Well, after almost nine years, I'm sad to announce that my Design Bundles storefront will be closing.
Not by choice, at least not as it happened. Design Bundles is kicking me out.
Over the past several years I've watched the platform gradually evolve as the digital craft industry has changed around it. What began as a broad marketplace for digital design resources has increasingly focused on serving the booming hobby crafting and small business market, particularly creators working with laser cutters, sublimation, print-on-demand products and similar production workflows.
My own work has always followed a slightly different path. One that lately hasn't been in step with the direction Design Bundles has shifted to.
While I certainly create resources that can be used by many of the makers shopping at DB, my focus lately has been more on supplying paper crafters, scrapbookers, junk journal makers, and fellow designers with creative assets they can adapt into their own projects. I enjoy creating design resources in solid collections rather than single production files, and that's the direction I've continued to pursue across my business.
This hasn't been a great fit for the DB ecosystem for a while so I wasn't entirely surprised by the news that I would be eliminated from their platform.
My DB shop will only remain open for both subscribers and casual shoppers until July 31st, after which it will disappear as Design Bundles completes a planned transition away from an individual marketplace and into a subscription-only platform with a more clearly defined focus.
I understand why Design Bundles has chosen this direction. Subscription models have become increasingly common, they provide predictable recurring revenue, and they make sense for companies operating in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Businesses have to evolve if they want to survive.
But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
What disappoints me isn't losing a storefront. Design Bundles has become only a small part of my overall business over the years, and thankfully my work continues to do well elsewhere.
What disappoints me is something much broader.
It feels like just another example of a trend I've been watching for some time now: creative marketplaces slowly giving way to subscription libraries. From a customer's perspective, subscriptions can represent incredible value. From a platform's perspective, recurring revenue creates stability and predictable growth.
For independent creators, however, the picture is a bit more complicated.
Most of these platforms were originally built in a way that supported individual artists who could build sustainable businesses by selling the work they created. Increasingly, that relationship feels very different. One that revolves around the subscription becoming the product which supports the platform more than the creators.
Perhaps that's simply where the industry is inevitably heading. Like many other industries have.
Maybe everything in our lives will become a monthly payment.
But aren't people getting tired of this? I know I am. And I see so many posts and comments from people fed up with the countless subscriptions on absolutely everything. Some are good value and worth doing, some are ridiculous and over-priced, others are maddeningly frustrating.
While I understand a business making decisions based on current market trends, and I wish DB well on their new path, I have to wonder how long the subscription model can be sustained. Then again, maybe businesses in this industry will simply have to reinvent themselves every 5-10 years to keep relevant.
While I'm genuinely sad to see the end of a chapter that has lasted nearly a decade, I'm also reminded that one of the advantages of running an independent creative business is that I don't have to follow every industry trend.
To everyone who discovered my work through Design Bundles over the past nine years, thank you. Every purchase, every download and every kind message has been appreciated more than you know.
This may be the end of one storefront, but it certainly isn't the end of my journey. You'll still find me creating new resources through my own domain, my Etsy shop, Creative Fabrica, and of course here on the blog, where I'll continue sharing free patterns, tutorials and the occasional rambling thought about the creative industry.
Some chapters close. Others simply make room for the next one.
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