A Tasmanian artist has sold more than 500 Neil the Seal stickers in a matter of hours after demand for the limited-edition artwork went “absolutely bonkers”.
The surge comes as Neil, the elephant seal whose beachside antics during his annual winter visits have drawn crowds in southern Tasmania and attention worldwide, continues to capture public fascination.
Sammy Murfet originally planned to make just 100 stickers featuring the much-loved marine mammal.
The artist from Shearwater, east of Devonport, was forced to release batch after batch as buyers from Australia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand flooded her inbox.
The first 100 sold out in four hours to email subscribers alone, leaving none for the general public.
Murfet released another 100, which sold out in just two hours.
She kept adding more until she had to shut down sales altogether, with more than 500 sticker orders now waiting to be packed by hand.
“I was absolutely lost for words,” she told Pulse.
“I am one person and I need to fulfill all these orders.”
The $6 stickers are all packaged by Murfet herself, who handwrites every envelope before posting them.
A waitlist for future releases has already attracted 470 names.
Murfet, who works another job three days a week, began creating illustrations of Tasmanian landscapes and wildlife earlier this year after drawing the state’s national parks.
She shares her artwork through her Instagram account, @islandhomeillustrations.
Murfet said the idea came about casually after friends suggested she draw Neil.
“I just really casually did it and I flicked it through to some friends, and then they wanted to pre-order,” she said.
“And then once I put the pre-order post up on social media, that’s when everything went absolutely bonkers.”
Her announcement reached more than 92,000 people on Instagram, where it was shared 7,500 times and attracted 9,000 likes.
The unexpected demand also prompted Murfet to offer international shipping through her website for the first time.
She said the response reflected the joy Neil the Seal has brought to people around the world.
“I honestly think that it is just bringing a little bit of joy to people when there is so much going on in the world at the moment and uncertainty around so many things,” she said.
She said customers have told her the stickers will end up on cars, drink bottles and laptop cases, while others have bought multiple copies as gifts for grandchildren and friends.
Murfet said she plans to release more stickers once the current backlog of orders has been filled.
“I don’t think it’ll ever get old seeing my artwork out and about,” she said.
