Jo Draper

Jo Draper Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Jo Draper, Digital creator, Gold Coast.
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Creative Business Systems & Storytelling Mentor

Helping VAs & creatives build joyful, profitable businesses The Pretty Way - storytelling, simple systems and self-belief.

Scattered Blooms started as a doodle on Procreate. I started drawing doodle flowers, and pretty soon, I had a pattern wh...
12/06/2026

Scattered Blooms started as a doodle on Procreate. I started drawing doodle flowers, and pretty soon, I had a pattern which then turned into a collection.

Seeing your designs on a mockup makes them feel more real, don't you think? These are my things or my home, but I can picture my designs on this type of home.

Thank you to Samantha at .moonflower for the mockups in The Styled Mockup Club. There are some gorgeous mockups in there already, and I can't wait to use them all.

If you're keen to get these beauties on your wall or grab some fabric, head to Spoonflower and search Scattered Blooms or JoDraperDesigns. DM me if you can't find them, or if you want to chat about licensing these or something else.

10/06/2026

I have questions about why you aren't using storytelling (or more storytelling) in your work when you share your new products, services etc.

I would love to hear from you if you're an artist, illustrator, surface pattern designer, graphic designer, or creative small business owner.

One of the things that I'm really good at is noticing things that other people might ignore.

I see a story in my dog pooping under a big tree.

I see a story in the neighbour upstairs shouting at his neighbour for the music being too loud.

I see a story in the wind or the rain.

I see a story about towel animals on a cruise.

I see a story in a book I'm reading or a movie I'm watching.

I see a story in Scruff lying on my lap between my desk drawer and my tummy (I shared that one last week on my newsletter).

You get the idea, right?

I want to hear from you - please drop me a comment or shoot me a DM.

A couple of weeks ago, artist Cathy shared a pattern inspired by a packet of crumpets (and actually created using the c...
02/06/2026

A couple of weeks ago, artist Cathy shared a pattern inspired by a packet of crumpets (and actually created using the crumpets, might I add).

A packet of crumpets.

Some people probably looked at that and thought, "That's random."

Creative business owners looked at it and thought, "I wonder what I could make a pattern from?"

The thing I've realised lately is that being creative rarely looks the way people think it does.

It can look like stopping to take a photo of shadows on a wall because the light is doing something interesting (while you're in the middle of a Zoom call hahaha).

It can look like saving a piece of packaging because the typography caught your eye (you've done this too, right?).

It can look like filling your camera roll with photos that make absolutely no sense to anyone else. The bark on a tree. Reflections on water. A leaf that somehow needs to be photographed from six different angles.

The finished artwork is only part of the story.

The real magic often happens long before the pencil hits the paper, the paint hits the canvas, or the design software opens.

It happens when you're paying attention. That's where the ideas live. That's where the stories live too.

I'm curious. What's the strangest thing that's ever inspired a piece of your work?

01/06/2026

Anyone else had this issue with ?

Not gonna lie - their response has me ready to switch.

I don't treat my clients like that and I don't expect to be treated like that either. Not cool MailerLite.

I wanted to draw something for girls who love footy too. I love AFL or Aussie Rules (my beloved teams are ) but I am al...
30/05/2026

I wanted to draw something for girls who love footy too. I love AFL or Aussie Rules (my beloved teams are ) but I am also a lifelong Nottingham Forest fan although I don’t really watch them so much these days.

A lot of the footy merch is aimed at men or isn’t very feminine.

If you know a little about me, you know I talk about the Pretty Way - is about going your way, wherever that takes you - not really about being pretty. My dad called it the Pretty Way so we got lost but saw pretty things.

I sat down with my new brush set from Lisa Glanz - Blot & Bloom - and ended up with a folk art inspired football boot in watercolour. I loved it so much that I knew it needed to be on a tee.

It’s available in my Etsy shop - JoDraperDesigns.

At some point, it will probably end up in a pattern collection too.

Want the link? Let me know and I’ll DM you.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about sharing your work is that people only care about the finished thing.Of c...
28/05/2026

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about sharing your work is that people only care about the finished thing.

Of course, they want to see the painting, pattern, product or service. That's the reason they followed you in the first place.

What often gets overlooked are the little stories around the edges.

Sometimes it's the story behind the work that people remember. A random conversation, a funny moment, or something that happened while you were creating can become far more memorable than the finished piece itself. Those moments help people get to know the person behind the work.

Over time, they start joining the dots. They learn what matters to you, what makes you laugh, what frustrates you and what you believe in. They begin to recognise your voice before they even see your name.

The dentist story in today's carousel isn't really about the dentist.

It's about how people remember the way you make them feel.

Every time I visit, Rob makes me feel welcome, comfortable and remembered. That feeling is one of the reasons we've kept going back for years.

Stories can do the same thing.

They help people feel connected to the human behind the business.

If you'd like more storytelling ideas, observations and slightly dotty thoughts from my corner of the world, come and join Stories from the Dotty Side. I send two emails each week - one story email and one newsletter-style update. Head to jodraper.au - you'll see the sign up on my home page.

27/05/2026

Jo Draper and Jo Draper Designs are coming together as one - as they should be.

It’s been a long time coming, but I couldn’t get my head around how I was going to make it work.

Turns out that I only needed to listen to my storytelling brain hahahahaha.

I'm going to be bringing back my podcast, and I'm calling it The Jo Show - it's been a while since I did some episodes, and they are probably out of date now.

When I’m planning out my podcast episodes, let me know what part of the storytelling process feels hard for you - I can riff out some things to help you out.

I can’t wait for this to come together - I’m so excited.

What advantage are you giving yourself when sharing your work?By sharing the stories behind WHY you created something, y...
25/05/2026

What advantage are you giving yourself when sharing your work?

By sharing the stories behind WHY you created something, you immediately start standing out more.

Why?

Because people connect to the human side of things, like the inspiration behind the colour palette, or the random thing that sparked the idea, or even the moment that made you want to create it in the first place.

AI can generate images, but it can’t live your life or notice the things that inspire you.

I can’t live your stories either… but I can help you spot them, shape them and turn them into something people actually connect with.

So yes, share your process.

But also share the story behind the work.

25/05/2026

Calling all artists and illustrators running a business...

Are you sharing the WHY behind your art pieces?

I see so many process reels and Procreate tutorials but are they really your target audience (unless you're selling a course or workshop)?

Chances are you are selling the piece or collection that you created - perhaps it's on Spoonflower or Etsy or somewhere else.

By sharing the STORY behind the piece, you are connecting with your DREAM audience - we want to know what inspired your pattern or product. We want to know the story behind the colour palette you chose. We want to know that you created your Spoonflower challenge pattern with a packet of crumpets (thanks to Cathy from for the brilliant story).

A lot of people are sitting on stories that they don't share because they think they are boring or 'no-one will want to know that' - these are gold, especially right now as AI cannot replicate those experiences.

Your stories are the way to stand out and show the human behind your brand.

20/05/2026

If you are excited about your product or service, are you showing that to your customers or clients?

As part of Tahryn’s mastermind, Jen gave us a great talk yesterday about our brands and this line jumped out at me.

“Your clients are buying bubbles of excitement in their tummy.”

We have to give them our excitement and passion to allow them to do that though and posting only statics with captions created by AI is not doing that. There needs to be a human behind it.

I love video for this but know that not everyone is comfortable. However, right now is a good time to start showing who you are and your workflow - this is how we stand out (as well as sharing our stories - and other things).

If you are an artist or illustrator, you have fabulous work and we want the excitement of that finished piece or collection to jump over to the person we want to buy that product etc.

I would love to hear how you are giving bubbles of excitement to your DREAM customers or clients.

Address

Gold Coast, QLD

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm

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