Meet featured designer: Miriam Rowe

Stacie Dale
Jul 28
4 min read

Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be a surface designer.

I grew up creating, and when I was 10 years old I started my first art business, selling jewelry. I did this all through high school, and eventually got my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Jewelry Design and Metalworking. During this time, I studied in the USA, Italy, and England, and found my artwork improved through the inspiration of my surroundings - especially when I was exploring somewhere new. I began working for an art school in England, traveling around the world to teach art workshops at schools in Hong Kong, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, and many other countries. 12 years and 24 countries later, I started training in Surface Design and in 2021 I moved into this career.

What influences your art the most?

Travel! Before becoming a Surface Designer, I worked in 24 different countries and have lived long-term in Italy, England, Spain, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences of these adventures constantly influence my artwork, though some of my favorite collections so far have been influenced by the nostalgia of where I grew up, in a very small town south of Atlanta, Georgia.

What mediums do you use to create your art?

While I love to use a wide variety of materials (Chinese calligraphy inks+brushes, linocutting, oil painting…) my go-tos for surface design are gouache, pen-and-ink drawings, and Procreate + Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator. When I'm feeling creatively stuck, I often switch to a 3D medium (ceramics, jewelry design, bookbinding…) to help me problem-solve in new ways.

You created a fabric collection for PBS Fabrics. Tell us how that opportunity came about.

When I started sending my portfolio to companies for licensing opportunities, I wanted to make sure I worked with companies that had good track records with artists: when PBS Fabrics told me they were interested in working with me, I was able to “check their references” with other artists who had worked with them previously, so I would know what to expect from the process. They chose a collection that has a strong nostalgia factor in the Southern USA, and I also checked to make sure that they had a lot of distribution partners in that region. The collection launched at the end of September 2023, and I'm already starting to see some projects coming through- that's the best feeling!

https://www.pbsfabrics.com/products/wandering-moda

Do you work with a licensing agent or do you approach companies on your own?

I've learned so much from pitching and working with companies directly - not only does it give me direct market feedback on my work, but it gives me complete control over my time and projects. I'm open to working with a licensing agent if the right opportunity arises, and in the meantime being hands-on with my clients will help me choose the right agency fit if I decide to go that direction someday.

Do you also sell your designs on retail Print-On-Demand sites or retail through your own website?

I do: while I love licensing with larger companies, I've also put a lot of time into growing my own community and want to be able to give my network of direct customers ways to access my artwork for their projects. Nothing gives me more joy than seeing people use my designs, and I think Print-on-Demand (which I also have set up for sale through my own website) is a great way to provide this without needing to store and ship product myself. However, given recent changes to pricing and commission structures across several big PODs in 2023, I'm not planning to focus heavily on this channel in 2024.

You have also had the opportunity to do a pattern for a subscription box which is something new. Tell us about that experience.

I received an email out of the blue from a Young Adult Novel subscription box company, outlining what type of pattern they were looking for, as well as the product it would be on. I hadn't had subscription boxes on my radar before, but was very intrigued by the opportunity to create artwork inspired by a novel! They had a very short turnaround time because of overseas manufacturing deadlines, but I still made sure that I researched the company, their product quality, sought out reviews, and also made sure we had a contract and deposit in place before I moved forward with any design work. They were responsive, paid promptly, and were so enthusiastic all along the way— really, a dream client to work with, and a fantastic opportunity to create something in my signature style, but outside of my normal subject matter!

Would you like to share any advice you have for designers who are considering licensing their artwork?

I would encourage you to jump in and start: it's a long process, and once you start sending your work out there, you'll hear a whole lot of silence, and sometimes some “no”s. The right “yes” can take a lot of time and effort to find, so once you have a body of work you like, get out there and begin!

It's important to know your worth and also research the companies you're hoping to partner with: where you can, talk with other artists who have worked with those companies in the past, to see if they were paid on time and treated well. I've gotten a lot of value from online communities on Facebook and Instagram (including the great discussions on Surface Design News posts!) where people speak transparently about pricing in our field, and that mutual transparency really helps with negotiations.

What's next for you in your artistic endeavors? Are there any other companies or designers you would like to collaborate with?

I'm in the middle of a suite of illustrations for a new card game that is launching later this year: it's been really fascinating to create for a completely different type of product, while working with a very different set of creative minds in the gaming industry!

From living in Spain, I'm also in love with local food and wine. I'm hoping to collaborate with a few local wineries to design their labels, and I'm also speaking with a local artist who creates dinnerware, to create a series of Spain-inspired dishes that will sell in gift shops. I love how Surface Pattern Design connects into so many different industries!