UnBlink Studio by Jackie Tahara: Print and Pattern Design and Illustration

My Entry for the Spoonflower "Refined Bohemian Wallpaper" Design Challenge!

9/15/2024

I was kinda surprised late on Sunday Sept 1 to find out that entries for the next Spoonflower “Refined Bohemian Wallpaper” Design Challenge would close Tuesday Sept 3. Usually, the Challenges happen every 2 weeks, and since the last one closed August 27, I expected the next Challenge entries would close Tuesday Sept 10 (ie. I should have had another week to create a new design)! So it was a BIT of a scramble, but I did manage to enter my new “Bohemian Garden” design. If I had had more time, I would have fussed ALOT more over this one, but ya know, it was kinda liberating to not do that! Maybe there’s a lesson learned in that, something about spontaneity perhaps?!
Public voting for this Challenge closes Tuesday Sept 24, so you still have lots of time to vote! Link to the Voting Page HERE!
Click the IMAGES below to SHOP this design in my Spoonflower Shop (it comes in TWO colourways too!)

Of course, I couldn’t resist adding an alternate colourway of my "Bohemian Garden" design to my Spoonflower Shop too: Neutrals, Lavender and Mauve on Powder Blue (see below)...Maybe this 2nd colourway is more “Refined” after all, hmmm, what do you think?!

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Playing Catchup #2: My Entry for the Spoonflower "Non-Directional Ditsy Holiday" Design Challenge!

9/15/2024

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Whoops again! To continue on from my previous Blog Post, here's my "second" catchup of my entries for the last two Spoonflower Design Challenges!
Apologies that voting for this Challenge is now closed, but I just wanted to share the story behind my new "Festive Garlands" design. And you can SHOP this design in my Spoonflower Shop by clicking the IMAGES below!

My "Non-Directional Ditsy Holiday" Design Challenge Entry:
"Festive Garlands"

When I check out all those mouth-watering racks of single-sheet gift wrap in stationery stores around the Christmas holidays, it’s usually the “non-traditional” designs that catch my eye. So, for the Spoonflower “Non-Directional Ditsy Holiday” Design Challenge, I just felt the need to do something a little different, ie. something that would catch my eye in a shop BUT would still say “Holiday” to me! So here is my brand new “Festive Garlands” botanical pattern design that has some Christmas colours and festive sparkle-y bits! What do you think? Does it say “Holiday” to you (or maybe “Festive” or “Party Time” or...)?
Click the images to see this design in my Spoonflower Shop!

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Playing Catchup #1: My Entry for the Spoonflower "Conversational Wallpaper" Design Challenge!

9/15/2024

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Whoops! It's been busy here at the studio over the last part of Summer, especially since I was away for most of July, but here's my "first" catchup of my entries for the last two Spoonflower Design Challenges: "Conversational Wallpaper" and "Non-Directional Ditsy Holiday" (see my next Blog Post!)!
Apologies that voting for these Challenges are now closed, but I just wanted to share the story behind these new designs. And you can SHOP them in my Spoonflower Shop by clicking the IMAGES below!

My "Conversational Wallpaper" Design Challenge Entry:
"Pasta Potluck"

My “Pasta Potluck” design has a bit of a long history here at UnBlink Studio...I originally created this design quite awhile ago with a set of my Mom’s vintage glass Pyrex casserole dishes in mind (remember those?!) For whatever reason, I moved on and forgot about this design, and so it was relegated to sitting on my hard-drive...
But the Spoonflower "Conversational Wallpaper" Design Challenge got me thinking about this design again, and I thought that it just might suit the Challenge theme quite nicely! I did have to really re-work it and OF COURSE, I felt the need to completely revise the COLOURS, but I now love its vintage-y, kitsch-y look all over again! If you’d like to see those original Pyrex dishes that inspired this design, have a look below, my Mom gave them to me!
Public Voting for this Challenge closed Tuesday August 13 2024.

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Some Sad News: Make It In Design Is Closing

9/15/2024

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Back in 2015 (or was it 2016?), before I even knew “surface pattern design” was a thing, I somehow (and I have no idea how) stumbled upon the online courses offered by the team at Make It In Design (MIID). Online learning was unfamiliar back then, but reading what MIID promised to teach me (ie. surface pattern design, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, licensing, agents, and so much more), really lit a lightbulb in me, and I signed up for all the courses MIID then offered (Modules 1, 2 and 3 plus the Ultimate Portfolio Builder). Over the years, I’ve participated in their Live Hub membership; taken many other courses they later offered; made so many connections with the community of designers that grew around MIID; and was even an invited panelist for their “Superstars of Make It In Design” Live Panel Discussion in 2022. I also met co-founder Rachael Taylor in person at the Guggenheim in NYC when I attended Surtex 2017 (or was it 2018?)
But now the team that started it all for me has just announced they will be closing the MIID doors forever as of December 31 2024. I understand the online course landscape has changed dramatically since I took those first MIID courses, and maybe we’re all a bit weary and sceptical of how many courses are being advertised to us now, but MIID was one of the early pioneers of online creative courses, and I will always always be grateful to them for building my confidence, and starting me on this creative, inspiring and successful journey. I would just like to say to them, "You will be missed", and I wish you all the best in your new projects.

You can read the MIID Closing Announcement HERE (until December 31 2024).

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My Entry for the Spoonflower "Refined Bohemian Wallpaper" Design Challenge!

Playing Catchup #2: My Entry for the Spoonflower "Non-Directional Ditsy Holiday" Design Challenge!

Playing Catchup #1: My Entry for the Spoonflower "Conversational Wallpaper" Design Challenge!

Some Sad News: Make It In Design Is Closing

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