Navigating Spoonflower
Well HELLO there FRIENDS! Whew! It has been A WHILE! I have been BUSY figuring out Spoonflower and I ACTUALLY FINALLY have patterns available FOR SALE! I am so EXCITED!!!
In my last few posts, I have talked about practicing good habits, dialing it down, finding clarity and focusing on getting one or two things done instead of trying to do everything all at once. Wow, what a novel concept!
I had made a plan for the first six months of 2023 instead of the whole year because I didn't know what I didn’t know and how can I possibly plan a year out? Guess what? I didn’t know what I didn’t know even for the first item on that list. BUT IT’S JUST FINE, because I adapted, found the resources that I needed to find the answers (see below for resources.) I also realized that I need a new plan. PIVOT!
So basically, I am embracing Spoonflower and the world of fabric POD (Print on Demand). POD companies are great because they tend to be as sustainable as possible by only printing what people want, steps in place to make sure patterns repeat perfectly, non toxic inks… and more.
Every week Spoonflower has a Design Challenge with specific parameters that I have been participating in each week since mid January. I have to say, it really stretches my imagination and gets me thinking outside my “normal” and creating interesting things I wouldn’t have even thought to make. I have made a few that I thought were great (they weren’t) and a few that I am in LOVE with! Please check out my Spoonflower Shop here and my Collections Page here and go to Spoonflower Challenges.
Some of the things I had to figure out (and have been a thorn in my side for several months) are file sizes, exporting files, making actions on Adobe Illustrator (AI), and colors. I finally figured out a few ideal file sizes (after the fact) and correct exporting techniques. I also set up actions to make some frustrating AI tools work with the press of two keys! Colors, well, I am still working on that!
Now that I have resolved a few of my issues, I did go back and upload new versions of most of my patterns. But moving forward will be more efficient now that I have a streamlined workflow with many of the fine details ironed out! We learn from both our successes and our failures. I am always excited when I learn new things and they fall into place!
Whoop whoop!
PS: A BIG Thank You and Shout Out for/to Carrie Cantwell’s Skillshare Classes (I discovered her through my awesome friend Christina Yee).
