Hi Guys! Today I want to talk collections and how the lovely designer, Inez Jestine, challenged herself to spend 30 days creating mini collections from her existing patterns.

Now, I think a lot of us get caught-up in making hero patterns because it is just so much fun! Well, read below to hear why Inez feels we should also focus our attention on creating supporting patterns for our heroes, and hear her tips for how you can get started.I am thrilled to have Inez as my featured designer today!

Hi Inez! Please tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into surface pattern design.

Let’s see, I started off my career in the fashion industry – actually I just left the fashion industry at the end of 2017 and have been pursuing surface pattern design full time since. I was a buyer and operations manager in women’s apparel.

I got into surface pattern design when I came to a point in my career where I said ‘what can I do to make an income that could just be mine?’ I worked for a local chain of boutiques in Texas and, as many are I’m sure, I was tired of working hard regularly for the same salary month after month. My whole workload consisted of strategizing ways to make more money for the company, a very difficult and challenging role. I definitely enjoyed it at first, but over time it started taking all of my energy (creative energy included) and I knew I could make my own successful business if I put my mind to it.

I first learned about making patterns in a fashion design class in college. It was about 2009 and I learned using Photoshop. I loved the process and I remember using that knowledge to design my own graduation invites. Unfortunately, after I graduated university I had no access to Photoshop since Creative Cloud hadn’t launched yet, and the software was pricey.

Then, in 2015, I was helping a couple of friends with fashion design and my interest in pattern design was reinvigorated. I researched quite a bit to see if pattern design was an actual industry that you could make a profession out of and was happy to discover that it was. I had to teach myself Illustrator, and reteach myself Photoshop, but I’ve been working at it consistently ever since.

How would you describe your style? What makes your work unique?

My style is deeply driven by my roots near the southern American border. I’m inspired by wildflowers and botanicals in nature since I’m pretty familiar with the different shapes they generate. Color is integral in my design. I’m also pretty obsessed with vintage style, so my design often incorporates a mix of that. I think that trends do naturally play a small role in my design since I’ve been chasing trends for years, but I play with trends in a way that can still (hopefully) make my designs timeless – more like representations of our current time period.

How do you approach the design process? Can you tell us a bit about your unique way of designing?

It depends on what I’m working on. I use watercolor, gouache, pencil drawings, and markers to create different styles of patterns. Most of my pencil drawings get translated into vector art, while all the rest of it is edited in Photoshop.

I like watercolors for applications such as fashion and home décor and vector art for stationery/paper products so I try to think of the end result before I start sketching. I sometimes use mood boards, but most of the time, I have a vision in my head and I just work from there as much as possible. For example, recently I was watching the Royal Tenenbaums and the colors in that movie mixed with an idea for a dress I had.

I do use Pinterest for inspiration. There are so many wonderful sources there so if I’m ever in a design rut, I know I can scroll through my feed and brainstorm new ideas. I also love to grab a tea at the local mall and window shop stores like Anthropologie and Papyrus.

Recently you challenged yourself to a 30 days of collections challenge. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Oh boy, was that a challenge! Ha! I would only suggest it for people who have a full 30 days to dedicate to their design. But for anyone who is interested, the concept is this: you’re more likely to sell multiple patterns to a client if you present them uniformly in a collection.

A mini collection typically consists of a hero, a secondary, and a coordinate or blender print. If you already have 100 designs in your portfolio (for example, if you did the 100 day project), then chances are you can start building little mini collections from them. Since I was challenging myself to branch out on my own career path, I thought it was imperative to have multiple collections to start presenting to clients.

What it was like and what did you learned through the process?

I actually learned quite a bit from the challenge. For example, I had to make coordinates from a lot of my hero patterns and I realized I was neglecting that process in my design. Coordinates can be relatively simple to make; I was just putting all my time into an abundance of tossed patterns. But the coordinates are the blenders that are going to accent those heroes. They’re just as important.

I also learned there’s a gap in the industry for unique and stylish stock photos for mockups…

Can you tell us a bit more about the gap in the industry for stock photos?

Well, I did mockups for some of my collections, especially in the beginning. And what I found is that there are a lack of mockups for apparel items such as dresses, swimsuits, or pajamas. And when I did find photos so many of them seemed unnatural and 'studio' if that makes sense.

I wanted to find street style/candid photos that I could mockup and found that even Shutterstock had a lack of those. Part of it too is that I'm not a fan of using the same mockups as everyone else... mockups that you'd find on sites like creative market. (Not to diss them, I just wanted something different).

I'm still on a quest for mockups at the moment. However it does takes quite a bit of time to create the mockups, so at the moment I'm just drawing vector shapes in Illustrator and filling them with my patterns. As long as the manufacturer gets the idea of how it'll look on a product, I'm happy.

Going back, did you notice that your collections changed as you worked through the 30 days of collections challenge?

Oh yes, they definitely changed! In the beginning I was mixing different patterns from my portfolio into mini collections. I'd tweak some colors and elements, then maybe make a blender to match if I didn't already have one. Then, over time, I realized it was better to start with a strong hero pattern and create brand new secondary and blender patterns using elements from the hero. It takes a little more time to do that, but in the long run the set looks more cohesive.

Do you have any tips or general guidelines for folks who may not know how to create secondary and blender patterns?

There's a wonderful class on Skillshare taught by Shannon McNab that I whole heartedly recommend. It focuses a great deal on building coordinates off your hero pattern. I learned a lot from her because at the beginning the concept was a little vague to me too.

In general, I think it's best to start with a hero pattern that has an abundance of motifs. Then, for your secondary pattern pull in three to four of those motifs. For the blender, either use doodle mark makings (polka dots or lines for example) or I'll use a couple of smaller motifs from the hero pattern.

What have been some of your biggest successes and biggest challenges?

My biggest success so far is that I got my first licensing client toward the end of January – something I literally jumped for joy over. It’ll be released soon.

My biggest challenge has been deciding not to exhibit at a spring trade show this year. I really, really want to!! I can only imagine how much fun it would be to be a part of one of those communities. But I need to prep more and find a few more clients using the old google search engine before I can invest in that.

On that note, I am looking for other designers that may be interested in collaborating on a booth for Printsource in August...if anyone is interested!

What are your goals for the future?

I’m focusing pretty fully on art licensing at this point. When I first started designing, I was all over the place (trying to open my own paper product company, etc.) but right now I think it’s important to focus on reaching out to companies and continuing to grow my portfolio regularly.

What would you like your colleagues and the design world to know about you and your work?

My heart is fully in my design. I’m at my best when I’m working in my studio with a cup of coffee by my side.I also love to read books, blogs, and magazines that reference design such as flow, Print and Pattern, and Uppercase. And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every tutorial on Skillshare and youtube regarding the subject. You could say I live and breathe pattern design, ha.

Can you tell us a few fun facts about you?

I moved to Austin, TX the day after I graduated high school 15 years ago. Music brought me here, but the people, food, nature, and diverse culture are what keep me here. When I grow old, I see myself living a very Ernest Hemingway lifestyle in Key West. I plan to learn to drive a boat very soon.

Want to see more of Inez’s work? You can find her on Instagram and connect with her via her website.

Building a mini pattern collection with Inez Jestine