Why should I source through a hub instead of contacting Dafen studios directly?

The village has hundreds of studios, and quality, reliability and English communication vary enormously between them. A hub that already knows which painter is good at which subject, and which framer is running on schedule, removes months of trial and error and gives you a single party accountable for the result.

Do you actually paint, or only broker?

Both. We are a working studio with our own painters and warehouse in Dafen, and we draw on a vetted network of independent painters and workshops when a brief needs a hand or a volume we do not hold in-house. You are told which is which.

Can you ship under my own brand?

Yes. White-label production and drop-ship are standard: no studio paperwork in the box, your packing slip, your label, shipped direct to your customer. Many online sellers and galleries work this way.

How do you control quality across different painters?

A sample is approved before any production run, work is inspected against that sample, and photography is sent before packing. For larger projects we agree a written specification — size, surface, palette, frame — so every painter in the chain is working to the same reference.

What volumes can you handle?

From a single canvas to container quantities. Small runs come from our own floor; larger programmes are split across vetted workshops with one specification and one point of contact. Tell us the quantity and deadline and we will say honestly what is realistic.

Can I visit and audit the supply chain myself?

Yes, and we encourage it for serious buyers. We run half-day and full-day trade visits through Dafen that cover the studio floor, the frame workshop, packing and QC. See the Visit Dafen page or ask on WhatsApp.

Supply Network — Dafen Oil Painting Production Capacity, One Hub

The problem we solve

Dafen is easy to find and hard to buy from

Every serious buyer eventually learns the same lesson: the village is not one supplier, it is several hundred of them, and the difference between a good one and a bad one is invisible until your container arrives.

Without a hub

You are guessing

Directories and marketplace listings tell you who has a website, not who delivers. Language gaps hide real problems, samples are not the production standard, and the studio that answered fastest is not necessarily the one that suits your brief.

Through us

You are matching

We know which painter is genuinely good at water, which workshop runs on schedule, and which framer's mitres hold up in a humid climate. Your brief goes to the right hands, and one party is accountable for the result.

The honest bit

We are not the whole village

We are a studio with a network, not an official body. What we offer is accountability: our own floor for small runs, vetted partners for larger ones, and a single specification and contact across all of it.

What the network is made of

Four layers, one point of contact

Your order may touch any or all of these. You deal with us; we deal with the chain.

Our own studio

Our painters, our warehouse, our stock. Small runs, samples, customs and commissions run here, which is also where quality standards are set for everything else.

Vetted painters

Independent artists and small workshops we have worked with over years, each with a known specialism — portrait, impasto abstraction, classical copy, wildlife, large-format landscape.

Frame & materials

Frame workshops, canvas stretching, stretcher bar suppliers and finishing. The part of the chain most likely to fail on a deadline, and the reason we keep more than one of each.

Packing & logistics

Corner protection, crating, cartonisation and freight — air or sea, DDP door-to-door where needed. Packed by people who ship paintings every week, not a general freight handler.

Capability matrix

What the network can produce

This is the working range, not a catalogue. If your requirement is not listed, ask — the answer is often yes via someone we know.

Category	What it covers	Typical use
Masterwork reproductions	Classical and modern masters, any size, any surface	Galleries, retailers, interiors
Abstract & decorative	Impasto, knife work, colour-field, textured sets	Hotels, lobbies, residential staging
Landscape & seascape	European villages, coastline, mountains, city light	Restaurants, clinics, offices
Portrait & figure	From photograph, classical or contemporary	Private commissions, gift market
Pet portraits	Single or multiple subjects, custom backgrounds	E-commerce, gift retailers
Wildlife & botanical	Detail-heavy animal and floral work	Lodges, themed interiors
Original commissions	One-off compositions by named artists	Collectors, feature walls
Fine art giclée	Archival pigment printing, hand-embellishment option	Editions, volume programmes
Framing & finishing	Stretching, framing, gilding, antique finishes	Any of the above

Volumes from a single canvas to container quantities. Send the quantity and deadline and we will say honestly what is realistic, including when the answer is that we are not the right supplier.

Working together

Four ways buyers use the hub

The same supply chain, arranged around different business models.

OEM / ODM

Make it to my design

Your artwork, your sizes, your finishes, produced under your label. We work to a written specification so repeat orders match the first one.

White-label

Ship it as mine

No studio paperwork, your packing slip, your brand on the box. Standard for online sellers and galleries running their own storefront.

Drop-ship

Ship it for me

Order by order, direct to your customer, from stock or made to order. You hold no inventory; we hold the canvases and the packing line.

Project supply

Fit my schedule

Hotel, restaurant and development programmes: sampling, phased production, matched sets, consolidated freight to site or to your warehouse.

How we vet

Why "vetted" means something here

Anyone can call a list of studios a network. These are the checks that decide whether a painter or workshop stays in ours.

Work before words

We look at finished canvases, not portfolios of photographs. Edges, corners, varnish and the back of the stretcher tell you more than a hero shot.

Sample equals production

The sample is approved before a run starts, and production is inspected against it. A shop that sends a beautiful sample and a mediocre batch does not get a second order.

Deadlines honoured

Being good is not enough if it arrives late. We track who actually ships on the date they agreed, and schedule around that.

Photography before packing

Every order is photographed before it is boxed. That is how problems get caught in Shenzhen instead of in your warehouse.

Questions

What buyers ask about supply

Do you have a minimum order quantity?

No. Single canvases ship at the same door as pallets — most long-term partners started with one small trial order. Pricing tiers improve with volume, and we will quote the tier you need rather than pushing a bigger one.

Can you send samples before I commit?

Yes, and we recommend it. A sample can be an existing similar piece or one made to your brief. Sample cost is usually credited against the first production order — ask when you enquire.

What are your payment terms?

Bank transfer (T/T), PayPal, credit card and Wise. Standard terms are 70% deposit to start and the balance before shipment, with photography sent first. Established partners can discuss other arrangements.

Who handles export paperwork?

We do. Commercial invoice, packing list and documentation for your customs broker. DDP door-to-door is available on many routes — tell us the destination and we will confirm what is possible.

Can you match an existing supplier's work?

Often yes. Send a photograph and, if you have one, a physical sample. We will tell you honestly whether we can match it and at what price — including when you should stay where you are.

Can I visit before placing a large order?

Please do. Half-day and full-day trade visits cover the studio floor, frame workshop, packing and QC, and end with a quote. See Visit Dafen or ask on WhatsApp.

The Dafen Authority

A working studio and supply hub inside the village — one party accountable from brief to crate.

2016 Operating from Dafen since. Member of the Dafen Art Industry Association.

50+ Vetted painters and workshops in the working network.

Auditable Come and see the floor, the frame shop and the packing line yourself.

Real studio & warehouse in Dafen — visit us in Shenzhen Sample approved before production Photography before packing

Start sourcing

Tell us what you need to supply

Category, quantity, sizes, deadline and destination. We will come back with a price, a realistic timeline, and a straight answer on whether we are the right supplier.

Chat on WhatsApp — Instant Quote Wholesale & projects

Trade enquiries: trade@dafenarthub.com · General: dafenarthub@gmail.com

One hub, the whole
village's capacity.