Viv Gibson

Here's an interview with Viv Gibson...

Viv is a PRO-digitizer and her work can be seen at Oregon Patchworks  Viv is also a PRO-digitizer member of  http://www.digitizersworld.com/ and owns her a Yahoo group... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RoseCottage/ . Her email address is r.rosecottage@hughes.net.

And now, the interview...

Q:  Before we start with the interview, please tell us a little about yourself.  Are you single? Married? Children?  Where do you live and do you best remember Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, U2 or Ricky Martin?

A: My husband and I are both retired military.   We lived 25 years in San Antonio, Texas and have two daughters and 5 grandchildren.  When my husband retired we decided to sell our small ranch and go on the road full time as RVer's.  Being a digitizer is an excellent choice for me as I can travel well with my Brother 8500 machine and Computer.

Q:  When did you decide to learn digitizing and why?

A:In 1995 I was recovering from breast cancer and trying to get over a bout of depression. My husband bought me an embroidery machine, computer and all the software in his efforts to help get me over this rough spot in my life.  It worked very well.  Although the Yahoo lists were in their infancy it wasn't long with the help of on line friends before I learned to digitize. I had always been an artist so it was a short jump for me to convert my art into thread.  I begin using the Brothers PED software and have stuck with it through the years.

Q:  Who are some of the digitizers that you learned from along the way?  Are there any whose work you admire?

A:I took basic lessons on the Design Center part of PED though the shop that sold me the machine but when it came to manual punch I didn't have a clue how the software operated.  the two most instrumental people that helped me was Linda Dyers Lessons (http://www.lindadryer.com href="http://www.lindadryer.com/">http://www.lindadryer.com) and John of DisneyMad.  He actually took the time to set down and show me one on one and that got me through the learning curve.  There have been a lot of people that have influenced my digitizing but I notice that fewer of them are on the internet these days.

Q:  What inspired you to turn "Pro" or was that your plan from the start?

A: I sold my first design through SewTerrific and was so excited!  I thought at that time it would be a good way to pay for my embroidery tread and stabilizers.  Then I went to my first embroidery conference and realized I needed a license to buy supplies wholesale.  When I got the license I began to advertise embroidery work in the small town we lived in.  That lead to requests of custom designs.  and from there it  grew in to the business I have now.

Q:  Where do you sell your designs today?  Do you have a website of your own or do you sell from a mall?

A: I never have gotten the knack for web building and takes so much time that I let someone else do that work for me.  I have sold through several different people that have web sites until I sort of landed at Oregon Patch Works.

The owner, Jackie has been a great person to work with.  She has gone over and beyond being just a buisness associate.  She really inspires me to do me best and when I come up with a new idea she is quick to jump in and help me get it off the ground. 

Q:  What do you think are the most significant trends you have seen lately in embroidery? 

A: I see a lot of improvement in the software, machines and the supplies we use.  The internet has made it so  much easier to keep our equipment up dated and supplies such as thread and stabilizers are better and easier to buy.  The home digitizers are stretching to see what their limits are and are finding that there aren't very many limits.  This is bringing machine embroidery to level that The large embroidery companies find difficult to keep up with and keep their prices profitable.  The home machine embroidery also has the opportunity to work one on one with their customers and I feel this is one of the most important aspics of being in a business of any kind.  Where now big business is telling people "touch one to go to the main menu" we are able to drop a note and say "Hi  how are you and how can I help you." 

Q:  Where do you see machine embroidery going in the future?

A:  I think we are in the infant stages of this industry and believe in the future that digitizers and embroiders will begin to specialize in certain areas such as Free standing lace, large sectioned embroidery to be framed and or custom digitizing where the customer is going to be the one to make us stretch our imagination and our abilities to move forward.  

Q:  What advice would you give to a beginner that is just starting their career as a digitizer?

A:  concentrate on quality.  Test sew those designs and keep going back to improve the design till you feel it sews as perfectly as is possible.  Choose several digitizers work that you admire and buy their designs and watch them sew out.  Look at a design and figure out how you would digitize it and then watch it sew out so you can see how another digitizer would approach a potential problem area.  Above all else, get to know your customers.  What they like and what they would like to see in your designs.  And ask questions.  Most digitizers are glad to help new people.

Q:  Is there anything I forgot to ask you that I should be asking about?

A:  Being a full time RVer's has really expanded my business.  Traveling and see the U.S. has inspired the creation of many of my designs. Last year I created the "Rose Cottage Embroidery List" on Yahoo! and it has grown to over 4,000 members.  I began sending emails about our adventures out on the road and they were so well received that I created the "Traveling Embroiderer" column which is published in the Members Only Newsletter from OPW.  I hope in the future that this may lead to a book.  But until then I will keep traveling and writing and digitizing. 

Here is a picture of Viv and her "fur baby", Raven. 

Viv Gibson

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RoseCottage/ href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RoseCottage/">