Dear, Reader,

Last week I promised to take you to filming day one.

*If you missed my first few letters, you can catch up here. ​

So here's the thing we did differently:

We didn't just update the course. We filmed it. Documentary-style. No talking head in front of a ring light. No voice droning over a slide deck. No stiff "online course" energy (enough with that already).

We cracked the whole thing open and shot it like a film. Gorgeous. Cinematic. The kind of thing you'd love every single second watching.✨

And that decision changed a whoooooole lot.

Including how terrified I was on Day 1.

My crew was ready. Cameras were on. And someone said, "Okay, Bonnie, whenever you're ready, go ahead and start recording."

And I froze.

Not a cute little pause. I'm talking deer in headlights. I'm talking I want to run away, change my name, and live in a lighthouse now kind of freeze.

We were reimagining everything from the ground up. And that meant for the first time ever, I had no notes. No teleprompter.

Just me, a camera, and four of the kindest people on the planet staring back at me:

Tessie. Nikkita. Henry (our longtime videographer). And Callie, my very best friend and photographer.

People I love and trust. People who love me.

And STILL, all I could think was:

I can't do this. I don't know what to say. They expect greatness, and I'm feeling like it's my first day at a new middle school and my shoes don't match. (That's a story for another day.)

I felt awkward and exposed and wildly underprepared.

Like I'd somehow shown up to give a speech and forgotten the entire English language.

And honestly? Like I wasn't enough.

Have you ever felt that? Like the thing you want most is staring right at you, and suddenly you're not sure you're the right person for it?

So I did what any TOTALLY rational adult would do in this situation. (You're gonna love this.)

I kicked them all out.

Kindly. Lovingly. But still... I need you to leave.

I had to work out my awkwardness alone. Just me and the lens.

I had a good cry sitting in front of the camera all by myself.

Maybe you've been there too. Needing to figure it out quietly before you're ready to let anyone watch.

The pressure felt almost too much. But this was the very first day of 8, so I better PULL IT TOGETHER already.

And slowly, quietly, it started to come back.

Henry would slip in, press record, and tiptoe out. I'd film a few lessons by myself. Five, six, seven at a time. Alone, with no audience. No pressure. Just one take at a time.

Eventually, I let them back in. One by one. And it was okay. (It was more than okay!)

That's the thing about starting messy. You don't have to arrive ready. You just have to arrive.

Later that same day, we found our groove. We filmed the first set of lessons in a room absolutely drenched in pattern.

The walls had been covered in wallpaper I designed. A massive patterned panel across the back. Erin (our styling queen) had come in the day before and layered every corner with books, florals, color, texture. We'd hung textiles and patterned papers. We'd swatched everything.

Every inch of that room was filled with pattern and story.

And somewhere in the middle of a take, I paused. I looked around.

Reaaaally looked around.

And I realized: this room we were filming in?

It mirrored the world outside these walls.

Pattern is everywhere right now. Have you noticed, too?

After years of minimalism. Beige everything. Stark white walls. Plain solids.

Pattern is stepping back into the spotlight.

Let me show you what I've learned since that first day of filming:

WOW. WOW. WOW. It's clear that ...

the world is hungry for pattern. And brands are actively looking for designers with fresh perspectives.

Designers like you.

(This is exactly why I'm hosting a free workshop called The Print & Pattern Revival in February. More on that in a sec.)

Here's the part that makes me catch my breath, every time I think about it:

Each piece of wrapping paper at Target, every bolt of fabric at your local quilt shop, every notebook at Anthropologie, every wallpaper swatch at Spoonflower... someone designed that. And they got paid for it through licensing deals, royalty checks and contract work.

That someone could be you. Truly.

Surface pattern design is a multi-billion-dollar industry with a proven path. One that most people don't even know exists.

And right now? It's having a *moment*.

You're not too late. (But you're not exactly early either.)

Right now, you've got the chance to be riiiiiight on time. The window is open and the industry is calling.

But windows don't stay open forever. And I don't say that to scare you. I say it because I believe it. And I want you in this with me.

So, where do all these patterns come from?

On Day 1 of filming, when patterns drenched that studio room, across the wallpaper, on the fabric, stacked in piles around me… Where did they start?

Art school? Computer design classes? Fancy illustration degrees?

NOPE NADA NAH

Just about every single pattern filling that studio room began in one place.

My garden.

Dirt under my fingernails. A flower press. A single bloom I noticed on a Tuesday morning.

That's the secret no one tells you:

You don't have to be an "artist" to make patterns. You just have to notice beauty and know what to do with it.

And I have a feeling you already notice beauty everywhere. In the weeds by the mailbox. In the way light hits your kitchen table. In the flowers you photograph but never do anything with.

What if you knew what to do with it?

Next week, I'll show you exactly what I mean. I'm taking you to Recording Day 2, where the cameras followed me outside, into the garden, and captured something I've never shared before.

It might even change the way you see your own backyard.

I'll tell you all about it next week.

With love,

Bonnie Christine, Creative Director

In other (exciting!) news…

I mentioned The Print & Pattern Revival up there, and I want to make sure you know about it!

It's a free 4-day workshop I'm hosting February 11-16 to teach the art of bold prints, hand-drawn motifs, and rich stories. Brands are actively searching for fresh patterns and perspectiveses. And I want to show you how to create them!

📣 Listen up: You don't need graphic design experience or any drawing skills. You just need a pencil and a piece of paper. I've got you!

​Save your free spot here.​