With the first 18 days of the new year already in the record books, I
have decided that it is high time for me to get started on my New
Year's resolution to do a better job of blogging.
The
new year will bring lots of stories of trainings of the amazing new
embroiderers that I will get the pleasure of meeting. If you have any
questions through the year, please feel free to ask and I will do the
best to answer you.
In the new year I it is my goal to
have contests and giveaways, so keep your eyes open and we will do our
best to get our readers involved!
Happy 2013!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
I guess it could be said... better late than never :o)
It's been about two months since I trained Jane in Dallas, but according to the pictures she has been posting on Facebook she has been stitching up a storm.
I met Jane and Steve at ISS in Fort Worth last October and was thrilled in February when they called me and said that they were ready to move forward with the purchase of their new BRAVO. What I find most fascinating about Jane is that she spent a year cleaning other peoples homes with the goal of raising enough extra money to invest in her embroidery machine. Jane was prepped and ready for my arrival and eager to learn all that she could about her new investment and business opportunities.
What a great, hospitable couple with a beautiful home in north Texas. I look forward to my next trip to Dallas so I can stop in and see if Jane is ready for her next machine!
It's been about two months since I trained Jane in Dallas, but according to the pictures she has been posting on Facebook she has been stitching up a storm.
I met Jane and Steve at ISS in Fort Worth last October and was thrilled in February when they called me and said that they were ready to move forward with the purchase of their new BRAVO. What I find most fascinating about Jane is that she spent a year cleaning other peoples homes with the goal of raising enough extra money to invest in her embroidery machine. Jane was prepped and ready for my arrival and eager to learn all that she could about her new investment and business opportunities.
What a great, hospitable couple with a beautiful home in north Texas. I look forward to my next trip to Dallas so I can stop in and see if Jane is ready for her next machine!
Friday, April 20, 2012
I've never claimed to be very good in geography, but as I travel as much as I do I have come to learn a lot about the mid-west and other parts of this great country. My trip to Laredo Texas was certainly an experience to remember! First of all... I didn't check my map before scheduling this training nor did I reserve a hotel room before I got there. I know I know... duh!
Before I go on, I usually talk about my trainees in this blog, and Arturo and Julio were great students and I learned a few new words in Spanish during this training, but the trip there was certainly what I would call an adventure.
After driving south for 16 hours I ended up in quite literally the worst motel that I've ever stayed in. The door plate was missing a few screws, there was mold above the shower, the walls looked like what you might find in a mechanic's shop with greasy fingerprints everywhere and the light bulbs were without fixtures. If it weren't the last room for miles I certainly wouldn't have stayed, but it has given me good stories to tell about my travels.
The hotel that Arturo set me up with in Laredo was the extreme opposite! The building itself sat right on the US/Mexico border and was about 175 years old. The time I spent in this hotel would have to be the most memorable ever!
Before I go on, I usually talk about my trainees in this blog, and Arturo and Julio were great students and I learned a few new words in Spanish during this training, but the trip there was certainly what I would call an adventure.
After driving south for 16 hours I ended up in quite literally the worst motel that I've ever stayed in. The door plate was missing a few screws, there was mold above the shower, the walls looked like what you might find in a mechanic's shop with greasy fingerprints everywhere and the light bulbs were without fixtures. If it weren't the last room for miles I certainly wouldn't have stayed, but it has given me good stories to tell about my travels.
The hotel that Arturo set me up with in Laredo was the extreme opposite! The building itself sat right on the US/Mexico border and was about 175 years old. The time I spent in this hotel would have to be the most memorable ever!
Only in the mid-west could you find an embroidery shop in a farm supply store!
Tami has been in business for many years and has been stitching on an old Melco EMC. She has this reoccurring order that she has been doing on the EMC machine and it would take her 1 1/2 hours to sew, which only allowed her to get a few jackets done in a day. With her new machine she has cut the time of stitching out this design down to 35 minutes. This time saving is going to make a huge difference in Tami's production schedule.
Since Tami had some experience with embroidery before training began I decided that I would show her how to do micro-chenille. What a great application that can only be done with the auto tension system on the Melco family of machines. Tami was excited to learn something new and different that she could offer to her customers to set herself apart.
Tami has been in business for many years and has been stitching on an old Melco EMC. She has this reoccurring order that she has been doing on the EMC machine and it would take her 1 1/2 hours to sew, which only allowed her to get a few jackets done in a day. With her new machine she has cut the time of stitching out this design down to 35 minutes. This time saving is going to make a huge difference in Tami's production schedule.
Since Tami had some experience with embroidery before training began I decided that I would show her how to do micro-chenille. What a great application that can only be done with the auto tension system on the Melco family of machines. Tami was excited to learn something new and different that she could offer to her customers to set herself apart.
Rocker Patch
Saturday, March 24, 2012
McTees in Springview Nebraska
The scenic drive from Lincoln to Springview Nebraska is a bit long, at times boring, and really does nothing for the cell reception on my Verizon phone, but the drive north in my home state was well worth the trip.
James and Lori (both High School teachers) purchased a screen printing and embroidery business in their small town in north central Nebraska and it is amazing the variety of jobs they have time to complete in their shop. When they purchased their business they got two SWF Embroidery machines and a screen printing system, then as the opportunity presented iteself, they added a Melco machine to their shop. Unfortunately for them, they didn't really know anyhing about the AMAYA and let it sit idle for nearly 6 months before we met in Kansas City at the DAX show earlier this month.
I spent a couple of days with the couple, starting out with going over their machine to make sure that was running properly and then proceeded to teach them how to run the machine. Between their knowledge of embroidery and the ease of running the machine they were up to speed in no time. I felt that the best part of the training was showing them how to use code sheets to make the best looking small letters ~ this is one part of each training that I really enjoy. The amazement in peoples faces when we take small lettering and make just a few simple adjustments to transform the letters from yuck to wow makes my job worth it every time!
There is no doubt in my mind that James and Lori will continue to grow their business and be sucessful doing it and my explanation for this is simple. They are great people, which it makes it easy to retain customers, but building on their client base will be easy for them. Good luck and make lots of stitches for money!
James and Lori (both High School teachers) purchased a screen printing and embroidery business in their small town in north central Nebraska and it is amazing the variety of jobs they have time to complete in their shop. When they purchased their business they got two SWF Embroidery machines and a screen printing system, then as the opportunity presented iteself, they added a Melco machine to their shop. Unfortunately for them, they didn't really know anyhing about the AMAYA and let it sit idle for nearly 6 months before we met in Kansas City at the DAX show earlier this month.
I spent a couple of days with the couple, starting out with going over their machine to make sure that was running properly and then proceeded to teach them how to run the machine. Between their knowledge of embroidery and the ease of running the machine they were up to speed in no time. I felt that the best part of the training was showing them how to use code sheets to make the best looking small letters ~ this is one part of each training that I really enjoy. The amazement in peoples faces when we take small lettering and make just a few simple adjustments to transform the letters from yuck to wow makes my job worth it every time!
There is no doubt in my mind that James and Lori will continue to grow their business and be sucessful doing it and my explanation for this is simple. They are great people, which it makes it easy to retain customers, but building on their client base will be easy for them. Good luck and make lots of stitches for money!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
One of the things I really love about my job is the great people I get to meet! This week I had the pleasure of spending two days in Albia, IA with Christy Luvstuen, her husband Doug and their daughter Jessica. Christy has been stitching on a Janome machine for about three years and after a year of research and a lot of conversations with Gary at Melco she made the leap to the BRAVO. Christy didn't find me on the Internet as a Bravo dealer (guess I need to do some work getting my website closer to the top of Google search), but she did make the right decision on the machine to buy and made the purchase through another dealer in Des Moines.
Christy doesn't just embroider, she also sews... a skill that I am always jealous of. Christy is in the process of making a doll and a quilt and showed me these great little bags she makes - the closure is made with a cut up tape measure. I am going to have to dig out my own sewing machine and give those bags a try, such a fun idea.
After the first day of training the family invited me to join them for dinner at Bogies Steakhouse in Albia. I have got to tell you that I had the best steak ever, and the atmosphere was great! If you are ever in south central Iowa, you will have to stop in and watch your steak being prepared. While there you can check out the deer on the wall. It is the largest whitetail ever shot, and it was shot by Christy and Doug's son.
After checking my email today it was a pleasure to see the following email forwarded to me from Gary at Melco.
"I want to thank you for everything you have done for me and especially thank you for sending Nancy, she is awesome. My head actually hurts right now because I learned so much in the last two days. She really knows what she is talking about and is a great teacher. I felt very comfortable with her and just want you to know how very much I appriciate it."
Thanks for the kind words Christy!
Christy doesn't just embroider, she also sews... a skill that I am always jealous of. Christy is in the process of making a doll and a quilt and showed me these great little bags she makes - the closure is made with a cut up tape measure. I am going to have to dig out my own sewing machine and give those bags a try, such a fun idea.
After the first day of training the family invited me to join them for dinner at Bogies Steakhouse in Albia. I have got to tell you that I had the best steak ever, and the atmosphere was great! If you are ever in south central Iowa, you will have to stop in and watch your steak being prepared. While there you can check out the deer on the wall. It is the largest whitetail ever shot, and it was shot by Christy and Doug's son.
After checking my email today it was a pleasure to see the following email forwarded to me from Gary at Melco.
"I want to thank you for everything you have done for me and especially thank you for sending Nancy, she is awesome. My head actually hurts right now because I learned so much in the last two days. She really knows what she is talking about and is a great teacher. I felt very comfortable with her and just want you to know how very much I appriciate it."
Thanks for the kind words Christy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)