Nobody likes feeling like they are blindly stumbling through their work. Though those trying to forge new paths with their businesses try to train themselves to deal with uncertainty comfortably, most people in most situations want some way to know where they are going and how far they’ve come. They need regular waypoints- guideposts to . . . Read More
Nothing is as useful in preventing decorating mistakes as a solid preproduction approval process. I don’t mean to contradict myself- I still believe that the first step and most important step toward making your decoration conform to customer expectations is a good interview process and clear communication. That said, approvals are the last, best line . . . Read More
Those of us in production know that looks aren’t everything in commercial embroidery digitizing, but what can we do to make sure that we’re digitizing with productivity in mind? Luckily, I’ve laid out my process in this month’s Printwear Magazine! If you have time, I wholeheartedly suggest that you check out the full article, but for those . . . Read More
With commercial embroidery digitizing, looks aren’t everything. Though I encourage people to work on the aesthetic quality of their apparel embroidery designs, prioritizing the look over other important characteristics can compromise their value, both for shops and for end customers. No apparel embroidery design is the best it can be unless it satisfies all these conditions: . . . Read More
Headwear success can have as much to do with the design of your source art as it does with digitizing and embroidery execution. This week, I hosted a live webinar on embroidering caps (linked here and embedded at the bottom of the post) with the excellent crew at Madeira USA. If you know machine embroidery, you’ve heard . . . Read More
Patches have been part of commercial embroidery since the beginning, but in recent years and months we’ve seen a boom in the visibility of patches both in retail and in high fashion. With all the added attention on the humble emblem, this patch-loving embroiderer had to write on the subject yet again. Whereas before, I . . . Read More
I take a deep breath whenever I hear either of these questions from someone who is new to this business: What’s the best embroidery machine I can buy? What’s the best embroidery digitizing software? These seem like simple questions, but they are absolutely loaded. I tend to be pretty agnostic with my tools and supplies; If I . . . Read More
What are the key things that most hobbyist embroiderers miss when they first start becoming professional embroiderers? This commercial embroiderer has 6 answers (to start). I usually favor my Friday posts being all-new work, but a post I recently wrote for my Ghost in the Embroidery Machine blog under the banner of the always interesting Mr. . . . Read More
What can adding specialty threads do for my business? We all know that specialty threads like metallic thread, glow in the dark thread, solar-active threads, matte-finish threads, and fuzzy, thick threads can help us express ourselves artistically and make our designs stand apart. That said, how many of us know how to take what could . . . Read More
When we share and teach, we grow. On my last day at Black Duck before I leave to do a week of consulting for the Printwear Tune-Up, I find myself reflecting on the time I’ve spent educating. I’ve written an interminable stream of words from my earliest time on mailing lists and forums through my years of . . . Read More
