57 – Spoonflower Success with Ashley of Presutti Design

Laura

0:04
Hi, this is Laura Lee Griffin.

Nikki

0:06
And this is Nikki May with the Startist Society, inspiring you to stop getting in your own way and start building an art biz and life that you love.

Laura

0:14
We are artists who believe strongly in the power of community, accountability, following your intuition, taking small actionable steps and breaking down the barriers of fear and procrastination that keep you stuck.

Nikki

0:30
Follow along with us on our creative business journey as we encourage you on yours.

Laura

0:38
A few episodes ago, we introduced you to print on demand marketplaces, specifically Society6 and Spoonflower. Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Ashley Beasley of Presutti Design. Ashley is a surface design artist based in Houston, Texas with a focus on repeat patterns, stationery and print on demand. She believes in keeping things fun and authentic and sharing how she juggles working full time being a new mom and keeping up with her passion for design.

Nikki

1:11
Since she started participating in weekly Spoonflower design challenges in 2020, Ashley has already had 19 designs land in the top 50 and made over 200 sales. She’s also participated in Minted challenges and has won seven of their challenges. It’s proof that you can succeed in a market that we really tend to think is already oversaturated. Ashley, welcome to the Startist Society.

Ashley

1:35
Yes, thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited to be here and get to share my experience and hopefully encourage a lot of new people starting.

Laura

1:43
Yeah, we’re excited to have you. We like to start off our interviews by getting to hear a little bit about your Startist story. Can you share with us your journey and how you came to where you are today?

Ashley

1:56
Yes, it is actually a very long journey. But I think it’s important for people especially starting out to know that it’s not always quick and easy. So hopefully sharing all the years of my fails and trials will kind of help, you know, encourage people to keep going. So I actually started a very long time ago, I went to the Art Institute of Houston in 2008. So I’ve been using Adobe programs for a very long time. And I graduated with a degree in graphic design in 2011. And immediately following that I actually was contacted by a company to come work for them as a graphic designer. And I actually still work there today. So I’ve been there nearly 10 years as a corporate designer.

Nikki

2:48
Yeah, 10 years is a good long time, I had a 10 year corporate design stint too.

Ashley

2:55
Yeah, you definitely learn a lot working in the corporate world. And actually, when I started working there, I had no idea about anything, I was really inexperienced. I mean, obviously, I knew how to use programs. But I didn’t know like anything else outside of just my little bubble of graphic design. And I learned what surface design was there, because there was a department who actually made repeat patterns. And I was amazed. I had no idea that you could be paid to do that. And so I didn’t work in that department. But I definitely like pushed myself into their projects whenever I could. I was like, hey, you know if you ever need any help, or if I can design something for you. And a few years later they gave in and they let me create some patterns for bags that were actually sold in stores. From that very moment. I was like absolutely in love with the idea of pattern design. And I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, being able to see your artwork come to life on a product. So I was instantly you know, I wanted to do that but I didn’t think I could ever do that on my own. I thought well, you need to work in a corporate place like I already am doing to even have that opportunity. So I didn’t pursue it. So this was like I learned what it was in 2012. And I had my design on the bag and it was 2014 or 15. And then I never did anything with it on my own. So I actually got like an itch to do my own design work. And I was like, you know, I’m going to open an Etsy shop and I’m just going to make prints and little downloadable things and invitations. And I didn’t have like any kind of game plan. I just was like I’m just gonna come up with random stuff.

Nikki

4:46
A little something on the side.

Ashley

4:48
Yeah, it was just a little side gig for fun and I thought maybe I could make a few bucks here and there and I did make a few bucks here and there. But I mean, you know, back then I didn’t know what I was doing, I was undercharging like a lot of people do when they start out. So it was all going well, you know, it wasn’t anything that I thought like, Oh, this is gonna be a big business. Um, I’m just having fun doing it. And then one day, I had a really bad client. And she wanted a logo. And you know, I was like, oh, here, it’s like 100 bucks, and there’s no contract involved. And you already know where that’s going. So it was really bad. And the person kind of like, pushed me around for a really long time, because I didn’t want to get a one star review. And in that moment, I felt defeated, I was like, Okay, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not good at this. And so I put my shop on vacation mode for about a year, or maybe even longer. And so, you know, then I started getting, you know, the passion to do like, artistic stuff again. It was really just like, I was like, oh, I want to become Instagram famous. I’m like, I’m gonna do hand lettering. You don’t just become Instagram famous, I’m still not Instagram famous.

Nikki

6:05
So you don’t just decide to become famous and become famous?

Ashley

6:08
I know, you would think that.

Nikki

6:11
That’s what we’re doing wrong, Laura!

Ashley

6:14
I just can’t believe it doesn’t work that way!

Nikki

6:16
I know.

Ashley

6:19
So yeah, never never got famous instantly. I did everything under the sun that you can think of, it was Oh, one day, I’m a hand letter. And the next day, I’m a watercolor artist. And the next day, I’m a wedding stationer. And the next day, I’m all about branding. And so I you know, all over the place, honestly and it was because I was suppressing my passion for pattern design. That’s really what I wanted to do. And I just didn’t think that there was any room for it. So let’s skip ahead a little bit. So the year is 2019. I’m all in on branding. And then

Nikki

6:53
Is that mostly what you do in your corporate job?

Ashley

6:56
Um, in my corporate job? It’s really yeah, it was a lot of like, marketing materials. So like catalogs and hang tags, and like consumer facing stuff, like on the shelf in the store? Yeah, corporate branding kinda stuff. So in my business in 2019, I was doing branding stuff. And I was, I spent, like, pretty much the whole year, like, setting up my website for branding and all this stuff. And then, in July or August, I found out I was pregnant. And so I was really excited. And I was like, oh, no, like, I feel so tired. Like, what, what happens if I never stop being tired? Will I be able to do like such high demand client work? Like that sounds really scary. So, I was like, you know, I really, I just want to do artwork that I can do for myself, and maybe do like get some passive income from it and not have to worry about constantly creating client work on like, in the moment. So I at the time was following Jenna Rainey and she had just released her Brand Plus Brand course. And I was like, wow, she’s talking about exactly what I want to do. She puts her artwork onto products, and she gets money after the fact. So I decided to take that class. And I was like, Okay, well, it’s totally possible, like you can do it. So I was like, You know what, I’m just not even going to worry about like making money in the moment, I’m going to make art and I’m going to try to sell it, whether it is on print on demand or eventually licensing. So I started, I made a few little patterns, and I didn’t know what to do with them. And then I realized I really wanted to make a baby blanket. So I came up with a design for my son, his little a wolf pattern with moons. It’s actually in my shop. And I asked my mom, hey, if I find some fabric, a way to print it, will you sew it for me? And she said yeah of course, because I don’t know how to sew. So I googled, I guess I don’t even remember the exact words but how to print your own fabric probably. And Spoonflower popped up. This wasn’t the first time I’d heard of Spoonflower. I’ve seen it before. And I didn’t really know how legit it was. But, you know, there’s so many designs on there I was like, well, it has to be legit. Why would people just be uploading all their artwork constantly if they weren’t getting paid for it. So I was like, you know, I’m just gonna do it. Either way, I want my blanket so I’m at least gonna upload what I can. So I had my baby blanket design. And then I had three other patterns in an assortment of colorways. And I uploaded them and I got my swatch sampler. So for those of you who don’t know, whenever you want to sell your patterns on Spoonflower you have to order a sample first. So having a swatch sampler or a fill-a-yard is a good way to do that and save money. So I just uploaded I think it was 28 designs, maybe and I was like, you know, okay, let’s let’s get them for sale. It took me like a month to hit the order button. I was really nervous. I was like, I don’t know, should I do it? Is it gonna work out? am I wasting my money on this and no one’s ever gonna buy them and but it all worked out. So I got my, my blanket in, my mom sewed it. For me, I love the material, I thought it was really great quality. And I was just so impressed by having this design in my hands and seeing my other designs in my shop, it was really just like sparked something in me. And even before I ordered them, like I just kept being like pulled to Spoonflower was like, just do it, just do it. So it was like this gut instinct telling me like, just to get on Spoonflower just to get started. And I felt really good about it. And I think you know, having a good mindset to start with is really like half of people’s success is like you don’t want to go into something like feeling bad about it. You want to feel good about it. And I felt good from the beginning. And it’s done really well for me and I even have some updated stats for you. I just checked yesterday.

Nikki

11:05
Ooh, tell us

Ashley

11:06
For 2021 alone, I made 400 sales exactly yesterday.

Laura

11:12
Wow. Congratulations.

Ashley

11:14
So 610. That’s more than a sale a day. So it’s really exciting.

Laura

11:21
Well, and especially since, like we mentioned at the beginning of this episode, a lot of people think that Spoonflower is super saturated, right? Like there’s no room for anybody new to come in. You just started this in the last like, what two years? And to see what has blossomed and how many sales that you’ve had is so incredibly encouraging, right?

Ashley

11:42
Yes, definitely. You know, I, I started it just hoping that I would make back the money that I spent on that first sample of designs like so I was like, Alright, just need to make, you know, 20 sales, and I’ll have at least have earned back what I spent on it. So knowing that I earned a lot more, it was a big success for me, even though you know, I’m not a six figure Spoonflower earner. There’s plenty of people who, you know, they make like $10,000 in a month, you know, I’m definitely not there yet. But it’s still really successful in my eyes just knowing that I’ve made it this far.

Laura

12:19
Well and that’s one of the reasons that we think you’re perfect to interview for this, Ashley, because our whole thing with our podcast, and everything that we do is, you know, we’re not the big six figure artists, either. We’re all about how do you get started? And then how do you take the next best step. And we’d love to have some people who have quote, you know, made it huge. But we also like to have people on the podcast, who are just starting to find their legs and getting some success in it. And you’re perfect for that, because you’re actually doing everything that we talked about doing on this podcast.

Ashley

12:53
Oh, thank you, that makes me feel good. Because I feel the same way. You know, when you hear someone that’s making six figures, like that’s really cool. And it’s really encouraging. But at the same time when you’re just starting out, it’s super overwhelming. So it’s nice to get like that middle ground and the people starting out.

Nikki

13:07
Yeah, it’s more relatable.

Ashley

13:09
Yes, definitely.

Nikki

13:10
Yeah. So we’re interested in your whole story. But like Laura said, we introduced in our last few episodes about print on demand marketplaces, Spoonflower and Society6 especially. And so we’re really interested in your Spoonflower experience. Tell us everything. Tell us about, you know, that’s how you got started, but then how did you start doing the contests? And how did you get found in those?

Ashley

13:37
Yeah, so I actually wrote a blog on this. And it’s funny because like my website, I don’t think it’s any traffic except for my three Spoonflower blogs. And I wrote a blog called how I made 200 sales on Spoonflower in one year. And basically, I’ll just kind of tell you about that. Because that’s really the story. So I uploaded those first designs I told you about. And then I was kind of like, well, now what do I do? Like, I don’t know, do I just keep making designs that I like? Do I need to figure out what other people are liking. And so I was just kind of browsing Spoonflower’s website, and just trying to get myself familiar with their platform. And, you know, what kind of designs are out there? And I noticed that they had design challenges. And I was like, Oh, well, that’s really cool. And I’m the type of person who works a lot better under pressure.

Nikki

14:32
Same same.

Laura

14:34
I am too.

Ashley

14:35
I need a deadline. You know, it’s the same at my day job. Like if there’s no deadline on a project, I’m gonna I’m just gonna take my sweet time doing it. So it’s like, but if they’re like, We need it tomorrow, like, I’ll get it done tomorrow. Yep. So I was like, Okay, well, this is perfect accountability. You know, there’s a week in between each challenge and you know, they, they put a couple of them up there in advance so you can see about four or five of them at a time and it’s nice that it’s only one a week. So you can submit like in advance, but you don’t have to worry about like, Oh, two of them are due on the same day. So you don’t have to, like, fight for that or anything?

Laura

15:12
And do you submit just one design? Or can you submit more than one?

Ashley

15:15
It’s only one design. So you just have to pick your best one that goes with it.

Laura

15:20
No, that’s good.

Ashley

15:21
And people are very serious in design challenges. I’m a part of a Facebook group called Spoonflower Fans. And I will tell you, the people on there take it very seriously. Like if you made this pattern, like three months ago, and then the challenges announced, people be like, Hey, I’ve seen that pattern before. This wasn’t brand new for this challenge. So

Nikki

15:42
But it’s not a requirement that it has to be right? It just has to fit the challenge.

Ashley

15:48
They say that it should be new, because they’re the whole reason for the challenges is that they’re looking for fresh new designs. So if you’re like picking a design that’s been up for sale for a year, you know, I mean, I don’t know if anyone’s really gonna take it down. But I try to follow the rules. So I like to make brand new stuff that I haven’t had for sale yet. And actually, my very first challenge, I didn’t do this rule, because I didn’t understand. And I was like, Oh, well, I have one of these patterns. I’m just going to recolor it to fit this challenge. And I placed it was like 150 or something out of like, 800 I don’t remember the exact number. But I was really surprised, I was like, wow, that did a lot better than I thought I was expecting like one vote, gonna be like 900th place. So…

Nikki

16:33
Well, and then did you do anything to help? Did you share it to try to help get votes? Did you have a big following that was voting for you or…

Ashley

16:46
No. So I absolutely have like zero following that cares about my patterns.

Nikki

16:52
Oh come on, you have at least two right here.

Ashley

16:56
Now I have more, but at the time starting out, like no, I had absolutely no following which is why print on demand is such a great thing for people like me who don’t have an audience. But I did, I shared on my social media, like, Hey, I submitted a Spoonflower challenge, go ahead and vote for me. And PS, you can vote for as many designs as you like, which is nice. So you don’t have to feel like you’re like bribing people into voting for you. But you know, they make it really hard because they don’t want to play favorites. So like, it’s not like you can just go directly to mine and vote for it, you gotta scroll through a thousand designs and find mine. So you know, I’ll announce it, but I don’t really know how many people are going out of their way to give me a vote. So that’s why I don’t think voting is rigged. I’ve heard people be like, Oh, it’s a favorite scam. But I’m like, I can guarantee you I don’t have like 100 friends going and voting. So yeah, I did, I did pretty good that first time. And then I was like, Well, I’m gonna do another one. And you know, I did a little worse that time. I mean, it was still pretty good was like 200th place, I think I would have like 800 something. And I didn’t even follow the brief that well, because we’re supposed to be like animals and florals and I just did florals. So I was like, Okay, well yeah, I’m gonna just kind of like, take a break from it and kind of think about it. And then there was a challenge coming up for the the nugget comfort. It’s like this kid’s couch. And I thought, oh my gosh, that’s just like the coolest thing in the world. Like, I would love for my pattern to be on that. And so I did a pattern. I was like, Oh, I don’t think anyone’s gonna vote for this at all, I just like this is just too out there. And there was like over 1100 entries, and I made it into the top 50 with a tie at 51 and I was just like, wow, I can’t believe that many people voted for me and it was like not my friends or anything, it was like strangers.

Laura

18:46
That’s super encouraging.

Nikki

18:48
Definitely very encouraging.

Ashley

18:50
It ended up being a really good seller for a long time. And I couldn’t believe it because it’s like it’s just a really abstract painterly kind of pattern. And I was surprised, I was like, wow, I didn’t think anyone would like that. And that was like my first sale. I had one sale before that. Like was like a test swatch I made 50 cents and I was so excited and then and then I started getting sales on that and it was actually like, right when I had my son, I was in the hospital like recovery room. And I was just like okay, I’m gonna check my phone and I was like telling my husband like oh my gosh, I just made six sales and he was like what and I was like, like you know, I’m all excited about my baby and I’m over here like also really excited about this other design baby that I have. And I just, I couldn’t believe it so I was like there was so much to celebrate that so I’ll never forget that moment. And then I made like, someone bought 25 yards of that fabric and I was just like wow there there is something to be said here like yeah, people people are buying fabric on this website in like in larger quantities. And so I decided to just participate in more challenges. And then you know, I always did well. So even if I didn’t place in the top 50, which you can have ties, so there can be more than 50. I still always did really well, like people are liking my stuff, or they’re saving it to a collection. And that’s really what you’re wanting is just to get your stuff out there in front of people. And even if you don’t place in the top 50, the people who are liking it, they genuinely like it like they will probably come back in buy it eventually. So definitely don’t be discouraged if you aren’t placing well, even if you place you know, 600 or 700. People are liking it just that’s all you need.

Laura

20:38
And how many challenges have you done so far, Ashley?

Ashley

20:42
I probably did one every other week, in the year 2020. And then for 2021, I did a lot less of them.

Laura

20:50
Now one of the things I think is true, and you can correct me if I’m wrong, but if you place in the top 50, then you don’t actually have to order a swatch in order to sell it. Is that correct?

Ashley

21:03
Yes, that’s true. So they, you get a monetary prize for first, second and third, and I think even up to 10th place, you get a monetary prize, and then everything else in the top 50, including ties, it’s just automatically for sale.

Nikki

21:17
That’s a nice little benefit.

Ashley

21:19
Yeah, it is. And so definitely, you know, if you’re starting out, and you’re worried about ordering the samples, because you’re not sure if things are going to sell. Just if you start participating in design challenges, and you do well, then there you go, like it’s already for sale, you didn’t have to order anything. And it’s not like Etsy, where it looks bad if you only have one design in your shop, people aren’t looking at your shop, really, they’re just looking at the design. So you don’t need to fill your shop with tons of stuff. It’s a good way to get started.

Nikki

21:50
Okay, that’s also very encouraging. So don’t feel like you can’t start with one or two designs.

Ashley

21:57
Yes, exactly. I would say if you are starting small then the design challenges are the way to go, because that’s how people are really going to find you. Otherwise, I think you would need to fill your shop with a lot of things.

Laura

22:13
Well, let’s also talk about other ways that you can get found. Do you pay attention to what you title the things? Do you use a lot of tags, or specific kinds of tags?

Ashley

22:25
Yes. So when you upload your design, you want to give it a really good descriptive title. So I would do something that actually explains what the design is. So I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t name it anything weird.

Nikki

22:37
Not just a cute, clever name.

Ashley

22:38
Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. I did that in the very beginning. And then I actually went back and like updated a lot of things and then you get 13 keywords and you want to use them all they wanted to be descriptive. You know, what’s in the design? What colors are designed, what style is it? And then there’s a place for an additional description by actually like two places, there’s like a mini description, and then a detailed description. And I usually never do the more detailed description. I don’t think it really does anything.

Nikki

23:08
As long as you get your keywords in the short one and the title and everything.

Ashley

23:14
Yeah, I think that’s good enough.

Nikki

23:18
It’s not like people read.

Ashley

23:20
No, I don’t think so. And like, you know, I don’t know, like how great their website is that like SEO, but I would think if it’s already in the other places, and I think it’s okay.

Laura

23:30
So you mentioned that you got in the top 50, you started doing more of the challenges. So did you start seeing an uptick immediately on sales because of those challenges, do you think?

Ashley

23:40
Yes, so everything that I had a lot of sales in was most likely from a design challenge. So it’s not to say that you can’t make sales from other things. But the fact that I was submitting it and getting it in front of eyes and people are liking it, those are the things that were selling. And then you can make collections. So you can add to a collection with other things that are similar. And that also helps people to find your designs. But definitely everything that I had a lot of sales in is because of the design challenges. And that’s why I decided to focus on those.

Nikki

24:18
So speaking of collections, so I know that on Spoonflower you can group things into collections that are similar. But that’s not really used the same way as we talk about fabric collections, where you have coordinating patterns, do you do that sort of collection or most of your sort of one-offs.

Ashley

24:43
I kind of do a mix of both. So I don’t really have like a ton of full pattern collections. But I’ve started more recently adding more of those. So I do have both, you know collections of here’s like something that just goes together and then I have a random things like here’s animals, so anything that’s animal related or here’s your fruits, or here’s your stripes or your dots. You know, you can go both ways with it. People they’re looking for one thing, they just want to see what else goes with it or what else you have in there. So I don’t think there’s any perfect way to make a collection.

Nikki

25:16
Do you think people purchase your patterns together? Do people buy multiple styles like to make quilts? Or do they mostly just do one-offs?

Ashley

25:27
You know, this is a really interesting question, because honestly, I’d like to know myself. A lot of myy purchases are from guests users, which I find really interesting. So I don’t know if it’s people who like, they don’t want to be found, or they just randomly stumbled upon Spoonflower. I have no idea. I definitely can see some people who have username accounts. But whenever I get a purchase, it is always like one thing at a time. At least, that’s how it is for me.

Nikki

25:57
I found that too for myself. I don’t have nearly as many sales as you do, but it’s all it’s all random people just buying one thing.

Ashley

26:06
Yes. And I have noticed a couple names come back, but it doesn’t seem like anything that’s consistent. So I don’t think they’re using it for the same thing. So a lot of times, I never know what people are creating with it. And I even like added to my, my little shop profile, like, I would love to see it. Like, here’s my Instagram and I have an automated message that goes out. And I was really worried if it was annoying. But literally just two days ago, someone responded to it. And they were like, Hey, I just want to let you know how much I love your automated message because there’s like, there’s no pressure because you told me it was automated, but it was still really friendly. And I was like, Okay, well, that makes me feel good.

Nikki

26:46
That’s nice. That’s nice.

Ashley

26:48
So maybe she’ll share with me what she decides to create. But you know, just recently I have start seeing a few people share on Instagram and like you know, someone they they made a really cute little plush doll from it. And someone else was she just sent me a picture through Instagram messaged, she doesn’t use Instagram, but she was like, Oh, I made like a rocking chair cover for my little nephew. And so it is nice sometimes I get to see what they’re doing. But for the most part, I have no idea.

Nikki

27:15
Yeah.

Laura

27:16
But you know that your creativity is inspiring somebody else to be creative, which I think is really cool.

Ashley

27:21
I know that’s like the best part about it is that like, not only am I doing this for fun for myself, but just knowing that other people are having fun with it, too is just really great.

Laura

27:32
Yeah. Okay, so I want to ask a couple technical questions. So one of those when you create your patterns are you using Procreate, Illustrator or Photoshop? What kind of software do you use?

Ashley

27:45
I use a combination of Procreate and Illustrator. So pretty much everything I do I draw in Procreate as like really simple graphics that I can take into Adobe Illustrator and then easily vectorize. And then I just rebuild everything from there. So like, if I have a dog with spots, like the dog, and the spots would be separate, and I would color them and like replace them together to make my little image. And then I build the repeat in Illustrator, color it all in there. So the majority of it is really done in Illustrator but the but the meat of it’s done in Procreate.

Nikki

28:23
Drawing the motifs.

Ashley

28:24
Yes, and I find that I just have a lot more control that way. And I like to be able to easily change colors. And that’s why I love vector so much. You know, initially I really wanted to do like watercolor art, and even digital watercolor. That’s what my initial baby blanket was, was just a gray digital watercolor. But you know, that’s like, a lot more goes into it when you have stuff like that. Either you have to do it in Photoshop, which I know how to use, but I don’t like doing it for patterns. Or I don’t really necessarily like to have to vectorize something that’s supposed to look like watercolor. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just I personally would rather just be solid at that point. So that’s what all my artwork is pretty much just solid blocks of color.

Nikki

29:10
Yeah. Have you ever tried the new Illustrator for the iPad, and then that way, you’re still drawing on the iPad, but going straight to vector.

Ashley

29:18
I have tried that. And I don’t have the patience for it yet. Like I was using it. And it’s just not as I guess intuitive or I’m so used to using the functions of Procreate, the background, the tabs and stuff. Yeah. And so it’s like, you know, just screw this. I’m taking it into Illustrator on the computer.

Nikki

29:40
I’ve tried that just a little bit too, but I just feel like it’s so much easier to draw in Procreate than it is to draw it starting with vectors.

Ashley

29:49
Yeah, it feels a lot more natural to me. I feel like I’m drawing on paper rather than on Illustrator. It feels like I’m using a tool. So yes, I agree.

Nikki

29:59
I agree. Absolutely.

Laura

30:02
Have you ever uploaded a pattern to Spoonflower and then had a problem with the repeat?

Ashley

30:08
No, I haven’t. And, you know, probably maybe the first time I did, because I didn’t maybe understand. But otherwise, I never seem to have a problem with it. You know, making sure that whatever you export, your art is bleeding over the edges. So you don’t get that white line. I know that’s a big issue for a lot of people starting out is they don’t understand where that lines coming from. And it’s just important that every little pixel’s covered, so make sure you bleed over the edges. And then Spoonflower also, you’re uploading the repeat itself. So I’ve seen a couple people message me, like they’re confused and understand. And they were uploading, like a big swatch rather than the repeat.. And so like, one time was like, can you send me a picture of what you’re doing. So I don’t understand how this was happening. I was like, Oh, you didn’t do the repeat. So just knowing those two things alone will really help you on the technical side when you’re uploading and then a lot of it’s trial and error. So you know, definitely just start with one, make sure you got it down before you go trying to upload like 20 designs and realize that you got them all wrong.

Nikki

31:15
But actually having them force you to have them printed sometimes can help you find an error in your repeat before you sell it to somebody. I had one really complex pattern that there was a mistake and I didn’t see it until it was printed.

Ashley

31:31
Yes, that’s very true. There was even one time where I somehow forgot to bleed my background and there was a line in it. And I was like, super embarrassed. But the print technician, I guess, noticed it and emailed me and they’re like, hey, there’s a line in here, can you fix it? And I was like, Oh, wow.

Nikki

31:49
That’s great that they caught it before it went out there.

Ashley

31:52
Yeah. So that was really nice. And I was like nervous. I was like, Oh, my gosh, was this printed before. And I was like going back and looking. And I don’t think anyone ordered that colorway it. But they’d ordered that design and other colorways. So then I had to like go back and check them all, and they were fine. So I don’t know what happened that one moment. So yeah, definitely, you know, slow and steady, double check everything, be careful about what you’re uploading.

Laura

32:14
Now, do you have customers reach out to you that say I love this pattern, Ashley, but can you change the size of it? Can you make the pattern bigger or smaller and scale it?

Nikki

32:22
Change the color?

Ashley

32:24
Yes. So I’m totally cool with a scale adjustment because I plan on uploading things in multiple scales anyway. And sometimes I just don’t get around to it. So if someone does want smaller or bigger scale, I’ll just go ahead and do that for them. And I’ll just end up uploading, you know, all the other sizes that I didn’t and then I’ll send them all to them. Like, there you go. Now you know, you have like four to choose from. And when it comes to colors, that’s, that’s where things get a little different. It’s one thing if it’s like a one color print, and someone says I want this exact hex code, like, okay, that’s, you know, fair enough. But if it’s like, I want this whole thing, totally recolored, then, you know, you’re talking a whole new design here. So definitely something I can do for them and I’d be happy to but at that point, like, I don’t know what they’re looking for. So it would be like a side conversation, like, I’m gonna charge you for my time to have to re-color all this stuff. There was one time starting out, I did it for someone for free. And it actually worked out just fine. She wasn’t picky or anything. She was like honest with me from the beginning. She was like, Look, I only want a yard of this. But I just wish it was green. And she didn’t have any like specific green. She was like I want it to be like a forest hunter green. And so I was like, well, I’ll upload something in what I think looks good. But if you want it, like in another color way beyond that, like I’m gonna have to charge you for it separately. And she ended up liking the color I did. So…

Nikki

33:51
That’s really smart. Because a lot of times people will say, Oh, I wish this was in this color or this scale, and you change something and they never buy it. So, definitely anytime somebody asks you for custom work, I would definitely say, I would be happy to do that for you. It will cost this or pay in advance.

Ashley

34:12
Yeah, I definitely don’t recommend doing anything for free. You know, I was just like excited and being nice. And it ended up working out fine. But there was another instance I think, where someone wanted something totally different. And I was like, No, yeah, you’re gonna have to pay me for and then no one wants to pay, you know, because sometimes like, oh, well, someone else did it for me for free. And it’s like, well, great for them, but I’m not so.

Nikki

34:34
Right. Yeah. I mean, I kind of think if it’s something that, if it’s something that was a good suggestion that you’re like, Oh, I kind of wish I’d thought about that. Or maybe I would have done that anyway, then there’s no problem but if it’s something custom for somebody that…

Ashley

34:50
Exactly, you know, and I actually really liked the color that she wanted, and it’s funny, just for Christmas I got that design. It was my fishing design, like a lake house theme and I got it printed on a blanket through Society6 another print on demand, for my father in law. So, I liked her color idea making a green, so it worked out for me too. I used it.

Laura

35:11
So when it comes to scale, do you normally upload things, Ashley, at a really high resolution so that then you can scale it up or down when people do ask or do you upload it separately every time?

Ashley

35:22
I absolutely upload everything separately, I don’t know what that function problem is, but at the very beginning…

Nikki

35:32
It is a bit confusing.

Ashley

35:34
At the very beginning uploaded designs that 300 dpi. And you know, it has that smaller function, I don’t trust it. I just don’t I don’t think you know, other people might have perfectly, you know, good experiences with it, but I don’t trust it. And I don’t think anyone else should either.

Nikki

35:52
That’s good to know.

Ashley

35:54
And I say this, because one, one of my designs is totally fine repeat. I uploaded at 300. And then all of a sudden, I realized, I don’t know if it was just the website itself glitching. But it, it messed up the scale, like it didn’t scale it proportionately and like the design was cut off, like when you look at like a yard view. And I was like, Oh my gosh, like, was this like how it’s actually printing, I got really nervous. So I went back into my file, and I made sure it was that same size. So I had to like, you know, get out the rulers and like look, and I exported it at 150, which is what they really suggest you do. And I will export everything at 150 at the size I want. So that is going to be the 100% size you get. So if you want your dot to be five inches, then make it five inches at 150 dpi and it’ll be five inches. And so

Nikki

36:52
That makes sense. That just avoids any possibility for that getting screwed up.

Ashley

36:58
Yeah. So you know, it might have just been like an error on the screen, but I don’t trust it. I do that. And then you know, when someone does come back, and they say, Hey, could you make this scale, like 50% smaller, and I already can see what it looks like, I can just go into my file, I already know exactly what scale I have that at, I don’t have to remember, like, did I downsize this at 150 or anything like that. So it just, it’s a lot easier for me, I have a good workflow now. I set up my files to where I have all the artboards in one file, and I write like, here’s what 100% is. And here’s what 50% scale is. And so I know exactly like what scale I’ve already uploaded, so it’s just super more organized for me. That’s just how I prefer to do it.

Nikki

37:45
That makes sense.

Laura

37:46
So when you upload, do you normally upload then at multiple scales?

Ashley

37:49
I do. I think it’s just easier. Um, I like to have the options. But I definitely don’t think it’s necessary for you to do especially starting out if you’re concerned about spending the money on trying to get things sampled, whenever you win a design challenge or get really good amount of likes or place in the top 50 I would use that as your marker for like, hey, this design has a lot of appeal to people. So I’m going to take this design and I’m going to upload it in all the different scales now. And maybe I’ll upload it in multiple colorways because I already know people like the original design. And I think that’s like a really good starting point. That’s a great tip. That way you’re not just making a bunch of designs you don’t know if people are even going to like them because I’ve definitely uploaded tons of things and tons of scales and some of them haven’t sold yet. Some of them do but you know otherwise like you just don’t know exactly what you’re getting. But everything that has been a design challenge I’ve done multiple colorways, multiple scales, and they sell so.

Nikki

38:50
Smart.

Laura

38:51
So do you happen to have any other tips on marketing on Spoonflower, Ashley?

Ashley

38:56
Um, you know, I think marketing on Spoonflower really just comes down to your keywords and your descriptions because like I said earlier I don’t have a huge fan base, I’m just now starting to reach people on Instagram who are makers and who sew and use fabric and you know, that’s after like two years of being on Spoonflower. So I you know, I guess I’m just not a great marketing person I don’t know but. So you know, that’s that’s my future goal is that hopefully I will reach more people and be able to market outside of Spoonflower because otherwise you really are just leaving it up to the website itself. And that’s why I think design challenges are the way to go when you’re like me starting out, don’t have an audience. That’s the way to get found and you know, normally the word exposure in the design world is just like a sin. You don’t ever want to, you don’t ever want to get paid by exposure or anything but in this case, you need the exposure to even get your stuff seen. So I definitely think it’s good in this case, so just try to participate and get yourself out there. And, you know, I have like three mindsets for design challenges. And the first one is to get noticed. So you’re like me, you’re new, you’re starting out. No one knows who you are. No one’s seen your artwork. And you just want to participate, just to get noticed. You’re not trying to like, win first prize or anything like that. You’re just using it as, you know, I need some ideas, here’s a brief to work on, here’s accountability, and people are gonna see it.

Laura

40:32
Yeah.

Ashley

40:33
And then like, the second mindset is, you just need to get inspired. So that’s why again, you’re using it as the brief and, you know, maybe you’re kind of like, I’m kind of stuck, I don’t know, to create. So, you know, I don’t really care how I place or anything like that. And then the third one is to win a top 50. And that’s where you might sacrifice your style to make it fit the brief more so that way, people will vote for it more like maybe you hate the color palette, they’re suggesting you use and it’s something you would never do, but you really want to like, try to win top 50, so you’re like, I’m gonna use this brown color that I hate because that’s what they’re telling me to use. And actually one of my designs, I hated the color palette that they suggested. And I was like, Well, I’m going to use all three colors in this color palette, even though it’s not required to use all three. But that’s like what people are looking for, I think, when they go to vote is they’re looking for the one who used all three colors. And I absolutely hated it. But I made it in another color palette that I did like, and about a week ago, it was on Christmas Eve, someone bought 14 rolls of wallpaper, it was $100 commission.

Laura

41:43
Wow.

Nikki

41:44
Nice!

Ashley

41:45
I think they found it because, you know, the original design had a lot of likes on it. And they probably clicked like, let’s see more in this collection and found the other colorway or probably, you know, popped up at the bottom somewhere. So.

Nikki

41:58
Well, I also want to point out that you say you’re not good at marketing or whatever. But your first year you made 200 sales.

Ashley

42:06
Yes.

Nikki

42:07
And your second year you made 400 sales. So you doubled it in the next year.

Ashley

42:11
Yeah, that was my goal. It’s funny, though, cuz when I wrote that blog, I felt like really silly writing. And I had like major imposter syndrome. Like, I was like writing it. And as I was like, going to publish, I was like, What am I doing? Like, there’s not even one sale a day and like, I’ll be honest, most of those sales were like a single yard. So what’d you make, like $1.70 off of that? So I was like, oh, man, I was like, I don’t know, should I even post this? Like, I feel kinda like stupid.

Nikki

42:40
But clearly…

Ashley

42:41
Yeah, you know, I kept seeing people be like, Oh, hey, how many sales did y’all make this year? And people were like, oh, I made like, 10 or 20 or 30. And I was like, Okay, well, clearly, you know, there’s people who are struggling out there. So like, this, this was good. And it was good for me, because I initially went into it, hoping to make 20 sales, and I publish the blog and then that blog gets saved all the time on Pinterest. Probably like once a day. It’s like, wow, there’s a lot of people out here just hoping to make 200 sales. So yeah, I did something right.

Laura

43:15
Yeah, you definitely need something right.

Nikki

43:18
You need to do a follow up blog, how I doubled my sales on Spoonflower in one year.

Ashley

43:25
You know, that’s funny, I was actually just thinking about earlier because I posted my 2021 year in review. And I was like, You know what, I should go back to that blog. And I should do like a little update at the top of them be like PS, I’ve actually done better. So

Laura

43:39
Yeah, that’s awesome.

Nikki

43:41
Share that thing again.

Ashley

43:42
Yeah, I’m gonna have to do that.

Laura

43:44
And I think you actually have a downloadable guide for surface pattern designers who want to get into Spoonflower, right?

Ashley

43:51
I do.

Laura

43:52
Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Ashley

43:54
Yes. So because my blog was shared so much, I realized that people you know, were really curious about Spoonflower, and how to get started. And, you know, it’s, you can Google and you can go onto Facebook pages. And you know, definitely I’ve seen the questions asked a million times elsewhere. So it’s not like, hidden information or anything, but it’s just all in one spot. And it’s from my point of view, my perspective, it’s really just an inspirational guide, like, here’s some very, most frequently asked questions that people ask who they’re starting out. Here’s what I do, here’s what can help you. And then, at the end of each little chapter, I have a little homework assignment like okay, now you do this. So it’s kind of like an actionable workbook in a way but it’s really more like an inspirational read to help you get started, answer some of your frequent questions. And it’s really like kind of a ticket also to chat with me about it. So I write in there like, hey, definitely email me if you have more questions like I’d love to add to this book, or I’d love to just chat with you one on one. I’ve had a handful of sales of it. And, you know, me being the terrible marketing person I said, I was, I never advertised it besides on my blog, really. So I mean, the people who did buy it, you know, they just happened to find it. It wasn’t from me, like trying to promote it or anything. And I didn’t want to promote it, because I was like, you know, there’s so many things being sold to us, surface designers and artists, like, here’s a class and there’s so much FOMO going on. So I was like, you know, and I’m just gonna, like, put it out there. It’s going to be casual. People find it, they want it like, awesome, definitely. I want it to be like their own decision that they found it and wanted to buy it. But yeah, someone, they took advantage of emailing me. And they emailed me this, like, huge, long paragraph about like, you know, how can I get to where you’re at? And how do I get started and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And, you know, I had a really detailed response, and she responded back. And so it was just a nice, like, knowing that I’m helping someone else who’s getting started. And it’s really cool knowing that they like, think I’m like, super successful, and they like, they want my input and stuff like that. So it’s really nice. And I definitely hope to add to it in the future and make it this like really in depth book that, you know, maybe it’s more than Spoonflower, maybe it’s like a full surface design guide, eventually, one day.

Nikki

46:18
Well, it looks beautiful, I’m looking at it on your website right now. And I mean, obviously, it’s beautifully designed, because you’re a designer, but it looks like it’s got a lot of really great info. In fact, I might have to click that buy button myself. And we will absolutely link to it in our show notes.

Ashley

46:38
Well, if you sign up for my newsletter, there is a little coupon code in there. And I’m also terrible about my newsletter, but I do give that.

Nikki

46:46
Excellent.

Laura

46:47
So I want to shift gears a little bit, Ashley, and just talk quickly about Minted. Nikki and I don’t have any experience on that platform, but I know that you’ve actually won some challenges there and that you are diving into that I would love to know what that experience has been like for you so far.

Ashley

47:04
So I decided to start Minted, it was the very end of 2020. I opened a shop and well, you can’t open a shop, you can create an account and start submitting to challenges. So there was like one challenge opened up the moment, it was like a graduation challenge. And it was the submission deadline was like that night or that next day. And I was like, Well, I just want to like understand how this works. So I just like made something really quick not expecting it to like to win or anything, I just want to like, let me just download the challenge kit, understand how their upload process works and just kind of get my feet into it. And so I did that. And I was like, okay, you know, that wasn’t too hard. Just they gave you the templates. And you submit everything a certain way, you can see like the critique period, and you can comment on people’s stuff. And so I was like, All right, well, I’m going to go ahead, I’m going to do this for the next one. And they had the long copy quickfire challenge open, which is for greeting cards, and you had to come up with your own long copy. And so I don’t know how many designs I submitted maybe 10 of them.

Nikki

48:08
So on Minted, there’s no limit to how many you can submit?

Ashley

48:11
Well, not not exactly. So some things don’t have limits. And other things do like, if it’s something like a wedding or holiday, they might say you can only submit 15 or 30 things. If you’re one other like prize members, which is called CMYK, you might be exempt from that limit. So there is definitely benefits for being really good on Minted. But for some things add there’s no submission limits, which is really nice. Because, you know, when you have a lot of ideas, like you don’t know what to do, so just kind of do them all and submit them, but definitely, you know, quality over quantity for Minted. And I submitted stuff that, you know, I thought was cute, but I wasn’t like, Oh, this is like great. It was still kind of like a learning experience. And I ended up winning like three of those cards was it two or three of them?

Nikki

49:04
That’s awesome.

Ashley

49:04
And the very first one, they reached out in that little do early file request. And they sent me an early file request for one of them. And they were like, Hey, we really like your card, but we want to put your copy on someone else’s artwork. I was like, Oh, that’s interesting, but I’ll take it whatever. Yeah. And they’re like, We want to sell into Target. And I was like, okay, like, I’m definitely not gonna argue with that. So, by all means, put it on whatever org you want, just take it. So I was like, Wow, I can’t believe like basically my first challenge, they wanted to put one of my cards even though it wasn’t my artwork, they still wanted to put my words.

Nikki

49:44
That’s awesome. That certainly encourages you to enter more challenges, right?

Ashley

49:48
It does! Oh, yeah. So it was like that same like fire from when I like you know won 51st place on Spoonflower I was like oh my god, I keep doing this. And I’ll say Minted is a lot more competitive. A lot more, I’m not gonna say stressful, but sometimes they’ll like pile on the challenges. And they’ll have like really short deadlines over there all at once. So then you’re like, well, there’s like, five challenges I’ll do next week.

Nikki

50:18
So there’s no regular weekly schedule like with Spoonflower?

Ashley

50:22
No, it’s a lot more up in the air. And sometimes it is at like the the mercy of a partnership. Like there’s Pottery Barn. And we submitted to that in like, June, I think. And they still haven’t even announced the winners because they’re like waiting on Pottery Barn.

Nikki

50:40
And now you can’t open your own shop on Minted until you’ve won a challenge is that correct?

Ashley

50:46
Exactly. Once you win a challenge, you get a store, and then you do have the ability to self launch certain products. I’m not really sure if it’s totally worth it. I did it for two things. I wanted to buy myself a notebook. Or I wanted to buy notebooks as like gifts. So I uploaded a notebook design, it was really easy. Yeah. But then I did like a Christmas card design. And it was just a lot more tedious to go through the process of submitting it.

Nikki

51:14
Do they have to approve each individual item?

Ashley

51:16
Yeah, I think so. It’s just really complicated setting it up, and all the little certain things they make you do. And then it got like, stuck in the processing queue for like weeks. And I was like, Is this right? And I had to email them. They’re like, Oh, no, that was that was an error. So it was supposed to go through and it didn’t. So I was like, Yeah, I don’t know, I’m gonna like waste my time on self launching.

Nikki

51:38
So you’re sticking to the challenges.

Ashley

51:40
Yes. So I ended up getting a few more greeting card challenges. And then I got like, super discouraged because I won like six greeting cards, like up front. And then I submited to other challenges, and I like wasn’t getting wins. And I was like, Oh man, like, this is like a real bummer. And then I was like, Hey, I’m just gonna like really try like harder, and do a lot better artwork. And I really do think my artwork improved a lot. But I think it’s just like super, like they have a certain like kind of style they’re looking for, or they already have certain things already for sale. So they don’t want anything too similar. So there are the, you know, the popularly voted ones, get a win. And then the editors, they pick the rest of them. So you don’t necessarily have to do well with the audience. But the editors need to like your stuff. You can submit all you want. So you don’t necessarily know like if you’re ever going to get a pick or not.

Laura

52:37
So once you’ve won a challenge, and they’re going to sell your product, do they require an exclusive license with Minted? You can’t like use that design for anything else. Is that correct?

Ashley

52:49
Yes, you have to, the artwork can only be for Minted. And even if you do not want a challenge, they say you can’t use it for 90 days, because they might still have some random picks like down the road. So you know, you’re not like, totally, like screwed out of using that artwork. But you kind of are for at least like three months, maybe longer if it takes them forever.

Nikki

53:11
They want to give themselves a chance.

Ashley

53:13
Yeah, like sometimes if you if it takes them like two months to announce the winner, it’s you’re still kind of like, well like wait around and see so but otherwise, you know, your artwork doesn’t go away. So you can always submit it to other competitions elsewhere, your own shop. And that’s kind of what I’ve done.

Nikki

53:30
So how do you earn money on Minted if they make a product of it, versus if you sell it in your own shop,

Laura

53:38
Versus them actually selling it in like a Target, you know, if it’s one of those types of challenges.

Ashley

53:44
So what’s really nice is that they pay you up front a flat fee for winning. So even if you don’t win like first place, which can have a really good monetary prize, the editor’s pick is usually always around $150. So then you get 6%, say like for greeting cards it’s a 6% royalty rate, unless it’s with a copywriter and an artist like my Target card ended up being so I get 3%. And then it’s the same with Target. So you get paid based off of the actual sales in Target. So it doesn’t matter if Target’s carrying like 1000 of your cards, if they only sell 200 You’re only making the sales on those 200 cards.

Nikki

54:25
But you’ve also gotten some sort of monetary prize up front.

Ashley

54:29
Yes.

Nikki

54:29
And then the royalty.

Ashley

54:30
Yeah, and they’re pretty good about paying it out. They pay it out, you know, within like a certain timeframe, like their challenge rules and the kit that you download, it’s really thorough. And so it tells you like you’ll get paid this much on this day. And like here’s all those little special prizes that they have. So you even have even more chances to win more money if you win a special prize down the road, which can be like months later.

Laura

54:54
So I think we just have a couple of other questions for you. I think the first is are there any question that we should have asked you and we didn’t.

Ashley

55:02
Let’s see. Put me on the spot here.

Nikki

55:07
We love this question.

Ashley

55:09
I’m trying to think, you know, I definitely think starting like with either anything, any kind of print on demand, whether is Spoonflower or Minted, you just have to like basically just have fun with it and go in with a good mindset and not be bummed out if you like don’t win something. You know, because like I was saying with minted, there was a lot that I haven’t won. But you know, I’ve won 10 things now, because I’ve just had a couple Valentine wins come through in the past weeks.

Laura

55:42
Awesome.

Nikki

55:43
Congrats.

Ashley

55:43
Thank you. So you know, whatever it is that you’re going into, like, don’t look at it as like, you know, you’re trying to like make money, get rich quick kind of scheme or anything like that. You know, everything is slow growth and everyone’s growth looks different. And you have certain sites work better for other people. I know people have much better success on Society6 rather than Spoonflower or Red Bubble other than Society6. So one size doesn’t fit all. So you definitely just kind of have to see what works best for you. And for me, like I have a Society6 shop and it doesn’t do that great. I’m pretty sure my mother in law is my like, biggest shopper on that site. But you know, every now and then I’ll get like a little like deposit of like, 13 bucks here and there. And I’m like, Oh, cool. Someone found my stuff. So

Nikki

56:33
I think I was my biggest buyer on my Society6 shop when I had one.

Ashley

56:37
Yeah, you know, it’s fine to just like being able to like buy your artwork yourself and see it in person and sometimes that alone is like encouraging enough to like, you know, want to upload your things because like, you can buy it yourself and you can give it as gifts. And so that alone is fun. So I say just go ahead and do that starting out if you just want to kind of get a feel for what it’s like to see your artwork on stuff.

Nikki

56:59
Yeah. So I want to know, Ashley, what are some of your big influences, favorite artists? Are there any that you’re just gaga about?

Ashley

57:11
Oh, man, there’s like a ton of people. So I think my favorite pattern designers would be someone like Mabel Tan. I love her artwork, and I love all the stuff that she does as well. Like she is really good about sharing tips and stuff for her audience.

Nikki

57:30
She is, she’s great about that.

Ashley

57:32
Yes. So I think she’s a really good resource for people starting out. Obviously, Bonnie Christine, you know, she has her groups. I’m in the Flourish, which is how I met Laura a long time ago.

Nikki

57:45
And

Laura

and I met in Bonnie’s Immersion class.

Ashley

57:48
Oh how funny, I didn’t know that. And so I think you’re being a part of groups like that. Like, you know, the Sketch Design Repeat group, I think those are just really good resources, to keep yourself inspired and keep up with you know, what’s happening out in the world. That’s at least for pattern design, but you know, for whatever creative group you’re in, I think it’s really good to just find those groups of people that you can stay inspired by and get to learn from.

Laura

58:18
Absolutely. So Ashley, where can our listeners find you online?

Ashley

58:22
So I am online at Presutti Design, which is my website and my Instagram P R E S U T T I Design. It’s actually my my maiden name. It confuses people a lot of the time.

Nikki

58:38
Italian?

Ashley

58:38
Yes, it is Italian. It’s a good conversation starter for a lot of people will stumble upon me on Instagram, like, Hey, are you Italian? And

Nikki

58:47
Parli italiano?

Ashley

58:48
Uh, no. I tried a long time ago and I couldn’t get past adverbs. Like I couldn’t tell you what an adverb is in English. So there’s no way I’m learning another language very well. But yeah, that’s like my, my little thing is I like to, you know, have my little Italian schtick, you know, whenever I like talk about how I eat biscottis and stuff. But yeah, that’s you can find me online. My Spoonflower shop has also Presutti Design. Because it is an unusual name. It was very easy to secure all the usernames and domains.

Nikki

59:27
Yeah, definitely.

Ashley

59:28
I know you had an episode on that.

Nikki

59:30
Yeah, yeah, definitely. It’s unusual, but it’s still easy to pronounce and spell. So that’s a good one.

Ashley

59:37
Yeah, well, good because a lot of people I know that can’t pronounce it. But we know when I was originally deciding on what to keep my name as I was like, You know what Gucci and Versace didn’t even probably consider changing their names. So I’m sticking with it.

Nikki

59:50
Right. Right. I approve.

Laura

59:55
Well, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today, Ashley. We’ve so enjoyed this conversation and I know that our listeners will get so much value from your story and your advice on Spoonflower and Minted and we’re all going to be raring to go now.

Ashley

1:00:09
Well thank you so much for having me and I definitely hope it was encouraging and inspiring for especially new people starting out but even people who have already dipped their toes into it, hopefully, you know, it gives them the motivation to keep going and to just to keep putting yourself out there.

Nikki

1:00:22
We know that it will definitely be inspiring. To learn more about Ashley and read today Startist Society show notes go to startistsociety.com/presuttidesign and that’s again, p r e s u t t i design.

Laura

1:00:39
If you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, we’d love for you to share it with a friend. Sharing helps us reach more Startists like you and keeps us inspired to create new episodes. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next week.