Courtesy Dominika Goodette
By Rod Bacon
A Saratoga Springs woman has used her artistic talent to build a business creating designs for prominent companies around the world.
Since 2021, Dominika Godette has provided original designs for products ranging from fabrics to greeting cards to home decor. Her clients include American Greetings, T.J. Maxx, Wilson Jeux, PicCollage, Hawthorne Supply Co. and Orange Circle Studio, among others.
Godette makes her work available to clients in two ways. As a licensing artist, she creates marketable designs for her portfolio. When a client selects one, she licenses it for a specific period. When the license expires, the rights revert to her, and her name remains attached to the artwork.
“I do a lot of drawings that can recall memories of holidays, things like little villages that could end up on a Christmas product,” she said.
She also does commissioned work for companies that request specific motifs. She submits preliminary sketches and, once they are approved, provides the finished design. In that case, the company owns the rights to the artwork.
“Right now I’m working on Fourth of July prints for a company that makes paper products for parties,” she said.
Her fees range from $500 for a simple design to nearly $6,000 for a complex one.
She primarily markets her work online, but she has gained significant clients through trade shows.
“When I first started my business I posted some of my work on Instagram thinking it wouldn’t go anywhere but a company reached out to me and licensed some of my work,” she said. “Then, in 2023, I attended a licensing trade show in New York City where big companies would buy artwork for their upcoming seasons. I got T.J. Maxx and other clients there.”
She said that show was replaced by DesignBLOC, a smaller event that still offers opportunities to meet potential clients. She also participates in online trade shows.
“I think the trend is moving toward online trade shows,” she said.
Born in the Czech Republic, Godette grew up surrounded by art books and hands-on artistic work. Her father, Karel Hrubes, is a painter and fine art restoration expert who still lives in Cesky Krumlov, the medieval town where she grew up.
“My father studied painting and restoration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague,” she said. “There were always lots of books on art in our house and I loved watching him work. He encouraged me to become an artist.”
She earned a degree in art history from Charles University in Prague.
She met her husband, Brad Godette, in Prague, where he was teaching English. They married in 2015, and their children, Barbora and David, were born there. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a move to London in 2020 and then to Saratoga Springs, Brad’s hometown, in 2022.
Godette also has contributed to two books by local authors.
Shortly after moving to Saratoga Springs, Godette was approached by Jilly Sansone, an occupational therapist and yoga and mindfulness meditation teacher, to illustrate a book. Sansone had been telling her younger students stories during special Christmas yoga classes and wanted to publish them. She asked Godette to create illustrations for young readers. The resulting book, published in 2023, is “Santa and Rudolph’s Yoga Adventure.” It encourages readers to practice yoga poses and exercises to improve focus and strength. It is available at Northshire Bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Walmart and online.
“It was really exciting and fun,” Godette said. “We’re actually working on a new book called ‘I’m Here,’ a meditation book for children.”
She also created the cover for “On This Spot: Saratoga Springs,” a book by her mother-in-law, Carol Godette, published in 2024. It compiles observations and insights the author gathered while writing On This Spot, a column in Simply Saratoga Magazine.
Godette plans to finish the book she is working on and may illustrate another. She also wants to expand into drawings and paintings for home decor.
“I really enjoy what I’m doing, though,” she said. “The projects are a lot of fun and offer me a lot of flexibility and creativity.
For more information about Dominika Godette Illustration, visit dominikagodette.com.