Check Out Betsy Mitten’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Betsy Mitten.

Hi Betsy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a surface pattern designer and online educator. I create playful, whimsical patterns in color palettes that celebrate the joy of nature. I’ve been teaching for decades but it was 2020 that helped me fall in love with the possibilities of digital surface pattern design and the online education world. My classes help beginners build their skills and explore their creativity through a variety of projects. I’m currently filming my mini-books series that will be available later this fall.

One of the things I appreciate about having some years of life behind me is being able to see how experiences fit together and make what I’m currently doing possible.

There has always been a thread of fabric, art, nature, and teaching in my life but my path has been anything but straight! When I look back it’s been closer to an adventuresome backpack trip with plenty of switchbacks! I’ve followed paths that interest me and then at a certain point I realize I need to make a turn to get closer to what I want, sometimes it’s a tweak, and sometimes a bigger turn. All those experiences and lessons along the way have made it possible for me to do what I’m doing now. I’ve learned that nothing is wasted and you never know how something that seems small and unimportant will end up making a big difference in the end.

My early years were spent outside in rural Wisconsin and the Arizona desert, exploring, making all sorts of projects, and sharing my “how-to” skills with my younger sister and cousins. This set the stage for my life of creativity, love of fabric, nature, and teaching.

In between graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Textiles and Fibers and today, I ran my own textile design studio, taught drawing, and eventually integrated science and art programs at museums including the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Field Museum, and public and private schools.

I loved teaching and returned to school and earned an M.Ed. and an AMI Elementary Montessori Diploma. When I became a mom I changed my work routine to spend time at home and continued to take on freelance work or part-time projects. When our daughter was older I started offering my own weekly art classes. I’ll never forget the day I called the school administrator and asked if she would be interested in a drawing and art program that integrated art and nature, including drawing live animals from a conservation not-for-profit. I was thrilled when she said yes!

Teaching those classes led to one of my proudest moments, being selected as a Field Museum Education Ambassador. My project explored Drawing and Science acquisition in young children using the Field Museum small animal exhibit cases. Both science and art require observation and my project found a positive correlation.

In 2020 life changed. While in-person teaching ended, I had the opportunity to learn how to create fabric patterns digitally. Creating textiles by hand hadn’t worked out to be a sustainable business after college but the dream of designing fabric was still there. I registered for Bonnie Christine’s Immersion class and learned how to create repeat patterns, which is what I do today.

I love combining my skills learned through previous work and education experiences. It took a while, but I began selling products and fabric at the end of 2021 on Society6 and Spoonflower. I taught my first online Zoom Class, Easy Botany for Artists, in the summer of 2020 for Flourish, Bonnie Christine’s Surface Design Community. I loved the experience and immediately saw the opportunities and benefits of online teaching.

Today I’m launching my online teaching platform and my surface design patterns are created digitally with Adobe Illustrator and Procreate and are available on a variety of products.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
There have been many obstacles, but what I’ve had to learn in order to get past or around an obstacle has always served me well. It took a while to see obstacles as opportunities but over time I’ve come to realize I wouldn’t be where I am today without those earlier challenges.

My first attempt at being a surface pattern designer ended when I closed my hand-dyed and hand-printed fabric business. I had great clients, but I had to face the fact that it was not a sustainable business model. Although very painful at the time, it led me to my teaching career and eventually digital surface pattern design which I loved.

My biggest struggle after I decided to learn digital surface pattern design two years ago has been the tech. Prior to 2022 I had sent emails, used a few links, and created a word table and one Google slide show. I had a lot to learn! I wasn’t tech-averse, I just had worked at places with IT departments or wasn’t required.

Finding a great teacher and mentor was a game changer. By chance, I saw an ad for a surface pattern design class sponsored by an artist and creative entrepreneur I admire, Stacie Bloomfield of Gingiber. I signed up for Bonnie Christine’s Immersion course and while it wasn’t easy, I stuck with it. There were days when I just held my head – I would slow down the lesson, read the transcript and highlight each step – eventually, I always got it, but it took an incredible amount of perseverance. Learning Adobe Illustrator later in life is something I’m incredibly proud of – whenever I have a daunting task I remind myself that I was able to learn that program!

In between that first studio and today have been all the challenges that come with life… times of tight finances, illnesses, disappointments, losses, and dreams denied and deferred. One of the gifts of having some decades of life behind me is being able to look back and see how things have fit together and that something that felt like the worst thing ever helped me grow into the person I am today.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a surface pattern designer which means I create patterns that can be used on fabric, wallpaper, stationary, home goods, and anything that has a surface! In addition, I’m an online educator and teach online creative classes.

I’m known for my whimsical, happy, stylized nature-inspired patterns and enthusiastic, encouraging classes. I love beginners and breaking a topic down so that it’s accessible!

My collections all begin with a story or memory about a place in nature that inspires me. Once I think about the place or setting I begin to sketch out ideas. Then I draw or paint the individual motifs or designs.

My actual art process involves working with Indian ink, brushes, heavy drawing or smooth hot press paper, pens, and even printing with unusual materials! I also work in Procreate because I can create the stylized and joyful look I want. One of my favorite patterns was created by printing a texture with bubble wrap! You just never know what will work and it’s fun to experiment.

The black and white work is scanned into Adobe Illustrator where I recolor it and place the individual designs, called motifs, into a repeat pattern. It really feels like magic to see the pattern come together in a seamless repeat!

These patterns can then be used on products such as mugs, tea towels, phone cases, rugs, and yards of fabric, the possibilities are endless. Every morning I drink from a mug with my first repeat pattern, Coastal Story, on it.

Besides creating collections, I’m always trying to improve my art and design skills, as well as my tech skills. Like most artists today, I keep an active Social Media presence, I send out a monthly newsletter to my audience, and I have a Youtube Channel where I share the stories of creatives with varied career paths. Sometimes people think it’s too late to begin, but it never is and these creatives all address that fear in their interviews.

My favorite work is the patterns that began as negative space paintings with ecosystem themes. I learned the process of negative space painting from Children’s Book Author/Illustrator Laura Montenegro. While I’m now able to get a similar look on Procreate, I still enjoy using India Ink. When designing, I think of all of the things in a particular ecosystem: plants, animals, rocks, water, and air. I love finding places to sneak all of those parts in a pattern. My years teaching and working at the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Morton Arboretum give me a unique perspective that I hope is conveyed in my art.

My whimsical style backed by an understanding of how plants and animals really look and how an ecosystem function sets me apart. I love sharing nature and it’s the work that makes me most proud.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I’m available for surface pattern design work, art licensing, and private or group online classes. I also enjoy collaborations with my surface pattern design and classes. My fabric patterns, wallpaper, and home decor items are available on Spoonflower and additional products are available through my Society Shop.

Great ways to support me are to visit my shops, explore my classes, follow me on IG, and Facebook, and sign up for my monthly newsletter through the link in my bio or on my website. My newsletter is the best place to learn about upcoming classes and product releases. I can be reached via email, my website, or messaged through IG.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.betsymitten.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betsymittenstudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betsymittenstudio/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK0IQkmRaiiopf5kPUrqDew
• Other: Spoonflower Fabric Shop: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/betsy_mitten 

Image Credits
Kiersten Selby at Rosehill Road Photography