Meet Ellie Day Spoerer

Before I started Immersion, I was at the end of a 20 year journey as a womenswear designer. I wasn't sure what would be next for me, but this little voice in the back of my head kept saying “you love to create, it's who you are.” I remembered being at Betsey Johnson, recoloring a rose print, when a coworker said “you know, if you like doing that you can make a lot of money that way,” and I thought why not now! I had been making very simple prints for my own clothing and even sold a design to a client.

I gave myself a pretend client and tried to make a really beautiful floral print in Adobe Illustrator, but nothing would work. Then I found Immersion through a Google search. 

Since taking Immersion, I'm back to fully competent and comfortable with Illustrator. As I get my portfolio ready, the work I finished right after Immersion and the work I'm producing now has really evolved because all Immersion teaches. I take time to create watercolors, give myself the space to express and make mistakes and regroup. It's authentically me from start to finish, and that is completely new. The best part about Immersion is the growth after the class ends. I could compare work samples from the end of the class to last week and I can hardly believe they were created by the same person. I cherish my ability to identify the weeds in my head. They are the same ones from before but now I have a name to tame them.

Since completing Immersion, I've been wrapping up three full collections and one mini collection, launching them on my new website, and resuming my newsletter.