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| 2004
catalog |
December
Web Specials Big Savings For You! |
Product
of the Month |
Embroidery
Essentials Afghans |
Customer Profile The Stitch Palette |
Design
of the Month Hearts |
New
Product Alert Gift Cards |
Contact
Us We’re Always Ready To Help |
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December 2004
Start stocking up now for peak cap season with this specially priced cap backing. It's only $6.99 for a pack of 250 sheets through the month of December at www.embstore.com . National Network of Embroidery Professionals
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Each
month, the Embroidery Store offers some great deals on the supplies
you need most on its Web site at www.embstore.com.
It’s a wonderful opportunity to stock up on things you use
everyday at bargain prices. To order, call (800) 504-9757. These
are available for the month of December only so don’t delay.
Gingher 6-inch Double-Curved Scissors Cap
Backing |
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Get your customer’s logo digitized in three days or less for only $9 per thousand using the Embroidery Store’s new online digitizing service. |
Coming Soon The
Embroidery Store Adds For more information, contact The Embroidery Store at (800) 504-9757 or e-mail info@embstore.com. Visit the Web site at www.embstore.com to see the full online catalog. |
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What
About An Afghan? If you are a single-head embroiderer or a lot of your business is providing personalized gifts, you’re missing the boat if you’re not offering afghans to your clientele. “They are such a popular gift,” says Ginny Fineberg, owner, Sandpiper Embroidery, an embroidery shop and retail store located in the popular tourist destination of Wildwood Crest, N.J. Fineberg has found afghans to be steady sellers as gifts for birthdays, babies, weddings, anniversaries, awards, graduations, and even as funeral throws. In fact, Fineberg offers a line of stock designs that are specially designed to go on afghans. “The customer picks out a design, and we customize it with two names and a date for a wedding,” she says. The afghans Fineberg offers are made of cotton and measure approximately four by eight feet. She usually embroiderers in the corner of the blanket. The design and lettering fit inside a 10-by-11 inch hoop. She typically charges $69.95 and the afghan costs her $11. “It’s a pretty nice markup,” she notes. You may contact Fineberg at (609) 522-4560; e-mail: sandpiperembroidery@comcast.net or visit http://www.sandpiperembroidery.com |
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THE
EMBROIDERY MALL |
North Carolina embroiderer builds a successful, growing business by focusing on diversity. By Deborah Sexton For some people, the entrepreneurial spirit develops slowly. For Gary Hinson, it happened suddenly. “I woke up one morning and said, ‘I don’t want to work for someone else the rest of my life,’ ” he recalls. “I started looking into embroidery, and I found it really interesting, and I bought a four-head Barudan.” Since his epiphany in 1997, Hinson’s Burlington, N.C. business — The Stitch Palette — has been the picture of success. The company started in Hinson’s living room, but within six months it had moved into a commercial location, soon thereafter moving again. Today, Hinson has a successful, 3,000-square-foot business that caters to uniform companies, restaurants, sporting goods stores, hunting clubs and the corporate market. “We’ve been very fortunate,” he says. “It’s been go, go, go. And it’s been from word-of-mouth, mostly.” The Stitch Palette is “slammed” with orders throughout the year, Hinson says, handling several thousand pieces a week with six employees and a stable of equipment: an eight-head, a six-head, a four-head and a singlehead. “Over the past two years, many runs have been for several hundred pieces,” he says. “We’ve got an order coming up for 700 pieces, and we’ll knock that out in two days.” Fast turnaround time is a big part of The Stitch Palette’s success, Hinson says. “When we got into business, we did a lot of calling around, and embroiderers always offered two- to three-week turnaround. We try to turn everything in five days,” he explains. Focusing on Diversity Although his average order is about 50 pieces, Hinson says, he can handle orders of practically any size, including small ones. “When I started, I saw too many people turned away because they didn’t need enough pieces. Everybody deserves embroidery, and I’ve diversified enough where I can take a two- or three-piece order.” Hinson’s emphasis on diversity has helped The Stitch Palette grow steadily, including a 20% increase in business this year. It also extends into the company’s product offerings — which range from caps and placket shirts to denim jackets, polyester baseball jackets and pullover hoodies — and onto its production floor, which now includes screen printing equipment. “We added that about seven months ago because I was subbing out so much screen printing, and I wanted to branch out a bit. Ever since I started, I wanted to be a turn-key shop, and now we can offer that.” The Stitch Palette screen prints and embroiders T-shirts that it uses for community fund-raisers. “We do work for schools’ T-shirts sales,” Hinson explains. “We’ll do anywhere from 400 to 500 pieces for a school and tell them, ‘Mark it up however you want.’ This fund-raising work gets our name out in the community.” It also helps them get orders for nearly two-dozen sports teams, including jobs embroidering or printing basketball and soccer uniforms, warm-ups, and pullover sweat shirts for baseball. “We embroider team mascots and personalized logos. We also do sideline items for coaches.” Cap Master Hinson also does “a ton of caps” for clients, including those from the corporate market. “We do several hundred caps at a time. They’re pretty much the easiest thing in the world to embroider, and they’re really popular,” he says. “The main thing is that you don’t want to put too much on a cap. Keep the stitch count down to about 6,000. If you try putting 12,000 stitches on a cap, you’re in for trouble.” Caps and other items keep Hinson busy enough that he uses an outside source for digitizing. “I just don’t have the time,” he says. “About 66% of our work is custom digitized, and we use a lot of stock designs, too — a soccer ball is a soccer ball.” With his business growing every year since he first opened the doors, Hinson is optimistic about The Stitch Palette’s future. “As long as we keep putting out work like we do now, the good Lord will take care of us. We’re just taking things one day at a time. You just have to be careful, pay attention to what you’re doing, and always double-check your work,” he says. “There are good and bad days, but I love what I do.” |
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Choose from one of 12 of these beautiful heart designs to make up Valentine’s Day gift samples to attract sales for your business. |
Design
of the Month For the spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend looking for a unique gift idea on Valentine’s Day or any special occasion, a personalized, embroidered item may be just what they are looking for. With this eclectic collection of beautiful heart designs, you can create an attractive display in your showroom or retail shop that is sure to attract attention and sales. These hearts can be used to decorate hand towels, caps, tote bags, sweat shirts, baby blankets, scarves, ties, or even underwear. Use your imagination to come up with great gift ideas that can be further enhanced with a monogram, name, or short message of love. The collection includes 12 design ranging from traditional to abstract. A few examples include a heart with an arrow, hearts with doves and a wedding ring, and a heart with a rose. The Embroidery Store now offers a full line of more than 1,000 stock embroidery designs for Meistergram machines. These hard-to-find predigitized designs are offered individually or in packages for cost savings. To order, simply call the toll-free number, e-mail, or visit the Web site at http://www.embstore.com. |
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Gift Cards Make Giving Easy There is no better way to get the perfect gift for friends or relatives than to present them with a gift card. It’s always the perfect size, and you know the recipients are getting something they value. The Embroidery Store is now offering convenient gift cards in increments of $25. Cards can be ordered and paid for online and are mailed to the giver or the recipient. Each card contains a unique order number that the user submits when placing an order. For a limited period of time, The Embroidery Store is offering a special promotion. For customers who purchased two gift cards or more, they receive 101 Great Notions designs free with their purchase. This versatile package of designs includes animals, nautical, children, floral, holiday, mascots, sports, emblems, and occupational themes. You’ll find many uses for the variety of images included. To
order a gift card, simply visit www.embstore.com
and type in “gift card” in the search engine or
specify order number GC205. |
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this down!
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Easy Ways to Order: All orders placed on the Internet, fax or phone by 3:00 p.m. EST Monday through Friday are shipped the same day. e-mail: info@embstore.com
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