I have to spread the word — www.grandparents.com is a great free resource for terrific ideas for spending time with your grandchildren.  Make memories!

When I first formed my company in 1999, I felt very comfortable with the sewing aspect of what I was about to launch.  But I had a lot to learn about the business end and certainly a lot more to learn about the tech aspects. 

Very early in the process, I contacted Sherri from Cuddlebug about blankets to embroider and she encouraged me to join Digital Women for resources and links to talented women.  It was through Digital Women that I acquired my merchant account and skilled Digital Women have helped me through a variety of computer crises over the years.

For the first few years, I was a “free” member but it became apparent to me that the benefit I had received from Digital Women was well worth the one time fee to be a paying member.

Belonging to Digital Women was one of my first business decisions and one of my best.

I am coming up on the tenth year of Initial Impressions and thinking a bit about the last ten years and how I started the business.  I sometimes question how little thought and research I invested before embarking on the adventure - and how fortunate I am that it has turned out so well.   And it has been an adventure!  But I think the idea had been rattling around inside my head for a long time before I allowed it to take shape, to really be considered as a possiblity.  Once it came out, there was no turning back. 

I often have to bridle the expression of my opinion when I hear of women who want a home business - any home business - and they are searching for one that will be quick and easy, without much consideration of whether it is the right home businss for them.  I want to tell them to really search their soul about where their passion lies.  Because without the passion for what the business actually does, they will not have the staying power that is necessary to get them through the long days.  I would ask them about what they have loved to do for a long time.  And then I would ask them if there was some extension of that activity that is marketable.  If so, they have the raw materials for something special.

As many will attest, the convenience of a home business, especially as it benefits family life, is something quite special.  But, like many things, it is a balancing act.  When the office is just down the hallway, it is easy to spend more time there than you really intended.  This is especially true when you really do love to do your work. Some years ago, I developed a ritual to separate work life from home life.  It is just symbolic, of course, but it helps to keep separate the two hats I wear.  When it is time to close shop, I shut the door to the office and light a candle in the family room.  I never knew that lighting a candle could be so relaxing.  If you need defining categories in your life, you should try it - it really does work!

My youngest daughter tells me that if I relate my grandmother’s catch phrase again she’ll get mad, or at least roll her eyes (something she’s good at doing lately). I’m pretty sure she doesn’t read this blog, so I’ll tell you and then I’ll tell you what I think of it.

“When I found the dishrag in the refrigerator, I wondered where I had hung the butter.”

Makes me smile every time…
Busy moms know that sometimes you’re hard pressed to even take the step back and *notice* the dishcloth in the fridge. Our lives are so hectic and keeping up with the kid’s schedules is darn near impossible. I haven’t decided whether I’m going to embroider “Breathe” or “Where’s the butter?” on my next dishtowel, but either of those embroidery options conveys to me, personally, the same idea - step back and relax, remember to laugh and enjoy your life.That’s a personal message I need to remember!

I like the kitchen towel for this sort of reminder because it’s an item which is just so ordinary, so common, that you see it all the time, and everyone always needs one. Which just made me think - I wonder if my sister remembers grandma’s saying. I wonder if she’d laugh if I gave her a kitchen towel embroidered with “where’s the butter?”

What would you want to remind yourself of every day on a kitchen towel?

From start to finish I plan, embroider and package for shipment your Initial Impressions embroidery project in this room.

I start my day receiving orders through the website. I am always so excited at this point, I love to see the creative ideas my customers come up with. After carefully reviewing your order I begin fulfillment. Here is a simplified overview, the process goes like this:

First I pull up the embroidery design you selected in the embroidery software program. I add the personalization information in the lettering style you prefer. Usually this is a name and sometimes a date, but as you can see, it could be anything! The item to be embroidered is placed in the correctly sized embroidery hoop to keep it taut while it is being sewn. Sometimes the size of your embroidery is limited slightly by the size of the hoops the manufacturers provide. This is rarely the case because I have 5 hoops of all different sizes! The hoop is then inserted into the embroidery machine for the duration of the sewing process.

One thing that many people do not know is that it is the hoop that moves on these professional-grade embroidery machines. When embroidery designs are created the artist must consider how the thread will lie on the surface of the object and plan the stitches accordingly. It is a problem most people never even consider. I’m glad I don’t have to solve that one. Moving along…

… to thread!

We offer a nice selection of thread colors on the website, but as you can see here, the truth is that we have about 800 spools of thread - many more than can possibly be listed on the website.

Part of the fun artistic end of the embroidery project is choosing just the right thread for your particular project. Sometimes I feel like a painter standing in front of my palette. This is a joy I’m happy to share, if you have a particular shade in mind for your custom project don’t hesitate to contact me and we can match your paint chip, dress swatch, sample, or just a fond color memory.
As for the actual embroidery, it can take anywhere from a few minutes to almost an hour to finish the embroidery project depending on how much embroidery there is to do.

My machine is a Melco EP1B and can sew 600 stitches per minute, but many of the more elaborate designs can contain more than 12,000 stitches!

There is also a question of thread changes. The machine knows to wait for me to change the thread to a new color. It will stop stitching and wait until I’m done and hit “start”. A trick I learned to keep the machine threaded correctly: tie the old color to the new color and snip the old thread. Pull it though the thread guides and it will guide the new color through. Some embroidery machines offer “multi-head” configuration. This means that each head has its own needle and thread color. But I prefer the more traditional machine and have found that my method of changing thread color is just as efficient as threading multiple needles.

For quality assurance I then personally inspect each item, trim any stray threads, and attach my own seal of approval: the Initial Impressions card.

Every item is carefully packed in tissue paper to ensure that it gets to you in the same condition I intended.

If you have elected to have your item gift wrapped I get to visit my selection of wraps. You can see I have a good collection and my wrapping paper choices change often.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have a particular event, I will do my best to coordinate the wrapping of your gift to your occasion.