03 April 2008

FREELANCE DESIGNERS WANTED

we've got a very exciting opportunity today on print & pattern. foliage inc are a design studio in new york looking for freelancers to add to their portfolio. they are looking for freelance textile print designers who can design for baby, children's, tween, junior (girl/boy) and the young men and women's apparel market. they also design quite a bit for sleep wear as they often have a nice selection of conversational prints. their current portfolios also consist of every day florals, christmas, halloween , birthday and valentines which are sold for gift wraps and stationery products. foliage feel sure there are lots of talented designers lurking in the print & pattern readership. scroll down to read more about the studio...
foliage inc are one of the leading studios in the children's, tween and junior apparel business and are currently growing our stationery and home divisions. they have been in business for 14 years now and are always developing new business contacts and they have a strong client base that has continued to come back to their studio over the years. they also participate in four trade shows per year including surtex and printsource. if you would like to submit your details there is an online form. then you will recieve an automated email asking for jpegs of your work. queries can be sent to inquiries@foliageinc.com. foliage can't really show too much on their website since the designs sell quickly and when they are purchased the rights are usually sold, but shown here are some of the designs they created for autumn leaves and a few examples. foliage also have another opportunity for designers, see below... foliage inc's studio is located in a building in chelsea, nyc which has many art galleries inside. they're planning on opening a small art gallery in the front of their space and would like to showcase art that is pattern or textile related and modern in feel. they're starting to look at portfolios for the gallery and would like to find artists who are interested in having a show in our space. email foliage if you are interested in showing your portfolio at inquiries@foliageinc.com. good luck.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great opportunity for designers, but all be aware that when a company says that they "buy all rights" or "the rights are sold", it means that you receive a flat fee (hopefully a good one to make it worth your while--look in the book "Pricing and Ethical Guidelines"). You will lose the rights to your copyright and the company purchasing your rights will be able to use your design again and again on any and all products they like.

If you can at all, only sell your copyright for use on textiles and then why not turn around and license it to a journal company, scrapbook paper company, and on.

Just a little artist friendly info that many of you know already...

Get paid well for your hard work. It boosts all the rest of us creative types.

xo

please sir said...

Thanks for the info. and Karen - good insight! How much do you normally get paid by working with these type of companies? Like per pattern?

ellencrimitrent said...

Karen is correct in this and I know first hand since years ago I too did print studio work in NYC only to wake up to license my art instead. I would watch the designs I sold make millions for companies and thought I needed a piece of that pie.

However do not fool yourself either in thinking that it is easy to license your art as well. I have been in this part of the business for about 10 years now and its a constant roller coaster.

You have to be unique and business savvy to do licensing so my friends there is no easy door.

Sometimes if you need money right away selling prints is the way to go as long as you are not attached to the art especially in this economy here in the US.

kitty stitch said...

Im a textile designer who sells through a New york agent, its a tough market and you usually get about £160 - £185 per design. With the exchange rate it can be less at the moment though.

orange you lucky! said...

Great info, Ladies! It's best not to get too attached to the art - if you are going to sell your copyrights. And, there's no such thing as 'normally get paid for ...'H:)

bowie style said...

this is all good stuff - thankyou for your very valuable comments.
foliage inc have said they'll send a rate sheet to all those who get in touch.
the exchange rate is very bad for uk designers at the moment if we are being paid in dollars. its making fees so low :(

Hege Synøve Kolstad Evensen said...

Hello:) Your blog really inspires me, I`m totally hooked on print and patterns in just the style your exposing... You are welcomed to visit my blog and I hope its ok that I have linked your blog... I am looking forward for next post:) Best regards Hege

M. Patrizio said...

!! I need to put together a pattern portfolio so bad! Thank you for posting this and thanks for the commenters as well, very helpful!

Anonymous said...

I, too, am a freelance designer and have been working in the industry for around 15 years now. It's true - you should only sell to the print studios when you're strapped for cash or if you have leftover art that is not selling for you. If you're willing to let the rights go and are willing to take around 60% of the selling price, by all means do it. If your art is licensed one piece of art can net you thousands. In the print studios it may only net you a couple of hundred (USD). Know your art and whether it's selling. If it is, stay away from the print studios and go for the licensing.

Illmatic7980 said...

I'm very interested in this topic. How would go about licensing your artwork or prints?

Anonymous said...

Hello, I sell my prints through Creativo (www.thinkcreativo.com). They also have a studio in NY and I find their terms to be reasonable. Also, they provide me with global research for print and trend which aids me in my surface designs. If you are interested, contact them and let Alex at Creativo know that Carl recommended you.

Anonymous said...

Hello,I am trying to start working as a freelancer,but I have really demorilised from the beginning.I live in Poland.When I send my designs to UK or Us how can I get my copyrights.They can easily use my designs without informing me and saying me that they dont like it.Because,normally agents asked me to send my designs to see them as jpeg .But from Jpeg they can easily use the design.I am living in different country.What should I do about this matter?

Anonymous said...

Yes. How would one go about licensing your artwork or prints? Please email me at zoserguerrero@gmail.com! thanks.

bowie style said...

only approach reputable agencies, keep images small at fist, maybe watermark them.
its scary i know but you have to put your work out there to be seen.

melanie said...

Hi,everyone this is a great blog and informative read :) and I'd like to ask a question. Are there any surface design portfolio sites out there? where you can show your designs? Also what would be the best agents to contact? I'm just starting out with my surface designs and patterns and could do with some pointers. this is me
http://www.mousetricks.co.uk/index.html

Linzy Kokoska said...

I am wondering were is the best place to sell your prints? I am new to this and I would really love some guidance to get my art work to sell. Any advice is welcome. Thanks!

payal said...

i guys i have read all your comments....i am a textile designer from Lucknow India...please somebody help me selling my designs...i dont know from where to start....plzz

payal

JZ said...

Hi, Im a textile manufacturer/importer based in Los Angeles. We specialize in developing for clients such as Walmart, Target, Forever21 and Macy's. We have a very positive and high energy environment. Our company is looking to fill two full time CAD Artist positions... Would love any suggestions or referrals. Jacob@standardfabric.com.
thanks!

Iloveprint said...

Hi JZ, I am a print designer for textiles and create prints from home and work in house for many suppliers whom supply to the high street mainly jersey soft seperates for ladieswear. M and S, George Asda, Sainsburys,Miss selfrige,Diverse. I trained as a screen printer and have a design degree but experince of 12 years is much more relevant!!I have worked across many product areas. I am given a brief or create from catwalk inspiration work up the design in repeat,organise the screens and send to the factory.
If I can be of any help from the uk as a design resource then please do let me know. Mail me on quantick.mq@gmail.com
Shame I am not in LA as the job role is so my bag!!

Anonymous said...

Hello,
I have discovered this web, and it is very nice and interesting!!!I am a Spanish freelance designer and nowadays it is difficult to be able to sell designs in Spain a good price, because of the economical crisis. I would like to sell my children textile designs to companies in Usa or England, but I don´t know how to do it. I would appreciate if some designer could tell me the price of a textile pattern an any other information as webs as spoonflowers o any others that could be useful . Thanks a lot!!!!

Jo Stenner said...

Just finding the whole surface pattern design market difficult to understand! Would love to sell designs but every corner I explore seems to be a mystery !!! different advise, confusing! Help!

Gabriella said...

After reading the above comments and great advice, would any one be able to tell me how I can get to the stage that you're all at of selling my designs? Are there any agent names? Or company names who I would be able to contact? I've heard its all about who you know, but its kinda tricky when you're just starting out isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Hi, I was just looking for some advice. I graduated nearly 2 years ago in textiles print design and am currently in a full time job. I am still designing and am looking for some live briefs or freelance work to do on the side. how would you suggest getting into it?

please email me on shana-mariefrance@hotmail.com

Suresh Blog said...

i want sale my design but i dont know how i can sale.please help me.

Unknown said...

Hello everyone.

Everyone seems to be wondering how to sell your designs if just starting out, and not many are answering. Well, I am a beginner in the business like all of you all but it seems like I am figuring out a good way to start.
There are important trade shows that the main studios from all over the country go to such as Indigo, Surtax and Printsource. There are others too. Go to the exhibitors listing on their website and look up all those studios, find their emails and have a PDF of your pattern portfolio. Send it to them and inquire if they have any availability for new artists. Also, this is the beginning way to go about freelance- and you could end up signing with a studio as your agent or selling patterns for a flat price. Licensing as everyone knows is where the money is at- but sometimes it is just good to get a start. Learn how to improve your portfolio by reading up online, especially the textile design lab or pattern people- you may need to pay a small fee for some sites to get pattern tutorials but it is worth it. GOOD LUCK. Persistence pays off : )

Anonymous said...

After reading everyone's comments, I have a query regarding the technical side of selling a design. I am a first year Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern Design degree student and so I am very new to the basics of becoming a printed textile designer.
I want to understand more about how I would go about translating my hand crafted/drawn illustration-based designs into professional prints to sell. As a freelance designer,would it be more appropriate to achieve this through use of a digital textiles printing company for designers, or would I need to translate my designs into professional prints on my own? Or, would I simply send off my designs as a scanned image jpeg/pdf file to the buyer/company I might be designing for and leave it to them to turn it into a print for their product?
Thanks.

Arturo Lizano said...

Create a good portfolio is difficult, especially as these starting freelancing. but once you do it you can have a good success with your portfolio freelancer

Unknown said...

I have found it the same..I can not find manufacturers in England..where are they hiding..from what I gather people seem to go abroad to get work printed..the print companies here are way too expensive, the cheapest was £20 a meter..how bad is that..so I'm also looking to get my designs printed and don't know where or how..people are being too secretive even on here..

Unknown said...

I am textile designer and exp 15 years. Creative and working on new ideas.now i m want do job in uk. Plz guide me..

Unknown said...

I m textile designer . I also want to do freelancing designing.
Plz suggest..

Unknown said...

Dear fashiondoodle7,
Your comment was great ! Excellent information in a simple precise manner. There shouldn't be any other questions after you submitted your copy.
Thank you.