How Immersion Began

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.

Immersion began in the dearest quilt shop North Carolina has ever seen.

It was the tiniest quilt shop in Franklin, North Carolina. Spools of thread and buttons on display, sewing machines lining the countertops, and swaths of the most colorful quilts draped around every room.

My mom, Maxie, ran the shop.

She was an entrepreneur at heart, opening the doors early each day of the week and running the shop until closing.

She was an artist, stitching by hand, writing patterns, and layering fabrics to create masterpieces. Everyone wanted her opinion on their fabric pull.

Oh, how I loved stepping into her quilt shop.

I’ll never forget the moment I walked down one of the rows of fabrics. A floral pattern caught my eye, making me pause.

I stood there, pondering this fabric as if it were the first time I’d ever seen a pattern.

The pattern.

It danced across the bolt of fabric inviting me to lean in. How did it do that? I admired the soft curve of the petals, how the lines intertwined.

Someone drew this. Someone chose the colors. Someone decided it would look best on this background. Someone designed this pattern for their job. That’s an option?

I made a beeline for my desk as soon as I got home and Googled, “How to become a fabric designer.” And then I discovered it, the proper name for the most beautiful industry: surface pattern design!

Adobe Illustrator popped up after another search result or two. And step one of my journey began.

I didn’t expect the feelings of overwhelm and inadequacy to arrive on my doorstep as quickly as they did. And these fears delayed me for several months. But when I finally pushed them aside, I poured my full focus on becoming a surface pattern designer and pressed into the philosophy of doing one thing every single day that would move me toward my dream.

For a while, this meant sitting at my “studio” (a corner of our tiny kitchen table) and researching late into the night. I got very good at Googling...and letting my sleep quality slip through the cracks.

I’d pour myself a cup of ginger tea and open Illustrator. And in between stifled yawns, encouragement from my husband David, and a million and one challenges, I pressed forward.

Eleven months of consistent one-thing-a-days later? I made my very first repeating pattern in Illustrator. It was lime green and orange, not exactly my signature style, but oh, how I am so proud of that design.

It was magic. I was hooked.

Over the next twelve months, I spent my days creating as many designs as possible, learning and growing. It went something like this...

Click through Illustrator. Get stuck. Research the answer. Try again. Get stuck. Research. Try again.

Is that my signature style peeking through?

Get stuck. I need a walk outside. Design. Go to sleep. Try again.

A hundred patterns later, I compiled three collections into my very first portfolio, a handmade book filled with every ounce of my creative hopes.

Learning Illustrator on my own was a test of bravery. But what came next was no less challenging.

It was time to share my work with the world.

I began cold-calling companies and asking for feedback from art directors and fellow artists.

...Feedback on my self-taught, heart-filled patterns pieced together between Google searches and car rides with David on his way to work each morning. Do I belong in this industry? Is my work good enough?

“It only takes ten seconds of courage, Bonnie,” I’d tell myself as I dialed another art director, half hoping they’d pick up, half hoping the line would keep ringing.

At the International Quilt Market with my mom, my ten seconds of courage paid off. I stood before several art directors, so nervous I could hardly stand still.

What I dreaded came: feedback that was hard to hear and (more than one) rejection.

But in that same moment, an opportunity opened. The art director I admired most, the one I had really come to meet and had the highest hopes for, began flipping through my portfolio, describing my work as sophisticated, vintage, feminine, floral, and ethereal.

Was this even happening?

She turned to me and said, “I’d like you to cancel the rest of your meetings and be our next designer.”

In that moment, everything changed. I tried to blink away the tears welling up, and frantically looked around for my mom, my greatest inspiration.

Mom, I did it!

This one contract gave me the momentum I needed to keep pressing forward. Over the next few years, I accumulated seven or eight different licenses, which significantly grew our household income, eventually allowing me to retire David from his 9 to 5.

With my career as a surface designer in a steady, sustainable place, I felt a strong calling to help others learn what had been so difficult for me to master.

I had gone through this long journey completely alone. No one was teaching this online, and the industry felt incredibly closed. It was time to change that.

I had pieced my pattern design knowledge together from every corner of the internet.

So I created the best work of my life: Surface Design Immersion.

I buckled down with my three-year-old and five-year-old (and a growing business) and started writing down each step, mindset truth, and technical skill I had learned since the moment I first Googled surface pattern design so many years ago.

Once again, I did one thing a day.

I led three hundred and fifty-two incredible creatives that year, curious artists ready to create beauty to transform their designs into wallpaper, gift wrap, fabric, and so much more.

Today, that number has grown to over fifteen thousand, and Immersion has continued to expand with the industry, as well as my personal journey and expertise. Over the past decade, I have taught artists the beauty of surface pattern design, Adobe Illustrator, and the business of licensing and creative entrepreneurship.

It never gets old, seeing these beginnings around the globe.

I have experienced the joy of helping others step into this pattern-filled career, this pattern-filled life. It never gets old, seeing these beginnings around the globe as students choose to begin their Immersion story:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and more.

Meeting these creatives and hearing their stories always reminds me of where my own journey began: inside the dearest quilt shop North Carolina has ever seen.

Meet Immersion alumni and hear where their stories began!

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.