You finally set up your new Spoonflower shop and are ready to upload your original designs and artwork for the world to see… but how will you draw buyers in? Join top-selling artist and surface pattern designer Judy Quintero of Shopcabin and RebelMod to learn how to sale-optimize your shop and designs using effective keyword research, tagging, communication and more.
5 Tips for Success as a Spoonflower Artist
Judy: Work smarter not harder. Lately, this motto has taken center stage in our business.
Back when shopcabin started, it was “Thank God for polka dots,” a reference to how Spoonflower first came to be and how fortunate we were to have found it. A platform that was so ahead of its time; with the most amazing innovative and supportive people you couldn’t help but feel right at home.
Soon thereafter, our motto came to be (and still is) “One swatch at a time” and we believe it is part of why we were successful since the early start. With one swatch at a time, we built and continued to grow our business, our brand and our loyal customers.
“We continue to this day to celebrate the swatch sales more than any other products sold because it means someone is giving us the opportunity, and if we get it right, it can turn into a relationship that lasts a lifetime.”
I am a college dropout, but I’ve earned my MBA through mistakes (some bigger than others), YouTube video searches on how to do things (free and readily available), failing hard and picking myself up again, showing vulnerability, gratitude for the help I’m given and the hunger I have within me to succeed every single day I’m alive. Here are some lessons we’ve learned along the way and some things we believe are the pillars of shopcabin’s success.
1. Research Keyword Trends Before Designing
I admit I don’t have it all together and that’s okay. We all have that one thing we wish we did better. For me, it’s social media. I know the importance a good social media presence can have on any business so I’m constantly striving to get better at it. However, who says there’s only one way to reach your goals?
Here’s a video of Ralph (my husband and business partner) sharing one of the ways we drive customers to our shop, using tools like Pinterest and Ubersuggest to research trends and keywords. This research may influence what I design, or the keywords I use on Spoonflower.
Not only has this become an easy habit to implement in my day-to-day tasks, but it helps me to maintain current on what’s trending. By doing this we feel we are more in control of the target audience we want to reach instead of trusting a social media platform’s algorithm to determine who gets to see our posts and who doesn’t.
2. Spend Time Determining the Best Tags for Your Design
Now that you’ve learned an easy way to gather successful research, we can’t ignore the art of tagging. Tags make it possible for your audience to easily find you. There are hundreds of uses for tags but for simplicity’s sake, I’ll just say it’s that one tool that reels customers in (if done correctly).
Once you’ve determined the correct tags for your product, they can be added when uploading your designs to make it easier for customers to find you. These same tags can be used as hashtags on your social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook among others you currently use. Use your keyword research to determine the best tags for your design.
Here’s an example of how keyword research and tags help me maximize my business. When cottagecore started appearing in my keyword search, I had no clue what this trend was. After a few times it appeared as a top trend, I decided to look into it. I did a search for cottagecore designs on Spoonflower and realized there weren’t many designs using this theme. I immediately went to work to create some designs based on the rustic old-fashioned decor that took over our industry in very little time.
When tagging, I made sure to include the most popular cottagecore keywords as my tags. If you’re like me and English isn’t your native language, pay close attention to your spelling as well. I could go on and on about this topic but this would be a book instead of a blog post!
3. Update Tags on Existing Designs
Remember when I said I’ve made plenty of mistakes on this journey? Not giving tags the importance they deserve has been that one mistake that has taught me the most. So if you’re thinking to yourself “With years of uploading work, how could I possibly go back and fix all those tags”? You’re not alone.
Here’s the thing… trends come and go and you will eventually need to refresh some of the tags that were great at a certain time. This past year has been dedicated to “fixing” my tagging mistake. I keep reminding myself that it’s not a race and two designs per day is an achievable task. Are my designs all perfectly tagged? Not even close! But every single tag we revise is an opportunity for someone new to find us.
4. Design for Your Customers, Not for Yourself
So now that I’ve covered the technical part of what we do that makes us successful, we must move on to the heart of the operation; the customers.
One of the most important lessons I learned very early on my business journey was that the smallest part of my business comes from what I create. I create for others, not for myself. I am not the customer. This sounds harsh but when we take our emotions out of the equation and give others what they want it is the most rewarding experience we will have.
I can share so many stories of how this has worked in our favor but I’ll share the original story of how I came to terms with this theory and the one we refer to as the “Girl, you know nothing!”.
I have this one specific design, which I won’t name because that’s just calling your least attractive offspring ugly, but it’s what started it all. A sweet lady reached out asking if I would entertain the idea she had for wallpaper. She had just built her dream home and expressed how nothing she’d seen compared to what she had in her head. I made no promises but said I’d give it a go.
The further I went into her detailed explanation of what she was imagining it’d look like, the less certain I felt of having executed her vision. I kept going over her message because I felt there was a miscommunication or I just understood her theme all wrong.
When it was time to send her samples of my work, I sent her three options with slight variations which were made in an attempt to fix what I thought was just a trainwreck. As I hit send on my message, I immediately had regrets. I could picture her reading my message, shaking her head in dismay over the arrangement of colors and illustrations that made up what I had sent her. She’d take it as a loss and move on to a different artist that could interpret what she had in mind.
To my surprise, she wrote back within minutes saying I had made her emotional because one of the three versions was exactly what she had envisioned. After all these years, this one design continues to be a great seller for us.
“It is a reminder that my job is to listen, connect with the story, create, and build an experience for that one customer.”
If this is something you’d want to try out for yourself but are afraid it may be too time-consuming, here’s a simple way to determine if a customer’s request would be a good fit for you. When a customer reaches out about custom designs (not licensed work) I always answer with, “I would love to hear your idea for a new design. My time is very limited so if your idea isn’t too time-consuming and I find it may be a great addition to my portfolio, I’d be more than happy to work with you on making this idea a reality.” Once you know the assignment you can choose to respectfully decline or accept.
Being open to customer suggestions has opened many doors to repeat business and client recommendations, it’s also given me the joy of working with several political figures, restaurateurs of well-known establishments, movie studios, amazing designers from whom I’ve learned so much, newscasters, among many beautiful people who have continued to correspond with me, and have shared their lives well after their wallpapers have been hung.
Our Second Shop, RebelMod
RebelMod would be used as a true testament that if given the right tools (Spoonflower) and the lessons learned throughout the years, anyone can have a profitable business working from home.
It didn’t take us long to know we had created something very special. It’s a place that caters to being different and diverse. RebelMod celebrates our differences, freedom of expression and pushing the boundaries, but most of all it tells the stories our customers want to tell through art, quotes, mature language, slang words, and sayings among many other colorful and controversial themes. It is a place made out of love, respect, fun and no inhibitions. You’ll find art created not only by me but by my sons, Ralph, my dad and even my mother-in-law. Slowly but surely, it’s turned into my proudest business accomplishment because of how much love is poured into it by so many of us.
5. Never Stop Learning
And last but not least, my favorite tip is to never stop learning. We all strive for a business that is on autopilot, but while you’re working towards this goal or once you get there, what are you doing to stay relevant? Take time to learn something new each day.
My first design sold was a short line from a rap lyric. It was so successful, Buzzfeed picked it up as part of their Christmas wishlist item. I love all types of music but I hadn’t even heard the song when I decided to design the saying with florals all around it. I learn so much from my kids. They have kept me relevant when it comes to what is influencing the world through memes, songs, sayings, phrases, etc.
Speaking of never stop learning, have you been paying attention to the technological advances happening lately? Digital innovation has always been present in our lives, but the pandemic expedited what would have taken years to develop and now we’re seeing artificial intelligence (AI) play an everyday role in our lives, innovations in the blockchain, NFTs and a little something called Web3 that’s reinventing everything from the way we do business to the way we create. We are seeing AI-generated works of art being auctioned at Christie’s auction house in NYC for over $400K. Although AI is in its early stages, it’s already made an impact in our world. The announcement graphics for Viva Magenta, Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2023, were created with the help of an AI tool. Only time will tell how our industry will evolve but I am excited to see how Spoonflower continues to innovate in the years to come.
May we all find the success we dream of in 2023.
XO 🙂
Judy Quintero
I’m interested to learn a bit more about tags and finding out what tags are trending, does anyone have any further tips around this?
Should spoonflower tags be one word, or phrases?
Is it beneficial to repeat your key words in your title and description, or is it mainly the tags that the search engine is using?
Thanks!
Hi Saskia!
You can learn more about tagging here: https://support.spoonflower.com/hc/en-us/articles/204911890-Preparing-Designs-for-the-Marketplace.
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
I believe in responsible innovation. In order for me to grow my business and protect my art (yes, blockchain makes this possible) I must immerse myself and learn so that I’m able to make informed decisions and be a voice for my industry. The fashion world is rapidly evolving and growing and digital design tools are playing a large role in this change. To clarify my last paragraph, Yes, I’m open to creating new and innovative ways to interact with clothing. Imagine being able to have customers see themselves wearing a dress with your print on it or being able to host a digital fashion show where you can showcase your prints. With the ability to create and try on virtual prototypes we would reduce material waste, and support more sustainable practices. I respect every single one of you and your thoughts. I love this community whole heartedly and support every single one of your ideas and beliefs. Conversations and open discussions are always a great way to feed the fire and learn from each other. Much love, Judy 🙂
Thanks Judy for coming back and sharing more thoughts on an issue that lots of artists are thinking about!
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
You’re encouraging artists to use AI output?? Your customers don’t shop here for output created by a computer, we shop here to support independent artists while getting beautiful designs made by *actual artists*. You’ve lost a customer. I’ll just follow my favorite artists on other sites and purchase their items from their websites. This is so gross.
There are a lot of things happening in technology at the moment in regards to art, AI is just one of them. The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you.
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
Have you been scraped? I mean, have Spoonflower pictures and designs by your creators been scraped and integrated to the main used databases? (it is easy to check, you surely did it, right?)
Getty images for instance stands by their artists and photographers. Do you ?
I am getting very suspicious about your website now.
What a really great blog post and much needed. I agree with Erin K about #4 and it was a penny dropping moment for me. Design for your prospects/customers. Thank you for sharing your story and tips and tricks. Truly motivating and inspiring. Love your story.
Diane,
Yes, while opinions can differ among artists regarding #4, as to who the act of creating art is for, the customer, the artist or something else, but it can be a great point to keep in mind! 🙂
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
Digital innovation has always been present in our lives, but the pandemic expedited what would have taken years to develop and now we’re seeing artificial intelligence (AI) play an everyday role in our lives, innovations in the blockchain, NFTs and a little something called Web3 that’s reinventing everything from the way we do business to the way we create. We are seeing AI-generated works of art being auctioned at Christie’s auction house in NYC for over $400K. Although AI is in its early stages, it’s already made an impact in our world. The announcement graphics for Viva Magenta, Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2023, were created with the help of an AI tool. Only time will tell how our industry will evolve but I am excited to see how Spoonflower continues to innovate in the years to come.
Thank you,
MM
I’m not sure how you haven’t learned from the last few years. NFT’s are barely spoken of outside of their loss of value, Web3 companies are going out of business left and right, and AI is now blatantly stealing art from existing artists. I have friends who have posted nearly direct copies of their work that they’ve found pulled from AI groups, and there’s multiple sites who are being sued for their part in AI. I get that it’s a fancy, shiny new field of technology but it was built off the backs of millions of artists who had no say in their works being scraped from the internet. Your responses are, quite honestly, a slap in the face of the artists who are trying to tell you their very real concerns about their IPs directly stolen. You’re falling back on the argument that we don’t understand the technology, when we do. I can give you so many direct links that tell you exactly how the technology is being used and why it’s an abuse of artists. The public music version of the LAION database AI is not allowed to sample anything under copyright because they know the music industry will go after them for it. To not afford artists the same very basic copyright protections is painfully demeaning, and to watch very public sites that profess to care about their artists allow AI images is disappointing to say the least.
There is nothing professional about allowing the use of AI images on your site.
Tania,
When it comes to lots of things in technology, it’s an evershifting landscape, meaning that we’re are all learning as we go. We appreciate feedback from artists like yourself on how these changes affect your work because we are listening and learning in real time with what’s unfolding in both the technology and for your work too.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
Incredibly disappointing to see a design company support the use of *fully* computer generated imagery where there is no artist involved. This technology should not be celebrated as there is no artists touch – it only scrapes the designs of other art on the internet and hobbles it together with loads of gross inconsistencies and issues. Have fun with an owl design that has twelve toes and leaves that don’t even connect. Imagine a customer buying something like that only to notice it a year later.
Noting the Christies auction is *gross*. You are in awe of someone taking advantage of all the artists who’s work has been scraped against their will, of a person who had no actual hand in creating said art?
Beyond that, there are active lawsuits against AI generative software and their use. Images created using that software cannot be copywritten, exposing anyone who uses it to a slough of possible future lawsuits. That is not something you should be supporting and telling new artists to start using.
What would put Spoonflower ahead of all else would be to reject the use of AI in *artist made* products. There is no place for it. Offer your customers true, artist made designs, and promise that you have the integrity to always support the creation of design through artists – *not* through software. You are not a software company. You are not a bitcoin company, NFT or otherwise. Decide what’s important now before you end up in the crosshairs like Deviantart or Artstation.
Please reconsider the stance on AI images. I can promise it’s not going to go well and you will ONLY hurt real artists because someone who actually designs a piece themselves must take much longer to create it vs. someone who uses a program to spit out multiple images within minutes. I know for a fact that as both an artist and a consumer I will avoid anything to do with AI orany company that actively supports it. Just becuase there is new technology doesn’t mean it’s good.
Katie,
As it’s important to hear artist’s thoughts on things, especially new technology, thanks for sharing your views on AI-generated images. That’s a lot to discuss on this topic, but here’s a little bit more about where we stand:
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
I’ve been a designer on this site for several years now. I am extremely disappointed at the last paragraph here which is clearly aimed at encouraging AI use. I work extremely hard on my designs and agree that when it comes to tools like digital programs, it’s good to keep learning. AI is not at all the same thing and directly harms the real artists putting out work that is carefully crafted and who have put in the time to learn skills and observation necessary for good work.
This technology is openly harmful. It only regurgitates the work of real artists, and forcing real designers to compete with people who are essentially plagiarizing is deeply offensive and will ultimately cause a lot of harm. We don’t need a high volume of mediocre “designs” drowning out the work of real artists, as a community we need to build up and recognize the folks that are putting out quality work with thought and care.
Michelle,
We agree with you on the need to build up our community—it’s a vital resource in so many areas of life in general as well as at Spoonflower!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
Considering the very natural of Ai models – Ai models are trained to use living artists work – Ai Art has significant copyright violations against thousands of living artists. (In fact, many court cases are currently in action. Not to mention, the copyright office does not recognize Ai art as being allowed to hold a copyright.) It’s appalling to me that a business with such a great reputation as Spoonflower is giving the go-ahead for people to infringe on the rights of others and to then sell it on the Spoonflower platform. Is this your new code of ethics?
Stephanie,
Here is a little bit more about where we stand regarding this new technology and what we’re doing as it unfolds and the landscape changes.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
Whether intentionally or not, this definitely reads as an A-OK for people to upload and sell AI work on this site, which I find incredibly disappointing, as well as a violation of the TOS of Spoonflower itself. Anything created in AI is pulling from existing copyrighted works, so there is no way to allow them here while claiming to abide by the first point of your TOS.
Allowing AI art to take over here is going to ruin the community of designers you have created. Actual artists and designers cannot compete with an output that creates designs in seconds, using stolen work. So far the comment responses below have been incredibly noncommittal and clearly show a bent toward welcoming AI art onto the platform, as there has already been a severe lack of quality assurance to keep them out of Spoonflower-run competitions.
If you don’t intend to allow AI designs to be uploaded and sold on here, then that needs to be clearly stated. If you do intend to allow AI art then your TOS needs to be updated to let everyone know it is fine to use others’ copyrighted work.
Joanna,
Here’s a little more about this discussion, which is evolving fast. There’s more information below regarding AI-generated images and design challenges.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
You’ll want to be careful with AI designs. Diffusion models have been shown to spit out “original” creations that are similar enough to specific images they were trained on to constitute copyright infringement (nearly indistinguishable from the original work). “Artists” using AI would have no way of knowing this had happened with their design until the actual creator hit them up with a lawsuit, or at the very least, a cease and desist.
Allowing AI designs is going to create all sorts of problems, not only for the users doing it, but for Spoonflower itself.
Hi Joe,
We appreciate that artists like yourself are sharing their opinions on this topic as new things often create new topics for discussion and this is no different.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
I am sorry, I will be long.
I adore this website but the proliferation of un retouched AI outputs is off putting (the hilarious owl with three legs and earthworms for fingers ????♀️). This is not tailored, loved, illustration and good artwork.
First there is no AI, that is a gross misrepresentation of the tool used. There is no Intelligence in there per se, we’re still far from that, but a mashing of millions of data taken from a database filled with scraped artworks and pictures. Illegally scraped without knowledge from the owners, without consent, without remuneration. And sold! (because you buy tokens to generate those outputs). It is just a tool for making fast cash… there is no grandiose idea of progress.
Second, a lot of very established and professionals institutions and companies, be them from the comics industry or others are banning AI outputs from their ranks. Publishers for covers, artshows from their venues, Illustrator societies from their rank, and so on.
Third and that does concern you, in the present state, being created from a database filled with illegally acquired pictures, none of the outputs can be copyrighted. There is NO OWNER of the generated outputs.
Do you intend to ask your submitters for a signed waiver expressing they do not use the two main scraped databases? This is an impossible task and impossible to verify.
Class action suits are on top of that in progress against several entities.
To sum things up, I think AI outputs are in the actual state not safe, not fair, not worth the legal hassle they will raise and totally unfit to feature in any good quality website like yours.
Hi there!
Glad to hear you adore us, and thank you for sharing how you are feeling about this unfolding new technology.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
“Innovation” comes in many shapes and sizes, not all of which comply with copyright law, your site’s TOS, or ethics. (See Napster. Which is no longer with us. Because it abused other people’s handiwork… much like AI is doing, at present.)
Learning at the expense of other artists’ livelihoods—which is what you’re asking people to do right now—is not only self-serving, it puts you on the wrong side of this ethical dilemma. And I get it. It helps Spoonflower flourish, which is super good for your pocketbook. It is not, however, good for any of the artists whose jobs are being replaced by hobbyists throwing money at Midjourney or Stable Diffusion’s many offshoots.
Really disappointed in Spoonflower right now.
Hi Cris,
We appreciate hearing more about our artists view this discussion.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
It’s disappointing to me to hear Spoonflower championing AI like it’s something that should and can be used to create designs for this platform. I have seen so many AI created patterns on this platform – it’s easy to tell when an owl has 27 feet! It’s sad and frankly a bit concerning that Spoonflower is letting this drivel onto their platform with no concern for quality. Seems they’re leaving it up to the end user to be the one to notice the inconsistencies.
I find it bizarre that Spoonflower is accepting “AI art” when its basis is in stolen media. It’s lovely that I get to hand-draw all of my patterns, yet a “new artist” can use a text prompt based on my artwork which was illegally scraped without my permission to easily and suddenly create a pattern with none of the hard work and practice that took me years to master. And yes, I have found many, many pieces of my body of work in the sampling database.
Why would you even mention this highly controversial method, Spoonflower? I really don’t want to see every competition flooded with AI patterns. I don’t want to compete with sales against AI patterns. How can I compete with something that creates hundreds at a time anyway? You might think it’s okay, but your long-time Spoonflower pattern artists don’t. I expected better of you.
Hi Aimee,
Here’s more on this issue, with a section specifically about challenges below.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
Ridiculous! AI “art” is not true art. Art is all about personal expression of the spirit, imagination, and emotion. AI don’t have emotion and it doesn’t take any depth of imagination or emotion to type in a few words and let a machine mash out a image for you. Not only that but I have heard tell there is already a lawsuit out against the designers behind the AI “art” generators due to the fact they have used copyright works of real artists who worked for years to hone there skills all over the web without permission to “train” their machines. Just because something is trending doesn’t mean it is the correct way to do things or to make money. Have some heart! Also I disagree with design for your customers and not yourself…you will have more passion and creativity for what your doing if you do what you enjoy, and there are bound to be a ton of other people who enjoy the same things you do! Have some individualty for peats sake!
Hi Erin,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the developments of AI in the art world, which we can absolutely understand are a point of frustration when thinking about your own original design work. As AI is a newly evolving technology, our team is constantly learning about its implications and the potential impact on the international artist community, in real time, alongside you.
The Spoonflower Marketplace will continue to be a place where we embrace and uplift original designs by independent artists and we will learn alongside of you. Regarding Design Challenges, we recently added language to the Challenge Terms and Conditions that explicitly states AI-generated images are not allowed. We are continually exploring better ways to moderate for AI-generated images in Design Challenges and we will continue to improve this process because you and your work are important to us.
I hope the many tips that Judy shares in this post help you grow your design business and Spoonflower shop. If you have further feedback, please email [email protected].
Warmly,
Betsy and the Spoonflower Team
AI is not art, it is pasteup. No more no less. Its training wheels on a bike for people who are too lazy to do the ‘real’ work of learning to draw.
Calling it art is an insult to actual artists who did the real work of learning the process to create actual art.
International copyright law has already stated, flatly, multiple times, that computer generated pasteup, especially when it steals from actual artists, is not copyright protected. Encouraging the use of A.I. pasteup programs is advocating art theft, which is an international crime. And it reflects poor advice from a site wanting to uplift art.
Thank you for your comment!
Please note that the last paragraph of this post is a recognition of a) how quickly digital innovations are impacting the art world (AI being just one of many), and b) the importance of continuing to learn about these developments vs. an encouragement for artists to sell AI generated artwork. There is a wide range of opinions regarding these new technologies among artists and we hope to keep an open conversation going so we can all continue to learn together.
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
“Digital innovation has always been present in our lives, but the pandemic expedited what would have taken years to develop and now we’re seeing artificial intelligence (AI) play an everyday role in our lives, innovations in the blockchain, NFTs and a little something called Web3 that’s reinventing everything from the way we do business to the way we create. We are seeing AI-generated works of art being auctioned at Christie’s auction house in NYC for over $400K. Although AI is in its early stages, it’s already made an impact in our world. The announcement graphics for Viva Magenta, Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2023, were created with the help of an AI tool”
This is an incredibly disappointing take.
AI has been trained on stolen artwork from many, many artists, including myself. There are class action lawsuits being filed, currently, to dispute the legality of such tools.
As an artist in this community, I would prefer to see a stance taken that upholds the rights of fellow artists rather than normalizing the theft of their art.
Rachel,
As Judy noted, new digital innovations in art, including AI, are in the early stages and as such, artists have lots of feelings about the pros and cons of them. We support Spoonflower artists and their work, which includes knowing that their feelings about AI differ too.
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
Dear Erin, Your words mean more than I can express through my writing. I’m so proud of you and humbled that such a rockstar as yourself was once inspired by me. The sky’s the limit when you pour your heart into your work. Thanks for sharing this story. Much love, Judy 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your story of success here on the blog, Judy!
Love seeing this exchange between you and Erin, further evidence of how so many Spoonflower artists inspire and lift each other up!
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
Great, great post, Judy! 100% agree with all your tips — and it’s nice to hear the 4th one because I feel like it can be a hard truth for some designers.
I read your story when you shared it back in 2017, in one of the very first editions of Spoonflower’s magazine (I miss that mag!). I can still see myself standing in my mum’s kitchen, reading about your journey, and realising — hey, I can do this too!
Being inspired by your story was definitely one of the pivotal moments for me and my Spoonflower journey.
In reference to your sign-off, your story inspired me to find the success I’d always dreamt of… that is, becoming a full-time creative entrepreneur.
I’m sure you’ll inspire many others, once again 🙂
Erin K
Hi Erin!
Glad you were inspired by Judy’s story as we were and that’s so great to hear how reading about her work years ago sparked you own—love to hear it!
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower