Meet our 2023 Scholarship Winner & Finalists

Community is truly at the heart of everything we do here at Sketch Design Repeat and my goal has always been to support as many surface designers and artists as possible, helping them to expand their knowledge and grow their businesses. So it gives me great pleasure to highlight all the finalists AND winner of our new yearly scholarship program with you today!

Meet our 2023 Scholarship Winner & Finalists | Sketch Design Repeat

We received dozens of heartfelt stories from artists willing to bravely share both their dreams and their struggles with us. As I watched each submission video, I found myself falling in love with this industry all over again — it was SO inspiring!

It was also incredibly difficult and almost painful to narrow the submissions down to just 4 finalists, but we did just that. And I’d like to introduce you to them. Let’s start with our scholarship winner:

Aline Monda

About Aline

I am Aline Monda and I am a children’s illustrator, pattern designer, and maker of things. I was born and raised in Brazil, lived the last 10 years in Denmark and today I am based in Lisbon, Portugal. All my creations spring from my love for nature, animals, crafts, and the children’s universe. My style is influenced by handmade techniques like block print, collage, and crayons and I love to create little worlds and tell stories with my pattern designs.

Surface designer Aline Monda
Aline’s Thoughts About Winning the Scholarship

Wining this scholarship means starting a new chapter in my professional life. I have been developing my skills in surface pattern design for some years now, and even though I had some successes on the way, finding the right clients and pitching my work have always been a hard barrier for me to cross. This year I decided to change my approach and take my passion seriously. I decided to finally go fulltime and dedicate myself to reach the place I want be in my career. Wining this scholarship is the confirmation that I am in the right path. I am confident that Shannon has the experience and knowledge to guide me in this process, and I couldn’t be happier to be so lucky to start the year with such a great opportunity.

Follow Aline

Website: www.alinemonda.com
Instagram: @alinemonda

Aline will be keeping a journal about her progress as part of the scholarship, so you’ll be hearing from her throughout 2023. And as the Scholarship Winner, Aline will receive a prize package valued at almost $4,000. It will include:


Now, I’d also like to introduce our 3 other finalists. 

I was so impressed with their tenacity, creativity, and positive attitude after chatting with each of them, that I decided to gift each of them FREE enrollment in my Portfolio Masterclass as well as a 1-on-1 call with me. Let me introduce them…

Ariane Nijssen

About Ariane

Ariane Nijssen (Aribombari) is a surface pattern designer from Fremantle, Western Australia.

Her work features motifs and shapes that are cut from hand printed paper. She enjoys using bright colours and always tries to infuse a bit of fun in her work — she loves colour, texture and imperfection.

Follow Ariane

Website: www.aribombari.com.au
Instagram: @aribombari_papercut

Frances “Frankie” Choe

About Frankie

Frankie is a first generation Korean-Canadian-American artist and self-taught sewist. Her work incorporates retro-inspired color palettes, playful motifs inspired by her family, cross-cultural upbringing, travel, the natural world, and her signature, oddball sense of humor. When she isn’t in her studio, you’ll find her weeding the vegetable garden or training her free-range hens to perform tricks.

Follow Frankie

Website: www.love-frankie.com
Instagram: @lovefrankie.shop

Surface designer Frankie Choe

Lynn Priestly

About Lynn

I am a surface designer and illustrator based on a tiny island in the beautiful Moreton Bay Marine Park, Queensland, Australia.
I create nature-inspired patterns and illustrations, with a key focus on flora and fauna. I love capturing the flow and detail of nature in my work, and the beauty found in island life is definitely a major influence in my designs. I tend to design with homewares, stationery, fabric, and art prints in mind and am keen to start licensing my work and collaborating to get my work out into the world.

My design process includes hand sketching, watercolour, gouache, and digital design. I am passionate about creating joy-filled art that lifts people up and takes them on a beautiful journey.

Surface designer Lynn Priestley
Follow Lynn

Website: www.lynnpriestley.com
Instagram: @lynnpriestleydesign


  1. Kate Frances says:

    Congratulations on winning the scholarship Aline, and to all the finalists. It’s been lovely looking at all your beautiful work. What a creative talented bunch. You’re going to love PYP

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