Artist Series 2025: Charlotte Coughlin
If your skis could have a party, it would look like Bozeman-based artist Charlotte Coughlin’s topsheets.
The vibrant colors, the oddball shapes, and the way they all mingle… They’re an embodiment of the reason why we ski: fun.
Charlotte Coughlin gets out there.
Coughlin’s expertise in pattern-making might make you think her designs come easily, but good design never does. Underneath it is hours of hard work and trial and error. Drawings, collages, and sketches all make their way onto her computer, where the color work begins.
Much of her inspiration comes from the natural world, which is where she prefers to spend her free time. Whether it’s backcountry skiing, resort skiing, mountain biking, or running, she’s constantly collecting ideas—color palettes, shapes, the way light hits snow. (You can see how her designs come to life on Instagram @blueberrybikes in delightful time lapse videos.)
"Disco" by Charlotte Coughlin
We caught up with her recently to find out where she got the inspiration for her new graphics for Wagner Custom. Here’s what she had to say.
Wagner: Where did you grow up?
Coughlin: I'm from New York, an hour north of the city. It was fun to grow up going to museums all the time, and both my parents work in the art design industry. It was in my blood to do something creative. On the flip side, I grew up skiing all the time. It was the perfect combo. We went to Vermont a lot but bopped all over the place.
Wagner: Did you always know you wanted to be an artist?
Coughlin: I always knew I had this artistic side. I went to school for studio art, but my job is graphic design, so I like practical, logical thinking. I have always had a love for patterns and design. My mom’s also a textile designer, so that was instilled in me from a young age.
"Tangled" by Charlotte Coughlin
Wagner: What’s your creative process like?
Coughlin: I feel like I find inspiration from all over the place. I could be walking down the isles in the grocery store or outside running or biking or skiing. I'm usually inspired by the patterns found in nature, like the way sand looks after the waves go over it. Or a cool rock or the way the light is bouncing off a tree. That’s usually the jumping off point, and then I let the creative process go. Sometimes the patterns look pretty similar to what inspired them, and other times they look so much crazier. But usually, the foundation is found in nature.
Wagner: What were these particular topsheets inspired by?
Coughlin: The “Chameleon” was inspired by topo lines, but with a wild twist. I wanted them to crash together. It started there, but it looks completely different now. “Disco” was rocks on a beach and how they all layer on top of each other. And then I kind of went crazy with it and filled out the rest of the design. Also, I thought of Laffy Taffy, like the pulling and pushing back together. “Tangled” was from Rainbow Road on Mario Kart and had an element of trails and skiing. It popped into my head and I drew it out on a piece of scratch paper.
"Chameleon" by Charlotte Coughlin.
Wagner: Do you have a favorite?
Coughlin: That’s like asking someone to pick their favorite kid or something.
Wagner: What was it like to bring your two loves—skiing and design—together?
Coughlin: I love the idea of skiing as bringing people together, and there’s an element of all the shapes coming together. Skiing, at the root of it, is just to have fun.
Wagner: Design is all around us, yet I feel like we’re not always conscious of it.
Coughlin: There’s a quote, “good design goes unnoticed.” You don’t think about it, but you’re buying that wine because you like the label. It’s fun to think about. I can’t go out to dinner without thinking, “This is such a cool menu.”
Wagner: What are your favorite products to design?
Coughlin: It’s fun to design skis, because most people are skiing because they love it and it’s recreation. And to convey that energy of fun and excitement is a really fun task.
Wagner: Your designs feel so intuitive, yet I know there’s a lot of work that goes into it.
Coughlin: It’s definitely not just one-and-done. It’s very iterative, and sometimes the hardest part is the colors. I do love color so much, and that’s what I keep tweaking and tweaking. I usually start with a sketch that’s black and white and bring it into a computer, where I edit and trace it over and get the composition dialed. Then I start to play with the colors. It’s kind of a never-ending process.
"Tang" by Charlotte Coughlin
Wagner: What’s it going to be like seeing your skis on the hill?
Coughlin: I can’t go into the lift line without looking at everybody’s style of skis. My parents will have to order all of them for themselves.
Follow Coughlin on Instagram @blueberrybikes or check out her website at charlottecoughlin.com.
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Article by Kimberly Beekman
Kimberly Beekman is the former editor-in-chief of the late, great Skiing Magazine (RIP), and a longtime editor of SKI Magazine before that. She currently uses the title of “freelancer” as a beard to ski powder all over the world. She lives in Steamboat, Colorado, with her wonderful daughter and terrible cat.
