As 2023 comes to a close, I reflect back on the huge changes that I made in my business this year in this final podcast episode before I take an extended summer break at the beach with my family and new puppy.

I share my process of looking back to assess my goals, how I question my progress, and why I believe it's so important to take time to do this reflection work when you run a creative business.

A few questions that I ask myself that may be as important to you as they are to me are:

• Did I create more space in my life for practicing my art?
• Did I streamline and simplify my business to remove overcomplicated processes?
• Does my business align with my creative and lifestyle goals?
• How did this year's goals compare to the previous year's goals?
• Did I create less or more hustle in my life this past year?
• What will next year's goals be and how will I go about achieving them?

Listen to this episode of the Design & Shine podcast to hear my personal answers to these questions and more!

And I'd love to hear how you went with your 2023 goals too!

Did you achieve your goals? Why or why not?

What are your 2024 goals? 

Come let me know on my Facebook or Instagram accounts where I'll be checking in over the holidays before Season 3 of the podcast begins next year! 

Until then, have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! 

When I left full-time employment as a surface pattern designer, I could not understand why I found it so incredibly difficult to design with the same confidence and ease as I did for my clients...

Despite years of design experience and confidence working to a design brief, when I decided to work for myself I immediately fell into a ''surviving creative'' mentality, and everything began to feel so. much. harder!

It took a massive shift in how I thought about myself and my ability to design before I was able to grow a successful surface pattern design business. ⚡️

But once I did the deeper work of changing my ''surviving identity'' beliefs, I was able to quickly grow my business to my first $100k and have not looked back since! 💃

In this episode, we unravel what procrastination really is, revealing its surprising connection to fear. 

I'll explain how procrastination might be rooted in your apprehensions about failure, judgment, or even success. 

I share practical strategies to conquer procrastination: break tasks into bite-sized chunks to tackle overwhelm and embrace imperfection as a stepping stone to growth. 

And I'll explain why my mantra, "Done is better than perfect," can help you challenge the pursuit of flawlessness and help you take action!

This episode will guide you to recognize fear-driven procrastination, shift your perspective on what it means, and help your creative growth. 

Tune in to this episode of the Design and Shine podcast to transform your creative process and build the thriving creative business you've been dreaming of!

If you'd like to unlock your true creative potential and build a thriving creative business, you may be surprised to learn just how important it is to develop compassion and resilience.

As creatives, we're often quite sensitive people, so expressing ourselves through our art can be quite a vulnerable thing to do when we begin to put ourselves out into the world with our creative businesses. 

So in this episode of The Design & Shine podcast, I cover the importance of self-compassion and resilience in your creative journey.

Key takeaways you'll learn from this episode include how to:

• Embrace imperfection and let go of the pressure for everything to be perfect.
• Overcome self-criticism and negative thought patterns that hinder your creative flow.
• Build a strong sense of self-worth independent of external validation.
• Develop a growth mindset to view setbacks as opportunities for learning and growth.
• Cultivate perseverance and inner strength on your creative path.

Tune in to the full episode for invaluable insights and tips to transform your creative life! 

If you want true and lasting change in your life, it's not enough just to know what your limiting beliefs are...

You also need to how to change them so that you make the changes in your life that you want to see!

So in this episode of The Design & Shine Podcast, I share:

• What limiting beliefs are and how they hold us back, influence us, and shape our realities
• Where limiting beliefs reside in our minds and why you may not even know you have them
• One crazy thing about limiting beliefs that will help you change them into new and empowering beliefs

Listen to this episode to find out what it takes to begin to change your limiting beliefs and learn how to make true and lasting changes in your life!

Recently a student of mine came to me and said she was feeling uninspired and having a hard time knowing how to get started designing.

It wasn't that she didn't want to do the work, but that when she sat down to do it, nothing would come from it.

I've felt this way many times myself, and if you're a creative artist of any kind, you've probably felt uninspired from time to time as well.

So in this episode of The Design & Shine podcast, I share my best tips on how to get inspired to get into a creative flow when you're just not feeling it happening for you.

I talk about why it's so important to calm your parasympathetic nervous system down and how to do that through specific techniques that I've personally practiced and find extremely helpful when I'm feeling stuck. 

And how sometimes, there's a strange paradox in that the more you may want to do creative work, the less creative you may be feeling! 

Imagine if you could STOP overthinking your creative design work...

No more being critical of your work...

No more stopping and starting over...

Just intuitive creativity that makes time feel like it has stopped and your artistic output flow...

Sounds good, right?

This is what's known as a creative flow state, and in creative work like surface pattern design, getting into it comes with some amazing advantages for your design work and business.

So in this episode, I focus on what happens when we get into a creative flow state and why it feels so good!

Plus, I share some of the rituals and tips that I personally use to help myself get into a creative flow state so that you can try them out yourself.  

There's a specific difference in thinking between surface pattern designers who get stuck and those who thrive...

One way of thinking will keep you playing small, while the other will help you to grow as an artist, elevate your design process, and earn more from your business in the long term.

Find out what that difference is in this episode of the Design & Shine podcast and learn how you can start to shift your thinking to help you begin to thrive as a surface pattern designer. 

And if you're ready to make this shift and elevate your creative process, come and join my new Elevation Program! 

If you struggle with pricing your surface pattern design work you are not alone!

It can be one of the hardest things to do when you are just getting started as a surface pattern designer, which is why pricing is one of the most common topics my students ask me about.

So in this episode of The Design & Shine Podcast, I give you some guidelines for how to price your work based on my personal experience including how to price:

• Design work
• Artwork
• Digital products
• Custom design work
• Your time as a service provider, consultant, or mentor

I also bust some common myths around pricing and value that many people mistakenly believe. ⚡️

Are you worried that the surface pattern design market may be too oversaturated? 

This is a common concern that many of my surface pattern design students have, so I've shared my thoughts about it on this episode of The Design & Shine Podcast.

I cover:

• How not to be taken advantage of in a crowded market
• Ensuring your work will stand out in an authentic way
• Having the right business mindset to build a successful surface pattern design business

And the one personal quality that distinguishes those designers who make it and those who give up! 

No matter what kind of creative business owner you are, whether you are a surface pattern design business owner or not, you're often told there are certain ways you need to do things...

And though you want to be successful and this external advice can be quite convincing - it's not always the right thing for YOU to do.

This is what happened to me with my surface pattern design business last year...

So in this episode of The Design & Shine podcast, I wanted to share my story with you and why I am changing the direction of my business going forward.

In this episode of the Design and Shine podcast, I welcome back Christine Rice, who is a social media manager for online businesses and she also runs a fantastic small Facebook group called marketing for creative and unconventional women.

Christine and I talk all about a hot topic that I know a lot of surface pattern designers have trouble with and that is writing captions for your social media posts.

We cover:

• branding and why it's much more than just the fonts and colours you use
• how to get write engaging captions 
• using content pillars with your copywriting 
• tips for structuring successful captions
• creating something relatable and interesting that also connects with the audience you're writing for
• using storytelling to engage with your audience

Plus much more!

Click here if you would like to join Christine’s free Facebook group community

In this episode of Design and Shine, we are going to be talking about something that is important to think about doing as you’re growing your surface pattern design business and that is creating an email list.

Learn what one is, why you need one and whether it’s something you should consider creating.

On this episode of the Design and Shine podcast, we are going to be talking about some things to think about if you are not selling your designs.

So if you’ve been working hard, you’ve been creating lots of designs and then you hear crickets then I want to give you a few things for you to ask yourself and consider.

• how to grow your audience
• how to get more engagement
• best ways to use Instagram to promote your designs and your pattern design business
• tips for creating video content
• how many times to post and which types of posts

Click here if you would like to join Christine’s free Facebook group community

In this episode of Design and Shine, we are going to talk about something a little different and that is trying to create work-life balance.

Something I get asked a lot is how I manage to juggle work with family life and everything else in between so I'm going to give you a few tips that help me stay balanced and on track.

In this episode of Design and Shine, we talk about setting goals because it’s a really great way of keeping you on track and moving forwards so you achieve the results you want. 
We'll look at setting goals in 2 major areas so you can take the right steps towards your success.

In this episode of the Design and Shine podcast, I talk to Australian textile designer and Illustrator Brook Gossen. And she creates really beautiful and colourful artwork and has a really fun and gorgeous brand.

Brook didn't start her career as an artist but after working in a different area and having her family she felt was missing and that something was a creative outlet. She won a course where she learnt about colour and started her creative journey.

It wasn't until she participated in a 100-day challenge where she aimed to create a new piece of art every day that her gorgeous style began to evolve.

Brook and I dive into:

• how she developed her signature style
• her beautiful studio space
• how she stays motivated
• her experience in licensing her designs
• tips for those that are starting out and wanting to sell their work
• some exciting upcoming projects

Plus much more!

Here's where you can find out more about Brook

https://brookgossen.com/

https://www.instagram.com/brookgossen/

If you want to be a successful designer then one of the most important skills you need to develop is your critical design eye. 

In this podcast episode, we talk about your critical design eye, why it's so important and some tips for developing yours.

In this episode of the Design and Shine podcast, I talk to Christine Rice, who is a social media manager for online businesses and she also runs a fantastic small Facebook group called marketing for creative and unconventional women.

Christine and I dive into:

• what a funnel is and how it relates to social media for surface pattern designers
• a four-step funnel strategy
• using your funnel to sell your products and designs
• time-saving tips for posting beautiful images on Instagram
• recommended tools to make posting more efficient
• rescheduling popular content

Plus much more!

Click here if you would like to join Christine's free Facebook group community

In this podcast episode, I talk about investing in your surface pattern design business. I know it can be challenging for some people so we talk about why it's important, when you should invest and why should invest.

In this episode of the Design and Shine podcast, I’m going to be talking to textile designer and creative director Penny Gale who is the founder of Fabriculture, a new, contemporary design brand with the purpose of helping young people learn about our most endangered native species.

This is such an exciting brand and I absolutely love that Penny is creating designs with the purpose of educating as well as being gorgeous.

Click here if you would like to see Penny's gorgeous products and her Fabriculture shop

While our creativity is a beautiful expression of our own personal unique gifts and ideas, it can also carry with it a lot of things that can end up hindering our progress...

Things like criticism, self-doubt, and perfectionism.

So in this week's Design & Shine podcast episode, I explore why it's important to cultivate and nurture self-compassion.

• What having self-compassion as a creative means 
• Why it can help us progress in our creative practice
• How not having it can hurt us and keep us stuck
• What having self-compassion requires and how to nurture it!

In this podcast episode, I have the pleasure of speaking to Nerida Hansen about marketing strategies for surface artists.

Nerida Hansen is the founder and creative director of Nerida Hansen Fabrics. Through her business, she supports and collaborates with independent artists and illustrators and she’s just launched a brand new app PatternField App which connects surface artists and designers with art buyers from all around the world. Which is super exciting.

In this episode we talk all about marketing strategies as marketing is one of the areas that designers often really struggle with when building their creative businesses 

You can find out more about Nerida's Patternfield app here 

Do you feel overhelmed by marketing?

In this episode of the Design and Shine Podcast, I talk about simplifying marketing for pattern designers. If you're starting out it can be hard hearing about all of the things that you should be doing and feeling like you need to be doing all of those things and then feeling super overwhelmed which usually results in not doing anything.
So what are the really important things that you need to start with? What are the nice to have? What can you add to?

If you are wanting to start achieving your pattern design goals then it's really important to set some habits in place and start creating your daily art practice.

If you want to be a successful designer and you want to be able to sell your work then set up a daily practice is a foundational step as it's going to help you grow, nurture and develop your skills.

In this podcast episode we dive into some tips for creating your daily practice.

In this episode, I share some of my favourite tech tools that I use regularly within my surface pattern design business.

You can download my Pattern Design Secrets eBook here

If you want to be a successful designer then you need to start stepping up and doing the actions that a successful designer would do, starting with your thoughts and beliefs.

In this episode, we are going to talk about how your negative self-talk is stopping you from being successful and how you can reframe your thoughts so you can reach your full potential. 

You can download my Pattern Design Secrets eBook here

If you are wanting to create a successful design business you need to allocate time to business tasks but what happens when those business tasks take over and you no longer feel you have time for the design tasks?

In this episode, I talk about how to fit in time for both business and design tasks.

You can download my Pattern Design Secrets eBook here

If you are starting to get your surface pattern design portfolio ready to send to clients and you're not sure what to or what not to include then this podcast episode is for you.

I'll be talking through some tips that you may want to consider when preparing your portfolio.

It's really important if you want to step up and stand out as a designer that you consider branding within your business. 

Branding includes the assets you use e.g. fonts, colours and logos etc. but it goes far beyond that. Branding also includes your unique voice and the way you show up in your business.

In this podcast episode, we talk about the importance of branding within your design business and some tips for what you should and shouldn't do when it comes to branding.

If you are a surface pattern designer who is wanting to get to the next level and move away from being a hobbyist to a successful designer who is selling their designs consistently with a regular income then you need to allocate time for business tasks.

In this podcast episode, we talk about the importance of treating your design business as a business and I also share a few tips to help make that process easier.

In this podcast episode, I interview Elizabeth Silver.

Elizabeth Silver is a surface pattern designer who has been working in industry both in full-time roles as well as in her studio practice where she freelances and licenses her work.

We talk all about licensing, freelancing and running a design practice and Elizabeth gives us her tips for aspiring designers who are wanting to get work selling their designs.

You can find out more about Elizabeth here

Click here to find out more about Elizabeth's course 'Start Your Surface Pattern Design Business'

If you love what you're creating but you're facing a lot of failures, rejections, resistance, and you're hearing ''no thank-you'' so often, you may start to wonder how you're going to keep going...

How are you going to stay persistent if you're constantly facing obstacles?

This is what I want to explore with you in this episode:

The power of staying persistent and how you can learn some practical strategies that will help you keep at it!

I'll share tips on:

• How to maintain a positive mindset about failure and rejection 
• How to turn a ''no'' into an opportunity to improve and grow
• When to seek feedback or help from others
• How to stay committed to your goal yet also stay adaptable to change
• How to keep moving forward when you're feeling defeated!

So listen to this episode to get your mind back on track if you've been feeling like giving up on your art recently!

Are you ready to start promoting your portfolio but are not sure which website platform would suit you best?

In this episode, we talk about a few different options and the pros and cons of each.

If you've created a pattern design and can see that it's not quite working but are not sure why then you may be making one of these mistakes.

In this episode, I share 5 of the biggest mistakes I see when people are creating their pattern designs. 

If you're a surface pattern designer you may be thinking about getting an agent to represent you.

In this episode, we talk about the pros and cons of having an agent.

There are lots of different options for you to sell your surface pattern designs.

In this episode, I give you an overview of some of the popular ways that you can start selling your designs including licensing, freelancing and passive income streams.

You may be creating the most beautiful, successful designs in your own unique style but that doesn't mean you will successfully sell your designs.

In this episode, we look at mindset and identity and why it's so important in you becoming an accomplished designer.

Part of your role as a surface pattern designer is creating pattern design collections. 

In this episode we look at what a collection is and some tips to get you started creating one.

Colour is such an important element within a design and can often be the reason a design is successful or not.

People are often drawn to a design because of its use of colour so it's important as a surface pattern designer that you develop your colour skills.

In this episode, we look at some tips for you to consider for the next time you are creating a colour palette

A really important step in the design process is the design development phase.

This is the phase where you're going to explore and develop lots of different potential ideas that you can use within your pattern designs. 

In this episode, I give you some tips and talk about why it's so important.

Mood boards are such a great way to visually communicate your ideas and allow you to collate all of your inspiration in one place before you begin designing.

In this episode, I talk about what you should include on your mood board and why you should create one.

If you're looking for copyright free images, these are the sites mentioned:

https://unsplash.com/

https://www.pexels.com/

https://pixabay.com/

Have you ever sat down to start being creative and you've drawn a complete blank and you don't know where to start?

Finding inspiration is an important step in the design process as it will help you formulate your ideas and give yourself a direction to start developing your ideas from. 

I believe many creatives underestimate how helpful gratitude can be toward helping them reach success...

It's a simple mindset shift that can make a BIG difference - if you know how to use it in how you approach your creative work.

I share several ways you can start practicing gratitude in your creative business in this week's Design & Shine podcast episode, including:

• How to use gratitude to increase your daily inspiration, creative ideas, and new possibilities
• Ways that gratitude can help you overcome setbacks and failures in your business
• Why gratitude can help you grow into a thriving, successful creative artist with an authentic voice and style
• How it can also help you better connect with your audience and respond to their interest and feedback in a way that helps you, rather than letting it get you down! 

Listen to this episode and start practicing more gratitude in your creative business today!

In this episode, I talk about how I stay motivated and moving forward in my business while working from home.

I share some tips that help me stay focused and on track each day.

One of the things that I often hear is from pattern designers trying to get started in the industry is that the marketplace is oversaturated. 

Although there are many more designers, there are also many more opportunities to be successful. 

In this episode, I talk about the difference between someone who is successful or not and what it takes to be a successful designer.

Are you unsure whether you should use Photoshop or Illustrator for your pattern designs?

In today's episode, we're going to take talk about the pros and cons of each program. 

If you're wanting to start creating pattern designs but are stuck thinking you can't get started because your drawing skills aren't good enough then this podcast is for you.

We talk about other options for creating patterns as well as some exercises that will see you improve your drawing skills in no time.