SURTEX 2014: Elizabeth Olwen

SURTEX is the only business-to-business marketplace where art buyers and licensees from around the world converge to discover unique, cutting edge surface designs, original art, and design resources. Held in New York from May 18-20, artists and designers will set up trade booths with the hopes of making new contacts, learning about the latest trends in art and surface design, and meeting buyers who are seriously interested in buying or licensing their artwork. 

Since many of UPPERCASE's artists who submitted their work to the Surface Pattern Design Guide are either walking the show or setting up a booth, we are featuring some of those hard-working, amazing designers who are adding some finishing touches to their plans, and making their way to New York for the largest industry event in surface pattern design. 

Designer Elizabeth Olwen was featured in the UPPERCASE Surface Pattern Design Guide, and you can read a bit about her experience preparing for SURTEX. 

"When I decided to do SURTEX, I tried to gather as much information as I possibly could. I read blogs, bought e-books, listened in on SURTEX webinars and spent way too many hours on LinkedIn, then put all of that information through a filter and started to design my whole presentation. My career has been in graphic design up to this point. I've spent years designing brands and presentations for other businesses, so it was such a rewarding experience to put that kind of effort into my own business. I was challenged to create things that I'd never done before: I designed a trade booth, a press kit and a promo video. I had fabrics printed, made a lookbook and put ads in publications. I decided that if I was going to do it, I had to dive in headfirst. When it was all set up, it was thrilling to see the whole package." 

Elizabeth Olwen shares her SURTEX story in the UPPERCASE Surface Pattern Design Guide in issue #21. You can read the entire article in the free download of the Guide by clicking here.

Take a look at Elizabeth's promo video and lookbook for SURTEX 2014.