Your Path To Success
Stages of a Flourishing Surface Designer
Follow this map to learn what stage you're in on the path to becoming a Flourishing Designer. It will guide you along the journey to what you need to do next in order to keep making progress on your goals!
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Stage #1
SPROUT
Feel inspired, discover all the possibilities waiting for you, and dedicate yourself to making this dream a reality!
Stage #2
SEEDLING
Begin to share about your work, become confident in your direction, and make time to move toward your goals and build your skills.
Stage #3
BUD
Begin to trust yourself, fall in love with Adobe Illustrator, set up systems and accountability to make forward progress.
Stage #4
ROOT
Begin building a brand, create in collections, build your portfolio and start sharing it with the world.
Stage #5
BLOOM
Build confidence in your entrepreneurial journey, create an annual plan and start building multiple streams of income.
Stage #6
FLOURISH
Work in your dream career, become a leader in your industry, build a team and make an impact in the world.
Lessons for each stage
Stage #1: Sprout
Feel inspired, discover all the possibilities waiting for you, and dedicate yourself to making this dream a reality!
Top 10 lessons in Flourish for the Sprout Stage:
- Mark Your Mission: Why Are You Here?
- Would You Buy Your Own Artwork?
- How to Cherish the Hardest Time in Your Career
- 10 Seconds of Courage is all You Need
- Getting Started & Staying Motivated
- One Thing a Day: The Secret to Success
- How I Quit My Day Job (And You Can Too!)
- To Share or Not to Share
- 5 Part Plan for Achieving Goals
- What I Wish I Had Known When I Was Starting Out
Explore More:
- How to Overcome + Recalibrate [Battling Overwhelm]
- Make Time for Mastery: Stay the Course
- 5 Books on Artful Living for Your Creative Journey
- Gratitude Journaling with Alisha Wielfaert
- Expert Spotlight: Success & Sharing Your Work
- Asking The Experts: Why Do You Love Being A Surface Pattern Designer?
- Behind the Scenes: Studio Tour
- Mindset: Overcoming Comparison
- Mindset: 10 Ways to Increase Accountability
- Flourish Challenge: Color
- Flourish Challenge: Develop Your Own Creative Brief
- Roundtable: Cultivating Creativity
- From Play to Patterns with Bonnie
- Ask Me Anything: Behind the Scenes of My Latest Fabric Collection
Stage #2: Seedling
Begin to share about your work, become confident in your direction, and make time to move toward your goals and build your skills.
Top 10 lessons in Flourish for the Seed Stage:
- Our Path to Focus with Bonnie
- Make Time for Mastery: Supercharge Your Progress
- Mindset: I Don't Have Time
- Behind the Scenes: A Day in the Life
- Behind the Scenes of the Immersion Experience
- Secrets to Success: Stephanie Sliwinski
- Immersion Alumni Roundtable
- Mindset: What Problem Do I Solve?
- Mindset: The Importance of Knowing Your "Why"
- Mindset: Building a Business with Boundaries
Explore More:
- Behind the Scenes: A Typical Work Day
- Design Inspiration: Found Writings
- The Long Game with Lisa Jacobs
- Get the Most Out of Your Practice with Bonnie
- Gratitude Illustrated with Arin Guthe
- Sharpen Your Skills: Color Theory with Xhico
- Easy Botany for Artists with Betsy Mitten
- Designing a Repeating Pattern the Old Fashioned Way with Francisca Reyes
- Stamping Natural Elements for Surface Pattern Design With Kimberly Crawford
- Flourish Challenge: Close an Open Loop
- How My Business Changed When I Began "Selling With No Ceiling"
- Behind the Scenes: How We Choose And Schedule Community Instagram Posts
- Using Children's Artwork
- Secrets to Success: Arin Guthe from True Cotton Art
Stage #3: Bud
Begin to trust yourself, fall in love with Adobe Illustrator, set up systems and accountability to make forward progress, and engage in creative play to find your signature style.
Top 10 lessons in Flourish for the Bud Stage:
- Mindset: The Importance of Play in Creativity
- Mindset: How to Set Good Goals
- Make Time for Mastery: Narrow Your Focus
- Secrets to Success: Amarylis Henderson
- Secrets to Success: Cara Naylor
- A Secret to Creating Complex Designs with Ease: Procreate & Illustrator tutorial with Carissa Bordeleau
- Design Inspiration: Welcome to the Garden
- The Principle of 5 with Barbel Dressler
- Q&A with Spoonflower
- Putting Your Passion to Work with Cynthia Oswald
Explore More:
- Mindset: Embracing Your Uniqueness
- Mindset: Rejuvenation + Inspiration
- Make Time for Mastery: Explore the Options with Designer Rebecca
- Make Time for Mastery: Set Yourself Up for Success with Program Manager Nikkita
- Secrets to Success with Erin Godbey
- Secrets to Success with Shirlee Fisher of Quiet Lines Design
- Secrets to Success: Genna Blackburn
- Secrets to Success with Bonnie
- Secrets to Success: Ash Paggi
- Build a Portfolio Site Using Adobe Portfolio
- The Easiest Way to Make a Pattern in Photoshop with Sarah Watts
- Design Inspiration: How I Capture Inspiration with Photography
- Showing Up Consistently Online with Cindy Guentert-Baldo
- Brand Brilliance with Emily Jeffords
- 2023 Print on Demand Roundup: The Latest Top Providers & Resources
- Photography Equipment + Resources Galore
- Exporting Files for Print on Demand
- Working with Texture with Lissie Teehee
- Pattern Scaling Tips with Bonnie
- Sharpen Your Skills: Tesselating Patterns with Ali Baecker
- Sharpen Your Skills: Beyond Brushstrokes with Colleen Underwood
- Sharpen Your Skills with Kiley Bennett
- [Email Marketing] Add This One Thing To Your Emails TODAY!
- The Road to Finding Your Signature Style
- Developing Your Signature Style with Jeanetta Gonzales
- Revive Your Archive: Make the Most of Past Work
- Reflection & Review for YOU with Team Bonnie
- Collaborating with Our Peers with Bonnie
- Procreate Workflow for Textured Vectors
- Quilting for Surface Design with Ally Ryde
- Creating a Surface Pattern in Photoshop with Melanie Stimmell
- Linocut Motifs for Surface Design with Susan Yeates
- Intro to Typography with Laramie “Xhico” Garcia
- Laser Session with Rebekah Lowell [Unifying Work]
- The Art of Storytelling with Rebekah Lowell
- Workflow Tips for the iPad with Amy Bradley
- Income as an Artist: Quick Wins & Growth Strategies with Bonnie
- Artist Success Interview with Lissie Teehee
- Secrets to Success with Kristin Cronic
- Secrets to Success: Meghann Rader
- Member Laser Sessions: Spot Illustrations, Portfolio Development + Pitching, Memberships
- Member Laser Sessions: Pitching, Passion vs Income, Business Workflows
- Etsy Roundtable: How Etsy Can Work for Your Business
- Collection Review with Bonnie: November 2024
Stage #4: Root
Begin building a brand, gather your work into a portfolio, and start sharing it!
Top 10 lessons in Flourish for the Root Stage:
- Workshop with Entrepreneur Hope Johnson: How She Doubled Her Instagram to Swipe Up in 8 Weeks
- Print on Demand Roundtable
- Your Portfolio Checklist
- Behind the Scenes: 12 Emails That Paved the Way
- [Email Marketing] How to Grow Your List - Part 1
- [Email Marketing] How to Grow your List - Part II
- Collections: The Art of Self-Critiquing Workshop
- Mindy Young From Indy Bloom Design: How She Makes 10K a Month on Spoonflower
- Secrets to Success: Gia Graham
- Resource Roundup: Industries, Products, & Creative Possibilities
Explore More:
- Mindset: Investing in Yourself
- Behind the Scenes of My Latest Fabric Collection
- Behind the Scenes: Wild Forgotten Fabric Collection
- Workshop with Bonnie: How to Price Your Work
- Connecting with Art Directors with Corinne Wells
- Cashflow Planning & Deductions with Amy Northard, CPA
- SEO for Creatives with Cynthia Oswald
- ETSY: Intro to E-Commerce with Tiffany Emery
- Harnessing the Holidays with Sarah Bourne Rafferty
- Happy Mail: What Goes into a Great Box Experience
- Publishing for Creatives with Editor & Author Bridget Watson Payne
- Automate Your Shop with Printful with Sara Curtis
- Grow an Email List with Amanda Stores
- Meet: Mariana Durst from Desk & Design [Website Design]
- 8 Books for Growth as You Root & Bloom
- Gathering Inspiration in the Slow Seasons with Bonnie
- Make a Portfolio That WOWS
- Completing Collections & Building a Portfolio
- Gathering Inspiration for a Pattern Collection
- Sharpen Your Skills with Lissie Teehee: Adobe Illustrator & Design Principles
- Mid-Year Review with Team Bonnie
- eCommerce: 5 Ways To Guide A Customer Through An Online Shop
- My Favorite Time Management Hacks
- How to Grow an Authentic Following
- Heartfelt Marketing with Bonnie
- [Email Marketing] How To Grow + Engage Your List
- [Email Marketing] Which Email Marketing Service Providers Should I Use?
- Outsourcing + Automation = More Productivity
- 3 of My Favorite Marketing Strategies: Emails, Signatures & Instagram
- Copyright for Artists
- How To Take Your Own Product Mockup Photos
- Collection Review with Bonnie (March 2024)
- Etiquette for Submitting Your Portfolio
- Flourish Challenge: Polish Your Portfolio
- Workflow: 7 Productivity Strategies
- Coaching Session with Melissa Hyatt on Project Planning & Time Management
- Create a Professional Portfolio with Adobe InDesign with Nayda Cruz
- Sustainability in Surface Design with Kimberley-Jayne from Mellow Ground
- Member Laser Sessions: Balancing Product & Licensing, Colorway and Portfolio Tips, Common Themes
- Product Perspectives: Researching & Getting Started
- Product Perspectives: Shop Planning, Pricing, & Launching
Stage #5: Bloom
Build confidence in your entrepreneurial journey, create an annual plan and launch strategy, send your work out into the world, and start building multiple streams of income.
Top 10 lessons in Flourish for the Bloom Stage:
- Secrets to Success: Hope Johnson
- Meet: Danielle Cook from OhHappyDani - Using Creativity for Good
- Mindset: Goal Setting + Implementation
- Audit Your Own Website with Sarah Ann Design
- 7 Revenue Streams from your Artwork with Stacie Bloomfield
- [Email Marketing] Setting up an Opt-In using ConvertKit
- Your 90 Day Plan to Launch ANYTHING Online [Part 1: Prelaunch]
- Your 90 Day Plan to Launch ANYTHING Online [Part 2: The Launch]
- Mindset: Getting Good at Receiving Feedback
- Revenue Streams Roundup for Creatives
Explore More:
- Products for Surface Designers
- How I Did It: Selling Art Prints with Laurie Anne Art
- Behind the Scenes of Immersion Live
- How I Did It: Featuring Author Jessica Swift
- How I Did It with Krista Elvey
- Protect Yourself: What To Look For When Reviewing A Contract
- Negotiating for Art Licensing Contracts
- Getting Your Work into the Right Hands with Jehane Boden Spiers
- Art Licensing + Pitching Your Work
- Licensing vs. Selling Outright
- Photo Greeting Card Design with Elena Wilken
- Meet: Sarah Watts from Ruby Star Society
- Live Portfolio Review with Bonnie January 2023
- Live Portfolio Review with Bonnie August 2022 [Portfolio Creation]
- Submitting Your Work: 8 Pro Tips
- Master List of Companies and Clients
- Submitting Your Work: Email Template + Swipe Files
- Subscription Boxes for Surface Pattern Design with Moira Fuller
- Laser Session with Sara Curtis [Creating an Income Plan]
- Laser Session with Dora Cuenca [Getting Your Work Seen]
- Your Avatar: How To Reach + Engage Your Ideal Customer (or Client)
- Your Avatar: Developing Your Ideal Customer
Stage #6: Flourish
Live your dream and help others accomplish theirs, lead in your industry, and make an impact in your community while continuing to build a business that works for you!
Top 10 lessons in Flourish for the Flourish Stage:
- New Year for a New You with Lisa Jacobs
- Meet Emily Jeffords: Adding Subscriptions to a Creative Business
- Meet Sarah Williams: The Subscription Box Expert
- 2023 Immersion Launch Debrief
- Behind the Scenes: Top 10 Apps I Use In Bonnie Christine
- The Art of Class Creation with Chris Vabre
- Behind the Scenes: The BC Shipping Room
- Laser Session with Corinne Wells [Avoid Overwhelm & Add Revenue]
Explore More:
- 10 Steps to Course Creation
- Creating Content For A Course [Pro Tips]
- Teaching Platforms
- Copywriting: 4 Steps To Writing Great Product Descriptions
- Copywriting: Writing Copy To Address Your Customers Concerns
- Copywriting: The Art Of Copywriting
- Affiliate Marketing 101
- Membership Sites 101
- Intro to Facebook Ads
- Laser Session with Adrien + Lemon Lovegood [Adding Residual Income]
- Behind the Scenes: The 2020 Immersion LIVE Set
