Meet Stacie Hoskins-Dale
Before I found Bonnie and Immersion, I worked as a designer and production manager in the apparel industry. I also had my own hand painted keepsake box and mural business ( since 1997 ) as well as licensed a few pieces of wall art and fabric designs for apparel companies that I previously worked. I came out of college (1992!) at a time when digital design was in it's infancy so I never learned Illustrator or Photoshop and it always bothered me that I hadn't.
When I found Immersion, I had very limited skills in Illustrator. I basically used it to reverse lettering for my keepsake box business and once in awhile, drop a sketch in there and upload it to Spoonflower to make a simple fabric design. I was nervous about how difficult Illustrator would be to learn everything I needed. It was difficult in the beginning but I felt supported 100% along the way ( thank you, Sara Curtis! ) and I finally was able to get the hang of making a repeat pattern. I am more interested in digital printing and stationery design so I don't use Illustrator as much, but I am so glad to have it in my tool box to create more traditional fabric designs for roller printing.
I think the best part of the Immersion course is the community. It seemed like as soon as I posted a question, someone in the group answered or gave feedback. One exciting thing that came out of Immersion was sort of a sidetrack after Bonnie introduced Stu McClaren to us. His idea of starting a subscription business resonated with me and you can't help but be inspired by his enthusiasm. At the same time, I had started to research companies to pitch my designs, and, I had a light bulb moment. It takes many hours to research company contacts so I figured it was information most designers would want to have without having to spend so much time doing research on their own. I also wanted to provide contacts for companies for those of us who want to make and sell our own products. So, Surface Design News was born.
I love to do research and write, as well as design, so it felt like the perfect marriage. It's only been 8 months and I well surpassed my subscriber goal of 100 people in the first year, but most importantly, I'm enjoying seeing our subscribers use the information I provide and get out there and show their work! Another great perk is that while reaching out to companies, I've had 2 ( a rug company and a stationery company ) interested in my work. I'm excited to see where that takes me. I would say to anyone considering joining Immersion, that it is worth the investment in yourself and, while there are difficulties in the course, you will come out on the other side with new skills and new ideas to grow your business.
I'm looking forward to continuing on with Surface Design News because I really do love it and I set a goal during Immersion to complete my portfolio and pitch to 1 company by the end of February 2022. I have the bones of my portfolio together but need to add collections to fill it out. I know a few companies that I think would be a good fit with my style of design so I'm preparing to pitch them soon and make my February deadline. I'm also planning to join Immersion again to reinforce the skills I learned and to force myself to keep designing. Here's to a productive 2022!
