If you read my similar posts about my first and second year as a surface pattern designer (my first year post is still by far my most popular posts of all time!), then, you may be interested in reading this post about my third year as a surface pattern designer! The third year is the charm, right?, or so they say.
Let’s recap…
Orcidscape print by Pattern Babe Copyright 2024
lumbar throw pillow -Spoonflower-Pattern_babe
February 2023:
Looking over my previous years post, it looks like I left out the big news! I found there is light after darkness yet again, I didn’t think I could be so lucky a second time, but just like my first loss, my second loss resulted in a pregnancy just one month later. I also found out I was expecting another girl. My due date was in April, naturally I spent a lot of time in February getting prepared for her arrival.
I did happen to make a day trip to NYC to walk the floor of TexWorld NYC. I attended to see what a trade show was like, to explore the fashion industry and to find future markets for my work such as manufacturing a product. After realizing being a surface pattern designer is too broad to really gain enough traction, I decided to select an industry to explore more. I naturally gravitated to the fashion industry. I always loved fashion magazines growing up, watching my mom select fabrics to sew at the fabric store, and my experience working in retail department stores for many years such as Macy’s. I’ve always had an eye for fashion, even on a budget. I could throw an outfit together creatively without spending a fortune. The fashion industry feels like a calling.
TexWorld NYC was eye opening to me because I knew so little. I didn’t understand a lot but walking around helped to speed my knowledge like taking a crash course. I was just absorbing everything I could. However, that year I didn’t really talk to anyone. I just walked and looked. I had no idea what to even ask. I couldn’t believe that after learning so much these first two years as a surface pattern designer, there was still so more I’d have to put into learning about the industry. This experience was exciting and a little overwhelming but also fun! Especially learning about the forecasted fashion trends! This experience has changed my perspectives on surface pattern design. It’s not just important to find your style or niche, you have to immerse yourself in one industry to really challenge and stretch your potential and even to evolve your style, and identity. I feel that I am still finding mine, but that is okay for year three!
Green Paisley print by Pattern Babe Copyright 2023
Dress available for purchase
March 2023:
I participated in the Make it in Design Winter School and completed 4 creative design briefs, participating in two tracks. I created some really unique designs and I think the best one was from the cyanotypes. I still want to explore creating even more seamless patterns with the cyanotypes but this is a start. I also listed all of my original cyanotypes for sale in my shop.
Sometime during the year, I left a couple of memberships like the Creative Powerhouse Society and Evolution due to cost and time. I felt like I was going to have less time in anticipation of welcoming a new baby soon. Neither membership was pricey but Iy felt like I wasn’t maximizing them to justify the monthly expense.
I had a maternity photoshoot and the photos were beautiful! I even incorporated my younger daughter in the photos, they are so special, I will always treasure them. If you are on the fence about doing a maternity photo shoot, just do it. I felt unattractive sometimes being pregnant but I really felt unexpectedly beautiful during the photo shoot, it was a nice way to embrace the pregnancy and my last planned one. If I am feeling brave, maybe I will share some photos.
In addition I wrote an educational blog post about circularity in surface pattern design, a topic I had learned about from attending TexWorld NYC 2023 and became really interested in.
April 2023:
I took a course called Procreate Unleashed and I joined a new membership for procreate called Pattern Rebels. I was interested in learning Procreate better for creating patterns, especially to make it easier to design on the iPad with a new baby. Most of my patterns are now created right from Procreate.
The baby is born! She was on time and I had my third c-section (that wasn’t fun) but I have the sweetest, most beautiful, and smiliest baby in the world. I’ve never seen a baby smile so much and with a smile as big as hers. She truly is an angel in every way. I feel lucky and blessed.
I also sewed a beaded headband for my second daughter using my own fabric design. She loved it and I’ve been interested in creating more to sell or manufacture.
May 2023:
I was proud that even while on leave, I managed to complete the Procreate Unleashed course. I also started some of the modules in Pattern Rebels. Since it’s the membership version, there is no rush for me to complete everything but I would like to dive more deeply into it. I am enjoying the monthly goodie bags! That is a great name for it too! They are something I look forward to every month so that one is a great membership and while I feel behind I think the pace of content is manageable so I don’t feel too overwhelmed by it either.
June 2023:
It was a tough decision, but I decided to remove my Etsy shop. I wasn’t seeing the return on time or investment to keep it going. My POD sites have been generating regular sales. So I am excited that I am seeing some upward momentum!
I’ve been adding the most to Spoonflower and on my website. I’d like to see more traction on my website’s shop but I know a lot of that is my fault. I have not had time to add really good descriptions of items in my shop so while I’ve launched it and added products, I know I need to start focusing on the descriptions in order for the items to be found.
July 2023:
I had to return back to my full time job after my maternity leave ended this month so I allowed myself the time to transition back to it. Designing took a back seat but I had some time to listen to more podcasts in the car which I think still counts! I’ve also been troubleshooting my Instagram shop. For a while it was not working at all. I’ve since have gotten it to work again. This was a bit of a headache and it is very hard to get help from anyone so it was a lot of Google searches to try to figure it out.
August 2023:
I participated in the Make it in Design Summer school, in two tracks and completed four new designs and all within Procreate. I really loved the designs that came out of it this time! They were all fun and colorful. I even created my first paisley! The two patterns featured above in this blog were from this summer school! Since I was focusing on fashion now, I decided to submit all of my designs on fashion-related mock ups. I think this really elevated the designs and it was fun to see my niche become more of a reality.
September 2023:
I won first place in one of the summer school design competitions! My work was featured on the Make it in Design blog as one of the winners and on their social media pages. That was really cool! I had participated in a couple of their schools before and I never won anything. So I was very happy about that and to be featured on a prominent, respected website for surface pattern design.
I created a guide to Kin Custom for surface pattern designers and I started to get my first email subscribers. I have since taken it down because I need to update it, but you may contact me if you are interested in a copy.
My work was noticed by a fashion live tv show! I was invited to be a guest on an episode of Fashionology Today with the FNTV Fashion Network. I was busy with my full time job so I scheduled a date with them in October.
October 2023:
I finally felt validated in my decision to niche down to the fashion industry. I did the live show with FNTV -the Fashion Network. It felt surreal to be talking with an expert in the industry who saw something in me or my work. I was very nervous but I did it and I think it went pretty well. I think it really reflects on everything that got me to this point. My main point was that I keep creating, because I just don’t feel right when I don’t. It’s part of my self-care. You can contact me for more details about the episode.
November 2023:
This was my birthday month and my husband and I went to see Sebastian Maniscalco in Atlantic City. It was a weekend I’ll never forget! He is so hilarious, I was laughing out loud in tears from laughing so much his entire set. I am really inspired how Sebastian had a humble start and he just kept working at his comedy day in and day out. His book is all about his journey (I purchased it at the show!). It is inspiring to see that in a different creative industry. I see a lot of similarities to surface pattern design. Also his wife is an artist so that is pretty cool too!
December 2023:
I went to the White House for the holiday tour, it was amazing to look at all the displays! I’ve never been in the White House before and it was neat to see it decorated for the holidays. They had a candy and crafts theme so it definitely had a lot of artist elements like paint brushes and things that spoke to me as an artist. I took away lots of art inspiration from that visit.
I also enjoyed time with my family around the holidays!
January 2024:
As if I couldn’t be any more inspired, I closed out my third year as a surface pattern designer by attending TexWord NYC 2024! I bought a red velvet cheesecake flavored cupcake (yes that was my breakfast, don’t judge I workout a lot, haha!) and looked over the trade show before entering. I promised myself this show would be different. I now had the knowledge to ask the right questions, I would ask…everyone, until I found possible manufacturers. While most specialize in large minimum order quantities (MOQ’s), a few allow smaller minimums, but could they do what I want them to do with my design? I did leave with the answers and knowledge that I needed. This was a breakthrough for me.
I joined a new membership that I think is really going to help me this year in the fashion sector. I am also participating in the Make it in Design winter school. I only participated in one track and submitted two designs. This is the fewest I’ve ever done but because I have a lot more going on right now I decided to scale back my participation to make it more manageable. I also wanted to make sure I was still having fun. I have a course I need to complete to help me with Photoshop too.
I can’t tell you how excited I am for my next and fourth year as a surface pattern designer. It has been a slow growth process but I see little signs that I am on the right path. Most importantly, I am having fun with it and I am not putting too much pressure on myself. My only pressure is to keep moving forward one day, with one small task at a time, over the span of a year, it will hopefully add up.
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