Are you bored with your current career and searching for a new creative path? Do you dream of starting your own business creating decorative products for the home or designing for companies like Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel and Target?

Since its inception, Image West Design has been helping graphic designers, illustrators, artists and interior designers accomplish goals like these. Teliha Draheim, founder and president, believes artists should make both good designs and a good living. As a Designer Agent, her goal has been to build a bridge for those who are ready to enter the professional world and to create a link between the talent and the marketplace.

Many of Teliha's talented students and consulting clients have enhanced their existing careers or made successful career changes. Susan Eslick built a business designing one-of-a-kind tableware utilizing blank plates, cups and bowls as her canvas. When Susan decided her ample creative energy could no longer be confined to just dinnerware, she worked with Teliha to develop her portfolio and gain the business know-how to approach other markets. Today her current licensing contracts include an impressive international clientele of manufacturers who produce products ranging from area rugs and bathroom accessories to stationery and mosaic garden furniture. Susan has this to say about her experience, "Teliha helped me develop and maintain a portfolio that reflects my absolute strengths and skills as a designer. Without her help, I would have been lost in the process of creating a portfolio that shines above the rest."

Annie Alex Conn came to Teliha with a sketchbook of ideas and a background in film and television compositing. Through her work with Teliha, she has successfully built her portfolio to include stationery and paper products, bedding, home furnishings and tabletop products. Currently represented by Image West Design, Annie also offers private computer training in surface design and virtual product prototyping. Annie comments, "Teliha has an open and embracing style of teaching and great knowledge of the field. She recognized and appreciated my background and helped me get the direction, knowledge and experience I needed to be successful in this industry. I love working with her."

Teliha offers a twelve-week course as well as private consultation. Her course, sponsored by the Surface Design Association, provides industry training in the specialized field of surface pattern design. Through her private consultation, she has been instrumental in helping numerous individuals launch their own product lines or develop their commercial design portfolios. She is a business resource for information on pricing, copyright, licensing and other contractual needs.

Teliha provides a straightforward approach to teaching and consulting. Her constructive criticism is directed toward your work's marketability rather than its subjective esthetic merit. She helps you to analyze your existing skills and offers advice on how to fill the gaps in your knowledge so that you can successfully compete in today's marketplace.

Marin-based Image West Design offers independent creative direction, color and trend consultation, as well as product and surface design services to manufacturers. Teliha works directly with creative directors and product development teams. Utilizing the work of the artists she represents, her company has produced collections for paper products, bath and body lines, home fashions, gifts, tabletop, as well as fabrics and carpets for home furnishings. Many of Teliha's talented students achieved their initial commercial recognition through Image West Design.