Design Tribe Podcast

Lauren Lesley: Atlanta designer + illustrator
  • 4.3 (13)
  • DESIGN
Design Tribe Podcast

The Design Tribe show is the podcast version of my live webinar series. We are a community of designers and creative entrepreneurs sharing design tips, all creative parts of our business, designer success stories, and strategies for growing your creative business online.

  1. 10/03/2023

    Guest Episode: Find Your Art Style w/ Harmony Hardin, Terry Runyan, + Nina Cvijovic

    Originally aired on Harmony Hardin's YouTube Channel.  Check out the video version here.   From Harmony: Ah, art style. The elusive "thing" we want to be known for as artists. Have you been stuck on that big topic, wondering what to do to find your art style, what all goes into developing an art style, not knowing if you've found yours? Or even where to start? Do you struggle with thinking you need to actively develop a style, or that it should come naturally, but it just isn't happening for you? Are you still copying other artists for practice, but stuck in art block as soon as you try to come up with a style and concept of your own? Uff, it can feel frustrating and confusing, for sure. On the 15th episode of art business podcast "Harmony & Friends", Terry Runyan, Nina Cvijovic and Lauren Lesley share their personal path to finding their current style, and their insights into how you can get there, too. Join us live if you can! It's lots of fun to hang out with the community in the live chat, and by joining, you have the chance of getting your question displayed during the livestream and answered by the panel. Share the link with a friend too, the more, the merrier! If you enjoyed this conversation, consider subscribing to the channel, where we have a conversation just like this one approximately every 2 weeks. Though we do not give you step by step art business advice or tutorials, the conversations shed light on 3 different examples, 3 different lives experiences. You will hear directly from successful artists about a specific income stream or art business topic, and how it works specifically in the businesses they have built. Enjoyed this video? So many more fun & insightful artist chats this-a-way: https://www.youtube.com/@HarmonyHardi... //   ARTISTS: Terry Runyan Visual Artist & Creative Encourager Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terryrunyan Website: https://terryrunyan.com YouTube: @terryrunyan   Nina Cvijovic Illustrator & Pattern Designer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diujdi Website: https://diujdi.com   Lauren Lesley Textile Designer YouTube: @laurenlesley Website: https://laurenlesley.com/sketchbookin...   Harmony Hardin Host & Watercolor Artist NEW Etsy Shop: https://harmonyhardin.etsy.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harmony.har... YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HarmonyHardi...

    1h 24m

  2. 09/20/2023

    Do These 6 Things BEFORE Jumping to a Full-Time Artist

    ART STYLE ACADEMY:  https://www.laurenlesley.com/asa-sales-page-35-spots DM me on Instagram:  @LaurenLesleyStudio   Do These 6 Things BEFORE Going Full-Time as an Artist Hey!  How are you?  If we haven’t met before, I’m Lauren.. I’m your host of the Design Tribe podcast, and I’m an artist and textile designer.  In the last episode, I went into pretty great detail about what it was like working as a full-time artist and licensing surface pattern designs.  So if you missed that episode, be sure to check it out.   I know a lot of you are either trying to make it as a surface pattern designer OR you dream of one day being able to leave your day job to license your artwork to companies.   I spent 2 years as an independent artist, and although there were many things I loved about working independently, I ultimately went back to an in-house job as a Senior Textile Designer.     A lot of these tips I’m about to share with you are things I WISH I did before making the leap to being a full-time artist.  We’ll talk about all the money stuff in the very last tip so be sure to stick around for that juicy topic.   Okay, so my first tip is to…   Publish a class to Skillshare. This might not be the advice you were expecting, haha! And to be honest, I’m a little annoyed with Skillshare, because last year they cut their teacher’s income by almost half - with no warning. From a business perspective, I understand if they needed to do this, but they really should have been up front about it and approached the cut in a much more gradual way.  So, it felt really crappy.. Especially when a lot of teachers relied on this as a dependable stream of income. BUT! The reason my first tip is to upload a class to Skillshare is because when you go full-time as an artist, you will need some recurring revenue coming in on a regular basis.   When it comes to teaching, Skillshare is one of the easiest places to start, because they already have such a great built-in audience with lots of students who are creative.   Domestika is another popular teaching platform you could choose if Skillshare has lost your trust.  I haven’t personally uploaded classes to Domestika so I can’t comment on whether I like the platform or not, but other artists seem to really like it. Another reason to upload a class is to just get your feet wet and see if you enjoy teaching. A lot of full-time artists teach on a platform like Skillshare or sell a course as a way to supplement their licensing income, which if you’ve ever done any licensing, you know very well it can fluctuate a lot! Your first class doesn’t even have to be related to what you WANT to do moving forward.  It’s easy to think:  “Well, I can’t teach about that, because I don’t have enough experience yet.”  And you would be right! Instead, think about where you were 5-10 years ago.  What have you learned since then? Your course could be about learning how to use Photoshop or how to draw a Still Life.  What are some things you learned in school that you could teach?  What did you major in?  It doesn’t even have to be art-related! It does help to keep your class topics related in the long term, but for your very first class - it could really be anything. The idea is for you to discover A.) if you enjoy teaching - e.i. Filming yourself, doing a little video editing, etc.  and B.) to start generating some recurring revenue. Develop your Art Style When you’re working as an in-house designer, it can be really hard to find your own Art Style.   Often when we work an in-house job, you get really good at doing ANY style… depending on what the project needs. Companies often try to fill out the white space in their line by covering a range of styles from traditional to modern to boho, you name it.  That means, as the designer, you develop the skill of designing ANY style. The problem with that is… you start to lose a sense of your own style and who you are from the inside out. You might get excited by new trends or a new pro

    19 min

  3. 08/29/2023

    I’m Back! What Being a Full-Time Artist is REALLY Like

    Art Style Academy:  https://www.laurenlesley.com/asa-sales-page-35-spots Guest Episode Application:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIGrg1q59yw4c47VniYirOBpp2aoEYjA33N9o9a4eWgYR_tw/viewform?usp=pp_url   Transcript: Hey, how are you?  I basically disappeared from this podcast for the past 2 years and I owe you an explanation!   If this is your first time listening, hey, I’m Lauren of Lauren Lesley Studio.  I’m an artist and textile designer, and I started The Design Tribe podcast back in 2019 as a way to add some transparency to someone who was just getting started in surface pattern design and the whole licensing world.   In this episode, I’m going to spill the tea on what it’s REALLY like being a full-time artist…. Full disclosure:  it’s not exactly how I thought it would be.   But first, let me explain where I’ve been and what the plan is for the Design Tribe podcast moving forward!   Back in the Fall of 2021, I decided to go back to an in-house job and I found out I was pregnant all in the same month!    On top of that, my husband and I decided to move houses to have a more suitable neighborhood for our baby to grow up in.  The idea of moving after our daughter was born really stressed me out so we were on an intense timeline trying to find the right place.   The housing market was incredibly competitive when we were moving and it basically took up 150% of my time.   We literally closed on our old house one week before my daughter was born! Then, she came into the world and my full attention was on her.   So, I’m very sorry that I’ve been gone for so long.  That was never exactly the plan, but you know, sometimes life gets in the way of creative pursuits.   So, what is the plan for the Design Tribe podcast moving forward?   During this season of life, I have to be realistic about the fact that I just don’t really have time to conduct a lot of interviews myself.   But, that doesn’t mean I won’t in the future.  I personally hate the idea of letting this podcast die just because of my own time constraints.   So, I started thinking outside the box and was wondering what WOULD be feasible for the podcast moving forward.   Sometimes, as artists and designers, we simply don’t have time to create ALLLL of the content all by ourselves.  It’s probably been a year since I’ve even created an Instagram post for my actual feed..  I am way more active in my Stories though!   But, the point is…. I started thinking what if The Design Tribe lived up to its name and became more of a collective effort?  Wouldn’t it be great to be able to hear from different voices and different artists who have different experiences?   SO!  I’m opening up the podcast to publish more guest episodes.   That means, if you are an artist or designer who has conducted your own interviews… either in podcast format or on YouTube… and you’d like to repurpose your episodes for further reach, please get in touch with me!   Especially, if you find yourself unable to keep up with a demanding weekly interview schedule on your own podcast… I’d love to collaborate with you!    Wouldn’t it be great to slow down and put our content efforts together… and get a bigger bang for your buck?   Imagine if you could relax the pace and schedule out one interview per month.  The Design Tribe is the perfect place to contribute those podcast episodes and reach more people.   If this sounds interesting to you, please look in the show notes for an application.       OKAY, so now let’s get into the good stuff.   Why the heck did I return to an In-House job and what was it REALLY like being a Full-Time Artist?   So, I dreamed about being a full-time artist for as long as I can remember.  Back in college, I was an oil painter so back then I envisioned doing something more along the lines of Fine Art.   But upon graduating, I realized I needed a JOB and a stable income to pay the bills.   So, I got my first job in Graphic Design at a T-shirt company.  While I loved some of

    15 min

  4. 10/12/2021

    Get Your Art in Retail Stores w/ Jenna Rainey + Julie Turkel

    In this episode of the Design Tribe podcast, I'm chatting with Jenna Rainey and Julie Turkel about how to get your art in retail stores + so much more! Jenna Rainey is a successful licensed artist with an incredible YouTube channel with over 120K subscribers. She provides tutorials for illustrators, calligraphers, and watercolor artists. Jenna has collaborated with brands like Papyrus, Anchor Brewing Company, and Target!   Website: https://jennarainey.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqWj...   Julie Turkel is a licensing agent who started at Nickelodeon, building the brand collab business from the inside out. Julie left Nickelodeon to then go on to represent Jonathan Adler, Nate Berkus, Dabney Lee and Jenna (among a few others). After 25 years in the business, her expertise is in brand licensing and she and Jenna have a unique experience working together on fun projects like a calendar line in Staples, a collection with Toki Mats for baby mats and more!   During the livestream, we discussed: - How to get your foot in the door and products on the shelves of retail stores - How to build a profitable licensing business - What is licensing (brand collaboration) and is it for you?  - What getting your work in Staples, Target and big box retailers really looks like - Trend Research and Informative Research to help with developing your signature style and strategy as a creative entrepreneur - Key elements to building a brand that everyone must know ➡️ Take my FREE MINI COURSE, Art Style Secrets: 1.) Subscribe to my Channel 2.) Like this Video 3.) Click the link below 👇 https://bit.ly/2UitNqB .   ➡️ Get my 2022 Trend Guide:  https://www.laurenlesley.com/trend-2022   🤓RESOURCES: https://www.laurenlesley.com/resources    ART SUPPLIES http://bit.ly/2H4z8uc  BOOKS http://bit.ly/2J2DeGF  DESIGN TOOLS http://bit.ly/2DS7PTo  SKILLSHARE CLASSES **Get 2 weeks free!!** https://www.skillshare.com/r/user/lau...  YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT http://bit.ly/2V4nnsI 🔴 Be sure to SUBSCRIBE + click the bell 🔔 for more design tutorials, business tips + creative strategies:  http://bit.ly/2LGqRNE

    1h 17m

  5. 09/28/2021

    Q+A: Surface Pattern Design (Ask Me Anything w/ Mya)

    ➡️ Join my free mini course, Art Style Secrets: https://www.laurenlesley.com/sign-ups-art-style-secrets   🎧 LISTEN TO THE DESIGN TRIBE PODCAST:⭐️ Be sure to leave a rating + a review! iTunes: https://apple.co/2xZIPsy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LHe2TB   📲🤳🏻 SHARE IN YOUR IG STORIES + TAG ME: http://instagram.com/laurenlesleystudio #laurenlesleystudio

    32 min

  6. 09/14/2021

    How To Price Your Art w/ Katie & Ilana from Loomier

    ➡️ Get your copy of Price With Purpose: Click here to get your copy.*   🎧 LISTEN TO THE DESIGN TRIBE PODCAST:⭐️ Be sure to leave a rating + a review! iTunes: https://apple.co/2xZIPsy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LHe2TB 📲🤳🏻 SHARE IN YOUR IG STORIES + TAG ME:http://instagram.com/laurenlesleystudio #laurenlesleystudio    *Affiliate links.

    1h 10m

  7. 08/10/2021

    Design Trends for 2022 - Surface Pattern Design, Textile Design, and Illustration

    ➡️ Get your copy of my 2022 Trend Guide: https://www.laurenlesley.com/trend-2022   🎧 LISTEN TO THE DESIGN TRIBE PODCAST:⭐️ Be sure to leave a rating + a review! iTunes: https://apple.co/2xZIPsy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LHe2TB 📲🤳🏻 SHARE IN YOUR IG STORIES + TAG ME: http://instagram.com/laurenlesleystudio #laurenlesleystudio   TRANSCRIPT: Speaker 2 (00:06): Hey, what's up. Y'all I'm here in beautiful Atlanta. And today I wanted to talk to you about trends. I'm currently in a deep dive of trend research for 2022 and wanted to let you know that I've got several pre-order discounts going on for my 2022 trend guide, plus a live workshop for those of you who sign up early, just head over to my website@laurenleslie.com and click on trend. Leslie is spelled with an E Y and join my email list to get the next discount. All right, thanks for listening to the design drive. Let's start the episode.   Speaker 3 (00:44): Okay. So why are trans important? I think this is the first question we should start out with because there are designers out there who really hate trends and they don't think trends are important. They have no interest in following them. They maybe see trends as being cheap and too commercial or, you know, kind of like it kind of like you lose yourself as a designer. If you're chasing trends all the time, you don't really have sort of this aesthetic that defines your own brand. But to me, I really see trends as art. Especially when you are looking at runway shows and some of the, you know, beginning stages of where these trends are developing. And I mean, it really is art. And I know that these things have a commercial use and that the trends are going to kind of push sales for a lot of products.   Speaker 3 (01:41): Right. And, you know, I understand why people will see that as you know, oh, it's a gimmick or it's a sales tactic, but the thing is of that transit sell for a reason. And it's because they're inspiring. And I don't think that these two concepts are mutually exclusive, right? Like I don't think that just because something sells well, it's automatically not art or it's automatically cheap, right. Just because it's commercial, it doesn't mean that it's not a really amazing and deep and valuable. And so I think that, you know, when you really start to dive into the beginning stages of how these concepts come about from the designer's imagination, right. And the experimentation, and, you know, putting together kind of insane materials. And in ways that, you know, to the current mainstream would seem crazy. Like if you look at a lot of runway trends, they seem kind of nuts and it's because they are exaggerated it's because it is a place where, you know, clothes and apparel and design ideas can be whatever they want because they aren't actually going to be selling in this form.   Speaker 3 (02:52): Right. The life cycle of a trend is that it starts out on something like their runway and it's really wild and really crazy. And then retailers kind of tend to the Trinity retailers tend to be the first ones to jump on that trend, but they water it down a bit. Right. It's not like you're going into a trendy store and seeing the exact same thing that you would have seen in runway fashion. So it's watered down a little bit and it's made more digestible for the average consumer. And then you have, you know, stores and retail brands that are, you know, kinda in the middle there, they're not super Trinity, but you know, they, they see these Trinity stores and they see that, oh you know, proof of concept, right. That people are actually buying these things. So, all right, maybe we'll dabble.   Speaker 3 (03:42): Maybe we'll stick our toe in the water and we'll try this trend. It's a little scary, but we'll try it. And then, you know, those stores, they start selling and, you know, people love it and more and more people jump on the trend. And when more people see that other people are wearing X, Y, Z, or have this k

    21 min

  8. 03/02/2021

    Selling On Patternbank w/ Neil Elliott (pt. 2)

    How do you sell on Patternbank successfully?  What do successful pattern designers do differently?  Neil Elliott from Patternbank gives us tons of tips for Patternbank success!   ➡️  FREE TRAINING in Textile Design: 🎧  Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 http://bit.ly/2JkxdnE​    ➡️  FREE Art Style Secrets mini course: 🎧. Subscribe Rating & Review 👉 https://bit.ly/2UitNqB   Questions asked: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little of Patternbank’s history? Could you please explain the process to signing up for Patternbank and getting started? (A lot of designers had questions about their file submissions, things like that.) Can you please explain the different types of licenses available to buyers on Patternbank and what they mean for the artist? Patternbank includes some amazing trend insights. How important is it for artists to follow these trends? In general, do your stats confirm that these trends sell better on your site overall? Which categories are considered classic and always sell well? Florals, textured prints, etc? Your trend page includes SS and FW trends. When is the best time of year for artists to be uploading designs for an upcoming season? How often should designers be uploading new patterns? Are designs shown in chronological order or is there an algorithm? It would be amazing for artists to be able to see new keywords clients are searching for. How would you describe patterns that look the most commercial? What characteristics do they have? Your newsletter suggests that designers edit, update, & delete designs. Can you explain why that should be a priority for artists and how it may affect their sales? What percentage of Patternbank customers are in the Fashion industry? Home Décor, Stationery, Accessories? What / who is the biggest industry buying on Patternbank? Do Premium Designs or Standard Designs sell better overall? When a design sells, what percentage goes to the artist and what percentage goes to Patternbank? When an artist uploads their designs to Patternbank under the Standard License, can they sell the design on other platforms? When an artist sells a design, they’re able to see who the client is and click on the client’s profile. However, there isn’t any further information or way for the artist to follow up with the client. Does Patternbank plan to add any functionality here? Would it be beneficial to strengthen relationships between clients and artists who fit their aesthetic needs? Do you have any tips or advice on the quality of design uploads? How important are extra assets to clients? Unfortunately, they cannot preview extra assets such as original drawings, color ways, etc, so does it really affect their buying decision? Should artists be working with Pantone colors? What color mode is recommended? RGB, Hex Code, CMYK? How does Social Media play a role? If an artist uploads a new design to Patternbank - is that enough? Or should they share it on social media, too? If yes, which channels and how often? Please explain. According to your data, do vector or raster files sell better on Patternbank? Or does it matter? Does Patternbank only accept repeat patterns or can artists also upload placement prints? For example, I used to be an in-house Textile Designer and I designed a lot of rugs and pillows that had placement prints. In fact, my Art Director would often give the criticism that a rug designed looked “too much like fabric,” which meant repeats were not ideal for a rug design. Other artists may wonder if they could ever sell an illustration that included several supporting or blender patterns on Patternbank to accommodate different markets? The wonderful thing about Patternbank is that artists don’t have to make the big investment up front to go to a trade show to meet clients. That can be really expensive and can take a lot of time to see a positive ROI. The down side for artists is that they remain somewhat anonymous on the site. In a traditional licensing cont

    42 min
See All (33)

    4.3
    out of 5
    13 Ratings

    About

    The Design Tribe show is the podcast version of my live webinar series. We are a community of designers and creative entrepreneurs sharing design tips, all creative parts of our business, designer success stories, and strategies for growing your creative business online.

    Information

    • Creator
      Lauren Lesley: Atlanta designer + illustrator
    • Years Active
      2018 - 2023
    • Episodes
      33
    • Rating
      Explicit
    • Copyright
      © Design Tribe 2018 by Lauren Lesley Studio
    • Show Website
      Design Tribe Podcast

    You Might Also Like

    Content Restricted

    This episode can’t be played on the web in your country or region.

    To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

    Stay up to date with this show

    Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
    Select a country or region

    Africa, Middle East, and India

    Asia Pacific

    Europe

    Latin America and the Caribbean

    The United States and Canada