Hello! I'm a surface designer from the Hunter Valley in Australia who loves creating intricate, flowing designs. I am a big fan of the work and philosophies of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. I'm a designer for Phoebe Fabrics. Welcome!
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🗝️ The Design Path - Issue 2
Published 2 months ago • 9 min read
Issue 2 - August 2025
Sharing the inspiration and insights along my surface design journey
On the Path
A Holiday Reset
Field Notes
Skillshare
Portfolio Creation
Repertoire Course by Barbell Dressler
Twotap Digital Art Summit
Inspiration
Artist - Linda Catchlove
Studio Notes
My First Fabric Collection Release - A Month of Sundays
Final Thoughts
William Morris' Secret to a Successful Pattern
A Holiday Reset
Brad and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary in July, so it was the perfect excuse to take a break from our everyday schedules. We travelled to the Central Coast, about an hour away, to an Airbnb close to where I was born. This area holds a special place in my heart. Brad spent his days kayaking and I enjoyed the water views from the deck while reading, sketching, stitching and pondering life.
After a few relaxing days, we headed to Adelaide. Two holidays in one! The South Australian Museum was exhibiting ‘Treasures of the Viking Age’. I love history in general, but the Viking and Anglo-Saxon periods really capture my interest. Adelaide was a treasure trove of inspiration. We stayed within walking distance of the art gallery, botanic gardens and museum. Lots of photos were taken I can assure you!
I always find that when I take a break, whether it’s an extended trip, a few days in the caravan or a morning spent at the art gallery, I return with fresh energy and a new perspective. I find it difficult to take a break when I’m deep in a project, but every time I do, I’m grateful I made space to recharge. How do you take time out for yourself? Is there something you do to give yourself a mental break?
Skillshare
If you haven't discovered Skillshare yet, then you're in for a treat! It's an online learning community with thousands of classes on all sorts of creative topics. I find it an invaluable resource. It's the first place I look when I'm wanting to learn something specific or just be inspired. When my subscription is about to expire I don't hesitate to renew.
Some of my favourite teachers are Barbell Dressler, Kate Cooke, Lauren Hom, Mel Armstrong, Bonnie Christine, Marie-Noelle Wurm, Shannon McNab, Angele Kamp and Genna Blackburn.
Skillshare currently costs $168USD per year and you can try a month for free before you sign up.
The creation of a portfolio is a very personal thing. I remember being totally overwhelmed first time. So I thought you might find it helpful if I shared my process and the resources that have helped me with my own portfolio creation.
One-page portfolios are becoming more common. It's quicker to create, easier to update and better suited to adding to an email or posting in social media. You can showcase a single collection, or a body of work suited to a specific industry or company, or a carefully curated selection of your best designs. But I see it more as an useful addition to a full portfolio rather than a replacement.
The first thing to consider is what sort of portfolio you want to create. Do you want a hard copy, or do you want it to be viewed online, or both? Once you know what type of portfolio you want, you can decide which program is best to use.
My first portfolio was created in Illustrator because that's what I knew. I ordered 15 copies of my portfolio to be printed because I thought that was what I needed. What a waste of money that was! I quickly realised the benefits of having a portfolio that could be viewed online. Adobe InDesign was created for that. So I used Adobe InDesign for my second portfolio.
InDesign
There are so many reasons why you should consider using InDesign. The ability to create master pages or templates saves a lot of time and ensures your portfolio has a cohesive look. InDesign also has excellent tools for managing text and images. Another bonus is the interactivity it provides. I love that the viewer can click on an icon and be taken to my Instagram page or website!
If you've not used InDesign before don't worry. There are lots of free resources available that you can access. And Adobe programs all share similar features which makes learning the program easier than you might expect. I found Nayda Cruz's Skillshare class 'Plan, Design, & Publish Online Your Portfolio with Adobe InDesign' invaluable. Nayda is a surface designer so her course is perfect. It covers:
The benefit of using Illustrator is that it's familiar. I use Illustrator to create my images and Photoshop to create my mock ups. If you want to create your portfolio in Illustrator there are templates you can purchase to help you. I purchased a set from Stacie Bloomfield for my first portfolio just so I had some idea of how to set things out. She includes video instructions which are very helpful.
Whatever program you choose, the process of developing the contents is the same. I've created some guidelines I use myself that you may find helpful:
GET INSPIRED
Viewing a range of portfolios is a great way to get ideas for the layout and structure. Look at each portfolio as a whole, and how each page is set out. I've found the Issuu and Creative Howl websites are great places to find surface design portfolios.
BRAINSTORM
Make a note of what you like. Consider fonts, sizes, colours and structure. Landscape or portrait orientation? What about a 'Contents' or an 'About' page? Do you want to include mock-ups or illustrations? Should your document be viewed as single or double pages? Will you include page numbers? There are a lots of things to work out so take some time and jot down your ideas.
PLAN
Planning your portfolio makes the creation process run smoothly and helps you stay focused. It also results in a polished, professional-looking document.
Sketch out a rough plan for each page. Consider where the text and images might go. Think about alignment and spacing. Design the header or footer if you're including them. Having your contact information on each page is a good idea.
Create a 'to-do' list. Do you already have a headshot you like? Are all your mock-ups ready? What about swatches of your designs? Do you have a blurb and logo for each collection? Use your sketched plan to help compile your to-do list so everything is ready before actually creating your portfolio.
Creating a folder on your computer so all your images, videos and text are kept together, saved as the right file types and ready to copy and paste or embed will save a lot of time. If you are going to link files in your portfolio, keeping them in a folder you know you won't move will ensure the link will remain accessible. I have labelled mine in capitals with 'DO NOT MOVE' just to make sure.
CREATE
This is the fun part, but it's also when you find out if what you've had in your mind really looks and works the way you want it to. If you're using InDesign, I find that nailing the design of the master page templates first is the key to a smooth workflow.
PUBLISH
I've published my portfolio on Issuu, on my website and I have a link in my bio on Instagram.
SAVE
Through my own experience, I have discovered that saving my portfolio with different resolutions is very helpful. Some companies have a file size limit when uploading to their website and when I'm in the flow of pitching I don't want to stop, and resize my document. If you know it's already saved how you may need it, you will definitely thank yourself later!
RESOURCES
Here are some resources that you might find helpful:
Good luck with your next portfolio. If you have any tips or resources to add please email me. I'd love to know!
Repertoire Course by Barbell Dressler
I took Repertoire last year and I highly recommend it. I learned a lot about many different historical pattern styles and their key characteristics, worked on my drawing skills, and learned ‘the principle of five’ (the importance of redrawing motifs to enhance movement and cohesion). I also learned new ways to build pattern structures, develop colour palettes, and how to establish a more efficient workflow both in Illustrator and throughout my whole designing process.
The cost is $997USD and it comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee. Enrollment is open from 9th -16th September.
The Twotap Summit is a free 4-day online event featuring over 25 artists and creatives. The pre-recorded classes are available for 24 hours and aim to teach new techniques, help develop your personal style and build to your creative business knowledge. Personally, I just love to see other creatives at work, gain inspiration, and hopefully learn something new! Each day covers a new theme:
Day 1 - Master the Foundations
Day 2 - Creative Vision & Personal Style
Day 3 - Learn New Techniques
Day 4 - Commercial Applications
You have the option of paying a fee to gain lifetime access to all the classes and receive a variety of other resources. I enrolled in the last summit, and although not all classes were right for me, I definitely felt it was worthwhile. I learned lots of new things and was definitely came away feeling inspired. Liz Kohler Brown will be presenting a class.
South Australian Artist Linda Catchlove (1969-2021)
One of our many wonderful discoveries while in Adelaide was the beautiful artwork of Linda Catchlove. There was an exhibition of her work at the Botanic Gardens of South Australia and it was stunning! Her work is a 'charming blend of scientific precision and whimsical storytelling'. I fell in love with her botanical watercolours with incredible detail. What talent!
My First Fabric Collection Release - A Month of Sundays
I'm really looking forward to the release of my first fabric collection with Phoebe Fabrics in September. It's about taking time to feel grateful for all the good things we enjoy in our lives.
The whole process has taken 22 months from submitting the initial files to when the fabric will be released. It's been a steep learning curve but it was worth it! I have had 4 more collections accepted (my second collection 'Riverview' will be released in April 2026) so I've had a lot of opportunities to streamline my process.
I created what is known as an S.O.P. (or standard operating procedure) to follow when a collection is accepted, and it’s made the whole process feel far less overwhelming. Spending the time to write down the steps and create templates for future use has been essential. Because I found my fabric collection S.O.P so handy I am now in the habit to creating one for things I will need to do again, but I might forget how it's done. Things like uploading to Spoonflower, Patterned, or Zazzle are good examples. It's easy to forget without putting it into practice regularly!
William Morris' Secret Behind a Successful Pattern
Whenever I create a repeating pattern I think of this quote. It's so true. And I know it's a tricky thing to achieve!
While we were in Adelaide we visited the Art Gallery of South Australia. To my surprise, one of their vast rooms was wallpapered with 'Golden Lily' and it was the first time I'd seen a William Morris design in such a large volume. I sat on the big leather lounge and really studied it. He was right. My eye danced around flitting from a small detail to the overall design. It filled my eye and satisfied my mind.
It was an 'ah-ha' moment for me.
When I started this career I thought I'd make one design and it would be suitable to use on everything. How naive I was! I think it's most obvious to me when I try and apply a design to a mock up. Sometimes it's successful and sometimes it looks just wrong.
I suppose Bonnie Christine was right when she said we should ask the ultimate question - would I buy it?
Hello! I'm a surface designer from the Hunter Valley in Australia who loves creating intricate, flowing designs. I am a big fan of the work and philosophies of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. I'm a designer for Phoebe Fabrics. Welcome!
Issue 1 - July 2025 Sharing the inspiration and insights along my surface design journey On the Path Welcome! Field Notes Book - The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod Podcast - The Tillage Podcast Illustrator - Recolouring Trick Inspiration A New Colour Palette Studio Notes Rediscovering the Joy of Painting Final Thoughts It's Time to Write a New Story Welcome to the first edition of The Design Path! Recently I’ve had a few lovely people reach out to me on Instagram asking about my work. What I’ve...
