As a designer, there is nothing cooler than seeing my art on a physical product, and I see Spoonflower’s requirement that you proof every design as a benefit rather than an annoyance! Seeing every pattern ensures that the file is clean, the colors are correct, and I can ensure scale is correct compared to complementary patterns. BUT since I’m not a sewist myself, and I’ve got over 600 designs proofed, all of those swatches were starting to pile up.
So I rolled up my sleeves, channeled my mother’s organization skills, and set out to organize my swatches. I decided to use binders with clear sleeves for a few reasons:
I often proof multiple color ways, so wanted to be able to store the different colors of one print together regardless of number of colors while still being able to see each one.
I wanted the flexibility of changing the order of patterns. I don’t always design in collections, but sometimes go back and take two or three prints and expand them into a larger set, so I didn’t want to permanently affix things next to each other. Additionally, I wanted to be able to organize by “Holiday” and “Coastl Kids” for now, but have the ability to subdivide or rearrange later.
Binders provide scalability while being easy to store - I don’t have a ton of space, but also wanted to be able to continue to add as I proof more designs.
Lastly, I have a few different sized swatches. I didn’t know about the FAY option (forever grateful for stumbling on Ashley’s Spoonflower guide as a total beginner) when I first started and also have proofed a few designs with multiple FAY squares to see sizing) so a full 8.5x11 page gave me more flexibility.
Step One: Supplies
Binders: Yes, I had to get the muted, cute colored binders… Samsill Earth’s Choice*
Cardstock: (I used 90lb Cardstock*) This is important - I tried to use regular printer paper and it doesn’t quite hold up with multiple swatches on one sheet!
Sheet Protectors - Poly Sheet Protectors* (I’m on round two of these guys already!)
Step Two: Cut, Sort and Tape
This step is best done in front of a TV show, with a podcast, or jamming to music because if you’ve waited as long as I have to get organized, you’re going to have a LOT of cutting, taping, and putting cardstock into sheet protectors
Step Three: Organize!
Once you’ve got all of your swatches into protectors, think about how you want them organized - I’ll share how I broke up prints, but it’s totally dependent on your art!
Holiday - all of my Christmas and winter holiday designs (I’ve heard stats about holiday being up to 50% of licensed work)
Collections - These are groups of 3 or more patterns (on their own pages) that I’ve collected or created to pitch as a collection - the goal is to break this out further once it’s more than one binder worth!
CoastL Kids - Not necessarily collections, these prints are all more youthful and fun and more specifically geared toward baby or kids products (Kids at Heart are also allowed)
Prints - Currently my largest binder, this is everything that doesn’t fall into other categories - I plan to refer back to these prints to mix and match and design additional prints to move them into the “Collection” category down the road.
Looking for more tips on Spoonflower / Print on Demand? Check out a few more of my Studio Notes!
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