Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristi Westberg. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Kristi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

At the beginning of 2022, I decided I wanted to spend a year creating art using one medium, block printing. I can often feel overwhelmed by a blank sheet of paper and a set of different tools to create with so limiting myself to block printing was a way to help me focus and reduce that overwhelm. I also knew that since I have a full-time job I wouldn’t be able to create every day, that’s just not possible for me and my schedule. Instead, I decided I would create one block print each week (with a few weeks off for holidays and such). At first, I had tons of ideas and could easily create a block print each week. There were a few weeks I created prints that I hated and then there were weeks where I created some of my favorite work to date. I recorded each print in a little video on my phone and posted them to Instagram each week. Over a year later I was still carving block prints. As someone who is great at starting projects but not so good at following through I was shocked that I kept this practice going for so long. This project has become so meaningful to me and my creative practice because it showed me that I can be consistent if I focus and really try to be.

Kristi, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Kristi Westberg, I’m the founder of At the Dot Design, a surface pattern design studio based in Pasadena, CA. My work is heavily influenced by rare books and archival documents as well as California’s vast and varied landscape. I also work full-time as a book conservator, a job that I love, which means I’ve been slowly building At the Dot Design since 2020.

When I create new work my goal is always to make something that will make a space feel more comfortable and beautiful. Patterns are everywhere, they are all around us and they have the power to bring joy, calm, or laughter. My proudest moment to date is having my artwork licensed with Hawthorne Supply Co. I’ve always been a crafter and a quilter and have often thought it would be so fun to have my artwork on fabric. In the fall of 2023, my first collection called Desert Superbloom came out with Hawthorne, it was a dream come true.

In addition to creating patterns, I’ve created two courses to date, a free course that teaches students how to block print Valentine’s cards and another class on Skillshare where I teach potato printing. I plan on creating more courses in the future and have plenty of ideas in the hopper, I just need to choose one.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

There are so many resources out there these days to help you on your way, especially if you are interested in surface pattern design. A learning platform like Skillshare is a great place to start if you’re trying to get started in any creative pursuit. For a relatively low price, you can access lots of classes and learn from so many different teachers. Many of the teachers on these learning platforms also offer separate paid programs. Before taking the plunge and paying for those courses I like to know for sure that their teaching style works for me and that’s where Skillshare has really helped me make those choices.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There are a lot of things about being an artist that require resilience, but one that’s been top of mind for me lately is pitching my artwork to companies. Between August and November of 2023, I sent out over one hundred pitch and follow-up emails. Of those 100 only a tiny handful of art directors responded. Pitching your work is a long game and throughout this process, I had to keep reminding myself that there is a lot of luck involved in pitching. You might catch an art director on the right day, or at the perfect time, but they could be too busy to even look at the work you sent them. Not hearing back from an art director doesn’t mean they won’t license your artwork, it means you should keep going. I managed to get my first two licensing deals from that batch of 100 emails, if you do the math it’s a pretty low percentage, but it’s a start. This process taught me that the best time to pitch is now and that there’s power in persistence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://atthedotdesign.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthedotdesign/

Image Credits
all photos by Chandra Wicke Photography