About Us | Sunny Day Designs

Every day deserves to have its own ray of sunshine.

About Sunny Day Designs

Sunny Day Designs delights in putting smiles on faces. We believe that every day deserves to have its own ray of sunshine. So we set out on a mission to spread whimsy, color and kindness with our playful patterns and sustainably sourced, USA-made products.

Founded by textile designer Shelley Schmidt, Sunny Day Designs is a small batch product company based in Madison, WI. We specialize in creating joyful and Eco-conscious stationery, home decor, and baby products. Each of our cheerful products is thoughtfully designed to spread a little sunshine and brighten up your days!

Our Values

Kindness

We show kindness to our community by spreading joy. We give back to causes that are important to us. We promote generosity in all we do.

Optimism

Every day deserves a ray of sunshine. We seek and promote the good we see in the world. Our artwork and designs are infused with positivity.

Integrity

We source our product materials from the US and support fair wages for all. We expect our suppliers to be transparent about their manufacturing process.

Quality

We don’t cut corners and we put our heart and soul into our product design and manufacturing. Every detail is thought through and carefully crafted, from product design to package delivery.

Whimsy

We delight in turning the ordinariness of nature and daily life into something fun and imaginative.

Sustainability

We’re committed to supporting sustainable solutions such as reducing carbon emissions, using natural fibers, and digitally printing using water-based inks. We're continuously improving our eco-impact and the sustainability of our product line.

Joy

Every product or pattern we design will put a smile on someone’s face.

Meet The Designer

Shelley Schmidt - Owner & Designer of Sunny Day Designs

Sunny Day Designs founder and designer, Shelley Schmidt, is never without her sketchbook. She’s inspired by nature’s unexpected whimsy — the shape and color of a puddle after a quick rain, the shades of light that filter through a forest canopy, the snuggly softness of natural fibers.

Fashion, textile design and apparel manufacturing have been part of Shelley’s life since she was young. She spent hours in her grandma’s sewing room, exploring textures, fabrics, and designs, and learned to sew at a young age. She was often caught doodling dress designs on her homework. The whirring of sewing machines and behind the scenes views of product design at her parents’ hat factory further inspired her to pursue a career in apparel design and merchandising.

Eventually, her design career led her to work for various companies that made women’s apparel (hello, old lady attire!) and medical uniform design (like lab coats, scrubs, and patient gowns). But she grew disheartened by the manufacturing process after seeing how harmful the fabric dyes and chemicals were. Plus, she missed the freedom to create unique, colorful, playful designs.

In 2016, she left those corporate jobs behind to start her own company where she could be true to her values and design aesthetic. Shelley founded Sunny Day Designs (previously named Studio Schmidt Designs) on the values of joyful optimism, kindness, integrity, sustainability and quality. Every product is thoughtfully sourced and created with careful attention to the details that matter most.

As the founder and lead designer of Sunny Day Designs, Shelley specializes in creating cheerful, contemporary artwork and surface pattern designs for the children’s, home decor, and gift markets. Her patterns are available for licensing and her small batch products are available for retail and wholesale purchase.

A gift from Sunny Day Designs lets you know that you’re valuable and you matter — and that should put a smile on your face!