I'm not sure about you, but have you ever felt lost in life? Just floating and going through the motions every day? That's exactly where I was, just before I started my surface pattern design journey. I was busy fitting into a mould that wasn't even made for me. But as I settled into the realisation that surface pattern design was exactly what I needed, something was quietly brewing beneath the surface.
Being a surface pattern designer feels a little off centre - in a good way. When asked what you do for work and you say "I'm a surface pattern designer," you're often left with blank stares. (Who knows, maybe I'm just running in the wrong circles—anybody looking for a new friend?) For this exact reason, it felt so totally right for me. A little to the left. Quirky. Different. This doesn't always feel comfortable, but this year I really stepped out of the expectation of the "should" and stepped into the "what is."
How WildKind found it’s voice
As I found my way through all the belief systems that had been layered on top of me, I had this image so clearly: stepping out from the city lights, away from the conformity of societal norms, and into the Wild. The unknown. The jungle.
This is where WildKind first lit a fire in me.
I didn't want to just make pretty or cute patterns anymore. I wanted them to have meaning. I wanted them to connect with people on a deeper level. I wanted them to be permission slips. In that moment, I knew WildKind needed a voice. It needed to be heard. And I knew I needed to go on this full journey - not just for myself, but to help other people become who they truly were too.
Because here's the thing: if you see one person doing it, sometimes that's the moment you allow yourself to do it too. That moment is the embodiment of the WildKind collection.
Stepping into the Wild
I spent a long time choosing the name. There are so many names for pattern collections pattern bank, pattern portfolio, collection - but language matters. Words evoke emotion, just like art does.
I could say "She sat in the corner and cried" or I could say "In that moment she had no words, the pain etched across her face as she slid down the wall, the only sound heard was her shallow breaths as the tears slid down her face." Which one paints the picture more vividly? Which one offers more connection to her emotions?
(As a side note, I wanted to be a writer in what feels like a lifetime ago. Books have always been my sanctuary. I loved losing myself in the story the words weave, and I always preferred the book over the movie. I think that's where the artist in me comes out, I got to picture what it would look like and feel like without being told. Movies never quite live up to the book because you're looking through someone else's lens of that story rather than your own.)
I settled on Pattern Library because a library is full of stories. Each one unique to the other, yet somehow, even though they're different, they're all connected.
This is the philosophy I believe in. The world tries to place us in a position where we all fit into the same box. It strips us of our unique colours. The majority expects us all to learn the same, behave the same, and assimilate into a society that allows someone else to do the thinking for us. But if you crack open our covers and dig a little deeper, you'd see that we all look a little different. We all think a little differently. We all have our own paths that we'd be following if we gave ourselves permission.
And then you get to the end of the book and you realise something beautiful: if we let ourselves play out the story, we all end up in the same place. But this time, we're celebrating our individuality. Our spark of colour has returned. We've given ourselves permission to think our own thoughts, forge our own way. And in return, we've found the one thing we all crave—real connection to one another.
A Library full of stories
Most collections are visually cohesive. They share the same colour palette, the same style of painting, the same theme across every pattern. But WildKind is different.
The patterns in the WildKind collection that I just released along side my Library launch are uniquely connected - not through visuals, but through story. They weave in separate paths that people may travel, but they all end up connected. The final pattern, the final chapter of the story, ties them all together in its own unique way.
A year ago, WildKind would never have existed. I would have followed the rules. I would have created a collection that fits within the norm with a hero pattern and connecting supplementary patterns, 3-5 colours spanning all the designs, everything visually unified. It would have been safe. Expected. Pretty.
But I let WildKind flow where it wanted to flow. I leaned into the direction it pushed me to, even when that direction didn't align with what I originally pictured. I learned to trust my intuition and let it be what it wanted to be. Did this help achieve the story behind WildKind? Absolutely. Each pattern doesn't just fit in. It belongs.
Breaking the Rules (Intentionally)
When I created these patterns, I honestly had myself in mind. I didn't realise it at the time, but I wanted to create something for someone like me - someone who never quite fit. Someone who was pretty introverted but liked to be loud in other ways. Someone who also needed to give themselves permission to do the thing.
I wanted these patterns to be a reminder of who that person truly was. Without fear of judgement. Without fear of being ostracised. Something that united us all in our beautiful, quirky difference.
I know that some of these patterns might not seem to align with my story to some people. They're very whimsical and child-like in some instances. But this is why I love them so much. This is what gives them meaning. These patterns are about connecting to your inner child, creating space for your innermost being to shine through to the outside surface for everyone to see.
Not everyone has to understand you. But you do have permission to let yourself shine. You have permission to bring that child-like wonder into your external self. You have permission to step out into the wild and become who you always were.
Creating for the Person I Knew
WildKind is ready. Are you?
If you haven't explored the WildKind Pattern Library yet, it's waiting for you. Each pattern is a chapter in this story. Each one is an invitation to step into the wild and become who you always were. You can find it here.
Until next time,
The Invitation
