This is the story of my journey…
Thanks to Leverage Your Art, I’ve licensed my art with dozens of big-name brands and boutiques (all without an agent), I’ve become a SkillShare Top Teacher and an Etsy Star Seller. I’ve even built a community called Graphics Gang, and I started a podcast called Two Cranky Creatives!
This is my story. Yours will look different, but I hope it inspires you.
What is Leverage Your Art?Leverage Your Art is Stacie Bloomfield's course for creatives who want to turn what they make into a real business. For 2026, it's built around a simple order: meet the right customer, make something they actually want, move it into the world, then build the products, shop, recurring offers, and systems around what's working. For illustrators and designers, art licensing is the capstone.
I'm Carrie Cantwell, a surface pattern designer and illustrator who's licensed my art with Target, Pottery Barn, World Market, and dozens of independent brands, all without an agent, thanks to what I learned in Leverage Your Art. I've taken the course twice. This is my story, and my honest case for why I think it's worth your time, whether you enroll through me or not.
I'm an affiliate for Leverage Your Art 2026, and I may earn a commission if you enroll through my link. I only promote courses I've taken myself and wholeheartedly stand behind. Full disclosure below.
A glimpse of my art journey…
My Bonus to You
If you enroll paid-in-full through my link, you'll get a free 1-hour 1-on-1 coaching session with me. I only have 10 spots, first come first served.
You can choose a session focused on:
Pitching — how to reach out, follow up, and get to yes
Portfolio review — honest feedback on what's working and what isn't
General artist strategy — a session built around wherever you are right now
Or we can tailor it to exactly what you need, since you'll also be working through Leverage at the same time.
The Final Time to Learn Art Licensing from Stacie
I learned art licensing from Stacie, and it played a huge role in getting me where I am today as a successful licensing artist.
But Leverage isn't just about art licensing anymore. This year, Stacie rebuilt it around a simpler question: what do you actually need to build next?
The course walks you through it in order:
Meet the right customer
Make something they actually want
Move it into the world and learn what happens
Build the products, shop, offer, and systems around what’s working
For illustrators and designers, licensing is the capstone, not the whole story
Whether you're brand new or you've been at this a while, that structure is the thing I wish I'd had before my first round of Leverage. I spent years piecing this together on my own, one class here, one Instagram rabbit hole there, guessing at what to do next. Stacie's teaching you the shortcut I didn't have.
And this September is the final time Stacie will teach art licensing inside Leverage Your Art. If licensing is one of the reasons you’ve been considering the program, this is your last opportunity to learn what I learned directly from her inside Leverage.
There’s another reason not to wait: enrollment is capped this year. Once the program is full, enrollment closes.
If art licensing is on your roadmap, I wouldn’t wait until the last minute to get in.
I joined Stacie Bloomfield on the Art + Audience podcast! We dive deep into the realities of self-doubt, the power of creative bravery, and the freedom that comes with not needing external validation. I share about my transformative journey from the high-pressure world of film graphics to finding my artistic voice.
My Childhood
I grew up in Saudi Arabia, where American pop culture was basically non-existent. When I moved to the U.S. in 1985, it was like stepping into Technicolor for the first time (kinda like that scene in The Wizard of Oz.) The first time I saw an American cereal box—those colors, the illustrations, the playful typography—I was hooked. I didn’t know exactly what it was called yet, but at 11, I knew I wanted to make that.
My “Adult”hood
I kind of stumbled into a web design job during the dawn of the internet, in 1998, because computers always came naturally to me. But corporate life? Not my thing. After six years, I quit and went back to school for a second Bachelor’s—this time in graphic design. I figured real design work would be more fun than web design and coding.
One of the first pieces I made—a Get Out the Vote poster for AIGA—blew up. All Things Considered called me in 2004 and interviewed me on air about it. Then a college textbook publisher asked to feature it in their Art Student Field Guide book. It was a huge confidence boost, so I kept making art.
But here’s the thing: neither gig paid me a dime. Once my fifteen minutes were up, I was right back where I started—no art job, no paycheck, just a lot of unpaid “exposure.”
The Moment
Armed with my shiny new graphic design BFA, I became a film industry graphic designer. I made it all: fake company logos, billboards, police cars, cereal boxes, basically anything you see on screen that makes a world feel real. For a while, it was my dream job.
But film and TV work is stressful and chaotic. Twelve-hour days, six-day weeks, all to bring someone else’s vision to life. After sixteen years of that grind, I was fried. By 2020, I knew I needed a change—and I wanted to make the kind of art I wanted to see in the world.
The Exploration
I still remember when it hit me: someone actually designs the patterns on our clothes. Suddenly, I knew—I wanted my art out in the real world, on real products. I wanted my art out in the real world, on real products. But starting out was total chaos. I binged classes, telling myself one more would unlock the secret plan. It didn't. I collected random nuggets of info but couldn't stitch them into an actual business. I was stuck, overwhelmed, second-guessing everything. I needed a holistic plan, not a cobbled-together pile of conflicting advice.
Meanwhile, I threw a few designs on print-on-demand sites and wondered why nobody was buying. I started doubting whether quitting my job was a huge mistake. Every time I scrolled Instagram, I saw other designers landing dream deals while I felt invisible. It crushed me. I even took a mental health break from social media. I truly believed I'd missed the boat.
Here are 3 mistakes I made before I took Leverage Your Art:
🛠️ Trying all the things.
✨ Chasing every shiny idea.
🍝 Throwing spaghetti at the wall and then wondering why nothing was sticking.
Although I had a cute studio companion, I was spinning my wheels, wondering why I wasn't making actual progress.
Back then, a "typical" day for me looked like this:
☕ Morning coffee: scrolling social media, comparing myself to other artists, wondering why I wasn't "there" yet.
🌀 Mid-morning: hopping between 3–4 print-on-demand sites at once, uploading art in bulk with no real thought about audience, presentation, or keywords.
📧 Afternoon: pitching companies just because other artists were working with them, even when my art was totally the wrong fit.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted, discouraged, and no closer to my goals. I was working harder, but not smarter. It wasn't until I took Leverage Your Art that I learned the right way to spend my time.
The Discovery
I first found Stacie Bloomfield on Skillshare, then signed up for her newsletter, and that's how I found Leverage Your Art.
There was something about Stacie, goofy, sincere, not overly polished, but so real. She'd been exactly where I was. I dove in, and Leverage Your Art flipped everything for me: my process, my plan, my mindset.
The First “Yes!”
Right after Leverage Your Art, I pulled my portfolio together and started pitching using what I'd learned. When I got my first yes from a kids' clothing company, I nearly fell down the stairs telling my boyfriend.
That pitch came from a Leverage Your Art template. The follow-up did too. How to find the right art director, tailor my portfolio, and have the guts to hit send, all from the course.
Today, I'm a licensed artist with work at Target, Pottery Barn, World Market, and dozens of independent brands, an Etsy Star Seller, and a Skillshare Top Teacher. I wouldn't be here without Leverage Your Art.
My success story in Stacie’s email newsletter
I can say without a doubt that I wouldn’t be where I am today without Leverage Your Art!
I'm a grateful affiliate for Leverage Your Art, so I'll earn a commission if you sign up through my link. I only advocate for teachers and courses I've taken myself and wholeheartedly stand behind.