Why I Chose Spoonflower First (Even Though Licensing Is the Dream)
- Jun 22
- 3 min read
So I finished Cass Deller's Surface Pattern Design Course with a clear sense of direction, finally. (If you're wondering where I learned how to actually build a repeat in Photoshop without wanting to throw my laptop out a window, it was Cass Deller's course, genuinely can't recommend it enough.)
What I didn't have yet was a plan for how to put that direction into practice. Knowing where you're headed and knowing the actual first step are two different things, and that's the bit I had to work out for myself.
The long-term goal, the proper dream, is to be a licensed artist. Designs on fabric, homewares, stationery, made by someone else, sold in actual shops, while I do the art part.
That's still very much the plan, and I'm absolutely open to it if the right opportunity comes along. But I had a decision to make about where to put my energy first, and Spoonflower made the most sense. At this particular time in my life.
The Right Fit for Right Now
Spoonflower let me start putting my new direction into practice straight away. I can design at my own pace, upload when I upload, and build a real body of work without needing a brand relationship or a pitch already in place. It lets me get moving immediately instead of waiting for the "right" opportunity to start.
The real reason I'm glad I started here isn't just that it's an easy entry point. It's that it's actually making me better. Designing with an end use in mind, thinking about fabric versus wallpaper versus a specific product, has taught me more about practical pattern design than just making "a pattern" ever did. It's also given me a genuine reason to show up consistently. Not "I'll make something when inspiration strikes" but "I add to my shop, mindfully, on something resembling a schedule."
So it's not a consolation prize while I wait around for licensing. It's the actual training ground, real practice, with real people seeing the work, and it's not stopping me from saying yes if a licensing opportunity shows up along the way.
The Numbers, As They Actually Are
I've been on Spoonflower for just over three months now, with currently less than 100 designs in my shop. So yes, very early days. In that time I've made two sales.
Two.
I'm telling you these numbers on purpose, because it's easy to look at someone's shop from the outside and assume more is happening than actually is. It's not, not for me anyway. But I am getting likes and follows, small bits of encouragement here and there, and I know enough about how this works to know that's not nothing. This is a long game, and the algorithm rewards a real body of work over time, not a lucky early hit. So I'm playing the slow version, on purpose.
Some of my designs currently available in my Spoonflower shop.
Future Me, Eyes on the Shops
Here's what I keep coming back to: future me would love to walk into a shop and see my pattern on something. A cushion, a tea towel, wrapping paper, anything. I genuinely believe that's possible, not because I'm special, but because I'm willing to keep showing up and doing the steady, mindful work of getting better.
Spoonflower is where that happens right now. Licensing is still very much on the table, whenever it lines up, and in the meantime I'm not sitting around waiting for it. Less than 100 designs and two sales in three months is just where I am today, and that's fine, because today was never supposed to be the finish line.
And if you're curious where I learned the skills behind all of this, check out Cass Deller's Surface Pattern Design Course, it's the one I credit for giving me direction in the first place.
Affiliate disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only ever recommend courses and resources I've personally used and genuinely believe in, and Cass's courses are ones I recommend wholeheartedly, because they actually changed the way I work.
Comments