Egie Mills-Fletcher

In Immersion, there was so much info given, very well put together, the lessons build on each other. The best parts were the lessons themselves and the weekly Q & A. I refer to my Immersion course videos and notes regularly. There was also great info in the chat.

The best take away from all of this is what I learned about myself as a creative person, learning a new skill, and building a business.

My degree is in Surface Design and I’ve never been able to make it work other than my own pursuits in creating products and selling them at art shows and craft fairs. In December of 2020, scrolling through the fb newsfeed I came across Bonnie’s 5-day free mini-course and I opted in. That little course change the path of my life and YES, I learned Illustrator.

That brought me to Immersion which I did not hesitate to sign up for… seriously, I marked the date on my calendar. The Immersion experience had me rethinking the rest of my life, I was 69 and I wondered just how quickly I could get stuff designed, how quickly I could get licensed, how soon it could become a career.

After Immersion I immediately signed up for Flourish. I wanted a community, my Immersion peer group fell apart shortly after Immersion ended. I still had more to learn – this was as close to grad school I was ever going to get. Truly I had my doubts, was I doing the right thing, was I being true to myself, did I have what it takes to do it, plus I’m getting older, not younger. I think now the doubts are part of my creative growth process.

I have dozens of sketchbooks filled with art, design, and pattern that I want to bring into the world. It’s so hard to choose or to squeeze it all in but I’m figuring that out. Flourish has helped with that.

I’m still learning how to use social media effectively and consistently, I’m still learning Illustrator. I have to say my product sales this year were a direct result of using them. I haven’t posted much of my pattern design work, more because I haven’t created much I want to post. I’m not comfortable yet with what I’m making but I continue to make it.

I’m setting goals, small ones, and I’m thinking big. I know my capacity for creating and I’m not quite there for making a collection. I’m more doing the early Bonnie thing—making a bunch of patterns and discovering who I am and what I want to make, what beauty I want to bring into this world. I love that saying.

I would tell anybody, everybody thinking about Immersion: JUST DO IT!

The stuff you learn is truly worth more than the money spent. I have gotten way more out of it (and Flourish too) than I expected, not just the community of artists and their work but the support and love—the YES YOU CAN! of it all.

I’ve learned so much about myself and what I’m capable of doing, that alone was worth taking the course. I’m 70 now and moving at a comfortable pace for me. My age is not a factor in creating a business or becoming a successful designer.

Soon I will create a Spoonflower account, and create a website. I’ll be posting more on social media, making and selling more products, then calling art directors and making more art. It’s all so satisfying.

Oh, and yeah, I’m doing Immersion again.