Novel Creatives is an online booking platform for creative people in the sustainable/ethical fashion, beauty and lifestyle industry to collaborate. Whether you’re a designer, photographer, brand, advertising company, makeup artist, session stylist, fashion stylist or model, NC enables you to plan and produce your projects on our platform. This ensures that the creatives you are sourcing work with the same set of ethics as your brand built on. What sets us apart from other casting or crewing platforms is that NC’s unique offering marries the values and principals principles of the original conscious creative agency, Novel Beings with the technology and freedom of a peer-to-peer marketplace, filling a gap in the market and addressing the growing movement of creatives practising their craft from a sustainable approach.

A professional creative who lives and works to a strict set of personal ethics.

The skies are the limit. If you're creative, provide a professional service and practise with a strict set of personal ethics, you are eligible to be considered. Hair & makeup artists | Stylists | Food stylists | Props stylist | Art directors | Copywriters | Positive Influencers | Graphic Designers | Photographers | Set Designers | Film Makers | Models | Designers | Models

You can sign up and browse the site from anywhere in the world. However, currently only the following countries are supported to make bookings through the marketplace: Australia 🇦🇺 Austria 🇦🇹 Belgium 🇧🇪 Canada 🇨🇦 Denmark 🇩🇰 Finland 🇫🇮 France (Metropolitan France only) 🇫🇷 Germany 🇩🇪 Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Ireland 🇮🇪 Italy 🇮🇹 (possibly with limitations as it is still in preview mode at Stripe) Luxembourg 🇱🇺 Netherlands 🇳🇱 New Zealand 🇳🇿 Norway 🇳🇴 Portugal 🇵🇹 (possibly with limitations as it is still in preview mode at Stripe) Spain 🇪🇸 Sweden 🇸🇪 Switzerland 🇨🇭 United Kingdom 🇬🇧 United States 🇺🇸 If you live in a country that is not yet supported by our marketplace/Stripe but would like to be notified when it does become available, please be sure to sign up and we will drop you an email once we have good news for you!

Verification can take up to seven working days, but we will endeavour to have you cleared ASAP after we receive your completed Verification Form.

No. Novel Creatives is strictly a marketplace for conscious creatives and independent and ethical brands to find each other for shoots and projects. NCM does not find work for individual artists, manage portfolios, calendars and availabilities nor take payments on behalf of any member of the marketplace.

Yes! When you create a new listing through NCM, you will be asked if you are creating an Artist Profile, Jobs Board or Second Life. If you want to create an artist profile, in order to be found by other community members, you will need to select Artist Profile and fill in the required information to create a listing. If you already have a listing as an artist but also operate as a brand and want to advertise a job in order that other artists can find you, you will need to create a new listing and select Jobs Board.

Listings are limitless and are free to post.

Yes, go-ahead! Click here to find out how.

No. Every artist sets their own rates and every job posting should stipulate a fee for the position you are needing to fill. We do, however, have some tips that might be helpful to both parties.

There are no hidden costs.

Please do! We want to grow this community organically (excuse the pun) and the only way we can do so is through peer-to-peer recommendations. You can send invitations directly from here. Remember to include a personal message so that they know it's worth their while to investigate Novel Creatives!

No! The beauty of this platform is that you can be (nearly) anywhere and find collaborators near you. However, as we are based in the UK, we set the display prices to GBP. We hope that, in time, Novel Creatives expands to offer country-specific marketplaces. In the meantime, here is a handy currency converterto guide you in setting your rates at if you're outside of the UK. Please note that if you are based outside of the UK, there may be fluctuations in the exchange rate from the day the booking was made to the day you are paid.

You are in control of how often you receive mail from us. To change your email preferences: 1. Log into your account – click on your profile picture, in the top right-hand corner. 2. Click on Settings 3. Click on Notifications and update how often you receive automated emails. You've got the power.

ReLife Cycle (formely, Second Life) is a place to sell your unwanted stuff. Samples, end of roll fabrics, brick-a-brac, half-used coloramas, gels, space-takers, you name it and give them a second home rather than sending it landfill. You will have to be a member to utilise this service.

There is a standard 15% commission or flat-fee of £1, whichever is the greater, deducted from all transactions through Novel Creatives.

We strongly recommend that any booking related payments are made using the Stripe method as this is how we ensure that the artist/talent shows up and performs their services before receiving the funds. If you are buying something through Second Life, PayPal is the better option, but the choice is yours. We advise that the owners of the items do not send anything until payment has been received in full.

This is a campaign was started by Freelancerclub.net to asks freelancers to pledge that they will not accept free work* and asks brands to commit to not advertise free work*. This is why we have set a minimum free on NC for all actionable listings. If you would like to pledge your name, either as a freelancer or a company, you can do so here. Definition: Unpaid work Unpaid work is any scenario where a business exploits an individual for commercial gain by not paying for labour or services that have been provided by that individual. Unpaid work can have an effect on the relationship between freelancers and their clients. It creates an environment where freelancers suspect their clients of trying to take advantage of them, rather than a positive working relationship. Unpaid work not only devalues the individual but impacts the creative industry resulting in a lack of diversity, a diluted talent pool and a poorer economy.

On the marketplace, you are in total control of this. You can delete your account and this will delete all the data we have on you through the marketplace. If you would like us to delete your data submitted in your verification application, please email us at hello [@] novelcreatives.com with the subject line reading: "DATA DELETION REQUEST." We will send you an email confirming that we have deleted your data as soon as we have. This can take up to one calendar month, however it usually happens much faster.

Yes, we do. We are after all, still a business and it costs money to run and manage the marketplace. While the marketplace is free to join (you do need to verified), there is a 15% commission OR £1 (whichever is greater) changed on each transaction. This fee is taken off the top of the total rate.

Look at it like this. Agency fees are usually between 20-25% for both parties (so that means between 40 - 50% of the available budget, which, ultimately comes out of what you, the artist, could be getting paid.) See how it is worth your while now? You are only paying this commission on confirmed bookings. No booking, no fee. We also make a monthly donation to Green Peace and Care International, as well as give other ad-hoc donations to charities we feel are in line with our values.

Because Novel Creatives takes a 15% commission (as explained above and in our Terms of Use). If you wanted to make £100, for instance, and you set your rate to £100 on the marketplace, then you would get £85. In order to ensure that you are getting your "happy rate" - the amount of money you are happy earning - be sure to factor in the commission when you're setting your rates. Remember though, the 15% commission is calculated from the total rate you state in each listing. So, if you set the rate to £115 (£100 +15%), you would earn £97.75 and not £100.

There are a number of reasons: 1. You have a sense of security that the client says who they say they are. We do a bunch of due diligence before we allow anyone to become a fully-fledged member of the community. 2. Let’s face it – even those clients with the best ethics aren’t always the best payers. Chasing money as a freelancer is a huge time waster… and time is money. We get the entire payment upfront and it is held in escrow (through Stripe, our reputable, secure payment partner) until the job is completed. Once the job is finished, you get paid within 10 working days of completing the job (usually faster). 3. The only time you don’t get paid is if you don’t show up. 4. The other benefit is, if for some reason you aren’t able to make the shoot after the booking has been confirmed between yourself and the client – you have a network of other artists with the same principals and values as you who can pick up the job on your behalf. 5. You are able to manage your own profile. Show your availability (and save time with potential clients asking when you are available) and set your own rates.

Sure it’s tempting to accept work directly from clients who you have met through NC, however, you do not have the safeguards in place that the marketplace provides (see above). Also, you will be in breach of our Terms of Use policy and risk being removed and/or banned from using the site.

When a client "books" you through the platform, they have to pay the full, agreed fee upfront via debit or credit card. This transaction is handled by our payment partners, Stripe, who hold the full fee in escrow. We do not have any access to the funds. Once the job has been marked as complete, the fee, less the commission, gets paid directly into your bank account.

Click on your profile image in the top right-hand corner. Click on Settings Select Payments from left-hand menu Click on Add Bank Details We DO NOT store any of your bank details. This information is stored by Stripe, our secure payment partners. Read our Privacy Policy.

Both you and the client are sent a receipt upon payment. However, as the booking contract is between yourself and client, if they require a tax invoice, you will have to provide one. This would be for the full rate quoted on the listing. You may be able to write off the commission paid to NC as a business expense. Please contact your account for further advice regarding this.

Simply put, they add value to your story. By hiring one (or many) of the creatives through the marketplace, you are able to rest assured that the products and practices they use will not harm or impact the environment in a negative way. You also get to shout about the fact, if you so choose.

1. Log into your account. 2. Hit the +New Listing button in the top right-hand corner. 3. Select "Jobs Board". Next, select what the type of shoot/event best represents what you are going to be producing. 4. select the listing type (Job Listing) and complete the form. This listing will look a little different to an Artist Profile listing as you won't have a payment button. (For obvious reasons we think. If it's not obvious, it's because that would mean the artist would have to pay you to do the job, and that doesn't make sense, now does it?) Once you have found your preferred artist/s, simply asking them to create a new listing on their profile with the agreed rate, and you will then have to go onto their page, click on the listing and make the payment. We know it seems a little convoluted, but currently, this is the only way it can be done. It's really far more simple than it sounds.

No. Each creative sets their own rates. These rates are based on their years of expertise within their field and relative rates to the market where they live and work. As this is a marketplace, you are able to look around for creatives with a suitable skill set, experience level and rate for your budget.

While we do not provide or suggest rates, there is some 'best practice' to consider. We do, however, insist that rates be set to no less than the local living wage in the city or country you are shooting in. It is your responsibility to ascertain what these wages are based on your local. If you are UK based, here is the Living Wage calculation

In order to ensure our community members safety, due diligence has to be carried out on our side and this takes time. However, if you have another community member who can vouch for you, we will consider expediting the verification process. Please email us with your request.

You never know until you ask. They may be more than happy to work with you if they are available on your shoot/event dates. We are pretty confident that more often than not, people will agree to drop their rates slightly if there is an alignment in values and the collaboration is more than just about money. They do of course have the right to so no.

You pay the full, agreed on fee upfront with a debit or credit card. Your payment is held in secure escrow (through our payment partners, Stripe - so Novel Creatives does not have access to the funds at any time) until you mark the job as complete. Please note that for service bookings, the system will automatically release the funds two days after the end date, should you not mark the job as complete or disputed in the payment thread. ​ If the creative/talent you booked doesn't turn up, you will receive a full refund, less any Stripe fees (if applicable). Because the artist/talent know they are guaranteed to be paid within days of completing the shoot, they are more likely to offer you favourable rates.

The 'contract' is between you and the artist and therefore, the artist must provide you with an invoice for services rendered.