Best Surfacedesign Podcasts (2024)

1
118: 5 Tips for Getting Started in Wholesale with Heather Bourque 7:24

3M ago7:24

7:24

In our last episode, we introduced you to Heather Bourque of Paper and Wings, an artist and illustrator that sells physical products via wholesale. Did we mention she does this all on her own while still having time to travel the world each year? Heather is back this week to share her five best tips on getting started with a wholesale art business.…

1
117: Getting started in Wholesale with Heather Bourque 50:41

4M ago50:41

50:41

In this episode, we continue our accountability group series by introducing you to Heather Bourque, an artist from Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada, who illustrates her love of coastal living and travel through her wholesale and retail online shop, Paper and Wings. We travel deep into Heather’s world of creating and distributing wholesale products al…

1
116: Getting Your Artwork Seen with Elizabeth Silver 46:53

5M ago46:53

46:53

In episode 49, we introduced you to Elizabeth Silver, a surface pattern designer and educator who is the creator of a fantastic course called Start Your Surface Pattern Business. This week, Elizabeth is back to talk to us about reasons you might not be getting your art in front of potential paying clients. We know you'll love Elizabeth's frank, no …

1
115: 5 Tips to Improve your Artwork and Designs 11:46

6M ago11:46

11:46

In this week’s episode, Laura and Nikki share 5 quick tips to help improve your artwork and take it to the next level. We discuss strategies that can help elevate your artwork and set you apart from the crowd and share some really fun tools, websites and products that can help with implementing these techniques! STARTIST SOCIETY SHOW NOTES & FREE P…

1
114: Maria Brophy's 5 Tips for Achieving Success with your Art 10:01

6M ago10:01

10:01

In our last episode, we introduced you to Maria Brophy, an author, teacher, art consultant, agent and brand manager who wrote the incredible book Art Money Success. This week, Maria is back to share her 5 best tips for achieving success with your art. STARTIST SOCIETY SHOW NOTES & FREE PDF TIPS DOWNLOAD: startistsociety.com/mariastips/ JOIN THE STA…

1
113: Art, Money, Success with Maria Brophy 1:18:58

6M ago1:18:58

1:18:58

In this week’s episode, Laura and Nikki interview Maria Brophy, the author of Art Money Success. Maria discusses her journey from corporate cubicle life to becoming a successful art business owner and coach. She is a proven expert at marketing, licensing, and selling artwork, having played a key role in growing husband Drew Brophy's successful art …

1
112: Presenting your Art Business Professionally 19:43

7M ago19:43

19:43

In this week’s episode, Laura and Nikki explore the basics of professionally presenting your art business - both online and in person. We cover everything from communication etiquette to curating your portfolio, creating artist statements and a consistent brand identity, prepping physical artwork for galleries and more. We know you'll walk away wit…

1
111: Photographing Your Work 29:53

8M ago29:53

29:53

This week, Laura and Nikki do a deep dive into getting professional high resolution images of your artwork. Do you need a fancy camera or will a phone camera do? How do you prep your space and art for the best images? What are key things you should know before hitting the shutter button to ensure you get clear, well-lit photos? When are scans usefu…

1
110: A New Year: Looking Back and Looking Forward 37:24

8M ago37:24

37:24

Grab a cup of coffee (or bourbon) and join Laura & Nikki as they review what went well last year, what could have gone better, and what their plans are for the upcoming year (both for their personal/professional lives and for the Startist Society podcast). STARTIST SOCIETY SHOW NOTES: startistsociety.com/anewyear/ JOIN THE STARTIST SOCIETY FB GROUP…

1
End of The Year Reflections 14:05

8M ago14:05

14:05

As 2023 comes to a close, I reflect back on the huge changes that I made in my business this year in this final podcast episode before I take an extended summer break at the beach with my family and new puppy. I share my process of looking back to assess my goals, how I question my progress, and why I believe it's so important to take time to do th…

1
109: Unconventional Ways to Sell Your Art 25:19

8M ago25:19

25:19

In this episode, Laura and Nikki dive into the deep sea of art sales, but not in the way that you might think. They take you off the beaten path, exploring 12 unconventional, out-of-the-box methods to help you sell your art and turn your passion into profit. If you've ever felt stuck or unsure of how to get your art into the world, this episode is …

1
Surviving To Thriving As An Independent Creative 10:32

9M ago10:32

10:32

When I left full-time employment as a surface pattern designer, I could not understand why I found it so incredibly difficult to design with the same confidence and ease as I did for my clients... Despite years of design experience and confidence working to a design brief, when I decided to work for myself I immediately fell into a ''surviving crea…

1
108: Closing the Creative Loop: Finishing What You Started 26:51

8M ago26:51

26:51

We talk a lot about just getting started. But what about finishing? Do you have trouble finishing projects? Do you have a million half done or barely started projects lying around the studio? Today, Nikki and Laura dive deep into the world of unfinished projects, sharing their personal stories and advice to help you muster the inspiration and motiv…

1
How Your Hidden Limiting Beliefs May Be Sabotaging Your Creative Success 11:10

9M ago11:10

11:10

Recently, my family and I invited a new member into the family - a PUPPY!!! His name is Juno. And while it's been a LOT of fun these last few weeks getting to know him, it hasn't been as much fun training him not to wee in the house! 😅 But it has been interesting to watch him learn. It's made me reflect on how - with anything new we learn - our…

1
107: Charly Clements' 3 Tips for Building an Engaged Audience 14:46

9M ago14:46

14:46

In our last episode, we introduced you to Charly Clements, an illustrator and mentor who licenses her art to clients all around the world, is a top teacher on Skillshare, and has a great new course called Out of This World Portraits. She does all of this while traveling the world. This week she is back to give us her top tips on building an engaged…

1
How Nurturing Self-Compassion Inspires Creativity 10:22

10M ago10:22

10:22

While our creativity is a beautiful expression of our own personal unique gifts and ideas, it can also carry with it a lot of things that can end up hindering our progress... Things like criticism, self-doubt, and perfectionism. So in this week's Design & Shine podcast episode, I explore why it's important to cultivate and nurture self-compassion. …

1
106: Building an Audience and Community with Charly Clements 1:03:19

10M ago1:03:19

1:03:19

Charly Clements is an illustrator and mentor who has built a thriving illustration business, licensing her art to amazing clients all around the world, and has taught tens of thousands of students through her online classes as a top teacher on Skillshare and through her new course, Out of This World Portraits. She is the founder of Facetober and ha…

1
Staying Persistent Despite Failure And Rejection 11:27

10M ago11:27

11:27

If you love what you're creating but you're facing a lot of failures, rejections, resistance, and you're hearing ''no thank-you'' so often, you may start to wonder how you're going to keep going... How are you going to stay persistent if you're constantly facing obstacles? This is what I want to explore with you in this episode: The power of stayin…

1
105: Elli Milan's Tips for Combatting Perfectionism 14:33

10M ago14:33

14:33

In episode 104, we introduced you to Elli Milan, an artist, educator, speaker and founding owner of Milan Art Institute and Art Social. If you haven't had a chance to listen to that episode yet, definitely go back and check it out. Elli is back to share her 10 best tips on getting past perfectionism as an artist and entrepreneur. MILAN ART INSTITUT…

1
How Gratitude Can Help You Thrive As A Creative 9:51

10M ago9:51

9:51

I believe many creatives underestimate how helpful gratitude can be toward helping them reach success... It's a simple mindset shift that can make a BIG difference - if you know how to use it in how you approach your creative work. I share several ways you can start practicing gratitude in your creative business in this week's Design & Shine podcas…

1
104: Beating Perfectionism with Elli Milan 1:12:36

11M ago1:12:36

1:12:36

Today's guest is Elli Milan, an artist, author, educator, and founding owner of Milan Art Institute and Art Social – an online art education program, social learning, and art patronage platform. She has been a successful artist since 1996, selling over 10,000 pieces of original art. She is passionate about empowering artists and has transformed the…

1
The 3 Different Learning Styles 13:21

11M ago13:21

13:21

Are you a Visual, Auditory, or Kinesthetic learner? Not sure what those are? Listen to this episode of The Design & Shine podcast to find out! I dive into what these 3 different learning styles mean and share how to tell which one you may be. Knowing which one is your predominant learning style may help you get better outcomes with your creative wo…

1
How Understanding Your Subconscious Mind Can Help You Become a Successful Creative 10:51

11M ago10:51

10:51

I used to struggle to show up online in the way that I knew I needed to for my business... I consciously knew I needed to create videos, take selfies, and be visible to my audience... But subconsciously, the idea of showing up online made me feel vulnerable, exposed, and unsafe. And I wasn't even aware that this was the case until I started to addr…

1
What To Do If You Worry Your Creative Work Isn't Unique Enough 12:35

12M ago12:35

12:35

Do you worry that your creative work is just not all that unique? And do you worry that it'll never stand out and allow you to have the thriving creative career that you dream about?😣 It's a challenging belief, but what I've noticed lately is that it's the most common limiting belief among creative entrepreneurs. So in this episode of the Design & …

1
103: To Trend or Not To Trend? 23:18

1y ago23:18

23:18

A lot of us become artists because we want to express ourselves, we have something to say and sometimes we want to stand out from the crowd. But we often see a lot of work in the art and design worlds that looks alike. Why is that? Are people following trends because they think they'll sell? Are they copying others because they don't have their own…

1
The Importance of Embracing Imperfection 11:20

1y ago11:20

11:20

Are you putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make things PERFECT? Many creatives I know get stuck on trying to make even the smallest design details perfect. It slows down their progress as a creative designer and as a business owner. So in this Design & Shine podcast episode, I share a few tips on how to overcome perfectionism including: Launc…

1
How to Overcome Procrastination 10:07

1y ago10:07

10:07

In this episode, we unravel what procrastination really is, revealing its surprising connection to fear. I'll explain how procrastination might be rooted in your apprehensions about failure, judgment, or even success. I share practical strategies to conquer procrastination: break tasks into bite-sized chunks to tackle overwhelm and embrace imperfec…

1
102: How to Avoid Art Scams 20:07

1y ago20:07

20:07

As artists who are putting ourselves and our work online hoping to make connections and sales, we can be really vulnerable to all kinds of scams, because we are being very optimistic in thinking that people are really interested in our art. It's important to be aware of the types of scams that exist and what you can do to avoid becoming a victim to…

1
Compassion and Resilience 12:23

1y ago12:23

12:23

If you'd like to unlock your true creative potential and build a thriving creative business, you may be surprised to learn just how important it is to develop compassion and resilience. As creatives, we're often quite sensitive people, so expressing ourselves through our art can be quite a vulnerable thing to do when we begin to put ourselves out i…

1
Why It's Not Enough To Just Know Your Limiting Beliefs 11:43

1y ago11:43

11:43

If you want true and lasting change in your life, it's not enough just to know what your limiting beliefs are... You also need to how to change them so that you make the changes in your life that you want to see! So in this episode of The Design & Shine Podcast, I share: What limiting beliefs are and how they hold us back, influence us, and shape o…

1
How To Get Into Creative Flow When You're Feeling Uninspired 9:21

1y ago9:21

9:21

Recently a student of mine came to me and said she was feeling uninspired and having a hard time knowing how to get started designing. It wasn't that she didn't want to do the work, but that when she sat down to do it, nothing would come from it. I've felt this way many times myself, and if you're a creative artist of any kind, you've probably felt…

1
101: Craft Your Elevator Pitch 16:26

1y ago16:26

16:26

So why is it so hard for us to answer the question, "Oh, you're an artist. What do you do?" When that happens, do you freeze? Do you shrink and mumble under your breath something about how you're both an artist and you do other things and you're working on several projects right now but it's too hard to explain? Do you go on and on for about five m…

1
The Amazing Advantages of Being In a Creative Flow State 11:36

1y ago11:36

11:36

Imagine if you could STOP overthinking your creative design work... No more being critical of your work... No more stopping and starting over... Just intuitive creativity that makes time feel like it has stopped and your artistic output flow... Sounds good, right? This is what's known as a creative flow state, and in creative work like surface patt…

1
Life-Changing Beliefs Successful Designers Have - And How To Learn Them! 12:45

1y ago12:45

12:45

There's a specific difference in thinking between surface pattern designers who get stuck and those who thrive... One way of thinking will keep you playing small, while the other will help you to grow as an artist, elevate your design process, and earn more from your business in the long term. Find out what that difference is in this episode of the…

1
100: Celebrating 100 episodes! 39:38

1+ y ago39:38

39:38

Join Nikki and Laura and help us celebrate the huge milestone of our 100th episode! Listen in as we have a very chatty episode about our lives in the last few months, our art practices, our jobs, and the future of the podcast. You'll hear lots of talk about bourbon (naturally) and hear a funny story about a recent episode upload faux pas! You won't…

1
How to Charge What Your Worth as a Surface Pattern Designer 11:43

1+ y ago11:43

11:43

If you struggle with pricing your surface pattern design work you are not alone! It can be one of the hardest things to do when you are just getting started as a surface pattern designer, which is why pricing is one of the most common topics my students ask me about. So in this episode of The Design & Shine Podcast, I give you some guidelines for h…

1
99: Jennifer Long's 5 Tips for Becoming a Fabric Designer 7:53

1+ y ago7:53

7:53

In episode 98, we introduced you to Jennifer Long, who started with the dream of becoming a fabric designer for her favorite company, Riley Blake Designs, and she did just that. Jennifer is a Riley Blake Designs fabric designer, quilt and doll pattern writer, machine embroidery digitizer and online educator. She is the creator of the Bee Sew Inspir…

1
Is The Surface Pattern Design Market Oversaturated? 12:55

1+ y ago12:55

12:55

Are you worried that the surface pattern design market may be too oversaturated? This is a common concern that many of my surface pattern design students have, so I've shared my thoughts about it on this episode of The Design & Shine Podcast. I cover: How not to be taken advantage of in a crowded market Ensuring your work will stand out in an authe…

1
98: Landing your Dream Fabric Design Gig with Jennifer Long 55:16

1+ y ago55:16

55:16

As we mentioned in the first of our accountability group series of episodes, most of our interviews have been with people who are much further along in their creative businesses. But one of our basic premises of starting this podcast was to have you come along with us on the journey of just getting things started. The women in our accountability gr…

1
Creating a Surface Pattern Design Business With Your Own Rules 12:33

1+ y ago12:33

12:33

No matter what kind of creative business owner you are, whether you are a surface pattern design business owner or not, you're often told there are certain ways you need to do things... And though you want to be successful and this external advice can be quite convincing - it's not always the right thing for YOU to do. This is what happened to me w…

1
97: Creating Collections 22:23

1+ y ago22:23

22:23

Whether you're a fine artist or a surface pattern designer, you may have heard about the importance of creating in collections. If you're at the start of your art journey, you may be creating a lot of one off pieces of art. So how do you go about starting to work in collections? And how many pieces do you need to have to be able to call it a collec…

1
96: 5 Tips for Selling on Digital Marketplaces with Isabelle Wood 5:44

1+ y ago5:44

5:44

In our last episode, we introduced you to Isabelle Wood, a perfect example of a Startist and one of the women in Laura and Nikki's accountability group. One of Isabelle's big goals was to create digital products and sell them on Design Cuts. She made that goal happen and today she's going to share with us her five tips for getting started selling o…

1
95: Selling on Digital Marketplaces with Isabelle Gagnon Wood 51:50

1+ y ago51:50

51:50

We've spoken many times about how we met in an accountability group for Bonnie Christine's Surface Design Immersion course. Today, and in a few upcoming episodes, we want to introduce you to the other women in our group and tell their inspiring Startist stories. In our peer group, each of us had one or two main goals that we hope to accomplish with…

1
94: Larry Pile's 6 Tips for Getting Started with Art Festivals 17:15

1+ y ago17:15

17:15

Last week, we introduce you to Larry Pile, a prolific kiln-formed glass artist who has displayed and sold his artwork in over 250 art festivals. Today Larry's back to share his six best tips on getting started with art festivals. STARTIST SOCIETY SHOW NOTES: startistsociety.com/artfestivaltips/ JOIN THE STARTIST SOCIETY FB GROUP: facebook.com/group…

1
93: Getting Started with Art Festivals with Larry Pile 1:06:43

1+ y ago1:06:43

1:06:43

Larry Pile is a talented, generous, open-hearted and creative kiln-form glass artist in Dallas, TX who loves bold color, form and texture. He consistently explores new techniques , doing amazing things like weaving glass, and generously shares his knowledge with others. You feel completely inspired after spending time with him, whether you are an a…

1
92: Nikki's 5 Tips for Going Big with Public Art 4:40

1+ y ago4:40

4:40

Last week, Laura interviewed Nikki all about how she has gone big with her art in public spaces like the front of a downtown building (now covered in Nikki's gorgeous butterflies) and a recent commission she won inside her local airport. This week, Nikki shares her 5 best tips with you so you can go BIG with your art too! STARTIST SOCIETY SHOW NOTE…

1
91: Going Big with your Art in Public Spaces with Nikki May 42:56

1+ y ago42:56

42:56

We hinted this was coming in a previous episode, but this week Laura is super excited to interview Startist Society's very own Nikki May on how she has literally gone big – as in three stories tall – with her artwork over the last year. She's now working on another special BIG commission for her local airport. She is the perfect example of a Starti…

1
90: 5 Tips for Showing Your Face on Video 14:56

1+ y ago14:56

14:56

Last week, Nikki and Laura talked about the fear of putting yourself out there on video and gave some helpful suggestions on how to get past these fears. Today we are sharing five helpful tips that can help you put these suggestions into action! STARTIST SOCIETY SHOW NOTES: startistsociety.com/videotips/ JOIN THE STARTIST SOCIETY FB GROUP: facebook…

1
89: Show Your Face on Video 20:13

1+ y ago20:13

20:13

We've touched on fears in several past episodes, including discussions about the fear of calling yourself an artist, fear about not being good enough, about having nothing to say. We even briefly mentioned being afraid to put ourselves out there and really be seen, and that's what we are talking about in today’s episode. With Facebook and Instagram…

1
88: Will AI Art Replace Artists? 21:25

1+ y ago21:25

21:25

There's currently a lot of buzz around AI Art. Many think Artificial intelligence may become the new normal. It's been used for everything from chat bots to creation of artwork, and it has the ability to composite hundreds of thousands of images into elaborate new pieces of art in less than 60 seconds. So what does this mean for the art world? Shou…

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