Building Multiple Revenue Streams with Your Surface Patterns

By: Bonnie Christine

Story Adapted From Pattern Magazine – Volume 3

Pattern Magazine is Bonnie Christine's quarterly print and digital publication for surface pattern designers, artists, and creative entrepreneurs who believe that how you live shapes what you make. This story first appeared in Volume 3, Begin Again, the winter 2026 issue.

With your surface patterns.

“Can I actually make a living as a surface pattern designer?”

There’s no question that designing patterns for a living is beautiful. Your morning begins in your creative space. A steaming mug of something cozy sits beside you as your fingers thumb through your sketchbook. You find the pages that piqued your interest yesterday, squiggles you painted in ink, motifs inspired by the oak branches in your backyard.

The hours fly by as you begin turning those motifs into patterns, moving seamlessly between analog and digital as you create. You send off designs to a client, catch up on emails, and finish your day checking the fabric samples that just arrived at the door.

Your day is your own, filled with art from beginning to end. It’s beautiful. But is it financially viable? Does surface pattern design provide a sustainable source of income?

The answer is yes, especially when you embrace the idea of layering your income.

Think of your income as a painting. There is no shortage of colors to choose from when building a palette, but which colors you choose and how many determines your finished work of art.

Surface designers have countless opportunities to layer their revenue streams into an abundant, diversified income. By spreading a wide net, you can expand your earning potential and build stability for your business.

One income stream ebbs, the other flows.

And the opportunities available to surface pattern designers include selling without a ceiling. You can create once and continue to generate income multiple times through:

• RESIDUAL INCOME: Earn from your work long after it’s completed, through avenues such as licensing agreements and digital products.
• RECURRING INCOME: Enjoy predictable cash flow through membership models and subscriptions.

You can choose how you want to diversify your income and how many streams you’d like to establish. But with residual and recurring income, you have a coveted opportunity at your fingertips: Freedom.

Surface pattern design opens the door to creating from anywhere you want. For me, this meant building life in a tiny town in the Smoky Mountains close to family. It empowers you to set your own hours, to create a rhythm that fits your season and personal goals. And it gives you the freedom to create for a living, to fully step into the opportunities your art can provide instead of squeezing your creativity into the leftover margins of your 9 to 5.

Layering your income as a surface pattern designer will require hard work and consistent action. There is no denying this. It will require intentionality and focus. But is this beautiful career financially viable? Yes, it is.

8 Ways To Begin Layering Income Streams

Licensing Artwork

Think of art licensing as renting out your artwork while retaining the copyright. You grant permission for companies to use your art under specific terms. They can place your design on their products, and you receive a check in the mail.

You can often license the same artwork across multiple industries, which is an excellent way to increase your visibility as an artist. And once a piece of artwork is licensed, it can continue to generate revenue for years.

Art Prints & Illustrations

As you create patterns, you’re designing and layering beautiful motifs. Why not share those illustrations as standalone prints? You can print your art at home and ship it directly (this is what I did for many years) or use a print-on-demand service to handle the printing and shipping.

Print on Demand

Print-on-demand services, or POD services, provide a direct line to retail without the hassle of holding inventory or fulfilling orders. Simply upload your pattern onto the POD site, select the item you want to see your design on, and the POD service will print and distribute it to your customers. Most POD services provide a wide variety of products, from wallpaper and fabric to home decor and more.

One of our favorite POD services is Spoonflower!

Freelance & Commission

As a surface pattern designer, you can leverage your design skills for freelance and commission work. Think branding or editorial publications! Whether you’re designing in Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, or another platform, this is a straightforward way to layer your revenue with the skills on hand.

Selling Digital Products

Utilize your design skills to create digital products like eBooks, brand style packages, fonts, sewing patterns, coloring pages, and more. Create a few digital products, upload them online, and you’ve added another source of income.

Launching a Product Line

Consider opening a shop to sell your own products: greeting cards, aprons, pillows, journals, tea towels, wallpaper, gift wrap, and more. Filling your own shop with the products you created...it’s magic.

And you don’t have to learn how to do it alone. When we opened our shop, Flowerie, we launched The Greenhouse newsletter, a resource filled with behind-the-scenes shop development and business insights.

Working as an In-House Designer

While designing your own patterns, you can also work as an in-house designer for another company. Take contract projects as needed and as they align with your schedule. This can be especially helpful if you’re new to surface pattern design and want to hone your design skills.

Income Through Sharing Story & Skills

Share your story and skillset with others: how you choose color palettes, your tips for gathering inspiration, the rhythms you incorporate into your work, etc. You can showcase your design skills through online teaching platforms like Skillshare and CreativeLive.

Prefer sharing in person? Consider speaking engagements or one-on-one coaching. And if you find that you truly enjoy teaching (as I did), you might want to start a creative membership to help other artists discover this industry for themselves.

As you consider these income streams, focus on adding one at a time. Refine each one and ensure it is established and steady before moving on to the next.

With surface pattern design, your career is your artistic masterpiece. You choose the colors you want to paint and how many you want to use. You choose the order in which you layer them and which ones you focus on first. Your career is uniquely yours, and it’s filled with financial opportunity.

Watch 60 successful artists, illustrators, and surface pattern designers share how they create income from their artwork in just 60 seconds.

Wanting More?

This story comes from Volume 3 of Pattern Magazine, Begin Again. The whole winter issue, with every story and photograph, is at bonniechristine.com/patternmagazine.