June was a month of inputs, not outputs. I curated my inbox, sat through the Profitable Artist Summit, and filled pages with notes. Not one finished pattern to show for it.
Here’s the short version. I’m six months into surface pattern design. June was hectic, I skipped some of my daily drawing, and I made nothing new. And I’m still calling it a good month.
Research isn’t getting ready to do the work. When you’re learning, it is the work.
That’s the whole post. Stay if you want to know what I actually took from a month of reading.
What “still researching” looked like in June
Back in January I made a separate Gmail account just for this. One inbox, one job: curate newsletters, save research, keep it out of my personal email so it doesn’t get buried.
In June I treated that inbox like a desk I show up to. Open it every day. Read one or two things. Sign up for the people whose work I keep coming back to. Unsubscribe from the ones I scroll past every time. Bookmark what I want for later.
That last part matters more than it sounds. Most of what I saved in June I am nowhere near ready to use. I don’t have a collection to license. I don’t have a portfolio that needs polishing. I’m not negotiating any contracts. But now, when I get there, I’ll have a starting point instead of a blank screen.
What I took from the Profitable Artist Summit
Someone in my inbox told me about the Profitable Artist Summit 2026: “Skills That Sell.” It ran June 12 to 14. I took the free version, which is short pre-recorded talks plus freebies from the speakers. No upgrade, no VIP pass. I still walked away with plenty.
The talks covered art licensing, print on demand, portfolio building, patterns and collections, art business strategy, and negotiation. Most of it is above where I am right now, and that’s fine. I watched, I took notes, and I bookmarked the rest for the version of me who needs it later.
A few people stood out enough to name.
I downloaded new brushes from Gabrielle Brickey, I sat through a small lettering lesson from Shelly Kim and another from Nicole Mauloni, both of whom make iPad lettering look a lot less intimidating. And Liz Kohler Brown gave me the most to chew on about how a beginner actually builds toward a sellable body of work.
But the standout, the one I keep going back to, was Telva Chase and her site Telva’s Toolbox. She has a wall of free resources, and I paid for a couple of her playbooks because the free stuff was already that good. Her newsletter is the best one I’ve found so far. Number one. She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s become my woman in the chair.
My one new constraint: Spoonflower
I don’t believe in handing yourself ten new goals at once. So out of a whole month of research, and 6 months of “looking around”, I let myself keep exactly one new commitment.
In addition to drawing every day, I’m going to start with Spoonflower. Six months ago I didn’t know enough about this industry to know what I was looking at. Now I do, and Spoonflower is the corner of it that keeps pulling my attention. That’s usually the signal worth following.
One new thing. Not a to-do list. A direction.
The honest part
June got away from me.
It was a hectic month, full of family, including a lot of time with my granddaughter Chiqui. Some days my daily drawing practice just didn’t happen. There were stretches where I made no art at all.
A few months ago that would have sent me into a guilt spiral. Falling behind, not good enough, all of it. This time I let it be what it was: a busy season where research was the most I could do, and research still counts.
Things settle down after the 4th of July. That’s when I plan to hit the ground running again, with Telva’s resources, Spoonflower, my daily drawing, and the first real steps toward an actual collection.
Your move this week
Pick one newsletter you keep meaning to read and actually read it. Then do one of two things with it: unsubscribe, or save the one idea worth keeping.
Treat your inbox like a desk you show up to, not a pile you feel guilty about.
You don’t need a finished collection this week. You need to keep noticing what your attention keeps returning to. Mine pointed at Spoonflower. Yours will point somewhere too, if you let the research count.
This is part of my Studio Notes series, where I write up one honest month at a time. What’s the one thing your attention keeps returning to lately? Reply and tell me, I read every one.
Keep your hands moving.
— Gaby
