Show Her Work

Last week I shared a review of my first year on Spoonflower. I love reflecting on the year and sharing the lessons, but I’d be lying if I told you that it wasn’t the scariest newsletter I’ve ever shared. I almost talked myself out of hitting the publish button multiple times. But I didn’t, mainly because of a quote I heard a few years ago by a psychologist named Carl Rogers— ‘What is most personal is most universal.’ I’ve generally found this to be true, that the more personal and vulnerable...

Happy New Year! When I started selling my designs on Spoonflower, I wanted so desperately to be able to see how others were doing it. It can be difficult to get started with something new and stay motivated when you don’t fully understand what’s possible and how quickly you can reach new milestones. But I found people tend to be hesitant about sharing too much detail. They’re happy to generally share how things are going, but are reluctant to share the raw numbers behind everything. And for a...

Hey friend, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and Happy (almost) New Year! Today I’m sharing my 2024 year-end review with you. I love a good review, reflection, debrief, whatever you want to call it. In fact, I do one every single week, quarter, and year. The yearly review is one of my favorites because I get to reflect back on things that I forgot about but were still very special and important to me. I get to show my gratitude and prepare my mind for the next year. My...

Hey friend, Lately I’ve been feeling like something has been missing in my creative process and I finally figured out what it is. When I first started writing this newsletter, it used to be more focused on my personal experience as I built my creative business. I was sharing my work, but primarily reflecting on my successes, challenges, and pulling out the learnings. My updates were much more vulnerable, raw, and informal. I used to think that this format was indulgent and lacked value, but...

One application I was thinking about the most while designing ‘Vineyard Views’ was wallpaper. This year I developed a little obsession for wallpaper and I create most of my designs with it in mind. I’ve always been a fan of gallery walls filled with art prints and wallpaper is kind of like the ultimate version of that. So here’s a look at how you can use my latest collection on your walls! Roses will look great in a bedroom for a little dramatic, moody vibe. Brick for a faux kitchen...

It’s here!! My latest collection, ‘Vineyard Views’ is now available for licensing and purchase on wallpaper, fabric, and home decor. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be highlighting designs from the collection, the products you can buy them on, and licensing options for those of you manufacturing your own products. Here’s a peek at some of the designs in the collection— Check out the full collection! Find everything you need inside Pattern Portal For my boutique brand owners, interior...

QUICK REMINDER! I’m running a Fall Sale (happy Fall by the way!) through the end of September! Right now you can get your hands on my art book and limited edition prints for 10% off. The sale ends on September 30! BUY NOW & SAVE 10% Studio Spotlight I’ve mentioned a few times before that I really struggle when it comes to adding color to my designs and illustrations. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe it’s because there are SO many colors to choose from? Maybe it’s because I’m looking at them...

Studio Spotlight Here’s another collection update! Things got exciting this week. My focus was to assemble the bits and pieces of my inked designs and motifs into their final pattern repeats! Now they will repeat seamlessly across a surface. I also threw some temporary colors on them to get an idea of how many colors I want to use. I don’t overthink this. Just toss a little color on so I can see them all together and I will finalize the colors later. Here’s a peek at two of the patterns—...

This week my goal was to clean up all of the design motifs for each of the patterns in my new collection. The process looks different for every designer depending on their workflow, medium, and art style. I love using loose, organic line work in my designs, so for me this involved inking the pieces of each pattern. Here’s a look at how a couple of them came out. The grapes are my favorite so far! For some of my designs, like these, I cleaned up the full repeat. But for others I just inked a...

Last week, I shared my collection planning process with you where I came up with a theme and loosely jotted down thumbnail ideas for each pattern. This week my focus was on bringing those thumbnails to life with more detailed sketches. This is the part where I start to get into a groove and see something tangible forming. My goal was to sketch out at least 15 of the 20 thumbnails I previously created. I got to work, and 12 of them resulted in designs that I felt confident bringing to finish....