Helpful Surface Pattern Advice for Beginners

The Actually Helpful Surface Pattern Advice I Wish Someone Had Given Me

If you’re anything like me, you probably started uploading to Spoonflower thinking:

“If I just keep designing and uploading… eventually this will work.”

And listen, that belief isn’t wrong.
It’s just incomplete.

Because the designers I see feeling the most frustrated aren’t beginners.
They’re the ones who are making some sales… but still feel invisible.

You’ve uploaded loads.
You know your work is good.
And yet your income feels stubbornly stuck.

So let me be the person who gently grabs you by the shoulders and tells you the things I really wish I’d understood sooner.

You Don’t Need a Signature Style to Be Successful

This one might sting a little.

In the surface pattern world, we’re told to “find our style” like it’s the golden ticket. And yes, style matters for licensing, portfolios, and creative confidence.

But on Spoonflower?

Buyers aren’t browsing galleries.
They’re searching.

They’re typing in things like:
– nursery wallpaper
– retro florals
– Maximalist mushrooms
– Cottagecore aesthetic

And Spoonflower thrives on variety.

Some of the most successful shops don’t look “cohesive” at all, they look helpful. They meet buyers where they already are.

Letting go of the pressure to only design within one narrow lane was one of the biggest shifts I made… and one of the most profitable.

SEO Is the Difference Between Hope and Sales

I’m just going to say it plainly:

Uploading more designs will not fix low sales if Spoonflower doesn’t understand your work.

Titles and tags are not optional admin.
They’re how your designs get matched with buyers.

Once I stopped treating SEO as an afterthought, and started learning how Spoonflower actually surfaces designs, everything changed. Not overnight. But consistently.

And consistency is what builds income.

At Least Half of Your Job Is Marketing (Sorry)

I know, I know, you wanted this to be mostly designing with a little admin on the side.

I did too.

But if you want Spoonflower to become a serious income stream, the split flips:
– designing
– uploading strategically
– understanding what sells
– positioning your work so it can be found

That doesn’t mean you love design any less.
It just means you respect it enough to let people actually see it.

I love using Pinterest for marketing my deigns so customers see them long term! You can grab my free guide or if you want to dive in check out my Pinterest Workshop for Surface Pattern Designers.

Knowing Your Buyer Changes Everything

Designing “what you feel like” is fun.

Designing for a specific buyer is powerful.

When you understand who’s buying fabric vs wallpaper, and why, designing gets easier, faster, and far less draining. You stop second-guessing every upload because you know exactly who it’s for and what they are searching for.

That clarity is a quiet kind of confidence.

This Is a Long Game (But a Very Real One)

Running an art business isn’t about one viral design or one lucky month.

It’s about practice.
Patterns.
Learning what works, and sticking with it long enough for it to compound.

I’ve doubled my Spoonflower income every year for the last few years, and that didn’t happen by accident. It happened because I stopped guessing and started treating this like a business.

A huge part of that shift came when I joined the Power Sellers Academy. If you’re serious about Spoonflower and want structure, strategy, and support, I genuinely recommend it.

(Yes, that’s an affiliate link, and no, I wouldn’t recommend it if it hadn’t played a massive role in my own growth.)

Want My Best Tips in One Place?

If you’re making sales but feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure what to focus on next, I’ve put together a free Spoonflower guide with the exact things that helped me move from “some sales” to consistent growth.

It’s practical.
It’s honest.
And it’ll help you spot where you might be unintentionally holding yourself back.

You can grab it right here!

You’re not behind.
You’re not bad at this.
You probably just needed someone to explain the game properly. And now you’ve got that.

Any questions please drop them below, and remember to check out my other blog posts and freebies!