Please join us in celebrating this month’s spotlight surface designer, Edith Scholter. We know you’ll find her story inspiring!
Please introduce yourself.
My parents came from Hungary, but I was born in Austria, where I still live. I grew up watching my mother paint Hungarian folklore motifs on decorative plates and was mesmerized by the colors and shapes. Being an artist has always been my dream, but one I didn’t think I could realize. I come with baggage especially obstructive to creativity — low self-esteem, perfectionism, fear of expectations.
And my ability to competently critique art used to greatly outmatch my ability to competently create art, which, let me tell you, is quite an unfortunate combination.
So, I had to struggle through all of that for decades, to finally, in my early fifties, find ways to push through and create, in spite of all these fears and inner pressures. And focusing on surface pattern design has helped as well. More fun, less pressure, for whatever reason. People are strange, I guess 😊
But, on the plus side, I now value this opportunity all the more, and am deeply grateful to be able to work on making a career out of my art.
Tell us a little bit about your design journey.
Well, I had been trying to find ways around being stuck all my life — I have loads of art supplies at home, because I always used to hope that with this particular paint, or those pastels, maybe it would be different. It never was.
So, my last ditch attempt was to go and buy an iPad. There’s less pressure, when there’s less chance of ruining a half-finished piece, I figured. From there I somehow landed on pattern design (through YouTube videos about patterns designed with Procreate, I think), and with that combination, finally it WAS different, and I was able to really start creating.
What streams of income are you focusing on right now?
I am pretty happy with my journey so far, because I really nailed the timing. I gave myself enough time to get used to the design apps, to the process and techniques of pattern design. Oh, and I also waited until I felt ready and confident to go out there. I know, many people say, you shouldn’t wait, because you’ll never feel ready, but in my case, I could really tell when it was time to start, and having listened to that inner voice paid off.
But that was only in June 2024. So, as I am adhering to another piece of advice, one can often hear, and am focused on one thing at a time, trying to build up my business slowly, so far there is only my Spoonflower shop. I am busy designing more, and uploading my patterns (which is more time-consuming than one would think), as well as trying to market my shop by posting on Pinterest.
As a next step I want to try my luck at finding an agent. I find the idea of all the work necessary to go for licensing contracts myself very off-putting and limiting. I’d gladly give up part of my earnings, so that I don’t have to spend so much time on stuff that for me would be stressful and depleting.
What do you like to do besides designing?
There are lots of creative hobbies that appeal to me, and I tried some — photography, sewing, even silver-smithing. But unfortunately I kind of have a one-track mind — once I’m focused on one thing, I somehow don’t have the capacity (or scheduling capability 🙄) to do much else in terms of hobbies or creative pursuits. Maybe I can grow and mature into becoming more versatile that way, but for now my creativity flows into patterns, and that’s it. 😊
I do love to be outdoors, though, and find lots of inspiration in the animal and plant life of my surroundings (which can be seen in a number of my designs).
Where do you get inspiration for your art?
As I’ve said, I love to spend time outdoors and have an archive of pictures of flowers and leaves and vines (and chickens, who doesn’t love the aesthetic of chickens? 😁), which I go back to often.
And I am also a curious person with an actively imaginative mind. There’s never a lack of ideas, it’s more a question of time — my style, but also my way of working takes a lot of time, so my design process is slower than I’d like. Another issue to improve upon — as far as that’s technically possible.
When you look back at your design journey so far, what are you most proud of?
Oh, definitely overcoming all those psychological hurdles. My approach now is so radically different from what it was — I am so much more relaxed, less perfectionist, and I value consistency over the immediate result. Which means that I can be happy with myself, even if I wasn’t able to finish a design, or didn’t post as often as I had wanted to, or the pattern didn’t turn out as pretty as I’d imagined. Because I keep going now.
Maybe I don’t invest as much time as I’ve planned, or something else doesn’t work out, but, no matter what, I keep going. That not only gives me something positive always to hold on to, but this type of consistency can also really drive a project forward. It doesn’t matter as much (to me at this point, at least), if it takes longer than anticipated, but there is power in unbroken movement. Something inherently satisfying. I am very grateful that this is where I am now!
Who are your favorite artists?
Oh, Georgia O’Keeffe, definitely. I was so lucky that there was a comprehensive exhibition of her works in Vienna a few years back. I went four times! I love her art — the vibrancy of her paintings, and the way her personality shines through. And what a powerful personality she was. Lovely, touching, wonderful paintings!
If you could offer advice to other designers who are struggling, what would that be?
Oh no, I would never. We are all so different, the combination of difficulties and fears and workable tools is so different for all of us. It’s a trust (and hone) your instincts kind of thing, in my view.
Where can we find you?
Spoonflower: edith_scholter
Instagram: @edith.scholter
