So as we’re wrapping up for the holidays and getting close to the end of a busy and productive year we are reflecting on all projects we’ve worked on. All new collabs we started and things we created. And with the end of the year coming close, so is a decade coming to an end. A great reason to take a moment and look back of ten years of being a creative professional.
It was in 2011 when I started Little Smilemakers Studio. So you can imagine a lot has happened business-wise these past ten years. Ten years ago I was still working for a design agency in my hometown, which has a lot of prestigious design agencies by the way. My city is famous for its graphic design Academy, which I also attended, and prize-winning designers. (yeah I did win a grant once) But I was still working for a boss back then and the graphic design industry was stresses with the bad economy print production was nothing like it used to be. I worked at design agencies before but 10 years back I worked for a company that specialized in back-to-school products, which is an annual thing here in The Netherlands: kids picking out their new school gear: backpacks, notebooks, pencils and everything needed for a new school year. It was during the job I started making print designs for these products. Budgets were tight, but I didn’t want to buy off stock and miss out on the creative part. So I created illustrations and prints at night and started my own stock library.
The step towards being a girlboss
Setting up my stock portfolio was the foundation of my next step towards being an independent designer. I already had a base-income. And making surface pattern designs for stock was a big blue ocean back then. There was no apple print: so I made an apple print. There was no elephant design, so I made an elephant design. These old print designs are still selling to businesses all over the world today. They became the first stock-available surface pattern designs.
But my creations were vulnerable too. The original vectors were easy to download just for a few bucks and there was little protection for the designs available on stock. Many designs were used commercially but never payed for properly.
The signature collection
When I started the studio in 2011, it was time to focus more on my business to business approach. My business started to grow rapidly. Since I was filling up that blue ocean with my print designs everyone knew how to find me and I never had to look for work. Since then it’s been such a fun ride. I’ve been collaborating with new business owners, guiding them through the process of finding their visual voice with logo design, branding and print designs. We’ve created trend reports; there are so many businesses we work with that just don’t know what’s going on on the market trend-wise. We love being guidance for our clients that have no idea where to start when it comes to design & their company.
For the past ten years we've worked for some amazing clients. One of my fave must be a collection I created for one of my favorite retailers on the market in Belgium. Did I mention I studied in Belgium? This was THE place for accessorizing: and I was approached to create a new fall collection of women’s accessories, home wear, textiles and sewing supplies. I loved how this collection turned out.
A little behind the scenes
I also got to attend lots of fair trade shows, and talks. Did a bunch of interviews and videos. Some were fun. Some totally embarrassing, since I am not much of a public speaker. In one of the interviews, I was asked what inspired creating a new collection. I talked about seed. A lot. For a long time. Not good! FYI seed in Dutch means ‘sperm’. So yeah. I talked about sperm. So that was a nope.
Maturing the business
But having a laugh is part of being a designer. Most work turns into ‘could have done better than that!’ after 5 years, into ‘how did I ever make that?’ after 10 years. New skills, trends, and inner work (the biggest reason) are all influencing creation. For me the past 10 years have been an ongoing path to growth both professionally and personally. This has also led me to take things to the next level with the business. Finding a new space, taking on clients that match our vision and values. I can proudly say our studio has matured. I have some amazing colleagues who help me with the not so creative stuff, so I can focus on designing more instead of sending out mailings and doing numbers.
So I am so happy and humble and love where we are now. These 10 years have been such a blessing. So many steps closer to what feels good. So many opportunities. Awesome collabs and lovely people. And I am so looking forward to what is to come.
What is to come
As of next year, I’ll be moving to another city. That means moving the studio. First I’ll be settling into a new place and then take the next step towards finding a new space for the studio. Exciting things to come! Now it’s back to work. Make some cute print designs for nursery textiles. Thank you so much for your time supporting me and my company! And we wish you Happy Holidays.
