The truth about my 100 first pitches as a new surface pattern designer
So, there is something that you should know first and foremost about surface pattern design and working as an independent artist. The big fat truth is that it is not an easy path. Or a quick one. At least it wasn’t for me. But it has absolutely been worth it. Because this is the thing … all my life, I have been a creative. Creating is a part of who I am. And for me, art and design feels like what I have been called to do.
I graduated from Brigham Young University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. I worked small occasional freelance projects for years while I grew a family and spent my days at home and deep in motherhood.
Pictured:
My first baby all grown up now,
and me.
2023
In 2022, I retook a beloved online course, Surface DesignImmersion, with Bonnie Christine. I was absolutely charmed by the idea that you could take your art, make it repeat infinitely, and see it manufactured on everything from fabric, to wallpaper, to stationary. I have to take a moment here to tell you the very best way to get started with surface pattern design. Bonnie Christine is the absolute queen when it comes to teaching, and right now enrollment is open for Immersion. You are going to want to sign up immediately. It will change your life. It did mine.
I will be supporting in Immersion as a coach and expert this year.
I began to slowly shift my little art side biz away from making logos, custom watercolor portraits, and random projects to really focus on this shiny new love of mine - surface pattern design. I learned about art licensing. And I started to pitch my work.
Let me tell you. Those first pitch emails took me a very long time to craft, were riddled with embarrassing errors, and solicited hardly any responses. (As an aside, this is sometimes still the case.) I emailed fabric companies, tech companies, baby companies, party supply companies, and anything else I could think of. As I continued, I got a little more creative in my pitching. I branched out into phone calls, personal networking, Instagram DM’s and online submission forms. I did my best to record my actions in a simple spreadsheet. I track the campany, contact, date of outreach, follow ups, and responses. My sheet slowly grew from a single pitch to 10, to 15, to 50. I committed to myself to make it to 100 pitches …
I had an amazing professor in college. She taught the one and only business class that was offered in my Illustration major. Her name was BethAnne and she taught something that stuck with me. She told us to celebrate every “no.” And that those rejections were just the stepping stones to get to the “yes.” I remember her even explaining that those nos are one little win at a time, because in collecting those rejections we are earning our way to just the right invitation. The lesson resonated with back in school and resonates with me now in business.
I began to get responses. Nos. Lots of them. And then, a couple yeses. A couple YESES! It took me a year to get to 100. All the while I was creating, updating my work, my website, posting work to pod sites, and searching for more companies that I would love to work with.
Somewhere in my first 100 pitches, I signed my first licensing contract for a single repeat design. This lead to gift bags sold with my design on walmart.com and amazon. There was a yes to a design collection for a baby accessory company. I later went to shop my own designs in person at Copperpearl to buy a gift for my niece’s baby. There was even an invitation to work on a team as a designer for a gift wrap company. They flew me to another state for in-person training and I worked remotely and part time for a season. These opportunities really are stories of their own, but for now I’ll just say how valuable they have been for my learning, growth, and confidence.
Pictured:
Shopping for baby gifts
featuring my designs.
Erin Silliman Designs,
2024
Fast forward a couple years to 2026 and I am still pitching my work. The “yeses” come more frequently, and I am having so much fun. Some opportunities have included licensing my work on fabric and wallpaper, creating custom designs for the baby and stationary industries, and working on the international support team for the surface design education guru, Bonnie Christine.
I haven’t forgotten the principle of collecting rejections with hope and humility. The magic is in using those pitches as stepping stones to opportunity. I can’t wait to see what is next.
Let’s connect and we can cheer each other forward!
Let me know if you are interested in a blogpost about pitching accelerators that I have learned over the past couple years that have really helped my pitching game. And tell me about your first 100 pitches below in the comments so we can learn together.
*Occasionally, I use partner or affiliate links for things I love best and believe in. They may give me a small kickback at no cost to you, so thanks for your support in using my links!