate. IT'S ACCURATE. On the website it said 2-3 days - I ordered my Canvas on January 8 and on January 10 my Canvas was ready at my doorstep.

When I unrolled the canvas, I was so happy to see that the image depiction online was exactly what was in my hands - the map had each continent with a light black outline and then splashes of color filled it in.

Photowall gives you the option to either purchase the canvas with a DIY frame or just the canvas itself - realistically speaking if you were to get the canvas itself, chances are you're going to take a trip to IKEA for a frame which is y'know Sweden based like Photowall so to save yourself the drive, click that DIY frame option!

The frame comes with: Frame sections, Corner Plates, Screws & Hanging Solution with Screws

It also comes with a how-to assemble instruction paper, but if you're more of a visual youtube type of person Photowall has your back!

I decided to place it in my room and it's such a nice reminder that the world is a lot bigger than the little bubble we live in. There were other Map options but the one reason why I choose this specific one was because of how brightly and nicely colored it is - it's essentially happiness in canvas form!

Want to also beautify your house with a nice aesthetic Canvas or Wall Mural? I HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS! The kind people over at Photowall gave me a 20% Discount off anything from their collection for you to use -

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*It's available for 30 DAYS! You can use it up until the 28th of February*

There are so many categories to choose from, so before you head over to look through, I'm going to advise having a snack and a drink next to you as you'll be sitting there a while loving everything you see! To get to Photowall for your country, on the top right corner there's a little globe with a down-bar - click that down-bar. Also! If you have a photo in your house that you would like as a Canvas Print / Wall Mural they can make that dream of yours come true!

If you decide to purchase a Canvas/Wall Mural I would love to see which one you choose! As I always say, I pretty much live on Twitter so definitely @ me on there or tag me over on Instagram!

Mini Crash Course: Frames

Now, I wouldn't be me if I didn't wonder how frames became things we put our canvases in.

We're going to jump back into the Renaissance period (1400-1700) to the birth of Canvas painting. In Venice, artists traded in their wooden surfaces they've been painting on for cloth. The people who sold cloth must have been living their best life in the Renaissance period - this also meant it was easy for artists to just roll their up and show their friends their art to get opinions on it. Which is y'know like Instagram but in person instead.

The earliest record of a canvas frame (fun fact: they're actually called Stretcher Bars! I mean that is kind self explanatory now that I think of it) was by Italian painter Cennino Cennini in his notebook.

We're going to jump forward to the 19th Century - that's when frames for canvases really started to take off. And by that, I mean patents for canvas frames kept pilling up. The one that is similar to the canvas frames used today was patented by Frank P. Pfleger from Illinois on February 2, 1886. In this specific canvas frame, there is a U shaped wedge to stretch the canvas. [This is in Figure 5 of the patent.]

Now, I could end the crash course here

BUT THEN A WOODWORKER MADE A COMEBACK.

In 1904 Olaf Anderson from Sweden brought his woodworking skills to America and opened O.F. Anderson Company in Brooklyn, NY. His company created custom made moldings - basically any shape you wanted, you got! Now, he didn't just stop at Canvas Stretcher Bars - he made silk screen frames, custom screen doors, mirror panels, and drafting tables and sold them all worldwide.

In 1934, the company incorporated and was renamed Anco Wood Specialties and! it still remains under the same family management and ownership since 1934!

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Complete side note but the more I keep doing Crash Courses the more I realize history is just one massive plot twist inception.

^ as shown above I thought woodworkers were going to be near extinction when canvases became the norm BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED.

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This product was gifted to me by Photowall in exchange for a review - all opinions are my own.