Frequently Asked Questions

Before your print finds its wall

The brand

Routes was founded by Anne-Line, who runs it from start to finish. With Martinican roots, she grew up between cultures.

Unable to find wall art that reflected her identity without slipping into the folkloric or the generic, she decided to create what she was looking for. Routes is her first brand, and the beginning of a long conversation with our community.

The first collection, Liberté / Free At Last, is illustrated by artist Baptiste "Wako" Buonomo.

Every year on May 10, France holds its National Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade, Slavery and Their Abolitions. The date marks May 10, 2001, when the French Parliament adopted the Taubira law, which recognized the transatlantic slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity. Routes launched on the law's 25th anniversary. The words we print were born from that shared history, across Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas, and it was only right that they entered our homes that day.

The prints

Our posters are printed on smooth, 200 gsm semi-gloss paper (0.26 mm thick), FSC-certified and environmentally friendly. Our supplier uses 12-color printing technology for vivid, precise colors with real depth, far beyond standard 4-color inkjet prints.

Our posters are available in three sizes:

Unframed:

8 × 12 in (21 × 29.7 cm), for a shelf or a small wall
12 × 16 in (30 × 40 cm), for a bolder statement
20 × 28 in (50 × 70 cm), for a strong presence on a large wall

Framed:

8 × 12 in (21 × 29.7 cm), for a shelf or a small wall
12 × 16 in (30 × 40 cm), for a bolder statement

Printed colors can vary slightly from what you see on screen, depending on your monitor's settings. Our supplier's 12-color printing gives greater depth and accuracy than standard prints, and the result is crisp, warm and true to each design.

Yes. Our prints come framed in black metal in two sizes, 8 × 12 in (21 × 29.7 cm) and 12 × 16 in (30 × 40 cm), ready to hang and shipped free.

Prefer to choose your own frame? Pick the unframed option and build your gallery wall your way.

Quotes & Licensing

Each author and quote is chosen for its thematic, historical and emotional resonance: from 19th-century abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and Mary Ann Shadd Cary to Caribbean and African writers like Maryse Condé and Mariama Bâ. We don't choose quotes for how famous they are. We choose them for what they say, what they cost the person who spoke them, and what they still offer those who read them.

Each collection is built around a central theme. Quotes are selected for how powerfully they embody it, across eras, places and languages. Each quote is printed in its original language, English or French, because our words know no borders. To learn more about each author and the story behind each quote, visit The Routes Journal.

A licensed quote comes from a work that is not yet in the public domain: the author or their estate still holds the rights. Routes licenses these quotes for commercial use and pays royalties on every poster sold. That's what sets Routes apart from a regular decor store: we never reproduce words without permission or payment. Every purchase is an act of economic justice toward the people who wrote them, because Black creators have too often gone unpaid for their work.

Royalties go to authors or their estates, usually through their publishers. For works in the public domain, no royalties are due, but respectful attribution is non-negotiable at Routes. In the long term, we also plan to pay royalties to the artists who illustrate each portrait, because visual art deserves to be paid just like writing.

Orders & Payment

Choose your poster and size on www.nosroutes.com, add it to your cart and check out in a few clicks.

We accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express, as well as Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal. Klarna lets you pay in installments on eligible orders.

Our prints are made to order, so changes and cancellations are only possible for a short time after you order, before production starts. Email us right away at hello@nosroutes.com with your order number. We'll do our best, but can't guarantee we'll catch it before printing begins.

Gift Cards

Routes gift cards are digital. Choose an amount, check out, and the card arrives by email with a unique code to enter at checkout on nosroutes.com.

Yes. On the gift card page, choose “Recipient’s email” and enter their address. Their gift card goes straight to their inbox. Prefer to give it in person? Choose “My email” and pass the code on yourself.

Any print in our archive, framed or unframed. Your gift card applies to your whole order, shipping and taxes included. If your order costs more than your card's balance, simply pay the rest with another payment method or another gift card.

Whatever’s left stays on the card for next time. Use it on a later order, with the same code.

Open the "Check your balance" link in your gift card email to see your remaining balance at any time.

No. Your Routes gift card never expires.

Yes. Your gift card works in every currency we sell in: U.S. dollars (USD), Canadian dollars (CAD), euros (EUR) and British pounds (GBP). If you shop in a different currency from the one on your card, your balance is converted at the current exchange rate when you check out.

Shipping

Yes. Orders to the U.S. and Canada ship in 4 to 6 business days, and prices are shown in USD or CAD. Any applicable sales tax is calculated at checkout.

We ship to the U.S., Canada, the UK, and most of Western Europe. Deliveries to the French overseas territories are temporarily paused (see below). Our routes have no borders: more destinations are coming soon.

We've temporarily paused deliveries to Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, New Caledonia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Wallis and Futuna.
New customs fees now apply to some of these territories, and we refuse to simply pass them on to people already facing a high cost of living. These territories are at the heart of Routes, so we're taking the time to build a fair pricing policy before we reopen.
Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know when deliveries resume.

Framed prints always ship free.

Unframed orders ship free from:

$90 in the U.S.
CA$160 in Canada
£85 in the UK
€150 in the EU

Below that, shipping is a flat $5, CA$9, £5.50 or €7.90 per order.

Free-shipping thresholds apply after discounts.

Each poster is printed to order, then shipped. Estimated shipping times, framed or unframed:

U.S. and Canada: 4 to 6 business days
UK: 3 to 4 business days
Europe: 3 to 5 business days.

Shipping costs and an estimated delivery date are shown at checkout, before you pay.

Unframed prints larger than 8 × 12 in always ship rolled in a sturdy tube.

8 × 12 in prints ship flat or in a tube, depending on where your order is printed.

Framed prints arrive already in their frame, ready to hang. Each frame is protected with corner guards and wrap, then packed in a box with reinforced edges. Orders with several frames (up to 3 per box) get extra internal supports for added sturdiness.

Returns & Damaged orders

Each poster is printed on demand, just for you, so we can't accept returns for a change of mind. We do cover these cases:

Package lost in transit: contact us within 30 days of the estimated delivery date and we'll send a replacement.
Package returned to sender (wrong address, refused or unclaimed): contact us within 30 days of the estimated delivery date. We'll refund the product price toward a new order; only shipping is at your expense.

If your poster arrives damaged or defective, or your order is wrong, we'll cover the full cost of a replacement. Email hello@nosroutes.com with your order number and a photo of the problem, and we'll take care of it quickly.

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