You can buy Holly's designs at...  

Visit ArtisticThreadWorks Here!

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: I am married 25 years in Feb 07. No children unless you count furry ones.  I have two Boxers.  One black named Onyx and one White named Pearl.  I clearly remember the Beatles, but can remember some about Elvis getting started and certainly know who Frank Sinatra is!  8-)

Q:  When did you first get started in machine embroidery and why?

A: I got started in Machine embroidery about 20 years when I taught Free Motion Machine Embroidery.  After many years I decided I wanted to get back into the hobby, and was surprised to see it was all very computerized.  I needed a creative outlet since my corporate job was very stressful and I no longer could play clarinet.

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

A: I decided to learn to digitize when I got tired of spending large amount of money on the commercial company designs.  I had my machine about 1 month when I decided to give it a go.

Q:  What software did you start digitizing with and what software are you using now?

A: I mostly use Generations.  I think the manual punch tools are very powerful.  There are lots of features I really like.  I started out with Janome software, but because I was inexperienced I thought it was too difficult.  Like most beginners, I didn't understand that there would be a learning curve.  I changed to Palette and eventually settled on Generations.

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

A:  My favorite digitizers are Nita O'Keefe and Carolyn Faulk.  I think they have very unique techniques for dealing with light and dimension in digitizing.  I have learned the most from Nita. 

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

A: I started out wanting to embroidery on shirts, etc for people.  I wanted to get accounts to schools, dentists and that sort of business and do the sewing.  After getting my first order (Two shirts), I decided that the repetition sewing was just not for me.  I had no patience for that.  I was very interested in why designs sewed out as they did and thought the best business would be to create designs and sell them.  I was very intrigued by the creative part of the process.

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 sell my designs on my website...www.ArtisticThreadWorks.com ;  I was never really interested in the malls.  I didn't want to pay anyone a commission for selling my designs.  We learned about marketing and decided to sell them ourselves.

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

A:  It seems to me that a couple years ago the average age of the hobbyist was 50.  I am seeing that younger folks are getting into the hobby.  That is very encouraging to me as a business owner.  It expands the market and gives us all more customers.

I also think it is great to see techniques for what we used to think of as "hand embroidery" being developed, like lace and cutwork.

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

A: I don't know really...I am not the visionary of my business.  But, if you asked my husband, I am sure he would have a very detailed answer.  8-)

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

A:  Stick with whatever software you purchased.  Don't get stuck in the "what software is the easiest to learn" syndrome.  They are all easy and they are all challenging.  The key is to be persistent.  Learn something new every day and figure out how to use it.  When you really learn something and understand why it works the way it does, the knowledge is transferable to other things.  All digitizing software is the same, really.  The tools may be called something else, or work a bit differently, but the techniques and how you get from point "A" to point "B" is the same.

Be persistent, practice every day and refuse to give up.

"Never, Never, Never, give up"

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

A:  Yes.  Do I like what I do for a living?  Yes, I do.  I would not want to do anything else.  Some days are hard, but for the most part I really love the creative process and seeing something come to life before my eyes and under the needle of the machine.  It is fun seeing the joy that the deisgns bring into the lives of others.  When it is no longer fun, I'll quit.  Until then...you'll see me at my tablet preparing for the weeks to come.  8-)

 You can buy Holly's designs at...  

http://www.ArtisticThreadWorks.com