Meet Colleen Underwood
When the Bonnie Christine "Start Simple in Surface Design" tutorial found me last year, I was sitting in a living room of a home loaned to my family because we needed one for a season. We had lived overseas for fifteen years serving in humanitarian and educational training capacities. I had loved my life living in Asia and Europe serving others but complications during the pandemic drove us into a new chapter moving countries yet again. I didn't know what we were going to do as we transitioned into an entirely new location, home, life and identity. I was a little bit lost. Bonnie's program invited me to believe that there was "Room for me" in surface design and I felt deeply welcomed and valued- even as someone with absolutely no skills in surface design or Adobe Illustrator.
After the free mini course, I learned that Bonnie offered a robust program named Immersion and believing that there was room for me, I knew I wanted to learn the skills it would take to step into a new dream. I LOVED making patterns. A part of my heart came alive every time I would walk through the process of drawing or painting a motif and putting it into a repeating pattern. There was joy and satisfaction and possibility for my future and it truly was like a little spring of hope was unlocked in my soul. Beauty and goodness started popping up everywhere in life. I could see more possibility in my daily walk, in my kids' rooms, in presents for family, in building a career ahead of me. The Immersion program anticipated all my questions, answered them thoughtfully and then took my hand and walked me into a (virtual) room filled with amazing people all learning with me.
I had never made an investment in myself that was in the price range of the Immersion Course. I am the kind of woman who buys discount clothes and home products and second-hand items and it was so far out of my comfort zone to spend this kind of money on myself. And beyond that, I didn't have the money at the time. However, the longer I considered the return on my investment in new skills, community, the possibility to create a new life and step into more goodness and beauty I knew it would be worth it. I reached out and asked family for help. I understood it was an investment and it would pay off eventually.
Everything changed through Immersion. Of course there were days with tears when I couldn't figure out the progression of a task or remember a keyboard shortcut. There were days when I struggled with mindset and belief in myself. This is part of being human. The Immersion community was there for me though. They answered my questions, met me where I was, and offered encouragement, feedback, and friendship. Everything I needed was there.
The skills I gained have been invaluable. Months before Immersion, I literally had no idea what surface design was. Through Immersion an entirely new language, culture and world was opened to me. With my new skills, my confidence rose and my belief that "There was room for me" increased. I knew I could do it. One step in front to the other. I knew my art would get better, that I would become more proficient and that I could learn all I needed to create a business for myself. And that's just what I did. With the help, support and education from Bonnie I made the journey from "What is Surface Design?" to "I love making patterns and I've launched my new surface design business in less than a year." In the months following Immersion, I started teaching classes, built a website, built my own brand, created products to sell, continued my education and launched an e-commerce site.
I increasingly invested in myself and my business in the months after Immersion and when I formally launched my business months later, I was able to earn back EVERYTHING I had invested plus some in my first launch of one product and some services. I was blown away. I gained for myself and my family all that Bonnie put on the table as a real possibility through Immersion: location and time freedom (and I NEEDED that because I have four kids!) and I know I will be able to steadfastly make my business more and more profitable with each season ahead. I gained my life back through a new start. I gained self-agency and confidence and a new career that I absolutely love.
If someone was on the fence about Immersion, I would say, "You are worth the investment. It is an investment in yourself and even in your family. You will be able to step more fully into the person you were designed to be and create much goodness and beauty in a world the desperately needs it. If you're unsure that you can afford it, I would say that you can plan ahead and make this happen for yourself. If you put the time in, you will get a new you on the other side with hope and possibility for a good future. Do it- do it even while you are scared and unsure. It is in TAKING the step of faith that your heart and soul grow more fully alive. You're worth it and the world needs what you will offer with your new skills and confidence.
As I look ahead now, I am excited to offer new services and products these next few months with my designs through my business. I have always been committed to training others up and I am so excited to do this in the surface pattern design world now. Now, I can't wait to see what I will do this year!
What a different place I stand in today. A year ago, I was just playing with a paintbrush for the first time and asking my husband if he had ever heard of surface design. Today, I am planning new product and service launches for my OWN business and adding good things into the world in a capacity I had never imagined. It’s never too late to learn. We're never without hope or without a way. There is always goodness and beauty on the path if we step into it.
