Meet Karissa Schulten

Immersion and Flourish have helped me develop a strong foundation to confidently move forward with my creative business. It has taken the guesswork out of building a business and given me a roadmap to build upon. 

I found Immersion at a time in my life when I was at a crossroads. For the past 17 years, I had been an art educator, but the pandemic, a health crisis, and a shift in my core values had me seeking a path where I could find balance for myself and my family.

I already knew Illustrator from my years of teaching the software as well as digital illustration, but surface pattern design was new to me. I instantly fell in love and found it a perfect melding of my skills in photography, traditional painting, digital illustration, and working with Adobe Illustrator. 

Before joining the course, I was most worried about gaining enough knowledge and confidence to move forward with the entrepreneurial side of the business. While I was confident in my art skills, developing a business was completely new to me. Bonnie delivered. I loved the modules, live calls, and the support team in the community. By the end of Immersion, I had decided on a name for my business, Her and Hue, developed my first collection and had a path set forward ahead of me along with the resources to forge ahead with my surface pattern design business. 

Since Immersion, I have completed my collection of 12 prints in 2 colorways, developed two more collections, a portfolio which I have begun pitching for art licensing, and I opened my print-on-demand shop with Spoonflower. 

I am just getting started with big plans ahead for 2023 and beyond. I plan to continue with licensing opportunities, open shops on Etsy and Society 6, and continue to develop more collections for my licensing portfolio. I also hope to bridge my newfound joy of surface pattern design with my years of education experience and begin developing an education stream of revenue for my business. 

I am forever grateful for Immersion and Bonnie’s genuine desire to help others find joy and success in their artistic journeys. She truly devotes herself to her students and values their success as her own. With Immersion as a foundation, I know I am ready to continue to build the career of my dreams.