2019 has passed by quickly and is nearing its end. While I always love reflecting on what’s happened over the past year, I also get thrilled to dive into a new year (and decade) with our Textile Design Lab community! Staying connected and growing together is important to us all, personally and professionally.
Below you’ll find our schedule of events for the upcoming months. All events are included in a monthly or annual TDL membership. Other events, courses, and studio design opportunities will be added, as needed.
While all our courses and tutorials are available anytime, our group-study events are special. They offer a time when we come together as a community to have all of us work through one course. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!
Jan 13: Branding Group-Study, including access to WGSN
Our 2019 Summer of Creativity received so much positive feedback that we are simplifying the lessons and organizing them into a new branding course! This course was a game changer for so many designers and we are excited to share it with more designers.
In this course, designers will clarify “What aesthetic should I be known for?” and then begin creating pattern collections that tell their unique stories. They’ll identify what colors, patterns, and marketing materials best exemplify their unique style and apply this clarified look to their work, both new and old.
Feb 24: Art of Portfolio Curation Group-Study
Is your portfolio a constant source of worry? Are you worried you are showing too much work? Not enough work? Or the wrong work all together? It doesn’t have to be this way.
In the Art of Portfolio Curation, you’ll overcome the worry and overwhelm that develops when creating a portfolio. You’ll bring ease to the portfolio development process and learn a system that you can use to decide what to show, where to show it, and how to best organize your work to make your portfolio more accessible to buyers. The course includes seven lessons:
- Lesson One: Your Creative Process
- Lesson Two: Visual Identity
- Lesson Three: Curating Your Portfolio
- Lesson Four: Putting It All Together
- Lesson Five: Deciding What to Share and Where to Share It
- Lesson Six: Choosing a Theme
- Lesson Seven: Searching for Gaps
March: Marketing Workshop, includes access to WGSN Insight
In this two-week workshop we’ll explore a new marketing topic pulled from WGSN’s library of reports. Designers will take actionable steps to apply lessons learned to grow their business and advance their career. Live weekly chats will be held to provide feedback, insight, and guidance through the process.
March: Ultimate Guide to Repeats Group-Study
If you roll your eyes when you think of creating repeats, you’re not alone! There is nothing worse than staring at the result of your repeat project and still thinking that it is not as good as it could be. And often, working on repeats takes more time than we logically thought it should.
We do have to understand repeats, though, because more agents and studios are requiring seamless repeats. If you want their business, you need to be fearless in finding ways to make high quality repeats in less time and with more confidence.
In the Ultimate Guide to Repeats you’ll have access to a toolbox of techniques and guidelines to follow for creating professional repeats that agents, studios, and clients are looking for in today’s market.
April: Surface Pattern Design Mastery Group-Study
Ready to create eye-catching surface pattern designs? Learn how to turn your sketches, paintings, and illustrations into surface pattern design layouts in both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator in this new Textile Design Lab course!
In the past it has taken years to understand why some pattern layouts work and how to best develop a process that is quick and reliable for your development of eye-catching artwork. In Surface Pattern Design Mastery, you are going to speed up your ability to create the impact you want with your patterns so you can get them out there sooner. You’ll be able to create patterns in minutes, instead of days by using our surface pattern design layout templates.
May: Sellable Sketch Home Decor Group-Study, including access to WGSN Home
Bring clarity and focus to your collection development process. Take the guesswork out of what to design each season by picking appropriate trends for your target market while staying true to your own artistic style. Our most popular course! By the end of this course you will thoroughly understand:
- What elements lead to a successful print collection
- The importance of staying true to your artistic style
- How to pick appropriate trends and inspiration sources for your target market
- How to develop a print from sketch to digital file in both Illustrator and Photoshop
May: Print Studio Workshop
Designers who have a professional online portfolio developed—and who are ready to work with print studios and agents—are invited to join us for this four-week journey. We meet once a week during this time and explore this process:
- Researching studios in the marketplace
- Making small updates to their website
- Preparing marketing materials
- Reaching out to print studios for representation
I’m looking forward to seeing you all in the Lab.
Michelle
