We were lucky to catch up with Rebecca Rueth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rebecca, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Art classes were always something I gravitated to most, so it wasn’t a surprise that I decided to attend an Art and Design School for college by my junior year of high school. I applied to a handful recommended by Disney Animation (I had written them a letter asking for their recommendations because I thought I wanted to be an animator) and fell in love with the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) when I visited.

Fortunately, I got into RISD, and off I went to study illustration (as recommended by Disney), which I loved because it allowed me to take a wide variety of classes and experiment with different media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, animation, and digital design.

I even made a stuffed animal for a character class, which led me to an internship at New York & Company in their Technical Design Department. That opportunity was where I learned more about trend forecasting, color palettes, and prints for the fashion industry, and it all felt truly kismet.

After graduation, I got my first official design job at a publishing company in the children’s sound book division. Thanks to a wonderful design mentor, I worked my way up to Art Director over the next few years.

I also had awesome coworkers who shared their ideas and knowledge with me. The company’s stationery division reinspired my love of patterns and motivated me to return to school for surface design. This passion led me to LA to study at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.

Over my career as a surface designer, I’ve worked in different roles (in-house employee, freelance, selling work, and licensing) for many companies, including large corporations, to small boutique designers in the fashion, accessories, interiors, and stationery markets. Working in-house allowed me to learn so much from other coworkers and understand how companies think about the product design process.

I also began working as a freelancer, allowing me to use problem-solving skills and fuse together everything I’ve honed over the years. As a creative director, educator, and design mentor, I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others eager to succeed in the surface design industry.

I’m not sure if I would have done anything differently because every step was an important one towards becoming who I am now. If I had to pick something, I wish I had more business education at the beginning and an earlier understanding of how those skills relate to the arts. That desire is why I have connected with the RISD Alumni Association and am now Co-Chair of the Women in Business and the Venture Committee (part of the Founders and Entrepreneurs) Affinity Groups.

Aside from creative talents, I think the skills that have been most essential in my career are my ability to think out of the box, creative problem solving, being curious and adaptable, a yearning to explore, and a strong desire to continuously keep learning.

The biggest obstacle is time. There is only so much time to do everything we want and need to do. You have to prioritize and concede that there will be times to say no to avoid spreading yourself too thin.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Rebecca Rueth, a surface designer with just over 20 years of experience as an artist and designer living in Southern California. Over my career, I’ve developed innovative techniques that skillfully take diverse design styles from development to production and discovered new ways to turn inspired ideas into tangible designs for my clients. My mission is to encourage fellow creatives to tap into their entrepreneurial spirit and full potential through my design courses, business coaching, and community networking opportunities.

My most current career transition started when I cut back on freelance work to embrace the early years of motherhood. A few years after my daughter was born, she was assessed with a speech delay and then diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Those life events led me to crave more personal exploration time and a creative community as a way of processing everything.

I started taking online classes, investigated licensing, and began submitting experimental work to the company Minted. Through them, I received two Critique Awards before I had my first design pick in any of their challenges. Recently, I was awarded my fifth Critique Award and have accumulated 18 Challenge picks overall, including a couple of photographic prints that are also sold by Pottery Barn Kids and Teen.

I became involved in the Minted community and different Facebook groups linked to classes. I often spent more time helping others with technical questions or providing critiques and feedback than working on my assignments. Many colleagues asked if I was a teacher and if I taught classes because they appreciated my thorough direction and thoughtful advice. I quickly realized how much I enjoy taking on mentoring and teaching roles.

Helping other students brainstorm their ideas is something I’ve always loved. Additionally, I was a teaching assistant in college, so this all seems like a natural progression. The pandemic was the pivot point that let me start working on my brand’s online education courses and opened the door to providing more mentorship to others.

As the mother of a special needs child, I have become even more passionate about the importance of the arts in education, supporting the variety of ways in which people learn and the different creative career paths that allow them to thrive. This passion inspired me to start my online “Designing with Intention” interview series to help showcase the variety of career paths in the arts and dispel the starving artist myth.

I genuinely believe in the power of community over competition. By sharing our strengths and challenges, we can all truly thrive. Besides “Designing with Intention,” I also host weekly “Pattern Chatter” discussions on Clubhouse to help provide more insight into working as a Surface Designer. I plan to launch more coaching and other educational opportunities soon.

Throughout my life, I’ve always rooted for the underdog or welcomed the new kid in class. I believe that anyone has the potential to do whatever they set their sights on as long as they put in the effort and have the determination to persevere. I want to be there to help inspire others, so they can strategically build the creative career that they love.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

One of my missions is to elevate STEM education to STEAMED:

S=Science
T=Technology
E=Engineering
A=Arts
M=Math
E=Entrepreneurship
D=Design

Business and entrepreneurial education is a must to help everyone thrive. The curriculum encompasses everything from finances to interpersonal skills.

I also believe Art and Design are crucial to helping kids build the creative problem-solving skills that will help tackle world issues. Art and Design are integrated into our lives every day, and many people don’t even realize it. From the house you live in(and pretty much everything in it), to the clothes you wear, to what you read, watch, and listen to, there have been so many creative hands involved in constructing the world around you.

If you took it all away, what would be left?

The more we can teach kids to celebrate and encourage each other’s strengths and that we all offer value to the world, the better the world will be to live in for everyone.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Aside from helping others have light bulb moments and encouraging things to click, knowing my work connected to someone and became part of their life is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career in the arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rebeccarueth.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebecca_rueth_designs/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/rebeccaruethdesigns/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-rueth-42b0395
• Other: Clubhouse : https://www.clubhouse.com/@rebeccarueth?utm_medium=ch_profile&utm_campaign=M2xV4vjXOodcx7x87Juuhg-257655 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rebeccarueth/

Image Credits
Shinkfield Studio & Design