Throughout 2022 our Textile Design Lab community focused on finding work as a textile and surface designer.

In the spring, we focused on working for agents and studios. We heard from Periscope Art Agency, Kukukachu Studio, and Din + Bloom Studio.

This fall, we honed in on finding work and freelance clients independent of agents and studios. We heard from freelance artists Paula Pappenheim, Sandra Bowers Mejia, and Misha Zadeh on their best advice for working independently of agents and studios.

If you missed out, you can watch any of the tutorials and presentations at your own pace on the Textile Design Lab website.

We are now wrapping up our fall focus on freelance business life with a final course on business development and goal setting for the upcoming new year. This course begins on November 28th-December 9th, and you are welcome to join in on the fun!

Pattern Planning and Goal Setting schedule:

WEEK ONE: This week’s focus is on Goal Setting

•. Monday: Welcome and reflection on the year 2022
•. Tuesday: Identifying a long-term vision
•. Wednesday: What do you hope to achieve within the next year?
•. Thursday: What needs to happen to achieve your goals?
•. Friday: Create your quarterly goals

WEEK TWO: This week’s focus is on Pattern Planning using WGSN Fashion or Home

  • Monday: Quick Start Guide for WGSN
  • Tuesday – Thursday: Free time to explore WGSN and choose trends to focus on in 2023
  • Wednesday: We will hear from our Guest Expert Shawn Fink on Move Beyond a Side Hustle: Start Building Your Business Empire. Shawn is a business coach and creative entrepreneur. She has presented to the TDL before, you can read a feature interview with her here. Shawn will speak to the Textile Design Lab Wednesday December 7th at 1pm EST.
  • Friday: Tips for increasing productivity and time management

Let’s gather as a community to reflect on this year and dream about what we want for our future. Let’s use WGSN for market research to make art that clients and buyers are yearning for. Let’s be inspired by a motivational business coach so we can make 2023 the most productive yet! Let’s brainstorm, organize, share, create action plans, and uplift one another. Let’s do it together in the Textile Design Lab! You can sign up here, we can’t wait to meet you and help devise a plan that will make 2023 spectacular!

At Pattern Observer we strive to help you grow your textile design business through our informative articles, interviews, tutorials, workshops and our private design community, The Textile Design Lab.

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