Design Tribe Podcast

Originally aired on Harmony Hardin's YouTube Channel.  Check out the video version here.   From Harmony: Ah, art style. The elusive "thing" we want to be known for as artists. Have you been stuck on that big topic, wondering what to do to find your art style, what all goes into developing an art style, not knowing if you've found yours? Or even where to start? Do you struggle with thinking you need to actively develop a style, or that it should come naturally, but it just isn't happening for you? Are you still copying other artists for practice, but stuck in art block as soon as you try to come up with a style and concept of your own? Uff, it can feel frustrating and confusing, for sure. On the 15th episode of art business podcast "Harmony & Friends", Terry Runyan, Nina Cvijovic and Lauren Lesley share their personal path to finding their current style, and their insights into how you can get there, too. Join us live if you can! It's lots of fun to hang out with the community in the live chat, and by joining, you have the chance of getting your question displayed during the livestream and answered by the panel. Share the link with a friend too, the more, the merrier! If you enjoyed this conversation, consider subscribing to the channel, where we have a conversation just like this one approximately every 2 weeks. Though we do not give you step by step art business advice or tutorials, the conversations shed light on 3 different examples, 3 different lives experiences. You will hear directly from successful artists about a specific income stream or art business topic, and how it works specifically in the businesses they have built. Enjoyed this video? So many more fun & insightful artist chats this-a-way: https://www.youtube.com/@HarmonyHardi... //   ARTISTS: Terry Runyan Visual Artist & Creative Encourager Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terryrunyan Website: https://terryrunyan.com YouTube: @terryrunyan   Nina Cvijovic Illustrator & Pattern Designer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diujdi Website: https://diujdi.com   Lauren Lesley Textile Designer YouTube: @laurenlesley Website: https://laurenlesley.com/sketchbookin...   Harmony Hardin Host & Watercolor Artist NEW Etsy Shop: https://harmonyhardin.etsy.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harmony.har... YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HarmonyHardi...      

ART STYLE ACADEMY:  https://www.laurenlesley.com/asa-sales-page-35-spots DM me on Instagram:  @LaurenLesleyStudio   Do These 6 Things BEFORE Going Full-Time as an Artist Hey!  How are you?  If we haven’t met before, I’m Lauren.. I’m your host of the Design Tribe podcast, and I’m an artist and textile designer.  In the last episode, I went into pretty great detail about what it was like working as a full-time artist and licensing surface pattern designs.  So if you missed that episode, be sure to check it out.   I know a lot of you are either trying to make it as a surface pattern designer OR you dream of one day being able to leave your day job to license your artwork to companies.   I spent 2 years as an independent artist, and although there were many things I loved about working independently, I ultimately went back to an in-house job as a Senior Textile Designer.     A lot of these tips I’m about to share with you are things I WISH I did before making the leap to being a full-time artist.  We’ll talk about all the money stuff in the very last tip so be sure to stick around for that juicy topic.   Okay, so my first tip is to…   Publish a class to Skillshare. This might not be the advice you were expecting, haha! And to be honest, I’m a little annoyed with Skillshare, because last year they cut their teacher’s income by almost half - with no warning. From a business perspective, I understand if they needed to do this, but they really should have been up front about it and approached the cut in a much more gradual way.  So, it felt really crappy.. Especially when a lot of teachers relied on this as a dependable stream of income. BUT! The reason my first tip is to upload a class to Skillshare is because when you go full-time as an artist, you will need some recurring revenue coming in on a regular basis.   When it comes to teaching, Skillshare is one of the easiest places to start, because they already have such a great built-in audience with lots of students who are creative.   Domestika is another popular teaching platform you could choose if Skillshare has lost your trust.  I haven’t personally uploaded classes to Domestika so I can’t comment on whether I like the platform or not, but other artists seem to really like it. Another reason to upload a class is to just get your feet wet and see if you enjoy teaching. A lot of full-time artists teach on a platform like Skillshare or sell a course as a way to supplement their licensing income, which if you’ve ever done any licensing, you know very well it can fluctuate a lot! Your first class doesn’t even have to be related to what you WANT to do moving forward.  It’s easy to think:  “Well, I can’t teach about that, because I don’t have enough experience yet.”  And you would be right! Instead, think about where you were 5-10 years ago.  What have you learned since then? Your course could be about learning how to use Photoshop or how to draw a Still Life.  What are some things you learned in school that you could teach?  What did you major in?  It doesn’t even have to be art-related! It does help to keep your class topics related in the long term, but for your very first class - it could really be anything. The idea is for you to discover A.) if you enjoy teaching - e.i. Filming yourself, doing a little video editing, etc.  and B.) to start generating some recurring revenue. Develop your Art Style When you’re working as an in-house designer, it can be really hard to find your own Art Style.   Often when we work an in-house job, you get really good at doing ANY style… depending on what the project needs. Companies often try to fill out the white space in their line by covering a range of styles from traditional to modern to boho, you name it.  That means, as the designer, you develop the skill of designing ANY style. The problem with that is… you start to lose a sense of your own style and who you are from the inside out. You might get excited by new trends or a new project that changes things up.  When you like soo many different things, it can be really hard to narrow down to just ONE look.  Especially, when you don’t know what’s going to sell or which style might be the most reasonable to pursue.When you can do any style, HOW do you pick?! This gets very tricky, because in LICENSING… companies are really only interested in licensing when your art brings something new to the table… something that they don’t already have from their own in-house designers. Companies want to know what YOUR perspective is. Think of the Jungalow brand. Justina Blakeney brought a brand new perspective to home décor by covering her house in an explosion of plants and colorful textiles.  In a time where Minimalism and white sofas were extremely popular, she did the opposite thing… and by staying true to her own vision, this Boho Maximalism style exploded. Think of Rifle Paper Co. and the unique style of Anna Bond’s florals.She brought a brand new look to florals that really highlights her own unique style that’s painterly, colorful, and friendly. Oftentimes, companies want to license work that’s the same, but different.  This means the subject matter is often the same… like the florals that are so famous from Rifle Paper Co.  But the WAY Anna Bond painted them was so different. Style is all about technique. If this is something you’re struggling with, I do offer a self-paced online program called Art Style Academy.  When you go through my program and do the work, you will develop your own style by the end of the course.  If this sounds interesting to you, you can check out the link in the show notes or check out my website at LaurenLesley.com - and Lesley is spelled with an E-Y. Create a Portfolio with a Large Body of Work Once you’ve developed your Art Style, the next area of focus is to build out your portfolio.  It will be sooo much easier to get the ball rolling if you already have a full portfolio to sell. From there, you can decide if you want to work with an agent, upload to an on-demand site, or exhibit at a tradeshow. So, you might be wondering… “Okay, but how many pieces do I need to have in my portfolio?” Honestly, you probably need close to 100 pieces in your portfolio.  I know this sounds like a lot, but it’s important to work in collections and some of these could be coordinates.  For each collection, you also need to work in a limited color palette and make sure your pieces are looking related to each other. If you are cold-emailing Art Directors, you don’t necessarily need 100 pieces to start.  You can pitch collection-by-collection. But if you’re investing a lot of time, money, and energy to exhibit at a tradeshow, I recommend going in prepared with A LOT of work.  You’re more likely to gain contracts if you have a collection that really resonates with a client. Okay, so what else? Start uploading to ONE On-Demand Site Etsy Society 6 Spoonflower Creative Market Patternbank MintedUploading to On-Demand sites can be a bit tricky for a lot of reasons.  I feel like that might be another whole podcast episode. But I think a lot of artists try uploading to one site, find that they’re not having success so then they switch and try a different site. A lot of time gets wasted posting and re-posting your designs on so many different sites. I think it’s important to figure out WHICH site you like the best up front - before you quit your day job.  Figure out which site is converting to sales. For example, my Character Builders sold really well on Creative Market.  Customers on Creative Market are usually other designers and they understand how to use programs like Illustrator.  They buy these products to save themselves a little time. However, when I tried to sell the same designs as Clip Art on Etsy it didn’t do very well.  I had too many customers sending me private messages wanting me to customize the clip art for them and I was trying to get away from hourly work. I ended up preferring Creative Market to sell digital products, because I made the most money and customers weren’t asking me to customize the artwork for them. I also like Patternbank the best for uploading pattern designs to the internet.  But I’ll admit I have a love-hate relationship with this platform.  When a design sells, the money is a lot better than other sites I’ve experienced.  However, I’m constantly agonizing over which patterns I want to remain in my Licensing Portfolio and which ones I want to sell on Patternbank.   If there’s something I no longer love, or don’t feel as strongly about, in my Licensing Portfolio, I sort of think about it like putting those patterns on clearance by posting them to Patternbank.  It doesn’t make them bad, but it’s something I am just kind of “over” and I want to get rid of it.   Because I spent time on it, I want the ability to earn some kind of ROI, but I don’t love it enough to continue spending future-time on pitching it to clients. I think artists have a lot of different opinions on these ON-DEMAND sites.  Some feel that it devalues the industry and isn’t worth the low pay.  But other artists sometimes “get found” on these sites and it can really boost their career. Other sites like Minted and Spoonflower offer design challenges that I think can really help you understand what types of designs sell and how to level up your artwork.  So, if your artwork skills need developing this is a great place to get an education! The main point I want to make here is to play around with this option and figure out if you like it BEFORE quitting your day job.  I’d recommend only choosing one or two On-Demand sites you like and stick with it.  If you try to post to all of them, you’ll spread yourself too thin and you won’t make any progress. Start Outsourcing Hire an Assistant DesignerBelieve it or not, when you become a Full-Time Artist you have also decided to become a Business Owner.  You’ll need to set up an LLC (if you’re in the U.S.) and save at least 3

Art Style Academy:  https://www.laurenlesley.com/asa-sales-page-35-spots Guest Episode Application:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIGrg1q59yw4c47VniYirOBpp2aoEYjA33N9o9a4eWgYR_tw/viewform?usp=pp_url   Transcript: Hey, how are you?  I basically disappeared from this podcast for the past 2 years and I owe you an explanation!   If this is your first time listening, hey, I’m Lauren of Lauren Lesley Studio.  I’m an artist and textile designer, and I started The Design Tribe podcast back in 2019 as a way to add some transparency to someone who was just getting started in surface pattern design and the whole licensing world.   In this episode, I’m going to spill the tea on what it’s REALLY like being a full-time artist…. Full disclosure:  it’s not exactly how I thought it would be.   But first, let me explain where I’ve been and what the plan is for the Design Tribe podcast moving forward!   Back in the Fall of 2021, I decided to go back to an in-house job and I found out I was pregnant all in the same month!    On top of that, my husband and I decided to move houses to have a more suitable neighborhood for our baby to grow up in.  The idea of moving after our daughter was born really stressed me out so we were on an intense timeline trying to find the right place.   The housing market was incredibly competitive when we were moving and it basically took up 150% of my time.   We literally closed on our old house one week before my daughter was born! Then, she came into the world and my full attention was on her.   So, I’m very sorry that I’ve been gone for so long.  That was never exactly the plan, but you know, sometimes life gets in the way of creative pursuits.   So, what is the plan for the Design Tribe podcast moving forward?   During this season of life, I have to be realistic about the fact that I just don’t really have time to conduct a lot of interviews myself.   But, that doesn’t mean I won’t in the future.  I personally hate the idea of letting this podcast die just because of my own time constraints.   So, I started thinking outside the box and was wondering what WOULD be feasible for the podcast moving forward.   Sometimes, as artists and designers, we simply don’t have time to create ALLLL of the content all by ourselves.  It’s probably been a year since I’ve even created an Instagram post for my actual feed..  I am way more active in my Stories though!   But, the point is…. I started thinking what if The Design Tribe lived up to its name and became more of a collective effort?  Wouldn’t it be great to be able to hear from different voices and different artists who have different experiences?   SO!  I’m opening up the podcast to publish more guest episodes.   That means, if you are an artist or designer who has conducted your own interviews… either in podcast format or on YouTube… and you’d like to repurpose your episodes for further reach, please get in touch with me!   Especially, if you find yourself unable to keep up with a demanding weekly interview schedule on your own podcast… I’d love to collaborate with you!    Wouldn’t it be great to slow down and put our content efforts together… and get a bigger bang for your buck?   Imagine if you could relax the pace and schedule out one interview per month.  The Design Tribe is the perfect place to contribute those podcast episodes and reach more people.   If this sounds interesting to you, please look in the show notes for an application.       OKAY, so now let’s get into the good stuff.   Why the heck did I return to an In-House job and what was it REALLY like being a Full-Time Artist?   So, I dreamed about being a full-time artist for as long as I can remember.  Back in college, I was an oil painter so back then I envisioned doing something more along the lines of Fine Art.   But upon graduating, I realized I needed a JOB and a stable income to pay the bills.   So, I got my first job in Graphic Design at a T-shirt company.  While I loved some of the people I worked with, I still longed for something more creative.   That’s when I discovered Textile Design.  I ended up pivoting to a Textile Design job and have honestly really loved working as a Textile Designer.  It’s 10X more fulfilling than Graphic Design ever was, for me.   However, at my first Textile Design job I worked with a lot of licensed artists.  This is where I first got an education about licensing.  And I started thinking, huh… how do I get onto the OTHER side of this licensing thing?   I saw that these artists had their own style, their own brand, and their own name on their designs.  They got to keep the copyright and license their work across multiple products.  And what was really cool is that they were totally independent business owners!   That sounded like something I really wanted to do.   Long story short, I went independent and started my own design business back in 2019.  I worked really hard to develop my own art style, I exhibited at Blueprint Trade Show, and I landed my first licensing deal.   Things were starting to happen!   But, the reality with licensing is that it takes a LONG TIME to get paid.  I kinda already knew this and thought, “Okay… if I get can multiple deals throughout the year then it will start to build up… and I can probably replace my old salary by the end of the year.” And friend, let me just tell you that is NOT what happened.   I quickly realized how difficult the licensing world is in terms of making a full-time income.  I even signed with an agent, but it didn’t prove to be very fruitful.  I wasn’t getting a lot of deals through my agent and I became really frustrated since I had no control over the process, and when I did get a deal, I had to split my income basically 50%.   I thought that the agent was going to get me enough deals to make their cut worth it, but that’s not what actually happened.   Now, I realize that some artists are able to build 6, or even 7, figure businesses from licensing, but the truth is that licensing income can fluctuate A LOT!   I learned that most artists are supplementing their licensing income with multiple streams of income, and I can guarantee that the majority of those 6, or 7, figure art businesses are doing the same.   I made a lot of friends in the surface pattern world, and I’m so grateful for their transparency and kindness, and willingness to talk to me.   Most artists supplement their income either with freelance work, a YouTube channel, teaching, coaching, selling books, or some other means of reliable income.   This is just the reality of licensing for 99% of artists!   I basically tried all of the things, which took a LOT of time.  Sometimes, I felt like a chicken with its head cut off running around trying to make this independent artist thing work.   I always felt spread too thin, and maybe if I had concentrated on only 1or 2 alternate streams of income, I could have had more success earlier on.   But the truth is, without some experimentation you just don’t really know what you enjoy doing or what’s going to work for you.   I realized that I absolutely hated doing freelance work, but I really enjoyed making YouTube videos and teaching classes.   The funny thing is… I always thought I would love freelance work!  I fantasized about working from home, making my own schedule, being able to travel and take my laptop on the go, and choosing the clients I worked with.   And hey, some designers do really love working with their freelance clients!  I think if you can nail down really good clients who repeatedly come back to you with a reliable stream of work, it can be a lot better.   I had so many people contact me who gave me a design brief, said they wanted to hire me, and then… crickets.  They would ghost me completely.   For the freelance gigs I did have, I felt nickel and dime-d to the point where I dreaded working on their projects.   I know, I know.  Lauren, you need to charge more.   I really feel like I tried to charge an appropriate amount, but I felt resentful that so many people wasted so much of my time.  A lot of that time spent emailing and sending quotes and, of course, I never got paid for that time.   I understand that you need to charge more to account for this if you really want to make it as a freelance designer, but that just wasn’t the reality I was experiencing.    I kept thinking that all I ever really wanted to do was license my artwork and see my name on my own art.  I wanted to see it exist out in the world.   Of course, I wanted to earn a living from it, but that could take a lot of years of build up and I didn’t have that much time to spend on my portfolio alone.    I kept thinking that if I need to do THIS MUCH WORK to supplement my licensing, wouldn’t it just be easier to supplement it with an in-house job?   You see, a lot of the ways artists supplement their income ALSO take a long time to create.  It can take at least a year to write a book or create a class.  With teaching online, there’s all of the planning, writing, filming, editing, uploading, and designing the pages.  Then after that, there’s all of the MARKETING you have to do to make sure people know about your class.   And yes, I enjoyed creating classes (and plan on doing more in the future!)… but I also felt like it was taking a lot of time away from actually creating art.  Which is WHY I wanted to be a full-time artist in the first place!   I spent so much time and energy trying to supplement my income that I was probably only spending about 10% of my time actually making art.   There were definitely a lot of things I enjoyed while being a full-time artist, but ultimately, I was really stressed out about not being able to replace my old salary from my Textile Design job.   So, lo and behold, a new position opened up at my old company for a Senior Designer.  I was extremely interested in the category and re-joined!  And in the same month, found out I was pregnant, haha.   So, needless to say, the past 2 y

In this episode of the Design Tribe podcast, I'm chatting with Jenna Rainey and Julie Turkel about how to get your art in retail stores + so much more! Jenna Rainey is a successful licensed artist with an incredible YouTube channel with over 120K subscribers. She provides tutorials for illustrators, calligraphers, and watercolor artists. Jenna has collaborated with brands like Papyrus, Anchor Brewing Company, and Target!   Website: https://jennarainey.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqWj...   Julie Turkel is a licensing agent who started at Nickelodeon, building the brand collab business from the inside out. Julie left Nickelodeon to then go on to represent Jonathan Adler, Nate Berkus, Dabney Lee and Jenna (among a few others). After 25 years in the business, her expertise is in brand licensing and she and Jenna have a unique experience working together on fun projects like a calendar line in Staples, a collection with Toki Mats for baby mats and more!   During the livestream, we discussed: - How to get your foot in the door and products on the shelves of retail stores - How to build a profitable licensing business - What is licensing (brand collaboration) and is it for you?  - What getting your work in Staples, Target and big box retailers really looks like - Trend Research and Informative Research to help with developing your signature style and strategy as a creative entrepreneur - Key elements to building a brand that everyone must know ➡️ Take my FREE MINI COURSE, Art Style Secrets: 1.) Subscribe to my Channel 2.) Like this Video 3.) Click the link below 👇 https://bit.ly/2UitNqB .   ➡️ Get my 2022 Trend Guide:  https://www.laurenlesley.com/trend-2022   🤓RESOURCES: https://www.laurenlesley.com/resources    ART SUPPLIES http://bit.ly/2H4z8uc  BOOKS http://bit.ly/2J2DeGF  DESIGN TOOLS http://bit.ly/2DS7PTo  SKILLSHARE CLASSES **Get 2 weeks free!!** https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/lau...  YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT http://bit.ly/2V4nnsI 🔴 Be sure to SUBSCRIBE + click the bell 🔔 for more design tutorials, business tips + creative strategies:  http://bit.ly/2LGqRNE

➡️ Join my free mini course, Art Style Secrets: https://www.laurenlesley.com/sign-ups-art-style-secrets   🎧 LISTEN TO THE DESIGN TRIBE PODCAST: ⭐️ Be sure to leave a rating + a review! iTunes: https://apple.co/2xZIPsy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LHe2TB   📲🤳🏻 SHARE IN YOUR IG STORIES + TAG ME: http://instagram.com/laurenlesleystudio #laurenlesleystudio      

➡️ Get your copy of Price With Purpose: Click here to get your copy.*   🎧 LISTEN TO THE DESIGN TRIBE PODCAST: ⭐️ Be sure to leave a rating + a review! iTunes: https://apple.co/2xZIPsy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LHe2TB 📲🤳🏻 SHARE IN YOUR IG STORIES + TAG ME: http://instagram.com/laurenlesleystudio #laurenlesleystudio    *Affiliate links.    

➡️ Get your copy of my 2022 Trend Guide: https://www.laurenlesley.com/trend-2022   🎧 LISTEN TO THE DESIGN TRIBE PODCAST: ⭐️ Be sure to leave a rating + a review! iTunes: https://apple.co/2xZIPsy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LHe2TB 📲🤳🏻 SHARE IN YOUR IG STORIES + TAG ME: http://instagram.com/laurenlesleystudio #laurenlesleystudio   TRANSCRIPT: Speaker 2 (00:06): Hey, what's up. Y'all I'm here in beautiful Atlanta. And today I wanted to talk to you about trends. I'm currently in a deep dive of trend research for 2022 and wanted to let you know that I've got several pre-order discounts going on for my 2022 trend guide, plus a live workshop for those of you who sign up early, just head over to my website@laurenleslie.com and click on trend. Leslie is spelled with an E Y and join my email list to get the next discount. All right, thanks for listening to the design drive. Let's start the episode.   Speaker 3 (00:44): Okay. So why are trans important? I think this is the first question we should start out with because there are designers out there who really hate trends and they don't think trends are important. They have no interest in following them. They maybe see trends as being cheap and too commercial or, you know, kind of like it kind of like you lose yourself as a designer. If you're chasing trends all the time, you don't really have sort of this aesthetic that defines your own brand. But to me, I really see trends as art. Especially when you are looking at runway shows and some of the, you know, beginning stages of where these trends are developing. And I mean, it really is art. And I know that these things have a commercial use and that the trends are going to kind of push sales for a lot of products.   Speaker 3 (01:41): Right. And, you know, I understand why people will see that as you know, oh, it's a gimmick or it's a sales tactic, but the thing is of that transit sell for a reason. And it's because they're inspiring. And I don't think that these two concepts are mutually exclusive, right? Like I don't think that just because something sells well, it's automatically not art or it's automatically cheap, right. Just because it's commercial, it doesn't mean that it's not a really amazing and deep and valuable. And so I think that, you know, when you really start to dive into the beginning stages of how these concepts come about from the designer's imagination, right. And the experimentation, and, you know, putting together kind of insane materials. And in ways that, you know, to the current mainstream would seem crazy. Like if you look at a lot of runway trends, they seem kind of nuts and it's because they are exaggerated it's because it is a place where, you know, clothes and apparel and design ideas can be whatever they want because they aren't actually going to be selling in this form.   Speaker 3 (02:52): Right. The life cycle of a trend is that it starts out on something like their runway and it's really wild and really crazy. And then retailers kind of tend to the Trinity retailers tend to be the first ones to jump on that trend, but they water it down a bit. Right. It's not like you're going into a trendy store and seeing the exact same thing that you would have seen in runway fashion. So it's watered down a little bit and it's made more digestible for the average consumer. And then you have, you know, stores and retail brands that are, you know, kinda in the middle there, they're not super Trinity, but you know, they, they see these Trinity stores and they see that, oh you know, proof of concept, right. That people are actually buying these things. So, all right, maybe we'll dabble.   Speaker 3 (03:42): Maybe we'll stick our toe in the water and we'll try this trend. It's a little scary, but we'll try it. And then, you know, those stores, they start selling and, you know, people love it and more and more people jump on the trend. And when more people see that other people are wearing X, Y, Z, or have this kind of trend in their home with its home decor, you know, whatever the category is, then they're like, oh, well, if these people can, can pull it off, then I can pull it off. I think I can pull it off now because I've seen it enough times. Right. And then the mass market stores are like, oh, everyone's behind this trend. So we need to sell it. And then that's when the Walmarts and the Sam's clubs and sort of middle America adopts the trend. And then the market gets really saturated, right?   Speaker 3 (04:30): It, it gets kind of overwhelmed by this trend and then it's not special anymore. Once the market is oversaturated, then it's not special anymore. And that's when the trend, you know, it can coast for a few years. Sometimes it depends on the trend. Every trend will have its own life cycle. We can't say a trend lasts for exactly one season or it lasts for exactly three years. Like some trends last longer than others. But once we see the market gets saturated and sales start to dip, then we kind of know it's not special anymore. It's not fashion forward. It's not exciting. It's not holy crap. Like only, only something you would see people wearing in New York city. Right. And so that's when we see the trend to start to die off. And it kind of just becomes this, this mountain curve where it starts out slow.   Speaker 3 (05:22): Only the trendiest stores are, are willing to put it in and try it out. And then when it really gets into the mass market stores and starts to saturate the market, that's the peak, right. And we don't know how long that peak is going to last. It can again, coast for awhile, but after that, it starts to decline and dipped out. And that's when you start to see it and like clearance stores and things like that. And so that's sort of the life cycle as a trend. But going back to the question are trends important. I think trends are so important. And I think that when people see trans as only being a means to sell or they own, they only see trends as, you know, cheap or commercial or not really worth paying attention to, I think they're kind of missing the point because trans really define our time.   Speaker 3 (06:13): Right. I mean, imagine if you couldn't tell the difference between 70 1970s fashion and 1920s fashion, what if it all looked the same, which is kind of like the way things looked, you know, throughout the 17 hundreds or throughout the 18 hundreds, like trends happened, but very, very, very slowly. And once we hit the 20th century, that's when things get a lot more interesting and we're able to, you know, really separate the decades by fashion and by trend. And so trends are important because they define you. They define where you are in this life, in this decade. And we all get to decide that, and I want to share a little quote from Matthew Smith that says either embrace trends or define them, but never complain about them. And I think that's so true because trends are what they are. And they're kind of magical trends really are defining the present era that we're all living in.   Speaker 3 (07:16): And that's what will kind of put us in the history. But so it's kind of what we'll be remembered for, you know, other than, you know, major historical events. But that's how, you know, our look, our fascia and that's how we'll be kind of looked on in an historic way. And they allow us to define ourselves and kind of to eternalize ourselves in this recognizable aesthetic. And what's really cool about that is that as designers, we get to be a part of that. So I would say we should all appreciate trends. Right? another thing that designers are sometimes concerned about is that they'll lose their individuality. If they focus on trans, you know, they're worried that this brand that they've built for themselves or, you know, the thing that they're known for is going to disappear if they chase every trend.   Speaker 3 (08:04): And I think that that is true and also false. And so let me explain that for a second. I think that you have to know as a designer, when to be discerning and when a trend is not for you and not every trend is going to be for you and that's okay. However, some trends will fall into your brand. They will fall into the industry that you're targeting, right. If elephants are really trendy in baby decor this season that might not really apply to me if I'm designing rugs, especially if they are area rugs that are not for children, right. That's not going to help me very much. And so you obviously have to focus on the industry, make sure that it's relevant to the audience and the consumers that you're targeting with your designs. And with that being said, I think that if you've developed your own art style, then you don't have to deviate from that in order to follow a trend.   Speaker 3 (09:05): Right? So back when I got my very first in-house job in textile design, I was the licensing coordinator and designer for our license or a Candace Olson. And if you're familiar with home decor, she was a big name, one of the first big, big shows on HDTV. And yeah, she was really big and she had a very established brand in a very established aesthetic. And this was back in 2012 when Chevron was all the rage, Chevron was starting to pick up, it was everywhere. It was selling really big. And she was a designer who was kind of like, eh, like Chevron's not really my look, you know, like she didn't do geometrics. She was very transitional, had various soft color palettes and this and that. However, she decided because it was selling so much and it was such a big trend to do her own version of Chevron.   Speaker 3 (09:59): That was kind of this soft Chevron, right. It wasn't too, it wasn't a two color, hard-lined a pointy Chevron. It was a very kind of organic Chevron with multicolors and soft colors that kind of blended together and used sort of this blended yarn. And she just, she made it her own. And so if you do have a very established art style and an established bra

How do you sell on Patternbank successfully?  What do successful pattern designers do differently?  Neil Elliott from Patternbank gives us tons of tips for Patternbank success!   ➡️  FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧  Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️  FREE Art Style Secrets mini course: 🎧. Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 https://bit.ly/2UitNqB   Questions asked: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little of Patternbank’s history? Could you please explain the process to signing up for Patternbank and getting started? (A lot of designers had questions about their file submissions, things like that.) Can you please explain the different types of licenses available to buyers on Patternbank and what they mean for the artist? Patternbank includes some amazing trend insights. How important is it for artists to follow these trends? In general, do your stats confirm that these trends sell better on your site overall? Which categories are considered classic and always sell well? Florals, textured prints, etc? Your trend page includes SS and FW trends. When is the best time of year for artists to be uploading designs for an upcoming season? How often should designers be uploading new patterns? Are designs shown in chronological order or is there an algorithm? It would be amazing for artists to be able to see new keywords clients are searching for. How would you describe patterns that look the most commercial? What characteristics do they have? Your newsletter suggests that designers edit, update, & delete designs. Can you explain why that should be a priority for artists and how it may affect their sales? What percentage of Patternbank customers are in the Fashion industry? Home Décor, Stationery, Accessories? What / who is the biggest industry buying on Patternbank? Do Premium Designs or Standard Designs sell better overall? When a design sells, what percentage goes to the artist and what percentage goes to Patternbank? When an artist uploads their designs to Patternbank under the Standard License, can they sell the design on other platforms? When an artist sells a design, they’re able to see who the client is and click on the client’s profile. However, there isn’t any further information or way for the artist to follow up with the client. Does Patternbank plan to add any functionality here? Would it be beneficial to strengthen relationships between clients and artists who fit their aesthetic needs? Do you have any tips or advice on the quality of design uploads? How important are extra assets to clients? Unfortunately, they cannot preview extra assets such as original drawings, color ways, etc, so does it really affect their buying decision? Should artists be working with Pantone colors? What color mode is recommended? RGB, Hex Code, CMYK? How does Social Media play a role? If an artist uploads a new design to Patternbank - is that enough? Or should they share it on social media, too? If yes, which channels and how often? Please explain. According to your data, do vector or raster files sell better on Patternbank? Or does it matter? Does Patternbank only accept repeat patterns or can artists also upload placement prints? For example, I used to be an in-house Textile Designer and I designed a lot of rugs and pillows that had placement prints. In fact, my Art Director would often give the criticism that a rug designed looked “too much like fabric,” which meant repeats were not ideal for a rug design. Other artists may wonder if they could ever sell an illustration that included several supporting or blender patterns on Patternbank to accommodate different markets? The wonderful thing about Patternbank is that artists don’t have to make the big investment up front to go to a trade show to meet clients. That can be really expensive and can take a lot of time to see a positive ROI. The down side for artists is that they remain somewhat anonymous on the site. In a traditional licensing contract, an artist can negotiate to have their name or brand on any product using their art. Companies like Anthropologie or Target will often do an artist spotlight with an entire collection of products with the artist’s work. Would Patternbank ever consider adding a License that gave the artist a little more exposure to the end consumer, both retail and E-Commerce worlds?

How do you sell on Patternbank successfully?  What do successful pattern designers do differently?  Neil Elliott from Patternbank gives us tons of tips for Patternbank success!   ➡️  FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧  Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️  FREE Art Style Secrets mini course: 🎧. Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 https://bit.ly/2UitNqB   Questions asked: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little of Patternbank’s history? Could you please explain the process to signing up for Patternbank and getting started? (A lot of designers had questions about their file submissions, things like that.) Can you please explain the different types of licenses available to buyers on Patternbank and what they mean for the artist? Patternbank includes some amazing trend insights. How important is it for artists to follow these trends? In general, do your stats confirm that these trends sell better on your site overall?Which categories are considered classic and always sell well? Florals, textured prints, etc? Your trend page includes SS and FW trends. When is the best time of year for artists to be uploading designs for an upcoming season? How often should designers be uploading new patterns? Are designs shown in chronological order or is there an algorithm?It would be amazing for artists to be able to see new keywords clients are searching for. How would you describe patterns that look the most commercial? What characteristics do they have? Your newsletter suggests that designers edit, update, & delete designs. Can you explain why that should be a priority for artists and how it may affect their sales? What percentage of Patternbank customers are in the Fashion industry? Home Décor, Stationery, Accessories? What / who is the biggest industry buying on Patternbank? Do Premium Designs or Standard Designs sell better overall? When a design sells, what percentage goes to the artist and what percentage goes to Patternbank? When an artist uploads their designs to Patternbank under the Standard License, can they sell the design on other platforms? When an artist sells a design, they’re able to see who the client is and click on the client’s profile. However, there isn’t any further information or way for the artist to follow up with the client. Does Patternbank plan to add any functionality here? Would it be beneficial to strengthen relationships between clients and artists who fit their aesthetic needs? Do you have any tips or advice on the quality of design uploads? How important are extra assets to clients? Unfortunately, they cannot preview extra assets such as original drawings, color ways, etc, so does it really affect their buying decision? Should artists be working with Pantone colors? What color mode is recommended? RGB, Hex Code, CMYK? How does Social Media play a role? If an artist uploads a new design to Patternbank - is that enough? Or should they share it on social media, too? If yes, which channels and how often? Please explain. According to your data, do vector or raster files sell better on Patternbank? Or does it matter? Does Patternbank only accept repeat patterns or can artists also upload placement prints? For example, I used to be an in-house Textile Designer and I designed a lot of rugs and pillows that had placement prints. In fact, my Art Director would often give the criticism that a rug designed looked “too much like fabric,” which meant repeats were not ideal for a rug design.Other artists may wonder if they could ever sell an illustration that included several supporting or blender patterns on Patternbank to accommodate different markets? The wonderful thing about Patternbank is that artists don’t have to make the big investment up front to go to a trade show to meet clients. That can be really expensive and can take a lot of time to see a positive ROI.The down side for artists is that they remain somewhat anonymous on the site. In a traditional licensing contract, an artist can negotiate to have their name or brand on any product using their art. Companies like Anthropologie or Target will often do an artist spotlight with an entire collection of products with the artist’s work. Would Patternbank ever consider adding a License that gave the artist a little more exposure to the end consumer, both retail and E-Commerce worlds?

Skillshare vs Teachable (or Thinkific): which online platform is better to host your online courses and classes? If you're thinking of teaching online courses, especially as an artist or designer, this video is for you! There are certainly pro's and con's to which platform is best! Skillshare is an awesome platform to get started on especially if you don't have a large social media following, Instagram presence, or email list. But it has it's downsides such as only sharing 30% - 50% of the revenue. Hosting your own masterclass can potentially earn much more revenue, but sites like Teachable and Thinkific can be expensive. Listen in as Jen Lezan and I discuss workarounds and how to host your own online course on your own website like Squarespace or Wix. ⭐️ TEXTILE STAR ⭐️ https://www.laurenlesley.com/masterclass 🌊 PORTFOLIO SURGE 💦 https://www.laurenlesley.com/portfoli... 💙 SKILLSHARE CLASSES 💙 **Get 2 months free!!** https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/lau... Follow Jen Lezan: 🔴 YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZw1... 🟣 INSTAGRAM: @jennifermveguilla   ➡️FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️FREE 2020 Trend Guide PDF: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/35bPbAW 🤓RESOURCES: https://www.laurenlesley.com/resources  ART SUPPLIES http://bit.ly/2H4z8uc  BOOKS http://bit.ly/2J2DeGF  DESIGN TOOLS http://bit.ly/2DS7PTo  SKILLSHARE CLASSES **Get 2 months free!!** https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/lau...  YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT http://bit.ly/2V4nnsI   🔴Be sure to SUBSCRIBE + click the bell 🔔 for more design tutorials, business tips + creative strategies: http://bit.ly/2LGqRNE    🛍SHOP:  Clip Art: https://www.laurenlesley.com/clip-art  Custom: https://www.laurenlesley.com/custom  Pattern (Buyers only): https://www.laurenlesley.com/pattern  Creative Market: https://creativemarket.com/LaurenLPoole    👯‍♀️📺YOUTUBE COLLABS:  I'd love to collab with fellow YouTubers on a video topics including:  -Textiles  -Art Tutorial  -Surface Pattern Design  -Character/Portrait Design  -Growing Online as an Artist/Designer  APPLY HERE: http://bit.ly/2Vu4V21    💡READ MY BLOG:  http://www.laurenlesley.com/blog #laurenlesleystudio    🎧LISTEN TO THE DESIGN TRIBE PODCAST:  iTunes: https://apple.co/2xZIPsy  Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LHe2TB    👥JOIN MY FREE FB GROUP:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/Desig...    🤳🏻GO LIVE WITH ME:  Apply to Go Live with me below!  Let's discuss:  Design Topics  Art Topics  Creative Side Hustles  http://bit.ly/2UA0dKv    👋Wave at me on social:  Instagram: http://instagram.com/laurenlesleystudio #laurenlesleystudio Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/laurenlesleystudio Facebook: http://facebook.com/laurenlesleystudio     .................................... Tags: .................................... lauren lesley studio skillshare vs teachable teachable vs skillshare skillshare vs masterclass skillshare vs signature course best online learning platforms 2020 skillshare vs youtube skillshare vs squarespace teaching online art teacher artist teaching online classes teaching online classes from home teaching online courses skillshare review 2020 skillshare free skillshare courses skillshare classes

Soo excited for this next podcast episode with special guests from Art of Floors, Tom Ethridge and Katie Stewart, we'll be discussing what it means to design for the Hospitality industry and how creativity plays a role. In this episode, we discuss the following questions: 1.) [Tom & Katie] From a design standpoint, how is Hospitality different from other industries? 2.) [Tom] How did the idea for Art of Floors get started? What role does creativity play at Art of Floors? 3.) [Katie] What are some design styles that Hospitality clients are drawn towards and why? 4.) [Tom & Katie] If a designer would like to work in the Hospitality industry, what are some essential things you’d look for in a portfolio? 5.) [Tom] How do you see the Hospitality industry changing in the next 5-10 years? How does Art of Floors plan to evolve and “future-proof” its business? 6.) [Katie] What are some up & coming trends you see coming specifically into the Hospitality segment? How do you do your trend research? 7.) [Katie] What types of software do designers need to know to work in Hospitality? Or is it different for every company? 8.) [Tom] How do handmade goods play a role in Hospitality? Do you see a rise in demand for handmade products or only in certain niches? 9.) [Tom] Do you see Art of Floors expanding into other categories? Would you ever offer pillows, upholstery fabrics, or other types of products? 10.) [Katie] Walk us through your career as a designer. You have an interesting story and made some major sacrifices being long distance with your (now) husband. What advice would you give entry level designers who are looking for a new opportunity?  ➡️FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️FREE 2020 Trend Guide PDF: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/35bPbAW 🤓RESOURCES: https://www.laurenlesley.com/resources  ART SUPPLIES http://bit.ly/2H4z8uc  BOOKS http://bit.ly/2J2DeGF  DESIGN TOOLS http://bit.ly/2DS7PTo  SKILLSHARE CLASSES **Get 2 months free!!** https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/lau...  YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT http://bit.ly/2V4nnsI   🔴Be sure to SUBSCRIBE + click the bell 🔔 for more design tutorials, business tips + creative strategies: http://bit.ly/2LGqRNE    🛍SHOP: Clip Art: https://www.laurenlesley.com/clip-art Custom: https://www.laurenlesley.com/custom Pattern (Buyers only): https://www.laurenlesley.com/pattern Creative Market: https://creativemarket.com/LaurenLPoole    👯‍♀️📺YOUTUBE COLLABS:  I'd love to collab with fellow YouTubers on a video topics including: -Textiles -Art Tutorial -Surface Pattern Design -Character/Portrait Design -Growing Online as an Artist/Designer APPLY HERE: http://bit.ly/2Vu4V21    💡READ MY BLOG: http://www.laurenlesley.com/blog #laurenlesleystudio    🎧LISTEN TO THE DESIGN TRIBE PODCAST: iTunes: https://apple.co/2xZIPsy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LHe2TB    👥JOIN MY FREE FB GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Desig...    🤳🏻GO LIVE WITH ME: Apply to Go Live with me below! Let's discuss: Design Topics Art Topics Creative Side Hustles http://bit.ly/2UA0dKv    👋Wave at me on social: Instagram: http://instagram.com/laurenlesleystudio #laurenlesleystudio Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/laurenlesleystudio Facebook: http://facebook.com/laurenlesleystudio    

Kim is an author who works with designers on creating better business strategies on an emotional and strategic level.     Buy her book:  https://www.mebydesign.com/shop-2/branding-interior-design-visibility-and-business-strategy-for-interior-designers     QUESTIONS:   1.) What are some of the biggest problems you see designers facing?   2.) What is the best piece of advice you can provide designers when it comes to networking and getting their designs in front of the right people?   3.) How much does mindset play a role in designers feeling ‘stuck’?     4.) Do you believe that designers are lacking the right marketing or PR strategies?  Is there something deeper going on or is it a little of both?   5.) How would you advise designers to become more ‘available’ for the life they truly want?  What are some action steps they can take to become more available?   6.) How does gender play a role?   7.) So, explain to us your Visibility Strategy.  What are some step-by-step things designers can do to be more visible online and in the real world?   8.) A lot of artists and designers are introverted, myself included.  We’re not necessarily shy, but we don’t enjoy being ‘on’ and being in front of people all of the time.  Do you have any tips for introverts?  Would it be better for them to hire a PR manager or to outsource some of the extroverted tasks involved in becoming more visible?   9.) Do you have any suggestions for ways designers can earn more money in 2020?   10.) What are some of the biggest emotional hurdles designers face surrounding money and what are your tips to help them overcome these hurdles?   TRANSCRIPT Speaker 1 (00:04): What's up design tribe, but welcome back for a another episode. Now if you want to tune in to the live streams, then be sure to join in my design tribe Facebook group will where I go live with guests and do new episodes of the design tribe. To watch past episodes. Be sure to check out my playlist on YouTube for the video version and of course check out the design tribe on iTunes and Spotify for the podcast of version if you are wanting to listen while doing something else or getting crap done. All right, let's jump in.   Speaker 1 (00:40): Hello. Hi everyone and welcome to today's episode with Kim Kuhteubl where we're going to discuss the her visibility strategy and also go through all kinds of questions. So Kim is an author who works with designers on better business strategies and some kind of like emotional blocks that designers sometimes have. So Kim, if you want to introduce yourself and kind of give a little bit of your backstory to everyone in the design tribe, I'm sure. Thank you so much first of all morning for having me on the show. I really appreciate it. I work with interior designers on their branding and visibility. As you said. I actually am a producer by trade and I spent a lot of time in television and contributing articles to different publications and then when I was sort of looking to transition out, I started working with a success coach and put together a package of services for interior designers and then realized, Oh wait a second, they like what I'm offering here.   Speaker 1 (01:39): And it was initially video and it was blog production and blog content sort of things that I had done inside of my job as a producer is a content creator. But then I started to put together trends that were happening in terms of visibility and leadership and things that were getting in the way of designers actually getting the press or putting out the book in the world or getting the next level of client. And what it's, what I started to understand was that I was learning about women in leadership because 80% of interior designers are women. And so as I was working with them, I was learning about how women lead and also what gets in the way of them leading at their full capacity when they're creative. Right. So then what are some of the biggest problems you see designers facing? Like you said, 80% of interior designers are women I've kind of noticed as well.   Speaker 1 (02:39): It's the same as true in textile design, which is my background. So yeah, I worked as a graphic designer for a little while and then I was a textile designer for seven years and I love, love, love textile design. But I did, I have noticed some kind of different design industries that women gravitate towards as opposed to men. Like a lot of industrial designers have more men tend to be more men. Yeah, it's interesting. I think that from the perspective of blocks you could, we can look at it a couple of ways. There are the business blocks and then there are the emotional blocks as a creative because fundamentally what you are as a creative, that's my dog, Ramona.   Speaker 1 (03:25): We are as a creative is we're selling our creative work. And I don't know about you, but for me, when I'm being creative, I learned through my creativity. I'm a writer. I learned through my writing, I learned through the things that I create. And so when you have to offer those for sale, a lot of times there are going to be personal blocks that are involved there. So you might think, can I charge that much for my work? Is it worth it? Is it good enough? Or this work is not good enough? Because a lot of designers and creatives in general are perfectionistic. We're trying to get to our next level in terms of our creativity. So I like to look at things as done better than perfect. Otherwise nothing would get out in the world that that took a little bit of time to get there because at first I was just trying to be a perfect creative, you know?   Speaker 1 (04:19): And I was like, no, well not show you that it's ugly. Or you judge it harshly. You say, that's really terrible. And meanwhile somebody else who's on the receiving end of that is finding beauty in that is finding wonder in that end. You've done your job. I think we all come here with gifts. I look at it spiritually too, that my creativity is a spiritual expression. And so there is somebody who needs to connect with that creativity and who's going to be moved by it. First it was just for me, but then eventually I'm here to serve with it. And so when you're here to serve with it, you have to get out of your own way with all of the, like the inner brouhaha that you might be telling yourself, whether you're, you have an inner mean girl or an inner insecure girl, designers.   Speaker 1 (05:04): You mentioned to me that you were an introvert. And I'm an introvert as well. Most creatives are introverted. They love spending time alone. And what you have to do is choose the time that you're going to be in communication with as resists and how you're going to be in communication with others. And that's more important in that moment because you're here to be of service. Right? So I think what I'm hearing you say is that, you know, a lot of designers have these emotional blocks with, you know, kind of on one hand and I worked this price that I, that I need to charge really in order to make a decent living and support myself and also, Mmm, okay. Trying, dealing with perfectionism, you know, being afraid to really put yourself out there as, I guess what that boils down to is another block and then, Mmm.   Speaker 1 (05:56): Also like when you're thinking about some of the blocks on them as an aside, at least like when it comes to something like pricing, how would an artist maybe know the market just isn't receiving what they're putting out there? Because I see that happen a lot too, where it's like, you know, you might love what you're, you know, you might love your work, you might believe in it and you're putting it out there. But if you're not seeing results, like when is a good time for an artist and maybe say, okay, like this isn't really viable for the market because you really have to have both, right? Like you have to have the emotional strength to really like put yourself out there like what you're talking about. But also there has to be a market for the product that you're putting out there and there.   Speaker 1 (06:37): I don't know, there has to be someone who's willing to buy it. I I do. I love this question and I've never been asked it before in this way cause it's sparking a whole lot of things for me. Normally how I would answer it is that there's always a market for what it is you're doing. There's always a somebody who wants what it is you put out in the world. You just have to find them. And what happens is we get in our own way by thinking, Oh nobody wants to buy this. Then we start to focus on all of the reasons why nobody wants this or maybe it's not the right timing or all of those things. And so we focus on that instead of well where are the clients who want to buy this? And they might not be in your normal sphere of things, especially when it comes to design services.   Speaker 1 (07:23): And this is a very common common, the problem with designers is that they have an idea in their head or they want to express their creativity in a certain way and the client wants the creativity expressed in another way and those things don't match. So they think, well I can do what they want but I'm not going to be creatively fulfilled so I can either be creatively fulfilled or I can be paid. But it can't be both. And that's not true. However, what sparking for me, when you were asking me that question was that there are many artists, the majority of artists are ahead of the curve. They're ahead of the cultural curve in terms of emotion, in terms of visuality, in terms of all of those things aesthetic. So you might be a visionary with a product that is not currently of the marketplace and you really have to figure out, I think a way to have a conversation.   Speaker 1 (08:20): Cause some people are like, well they just didn't hit, the timing didn't hit. And we do see that that some people are so far ahead that they can't permeate the Geist. They can't get into the conversat

How do you build an email list in 2020 as a designer? I love our questions for me in the Design Tribe FB Group. ➡️FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️FREE 2020 Trend Guide PDF: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/35bPbAW

Have you set goals for 2020?  This episode is all about planning for 2020 with intentional goals.

How do you work in the U.S. as a Textile Designer? Listen LIVE in the Design Tribe FB Group. ➡️FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️FREE 2020 Trend Guide PDF: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/35bPbAW

How do you work in the U.S. as a Textile Designer? ➡️FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️FREE 2020 Trend Guide PDF: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/35bPbAW

Why on earth did Pantone choose Classic Blue 19-4052 as the 2020 Color of the Year?  Listen up to hear Classic Blue explained for 2020. ➡️FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️FREE 2020 Trend Guide PDF: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉http://bit.ly/35bPbAW

How do you get your artwork licensed? And how do I find an art agent? Should I even work with an agent at all? These are all great questions I was getting in the Design Tribe FB Group.   ➡️FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️FREE 2020 Trend Guide PDF: 🎧Subscribe Rating & Review 👉http://bit.ly/35bPbAW

Apply to 'Go Live' with me here: https://www.laurenlesley.com/webinar-series/#anchor-link-collaboration   TRANSCRIPT: Hey, what up fool's Lauren here with Lauren Lesley studio. And today I want to invite you to go live with me on Instagram or in my Facebook group. Now, if you've never gone live before, you may be thinking, what's the point? Or I'm scared to go live. Is it really that great or what's the point of it? And I want to let you know that after researching, I'm doing some market research on sprouts social. The era of live video is it's really here to stay, guys. You really don't want to miss the boat on this piece of content or this type of content marketing. So audiences, they just are, they're really looking for more intimacy. As more accounts look so perfect on Instagram. Live video just gives you this authenticity that just can't be duplicated by photos or, or a descriptions or anything like that. And that's part of the reason why 80% of customers say they'd rather watch a live video from a company rather than read their blog. So that's pretty crazy. 80% is a big, big number. Um, and at that same time, the ephemeral nature of live video kind of prompts, um, you know, people to feel that FOMO sensation where they're scared of missing out because your live video is only going to be up for 24 hours on Instagram, on Facebook. It'll stay around a little bit longer, but things kind of seem to disappear if you're just looking at the news feed anyway. So, um, Instagram live is normally where I go live, but also I'm open to doing Facebook lives in my Facebook group. Um, and to let you guys know, Instagram, uh, in June of 2018 reached 1 billion monthly active users, which is insane. So if you're trying to grow your design business or your art account on Instagram, there are so, so, so many people that you could be reaching. And a lot of, um, Instagram lives features include, um, giving priority to live video. So thanks to Instagram's algorithm, which you know, we can all hate the algorithm from time to time, but if you want to kind of play up your strengths of the algorithm than posting live video, we'll place you at the head of your followers feeds. If you're looking for a way to stay top of mind, then when you, you know, when any of your audience opens the Instagram app, they're gonna see your live video first. Um, and live video really promotes increased engagement. So with Instagram, I have a lot of companies respond immediately to client. It's use issues. You can answer questions, um, and just engage with your followers in a more real and authentic way. Live videos also such an amazing way to build relationships. You know, if you're really trying to grow your Instagram account, not just get, you know, as many followers as you can, cause that can be kind of, um, superficial. But if you really want to build relationships with people on Instagram and build that trust and um, kind of that fan following for your design and artwork, then those face to face interactions are going to be J they're just going to promote so much more trust and people will get to know your personality and it's just way more intimate and it also helps, you know, kind of promote your brand identity. I mean that kind of sounds a little corporate-y but you know, your Instagram account is a good face of your brand. So Instagram live is just such a great way for brands to kind of show their individuality and their personality and it really just brings, you know, the, the person behind the brand or the, the artist behind your artwork or the designer behind your designs. It just really brings all of that to life. So you should definitely be going live if you're not already. And I know it can be kind of scary, but it's really not that bad once you do it and it's way easier to do it with another person and just have kind of a normal conversation. It's almost just like a phone call. And now that I'm working at home, I I get a little bit lonely. So I wanna be able to talk to other designers and Instagram live. You know, if you're going to be talking to other designers anyway, you might as well get the benefits of the Instagram algorithm while you're doing it and help serve other people that may want to watch and have similar questions or whatnot. So it's definitely easier to go live with another person because you have things that you can just talk about and you kind of forget that other people are watching. When I've gone live by myself, I do get a little bit nervous, like a hope of not boring you guys and um, I don't know what to talk about next cause you're just kind of talking to a wall in a way. But when you go live with another person, it really is just like a normal conversation. Um, and other people can watch along. So I want to invite you to go live with me. I love going live with people. It's one of my new favorite things to do so you can apply to go live with me on my website@laurenleslie.com slash webinar series. So I'll put the link in the description below, be sure to check it and apply to go live with me. I try to go live once a week on Tuesdays, but if that doesn't work with your schedule then I'm opening. I'm open to scheduling on a different day. So thanks so much guys on be sure to like this video. Leave me a comment if you want to go live with me or if you have questions about live video for designers or for artists, leave me a comment below. I would love to hear from you guys, um, and be sure to check out the design tribe Facebook group, which I also like to go live in my group because it does just promote like more intimacy and it's just a smaller group of designers and collaborating creatives on sharing like small business tips and things like that. So sign up to join the live Facebook group if that applies to you. Um, and I'll see you in the next video. Thanks guys. [inaudible].

Surtex vs Blueprint:  Which Trade Show is Better?  In this episode of the Design Tribe, I interview illustrator and surface pattern design, Lisa Clow, on how the trade shows compared. She exhibited at both Surtex and Blueprint in 2019 and has great feedback!  She also gets real honest about which trade show she will be returning to in 2020.