Exercise 1:

What a challenge to pick the "best 10" illustrations or patterns to represent me and my style...

I love to draw, to paint using watercolor and to print by hand. I even carve my own stamps... My designs are handmade and then refined using digital tools. For example I use my hand drawings in Adobe illustrator to create a natural look of shapes and lines while being able to play with colors and adding textures.

Floral themes, the beauty of mother nature, animals with a lot of attitude as well as real human characters fascinate me. I also have a passion for the quality and style of retro and vintage items.

I would describe my style as painterly, pretty and charming, yet fresh and light-hearted.

With regards to colors I use all shades of green, pink and blue, with a tendency to pastel tones while adding contrast and balance with dark and neutral shades.

Adding my own hand lettering work or some typographic elements is a plus that I enjoy a lot.

While this screenshot features mostly cornerstone designs or patterns, I am adding less complex and simple small scale patterns when creating full collections.

With regards to the markets I would like to target, I am already licensing some of my work successfully to greeting card companies. However I would like to see it also on a broader stationary range including note books and gift wrap. Also I believe there is a big opportunity for my patterns within home decor including textiles (table cloths, pillows, curtains, bedding) and table ware (plates, cups) plus napkins and wallpaper.

Lastly I can also see my motifs on women's apparel and bolt fabric. There is a growing trend towards making your own clothes is Europe and people are searching for fresh fabric designs in cotton and jersey.