Let’s chat about surface design. I’ve been back home the past couple of weeks visiting family in the U.S. and have had a chance to see my newest line of products in stores at Sam’s Club. Not gonna lie, I was pretty excited to see my designs out in the real world! I’m feeling so grateful that I get to do what I love for a living. And one of my biggest goals as an educator is to help you turn your passion into your career too!

This week, I whipped up a blog post inspired by a key skill to have as a surface designer - creating collections with your artwork! In my experience, buyers want to see a cohesive line of various patterns that can be packaged together to sell on products like fabric packs, matching dishware, bedding, home decor, etc. So in this post, I’m sharing my top tips for creating and curating collections.

This week’s #CreateWithCatCoq challenge is inspired by my recent trip to see my newest collection in stores! This palm pattern design has been a staple in my portfolio and with a few color tweaks, it has made its way into more than a few individual collections. Can you spot it on the left in this collection of fabrics?

More recently it’s turned into a beautiful lunch bag as part of my collaboration with Fit + Fresh for Sam’s Club!

 

This week, I’d love for you to create a palm pattern of your own and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq. I share select participants’ work on my Instagram stories and in my email newsletter, so be sure to use the hashtag for a chance to be featured! If you share your artwork on Instagram stories don’t forget to tag me @catcoq so I can share it!

 

Your palm pattern can be drawn in Procreate like mine, or hand-painted like these examples!

 

 

 

I can’t wait to see your palm patterns on Instagram this week! Bonus points if you share the palm pattern as part of a collection! Happy pattern-making!