Meet Our Spring 2023 Small Business Grant Winners

At Spoonflower, we’re awed, fueled and inspired by all sorts of creatives, especially small business owners. The ones making it work with either a small team or as a team of one, whether it’s a full-time endeavor, after-hours hustle, love of labor or a new-found dream. Our Spoonflower Small Business Grant supports handmade business owners at all stages of development.

Whether you want to get ready for your next craft market, test out a new product or get your business up and running, this grant can help you meet those goals by offering up to $1000 in Spoonflower credit. Grant winners will also receive a $2500 award to spend on marketing and branding efforts that will support their small business. Read on to meet our Spring 2023 cohort of Small Business Grant winners and the former grant recipients who selected them!

How will you use this grant to support your small business? I’m looking to expand my business’s offerings to include my digital designs. My customers have been requesting wallpaper and I want to be able to partner with a trusted and reliable printer to make that happen for them. Super excited to be able to use this grant to get sampling and inventory ready for those orders! *Happy dance* 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient?  Being a recipient of this grant solidified the mantra “Start where you are. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, just try.” One of my goals as an artist and designer is to create work that empowers BIPOC women to see their reflection in the environments they function and feel welcome in, even if it’s in the wallpaper. Being a recipient of this grant was like receiving a hug from the Spoonflower team and a pep talk for me to continue spreading that warm welcome by continuing to make work designed for connection. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? Wallpaper! It’s amazing what custom wallpaper can do to the energy of a space and I love how accessible Spoonflower’s tools are in getting a clear idea of what you’re getting and how you can order a sample swatch to get those designs scaled just right! 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? This grant will help bring to life our dream of connecting people to our local habitat through designs inspired by our local flora and fauna. Our work is always inspired by nature; however, there is a noticeable lack of our local environment in the prints and patterns available. The grant will help us take the first step in designing new prints for our products with animals and plants that are close to our hearts, and help spread this love and enthusiasm for our local wildlife to more people—near and far! 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? It means the Spoonflower team has faith in our work and sees potential not only in our products but also in the future plans we have for our business, which is an incredible boost of confidence. As many other small business owners and Spoonflower users know, navigating the creative small business adventure is a roller coaster! Having Spoonflower’s support gives us confidence as we march forward with our dream. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? We love working and creating with Spoonflower’s Linen Cotton Canvas. Out of all the canvas fabrics we’ve worked with over the years, Spoonflower’s Linen Cotton Canvas is our favourite because it’s thick and sturdy yet still easy to sew and manipulate as we make our wallets and bags. Apart from the ease of work, the difference in the final result and the feel of the wallets and bags is very noticeable. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? I’m hoping to use this grant to help align with other young female artists and designers to create stunning pieces that will continue to help uplift and inspire my customers, as well as create a community of females who support each other. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? I was so excited to find out that I was a recipient of this grant! Knowing that Spoonflower sees the potential in me and my business was the confidence boost I needed to continue pursuing this passion of mine. I can’t  wait to start implementing this artwork into my summer collection and believe that this will be key in encouraging me to expand my offerings throughout the year. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? My go-to product is the Sport Lycra® because of its quality, durability and ability to be used in the water. I can’t wait to explore more fabric types to create products outside of swimwear to utilize Spoonflower to its fullest! 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? This grant will allow me to tap into the amazing print library available on Spoonflower. I’m so inspired by print and pattern mixing and this opportunity means I’ll be able to experiment and go wild. All my mixed-print dreams are about to come true!

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? It’s an absolute honour to be chosen as a grant recipient! It makes me so happy to know that my ideas, my creativity and my work have been acknowledged and LOVED. I’m looking forward to continuing to keep building my brand, and grateful that I have some amazing support from Spoonflower to do it. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? I love the Organic Cotton Sateen. It has a beautiful weight and drape with a slightly lustrous finish making the prints lovely and vivid! 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? The grant will encourage experimentation and new designs without having to worry about overhead as much. I can relax and try new ideas. It will also help me to build up some stock, which will be great. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? My Spoonflower designs started out as a relaxing night time diversion so it is very nice to be recognized in this way. I am thrilled to have the chance to expand on  my ideas and see where they go. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? I love the Linen Cotton Canvas. And the colors and print are so vivid on both that and the Lightweight Cotton Twill. The Longleaf Sateen Grand™ is nice for napkins and I’m interested in trying the new Polartec® Fleece. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? This grant will help us expand our current bra sizing to include larger-busted women. We are asked regularly for larger-size bras as currently our largest size goes to a 40DD. It is our mission to build a brand where any woman can shop our looks. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? It is an honour to be selected as a 2023 grant recipient!  I thought about applying last year, but I did not feel SWOOP was ready. The fact that I applied this year + was awarded this grant, tells me we are moving in the right direction, and I could not thank you enough for that! 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? Sport Lycra!! It is the PERFECT material for making our bras + underwear. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? As a small home-based business it is time for Gift Me Again to grow, and an equipment update is first on the list. This grant will enable our business to upgrade to an industrial sewing machine, making our handmade fabrication processes more efficient. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? As a sole trading business located in a small Australian rural town, I am absolutely astounded to be included in the wonderful lineup of makers that Spoonflower recognises. The support for my products is a vote of support for sustainable options in our everyday lives—and for this I am grateful. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? Gift Me Again’s go-to product is the Petal Signature Cotton®. Not only is this 100% cotton of sufficient weight to ensure gift bag durability to hold a great range of gifts, it is printed using eco-friendly water-based inks. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? The first collections from my shop will release this year—centering on wellness practices and comfort. This grant will help me pour into the products I am so excited to bring into people’s lives this year. This support will help me dedicate more time to get into production mode. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? I’ve been a professional artist for almost a decade; however, products and having a shop are new to me. Being selected makes me feel supported in its success and welcomes me further into the surface pattern design world. Being a surface pattern designer is for me—a dream since I was a child and I’m going all in this year. I’m thankful for being not only affirmed in my skills but also invested in. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? Minky! It’s so soft and cozy—the perfect fabric feels for my brand. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? I’ve been wanting to expand my line of bags and accessories and bring back a couple of silhouettes that have done well in the past but were too expensive to produce. This grant will help immensely. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? I am deeply honored and very grateful to have been selected. A BIG thank YOU to the team at Spoonflower for this incredible opportunity. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? I love Linen Cotton Canvas. It’s easy to work with and the colors stay vibrant. 

How will you use this support to support your small business? This year I am training to become a surface pattern designer so I can create my own beautiful prints to use in my collections. This grant will enable me to print my designs through Spoonflower onto the organic fabric I use and love. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? I am so excited to be Spoonflower’s Spring 2023 grant recipient! The support from Spoonflower has given me a boost of confidence to take this next big step in my business. I am truly honoured to receive it! 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? Organic Cotton Knit! I use it for all my collections, it’s so soft and durable—it’s ideal for children’s clothing that has to be gentle on skin and long lasting. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? I started my business 9 years ago and until last year I only used commercially available fabrics. I have long desired to have the final product be completely my own, for the prints on my journals to be my unique design. Last year I finally put my first custom prints on my journals using fabric from Spoonflower. The experience of having my designs on my final products was ✨magical✨. This year I am aiming to flip a good chunk of my inventory to my own prints and the Spoonflower grant is going to help in a big way toward the initial costs of making that transition. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? I’m so excited to be a Small Business Grant recipient!! It will enable me to take full creative control of my products and empower me to say “I designed and made every aspect of this journal.” Having my vision seen and supported by Spoonflower gives me confidence that I can offer a product that represents who I am and what I have to offer the world. It’s really soul-affirming. ❤️ 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? Petal Signature Cotton gives me everything I need for creating my own bookcloth, which requires a lot of ironing. The weight of the cloth is sturdy enough to stand up to a lot of handling but still feels soft and lovely on the final product. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? I will be able to get ahead this year on my future planned collections and buy the materials early. This will mean I have more time freed up for planning for the busy season and hopefully manage some in-person shows later this year! 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? I was so honored to be chosen as a grant recipient! I know how many amazing small businesses are involved with Spoonflower, so I feel so privileged to have been recognised. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? I love the Celosia Velvet™ for its luxurious feeling and the Recycled Canvas for its practicality for my accessories. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? I’ve used Spoonflower to exclusively print my fabric since 2013 so the grant will go to all the garments made with my prints. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? It means so much to me to receive this grant! I have used Spoonflower to print my fabrics for my designs for 10 years now and look forward to continuing to use them to make impactful designs. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? Organic Cotton Sateen, because it’s a natural fiber and has a beautiful feel and drape for day-to-day clothing. 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? My customers have wanted past purse designs (that use Spoonflower fabrics) to return to my product line, as well as new designs. This grant will allow me to expand on past and present designs, as well as the ability to provide new apparel offerings. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? I am beyond grateful to be a 2023 grant recipient! This year I have really pushed to further my business, and I am so excited and humbled to know that Spoonflower sees something special in me and my designs. Opportunities like this are what keeps me going! 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? I absolutely love working with the Celosia Velvet. I choose to work with this material as the body of my purses because the extra soft texture feels wonderful to carry! 

How will you use this grant to support your small business? I have been deeply longing to move my surface pattern designs off of the computer screen and into the realm of tactile goods. And while I’ve been able to make baby steps toward creating physical products, this grant will help immensely to get sample prints of my designs, so that I am able to expand my online Spoonflower shop and get my work into more hands! 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? This grant is such validation—I feel so seen and supported! Carving out a path in creative entrepreneurship is not easy, and this could not have come at a better time. Being chosen as a recipient has reinvigorated me, and reminded me that I can do this! 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? I just love the Recycled Canvas fabric for its durability, texture and commitment to sustainability. I also love the tea towels!  

How will you use this grant to support your small business? I have been wanting to bring more images from my sketchbooks into my sampler designs. This grant will allow me to test print many of those and get an idea of how the colors interact on fabric. 

What does it mean to be selected as a grant recipient? What a nice surprise to have been selected as a 2023 grant recipient! I am so excited to be able to test print a bunch of designs that I’ve been curious about with these funds. 

What’s your go-to Spoonflower product and why? Petal Signature Cotton—I love it because my designs print really cleanly and it is a great fabric for embroidery.