Surface Pattern Design Discovery
When my family and I arrived in Peru in January 2021, we had to quarantine in a hotel room for 21 days. I remember looking through the windows of our hotel into that huge new city and wonder: what is out there in store for my family? for me? What new friends are we going to meet? Are we going to be happy here? What if we do not like it? How am I going to continue to keep my little business? Can I still do it?
It was during those days that I seriously was thinking and researching how I could grow my business despite not being in the States. For me the answer was: Surface Pattern Design and that lead me to go back to find out more about a course I had heard a year before.
Discovering Surface Pattern Design
The first time I heard about Surface Pattern design was at the beginning of 2020, right when the pandemic was hitting. I had a shaky start of the year, thinking if I should continue making products to sell in my Etsy shop or try to find a new way to make money. I confess, I was a bit lost in what I should do about my little business. We were already assigned to move from the States to Peru that summer so I knew things would be changing for us very quickly.
As you can see in the pictures of my journal ( I like to journal) I was just starting to learn what surface pattern design was. And I was also concerned at how to make money out of my skills.
That year I did not take a course called Immersion because I felt it was not for me. As a person that had no knowledge about computers or graphic design skills I felt it would not work for me. So the year went by, I kept making products and selling them on my Etsy shop. The pandemic hit hard so we were not able to move to Peru as planned for summer 2020. All the time in the back of my head I kept thinking: what if I could design my own fabrics? Going even farther back to 2008…at that time we were living in Argentina. I was trying to open my Etsy shop, so through all the research it took me to find out more about Etsy I came across Spoonflower…I vividly remember going to bed thinking: “my goodness there are people out there that sell their art to be put on fabric”! I mean anything, the art of a sandwich! A recipe, etc. I remember feeling like it was something I would love to do! ( I probably recorded this on my journal at that time!) But I was so focused with opening my Etsy shop that I left that fabric designing desire on the back burner until 2021!
Early 2021 we finally were allowed to move to Peru. It was a hard move. I would say the hardest of all of our moves overseas. Peru is our 4th post and arriving in a new country in the middle of a world pandemic is no fun even when speaking the language.
We had 2 weeks of quarantine in a hotel without being able to go outside at all (yes, even Rosie….maybe another blog about that!) But it was during that time, the first weeks of January 2021 that I started drawing a lot (and also resting a lot with Rosie!)
I did not have my sewing machine with me so I was killing time by drawing on my sketchbook and dreaming of learning how to digitize my drawings. When we finally moved into our new home then it was when I really got into looking more about surface pattern design and courses offered in the subject.
Every time I move overseas I feel like my hands are tied when it comes to being able to keep my Etsy shop running because I do not have a post office to mail packages from (this could be a whole separate blog!) so when I started reading about surface pattern design I felt it was exactly what I needed to move my business in a new direction and especially: to have location freedom and a movable career!
The decision to do the course was not easy because the course called Immersion is an expensive course, a real investment. I did not have the money to do it so I had to bring my husband on board. I remember thinking how would I present my “case”?…I finally decided to do it one afternoon and I was so overwhelmed with emotions because I felt it was something I really wanted to do and I needed it to grow as a creative person, a small business owner and a trailing spouse moving countries every few years! My husband gave me his support but he was a bit skeptical of what the course offered. Nevertheless, the next day after our talk he sent me a sweet email:
“It looks like something you'd enjoy and it would make you happy, which would make me and the boys happy. And if it makes you money, great. And if not, no big deal, you'll at least have more skills that you can use to teach our boys to be creative, and maybe that'll help them too. If you want to do it, do it”
Just by talking to him about my dreams and the desire to learn a new skill made me feel so much stronger and believe I could do it! It is hard to be on a creative path and not make a real income. If you are there you would understand. Our craft is not a hobby anymore. We want to take our skills to a different level to be able to use them to help bring money home.
For me sewing and creating with my hands is what I know best. Now I can add: I can design fabrics too!!
So my journey into surface design started when I signed up for this surface design course. The moment I hit the button I was so nervous and excited at the same time. Since then a lot has happened for me as a creative person.
Here are some of my personal reasons that I liked about taking a surface design course:
I had no idea how to use a computer program and I learned to use Adobe Illustrator.
I learned to digitize my drawings and I learned how to do repeat patterns.
I started printing my own designs on Spoonflower.
I have had the joy of receiving my own fabrics. It is a wonderful feeling to see in your hands something that started with an idea and a drawing.
The best part for me: sewing with my own fabrics! And sewing for special people like my nieces!
Learning to use Adobe Illustrator has also given me the knowledge and skills to create sewing tutorials, pdfs to be sold in my Etsy store.
I designed this bag for a friend, her name is Sophie so I call this cute bag “The Sophie Bag”
This pretty fabric is by another artist that I met through the surface pattern design community (designbysafa)
Being able to create products that are sold on a digital format gives me location freedom!
I have gone back to an old love: drawing! This is actually how it all started for me as a little girl. Drawing was my first love with creativity. Once sewing came into my life then I went after sewing at full speed! So coming back to drawing has been wonderful!
I now try to sketch or draw every day even just for few minutes.
I am journaling my garden in Lima through drawings. TinyPetalsofColor is my instagram account for all my drawings. This is also an amazing experience for me to give myself a few minutes a day to draw and I love to think that I will be bringing to the States in my sketchbook the garden that I have planted here and I have learned to love these past 2 years. All these drawings will be a source of inspiration for future fabric designs.
My son designed the print of the Elf Hats!
* I have taught my boys to draw on the computer and create a repeat pattern! We printed the fabric my son designed and when he received it, he was so happy!! Later I made pajamas with the fabrics!
* I am now using my fabrics to make my mini coin purses and I am working on a “Mini Print Collection” for small accessories like coin purses.
I have learned to put my designs on Washi Tape that I sell on my Etsy shop!
I am now printing stickers with my own designs that I am using to package my orders and eventually I would like to sell them in my Etsy shop.
I also printed a t-shirt with one of my designs and this is another product that I would love to sell in the future.
* I have been motivated to continue learning to draw digitally and now I know how to use Procreate (still learning!) to make repeat patterns and bring them to Spoonflower.
I just opened my Society6 store. A print on demand shop.
I have now a Spoonflower shop where I can show all of my fabric designs! And people can buy my fabric designs printed on different kinds of fabrics and also on wallpaper.
My design printed on wallpaper, knit and cotton.
It is so fun to see my drawings coming to life on products! These are two samples of what I have in my new Society6 Shop!
What is incredible about learning to digitize an art is that the same art can be applied in so many different surfaces. If you visit my shop you can see these same prints on Iphone cases, shower curtains, stools, cutting board, cards, etc!
Another great thing about my surface pattern design journey has been the community. The people I have met have been amazing and so supportive!
I made this accordion book following a nice tutorial by Betsy Mitten. I met her through the Surface Pattern Design community on Instagram! In this little book is where I am keeping little sample pieces of my fabric designs!
Having the support of other artists and staying in touch to share resources, knowledge, etc. have been invaluable.
I have become friends with other artists that live in other countries and continents! When you take Immersion you have the option to pay a little more to be on a peer group. That group becomes your accountability support and some peer groups stay in contact for a long time. I still have contact with my peer group of 2021 class and my peer group 2022. I took Immersion again in 2022 because I felt like the first year I was not able to concentrate well in the course since my computer arrived late and I was in a new place. As an alumni you can repeat the course at a big price discount.
And the next achievement is not related to fabric design but I count it as part of my Immersion experience:
At the end of 2022 I launched my first sewing class online on Skillshare! This, I believe would have not been possible if I had not been immersed in the surface pattern design community because it was one of the ladies that I met in the course that told me and encouraged me to teach on that platform. And it was through Immersion that I also learned about Skillshare.
A lot of learning has happened since I took a surface design course. And I feel and see that a lot of growth has happened. I feel like I am dreaming bigger about my business and I am feeling more confident I can do it!
These achievements are not meant to brag about me. I really hope this blog will be an inspiration to others to follow their dreams!! Learning to digitize my drawings and ideas has opened many doors for me that I didn't know were there and that I could reach them. I still do not know exactly what is ahead for me and my business but the feeling of having started is already so huge for me!
My email list and all of you would not exist if I had not jumped into learning about Surface Design. Not only have I gained skills about fabric design but I gained the confidence to promote my business and grow my own little community where I am so happy to share more about sewing and so many more creative things with the hope to help others and also learn from you.
I had wanted to write this blog for a while because Surface Design is now part of my story as a creative person, it is part of my story as a trailing spouse that has to move countries and have to adjust to a new life every time we have to settle in a new place. The journey into Surface Pattern Design is part of my two years living in Peru and I will always remember the growth I had here in this beautiful city and my beautiful sewing room!!
My little happy place in Lima-Peru, and where I get inspired and lost too! Because this journey has ups and downs. But I am grateful for being able to work towards my dreams! This is one view of my room where I mainly do all of the surface design work on my computer. The other side is where the sewing magic happens! (another blog to come!)
Thanks so much for reading my blog! I know it is long but I had wanted to write this for so many reasons. Please feel free to contact me and if you sign up for my newsletter I would be so happy to see you there!
Sincerely,
Isabel