Hello In Stitches Family! Today we’re going to have a little storytime. Won’t that be nice? So let’s all circle up and listen to our story.
We’re going to have to go all the way back to 1999, or is it 2000? Either way, Wendy’s sister-in-law got an in-home embroidery machine from Kenmore. As soon as Wendy made her first pillow in an hour and a half, she was hooked.
Her mind started whirling with all the gifts she could make with a machine like that! She wasn’t new to the textile arts game because she had been quilting for about 2 years, though at the time she did consider herself a novice at sewing.
Now, yes, yes, I know that first pillow is far from perfect, but Wendy still has that pillow because it was so fun to create and really started her on the journey to In Stitches Embroidery.
Jump to the year 2003 and Wendy got her very first embroidery machine.
Here she is, isn’t she a beaut? (And yes, we still have this machine!)
Wendy spent the next few years sewing and decorating items for herself and for gifts. Mike and Wayne were always there to tell her when the machine stopped and she needed to change colors. (Those were the not-so-good old days. She loves having 16 thread colors on a machine at one time now!)
Now we’re to the year 2010 and people start asking Wendy to embroider things for them. At the time she wasn’t thinking about creating a business but she liked to share something she loved so she took the orders. The thing is, the request just kept coming in. Mike’s interest was piqued when Wendy took a Digitizing class at their local fabric store. Within a year, the foundations for In Stitches was born.
They both spent hours researching what equipment to get and what they needed to know about the business side of things and then they were off running!
In Stitch Embroidery and Patch has now been a company since 2011. And we plan on being around for years to come! We’ve added a lot more than just embroidery, but embroidery is still at the heart of everything we do.
And Wendy still enjoys sharing what she loves with all of our customers. Isn’t that the best part of owning a small business?
Do you have a story about how you started your business? We’d love to hear! Tell us about it!
Have a great week,
Mike and Wendy
In Stitches Embroidery and Patch
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