My 2023 overview

(written on the last day of December 2023, waited very patiently until I found time to publish it:))

My 2023, another crazy year of my life, but quite one to remember.

Year 2023 turned out to be some kind of a breakthrough year for me as an artist, maybe with not so much of visible results, but a lot of right seeds planted.

It was the third year of me painting and (slowly) walking a way to a full-time artist/designer career. From autumn 2020 on, I have been constantly doing art in whatever free time I had from my day job and care about my family, and it was just in 2023, when I dared to call myself an artist, publicly and loud. Yes, it took time, to acknowledge this, even (first!) to myself, even though I don’t remember myself being not creative.

The three best decisions that I made as an artist in 2023 were:

• Focusing on one thing at a time and making it work (at least showing signs of working),
• Taking advice and tailored support from experts, and
• Working on mindset and strategic thinking.

Focusing on one thing

Early in the year I decided to return to making seamless patterns. Actually, I was interested in surface design from the very first days of starting watercolor practices, back in 2020, and even made my first patterns in early 2021. Then somehow my focus was shifted to other things for quite a while. But last year in January, I started doing it again, and all the 2023 I just did seamless patterns and uploaded them in my online store.

The platform I’ve chosen to invest in was Spoonflower. I wanted to launch a shop there since ages, but at the time I got to know about it, I lived in a country with no access to PayPal selling function, and only got that with moving to Germany in 2022 and opening a bank account here. As I somehow was withholding myself from seamless patterns (and Spoonflower needs it this way), before I experimented with Redbubble (which is a great platform when it comes to uploading designs, but didn’t work for me in terms of sales), Society6 (which is neither great when uploading, nor it worked for me in terms of sales, too) and Etsy (where I had a shop with digital prints since early 2021, and in almost two years had seven sales altogether, so I just closed it, as listing extension there is paid, and I spent on that times and times more than I earned). Yes, I know about people earning their living from each of those platforms, and I even do not exclude coming back to one or all three of those one day, but in 2023 I just put all those aside, and concentrated on Spoonflower.

This first year of my Spoonflower shop going live was crazy intensive, but amazingly productive. I started from scratch, uploaded the first bunch of designs in late January 2023, got my first proofs in mid-February, and… was completely dissatisfied with most of them. And started learning how color and scale work. Re-worked some, discarded some. Tried creating designs with less color. Tried creating designs with more color. Learned vector designing. Tried combining watercolor and vector. Tried fully vector designs. Ordered tons of proofs at every stage. Got a bit more satisfied with the looks. Got stuck with what I want to create. Came back to watercolor. Painted like crazy and converted all that into patterns. Uploaded, uploaded, uploaded. Worked on SEO, re-worked my SEO. Starting from the legendary Piglet and Butter, participated in every single challenge on Spoonflower (except two, totally beyond the zone of my creative interests). Tracked trends, applied trends, tried to predict trends. Analyzed my progress. Celebrated small wins.

As of 31 December 2023, I have got my Spoonflower shop packed with over 2,100 (two thousand one hundred) designs for sale, each having maybe not so perfect, but completed SEO sections. It was quite timely, in the light of the recent Spoonflower changes, limiting the weekly number of new designs for sale, as there were weeks I ordered proofs of over hundred designs. My shop is still a bit of this and that, but it slowly starts looking the way I want it to. I cannot even count how many lessons I learned during this year working with just one (but right for me!) platform. Investment of this time, all my work, and some (not so big) financial resource, already paid off in a very much clear vision of what can work well for me as an artist and designer, so in 2024 I will start developing other platforms/directions already much better informed (less time, quicker results). And new experience of people all over the globe making crazy amazing things of the fabrics with my designs! And, surely, income. It was still at micro level, nevertheless it progressed, and this was already very indicative.

Taking advice

This year I took two absolutely great opportunities of getting help from experienced designers, as I felt that whatever I can get from public communities and non-exclusive paid classes is no longer enough for my development (and I had already applied all of the useful info I got from those, which is important). I was ready for more.

In March 2023, I joined the brilliant Erin Kendal‘s membership for surface designers, and this was (and still is) priceless. Apart from the knowledge Erin generously shares with us, there is an absolutely unique community of pattern designers of all levels. We support each other in all the kinds of situations, our atmosphere there is really one of a kind, and you will never find such insights and exchanges in public communities. For those of you who already know that surface design is your thing – this is the best investment imaginable as of today for this sector. It is NOT about creating patterns (this you can find nowadays in abundance everywhere), it is about how to make your patterns SELL. Practical, doable things only, no nonsense. Discover more about the membership HERE.

Also, in July 2023, when I got stuck on my artistic way, I have got a one-on-one session with fantastic Ohn Mar Win. My request was about development of the signature style, and I cannot be happier about the results. Ohn Mar knows how to get your true self into your art, and those of you who know me in person and follow my art, can already notice how much of my character started showing through my patterns during the last several months. I somehow managed to change my prism, from trying to maximally follow the trends to rather accommodating those resonating with what I want to do in my art. For those interested, Ohn Mar works with artists of many different kinds and on many topics. She opens her session windows several times a year, you can follow her Instagram account to catch one. Also, she has a Patreon subscription, where she offers live calls.

My artistic mindset: last but not least

In 2023 I became much kinder to myself and accepted my artistic way as it is. I celebrated all my achievements, regardless of how small they were, and also those not visible or measurable. Because they are seeds of future bigger things. I stopped inventing targets to reach, they are nothing but frustrating for emerging artists. Instead, I just kept my strategic artistic goals in mind and asked myself from time to time: are the steps I do today in the direction of those? And does this way still feel good to me? As the latter is what matters the most.

Year 2024 will be another year of work, and I wish everyone a lot of joy from the daily creative processes, in your art and life routine things. Love and hugs to all of you, Good People, and only best things to happen to you in 2024!

Your Ania:)