March Meet the Maker: My FAQs answered!

A look behind the scenes of my surface design business and how it all started

I'm often asked questions about my route into surface pattern design and how it all started, so I thought I'd seize the opportunity offered by #MarchMeetTheMaker 2026 and answer some of my most frequently asked questions!

Q1: When did you make your first repeating pattern?

I created my very first pattern in March 2023. You can see my first attempt below!

At the time, I set myself a little challenge: give 'making patterns' a year to see if there was potential to create a business from it.

I threw myself into learning, taking classes on Skillshare and entering the weekly Spoonflower design challenges.

Looking back, my pattern making process at the start was not very streamlined. I was building repeats in a very clunky way, which meant I couldn’t easily go back and edit things, and it was tricky to visualise how the final repeat would look as I went along.

Everything changed when I discovered how to create patterns using a layout template. After this, suddenly things clicked, my workflow became smoother, and my creative process started to feel much more intuitive.

Q2. Do you have any formal art qualifications?

The furthest I got in art qualifications was a GCSE in Art! For anyone outside the UK, that’s an exam you take at age 16 during secondary school. It was one of my 10 subjects, but I didn’t pursue art any further after that.

Instead, I went on to study Theology at Cambridge University (focusing on Biblical Studies and New Testament Greek!)

At that point, becoming an artist wasn’t even on my radar, which just goes to show how unexpected creative paths can be!

Q3. Was surface pattern design your first job?

After university, I actually trained as a secondary school teacher and taught Religious Education, Philosophy and Ethics to students aged 11–18 for four years.

It was a challenging chapter in many ways, but also one I’m really grateful for. I worked with some wonderful colleagues, and discovered that I genuinely loved the teaching side of things.

That experience has actually come full circle, because the training I received back then has been invaluable in helping me create my surface pattern classes today.

When I had my twins, I made the decision to step away from teaching and focus on life at home, and a few years later, after my third daughter was born, I felt the pull to do something creative again and discovered hand lettering.

What started as a small creative escape during nap times quickly turned into an Etsy shop and I began selling hand-lettered cards, prints, and printables, learning as I went and loving the process!

The printable side of my Etsy shop is actually still going strong today and is almost completely passive income now.

Q4. What is your favourite part of the business?

What I love about my business now is how varied it is, and how many different things I have to work on.

I love 'designing days' when I can just get comfy and draw patterns, particularly if I'm working on a new collection.

I also love planning new resources that are going to help other surface patten designers. The teaching side of the business has been a steep learning curve for me, especially filming and editing classes but I am always happy to be learning new things, and there's always a huge sense of achievement when I finish something I've been working on for weeks.

I also love collaborating with other businesses and seeing my work come to life on real products. Even though pitching can feel labourious, nothing beats the excitment of securing a licesning deal!

So it's hard to say what my favourite part is - I think I just love that it is so varied!

Q5. What software do you use?

I'm a Procreate girl through and through! Procreate was where it all started for me, and I've never felt the need to involve another software in my design process.

I think there is a circulating myth that suggests you can't find opportunities or licensing deals if you don't use Adobe software, but I haven't found that to be true at all.

All my classes and resources are specifically designed for use in Procreate to suit others who love working in Procreate too!

Q6. What advice would you give surface pattern designers who are just starting out?

Firstly: Share your work! Even though it's not as good as it will be one day, it's important to share your work on social media. This is usually where the opportunities come from. If you scroll to the bottom of my instagram feed, you will see a very different artistic style when I started out, but I'm glad I started posting early on in my surface pattern journey, it is fun to look back on!

Secondly: Enter the Spoonflower Design Challenges. I've said it on this blog so many times, but this is a great way to design according to market trends, get your work seen and have something to work towards regularly.

Thirdly: Persevere. It takes a long time to build up income in this industry - nobody is an 'overnight success'. It takes many pitches, silences and rejections to find licensing deals. This is all very normal and part of the process, and makes it even more rewarding and exciting when you have a breakthrough!

Fourthly: Keep learning! At the start of my journey, I took loads of classes on Skillshare and I still continue to learn from youtube tutorials and blogs. I don't think you ever get to a place where you have learnt everything as an artist, there's always something that can be improved or developed in your creative practice.

Over to you!

I'd love to hear your stories of how you got into surface pattern design, or if you're just starting out, what you're hoping from your new business - let me know in the comments section!

If you have any further questions, I'm always happy to answer them, so put them in the comments below and I'll get back to you.