The Brutally Honest Guide to Pattern Design Profits
Jun 16, 2025The Tale of Two Designers
Which One Are You?
Oliva's Story
It’s 2 AM. Olivia is hunched over her iPad, carefully adjusting the curve of yet another rose petal. She’s been obsessing over this floral pattern for three weeks straight—skipping Netflix binges, ignoring the laundry pile that’s reached Mount Everest status, and surviving on coffee and determination alone.
This isn’t just any pattern. This is the pattern that’s going to launch her surface design career into the stratosphere. Every bloom is positioned with surgical precision, each leaf colored with the perfect gradient that took her forty-seven attempts to nail.
Olivia has poured her heart, soul, and a few tears into this masterpiece. She can already envision it on luxury bedding and high-end wallpaper. In her mind, this single pattern is her golden ticket—the one design that will have licensing companies filling her inbox with offers.
Fast forward to upload day. Olivia places her precious creation in her Etsy shop. She crafts the perfect Instagram post, complete with behind-the-scenes shots of her creative process, inspirational quotes about following your dreams, and every trending hashtag from #surfacepatterndesign to #floralart.
Then she waits. And waits.
And… nothing happens.
Maybe she gets a heart or two.
But no one contacts her for a sale. Her pattern sits in digital limbo..
Emily's Story
Meanwhile, across town, Emily takes a completely different approach. She’s thinking like a savvy business owner who happens to create gorgeous art.
Emily spends her three weeks differently. She creates five complementary patterns that work together like a perfectly choreographed dance troupe. There’s a main hero pattern featuring bold florals, a smaller-scale coordinating ditsy with similar motifs, two simple stripe patterns that borrow their colors from the hero pattern, and a design made up of small polka dots.
Emily’s patterns tell a cohesive story, offer buyers endless mixing and matching possibilities, and solve multiple design problems. They are pure magic.
Emily uploads her collection with strategic thinking behind every decision. She knows that when a customer falls in love with one pattern, they’re likely to want the whole family. She has essentially created a one-stop shop for anyone looking to redecorate a nursery, design a wedding suite, or launch a new product line.
The result? While Olivia’s masterpiece collects digital dust, Emily watches sales notifications ping her phone. Customers don’t just buy one pattern from Emily—they buy her entire collection. Some even message her asking when she’ll release coordinating collections in new color variations.
Pretty Isn’t Always Profitable
The point of this tale isn’t that Olivia’s pattern wasn’t beautiful—it absolutely was. The issue was strategy.
After seven years in the pattern design world—and seeing my work land in major retailers like HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, and Nordstrom Rack—I’ve experienced both the triumphs and the heartbreak. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I don’t sugarcoat my journey. I’ve shared the mistakes, the missteps, and the moments I wanted to quit. But here’s the truth I’ve learned: every successful designer eventually makes one crucial shift—committing to Strategic Pattern Design.
You can spend hours (okay, weeks) like Olivia crafting a stunning floral repeat, tweaking every petal and perfecting every color. You post it online, maybe even upload it to a portfolio site… and then? Heartbreaking silence.
This is the hard truth no one tells you when you start designing patterns.
If you know what I'm talking about, I want you to know something important: You’re not doing anything wrong. You’re just missing the strategy that transforms your beautiful art into a professional, income-generating pattern collection.
That’s why I created 👉 The Pattern Collection Playbook
A completely free 5-day email course that walks you through the foundation every surface pattern designer needs to start earning real money from their work.
The Problem Many Pattern Designers Don’t Realize They Have
Most of us start designing because we love to draw. We love color, layout, and the creative rush that comes from seeing a design come to life.
But when it comes to turning those designs into a business?
We’re just kind of… winging it.
We make whatever we feel inspired to create. We upload individual patterns to Spoonflower or a portfolio site. Maybe we pitch one or two of them to an art director and hope for the best.
Without a clear strategy, those patterns don’t connect. They don’t sell. And they certainly don’t build the kind of consistent income that lets you say: Yes, I’m a full-time creative business owner.
That’s where The Pattern Collection Playbook comes in.
What Is The Pattern Collection Playbook?
It’s my free 5-day email course for surface designers who are ready to move from hobbyist to professional.
Inside, I walk you through the same approach I use in my own design business—an approach that helped me:
- License my patterns to major retailers and small brands I love
- Build consistent monthly income from my art
- Stop spinning my wheels and start building a business I actually enjoy
And no—I'm not going to tell you to sketch more, post more, or grind more. This isn’t about hustle.
It’s about alignment, intention, and smart strategy.
Here’s a Sneak Peek at What You’ll Learn
I don’t want to give away all the details (that’s what the course is for!), but here’s a little preview of what each day covers:
✦ Day 1:
The #1 Reason Most Pattern Designers Fail to Make Money Consistently
(Hint: It’s not a lack of talent.)
✦ Day 2:
How to Ensure Your Patterns Are Ready to Market
Because good design isn’t always marketable design—and that’s a fixable problem.
✦ Day 3:
The Secret to Getting Your Patterns to Stand Out in a Crowded Market
Discover how to position your art so that it gets noticed—and remembered.
✦ Day 4:
A Proven Process to Escape the “Overworked & Underpaid” Trap
This is how you reclaim your time and start earning more.
✦ Day 5:
How to Stop Being a Hobbyist & Start Showing Up as a Creative Business Owner
This shift alone changed everything for me.
Why I Created This Course (And Why It’s Free)
When I started out, I searched everywhere for a resource like this.
I took random courses, joined memberships, watched free YouTube tutorials, and listened to every podcast under the sun. And while they helped me improve as an artist, they didn’t help me grow as a business owner.
So I made a ton of mistakes.
I created scattered portfolios. I pitched designs that weren’t ready. I said yes to every opportunity—even if it paid pennies. I designed for years without ever getting the results I wanted.
Eventually, I cracked the code. I figured out what buyers were actually looking for. I learned how to make my patterns part of a collection, not just another pretty print.
And I learned how to show up as a creative business owner—not just an artist hoping to get lucky.
Now I want to save you years of trial and error and give you the shortcut I never had.
And yes, The Pattern Collection Playbook is free—because this is the foundation I believe every pattern designer deserves to have.
Who Is The Pattern Collection Playbook For?
The Pattern Collection Playbook was made for surface designers who are:
- Feeling stuck between “pretty” and “profitable”
- Tired of posting patterns that go nowhere
- Ready to license their work, pitch clients, or build a passive income stream
- Unsure how to make their portfolio feel cohesive and market-ready
- Serious about building a creative business—not just playing it safe as a hobbyist
If that’s you, I hope you’ll join me.
Because once you see how to build strategic collections with purpose, your entire business shifts.
