PermaCore®, a polyester-core, polyester-wrapped thread made by American & Efird, is now on sale at www.embstore.com for only $7.75 a cone. This durable, production monogram and embroidery thread is stronger than spun polyester or cotton-wrapped core threads.

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 October only so don't delay.

Heavyweight Water Soluble Topping
40-inch by 25-yard roll
Regular Price: $35.00 | Sale Price: $9.99
# B524025

Large Economy Thread Snips
Regular Price: $2.45 | Sale Price: $1.75
# SM60015

No Show - Black
Regular Price: $25.85 | Sale Price: $18.99
# B55077

Medium Weight Cutaway
6 inch x 6 inch pre-cut squares 250/pack
Regular Price: $9.34 | Sale Price: $6.99
# B491506

Kingstar Thread
5,000 Meter Cones (Selected colors only!)
Sale Price: $6.00

Whisk away those unwanted stitches with the new Peggy's Stitch Eraser version 7. It's cordless so there's no electrical cord to trip over.

Peggy's Stitch Eraser
Quickly Removes Mistakes

Peggy's Stitch Eraser just got even easier to use. The newest model, No. 7, is cordless! With its state-of-the-art nickel hydride batteries, it offers extended usage between charges. It eliminates the hassle of trying to reach faraway electrical outlets or tripping over the cord. Also, the lower voltage of the batteries makes it safer to use.

This electric clipper "shaves" off unwanted embroidery quickly and easily because its blade is specifically designed to cut thread, making it more efficient than scissors or a traditional razor. You never have to worry about damaging the fabric or garment. This compact tool fits comfortably in the operator's hand and has a finger loop to control its direction. Version 7 still comes with a handy 80-inch cord if the user prefers to plug it in. Each tool comes with clipper oil, a cleaning brush, and detailed instructions. Replacement blades also are available.

The Embroidery Store stocks more than 10,000 parts and supplies and offers the top brands in the industry. It also is a resource for custom digitizing via the Internet at www.embdigitize.com. All parts and supply orders placed on the Internet, fax, or phone by 3 p.m. EST Monday through Friday are shipped the same day. Check the Web site often at www.embstore.com for new products and specials. For more information, contact The Embroidery Store at (800) 504-9757 or e-mail info@embstore.com.

When cold calling, don't stress your affordability, advises Allen. Instead, talk about your ability to help them develop the right business image. Photo courtesy of Alpine Apparel Graphics, High Point, N.C.

A key selling point is that you offer men's and women's companion styles. Be sure and the stress your capabilities to offer ladies' styles that are sized and tailored for women but that still match the men's. Photo courtesy of Blake & Hollister, Houston

Not all of your clients will be interested in promotional products but you want to be prepared if they do. Include in your sample bag some of your more popular promotional products so if the opportunity comes up, you can show some examples of what you offer. Photo courtesy of Promotional Products Association Intl.

Getting Face-to-Face Sales Appointments

Find out how to turn cold calls into hot leads for your company

By Deborah Sexton

Building your business is all about attracting clients - and that usually begins with a phone call aimed toward setting up a face-to-face meeting. But which companies should you call, who should you ask for, and what should you say?

Naturally, you want to call potential clients that seem to warrant the time and effort you'll eventually spend on a face-to-face sales presentation. "Look at the number of employees they have and their reputation in the community," says Don Allen, president, Alpine Graphic Apparel Inc., High Point, N.C. "Get a feel for them and get as much information as you can.

A Google search gave Allen plenty of information about a franchise client, including articles from Fortune magazine. "That information allowed me to determine if they were worth my time," he says. "Plus I found out that they had 400 stores, but didn't have a national vendor."

Cold Calling

Unless you have an "in" at the company via a referral, getting an appointment for a sales presentation often begins with a cold call. "That's my least favorite route," Allen says. "If you're calling a large corporation, it's best to have a name rather than going through a receptionist."

Oftentimes, the receptionist has no idea who's in charge of logoed apparel, whether it's someone in HR or a purchasing agent. "If you have a referred contact, your entry is smoother," Allen says. "Otherwise, you're cold calling someone who gets dozens of phone calls a day."

That means you may not get through to the right person the first time - and if you do, he may not initially listen to what you have to say. "It takes polite, professional persistence," Allen says. "You have to be persistent without being obnoxious."

Seize the Moment

Once you have his attention, don't waste the opportunity by telling him how affordable your services are. Instead, capture the potential client's interest by explaining that you work with companies to develop the right business image. "Offer your services to help freshen up their apparel line and logo," Allen suggests. "Don't say, 'Hey, I can make you a great deal on a dozen T-shirts.' They hear that a lot. You want to take the approach that you're helping them."

Try asking the client some key questions to find out about his needs, keeping in mind that you have a limited window of opportunity. "Your questions should be about things that help you differentiate your company," Allen says.

Again, the key is to stay away from price and emphasize service, Allen suggests. "If you're talking to a woman, tell her that you offer ladies companion styles," he says. "You might ask about budget, and let her know that you can provide garments at all budget levels."

Throughout the call, your goal, of course, is to set up a full-scale appointment. However, if the client seems resistant to your pitch, you may want to wait before trying to nail down the meeting. "If they're a little cool, you might say you'll send some information and a catalog, and follow up in a few days," Allen says. "But if you get positive feedback, don't hesitate. Say, 'How does your schedule look? I'd like to swing by and show you some samples.' "

If their answer is no? Just shake it off and keep moving right down your call list. And if the answer is yes, congratulations - you're in the door and on your way to a face-to-face sales presentation.

Don Allen, president, Alpine Graphic Apparel, has a very successful embroidery and promotional products company in High Point, N.C. His company was profiled in the July issue of embcommunicator.

Melinda Dement
Embroidery Skills
Asheville, NC
Office: (828) 350-0417
www.embroideryskills.com
www.dementstudios.com

Melinda Dement, owner, Embroidery Skills

Gracing the cover of the February 2006 issue of EMB are two shirts designed and embroidered by Melinda Dement.

This mirror, which is set inside an embroidered frame, is a good example of the unusual creative pieces that Melinda Dement specializes in. Check out her online gallery at www.dementstudios.com.

One of Melinda's Dement's more popular services is to take a customer's favorite quote or saying and turn it into a beautifully framed embroidered piece to hang on a wall.

Other unusual pieces Melinda Dement does are Celtic crosses, antique replication, couture apparel, and even upholstery.

There are a wide range of educational materials on the www.embroideryskills.com Web site including this e-booklet. Dement covers topics from a beginner's perspective but plans on adding more advanced educational materials in the future.

Successful Embroidery Veteran Starts Business to Educate Others

Long-time embroiderer, digitizer and educator Melinda Dement appeals to customers and students with a plain-spoken approach.

By Deborah Sexton

Melinda Dement's success as an embroiderer, digitizer, and instructor isn't difficult to understand. In fact, it's the simplicity of her message that has fueled her career in the industry.

"My best strength is that I can express a complex subject in simple language," she says. " I have a gift for speaking plainly and not talking down to people. This allows me to help embroiderers be more effective and profitable."

The self-described "passionate embroidery instructor" has a wide variety of educational offerings via her Asheville, N.C.-based company, Embroidery Skills. Those offerings include seminars at trade shows and manufacturers' facilities; a dozen electronic, downloadable books; online seminars; and training videos on techniques such as 3D foam embroidery. (Most of the products are geared toward beginners, Dement says, although she plans to expand into intermediate material.)

Dement launched Embroidery Skills ( www.embroideryskills.com ) late last year when she recognized embroiderers' thirst for education. The education business is an outgrowth of Dement Studios, a diverse company she began in 2002 with functions ranging from gallery space for herself and her husband, Jacques, to stock designs and fonts, image editing, and custom-embroidered, framed artwork.

"My typical customer is one who finds his way to me for help with a software or technique challenge," she says. "My patience and plain language soothes people."

Diverse Offerings

Dement also sells Compucon's Stitch and Sew digitizing software, for which she wrote the manuals, and exhibits at home sewing shows for exposure on the teaching circuit. "The home market is somewhat different than the commercial one. The passion for the creative side of embroidery is refreshing and rewarding," explains Dement, a founding board and faculty member of Embroidery University, a Web site providing online courses in operations and management for the embroiderers and digitizers.

Although her companies are largely solo efforts, Dement hopes that her entire family is eventually employed by the studio, which would include adding her daughter, Lisa, as a full-time digitizer and her son-in-law as a "product maker," she says.

Most of Dement's custom digitizing is specialized work rather than custom logos. For instance, she works with artists to convert their creations into thread - including work for a Lexington, Ky.-based wildlife painter - and has done upholstery for the furniture market and interior designers. "Artists are demanding, but it works out. You just have to educate them and help them understand what won't work with thread," she says.

Digitizing customers find Dement through word of mouth, her Web site ( www.dementstudios.com ) or her connections in the art world. Her husband does pulp paper machine sculpture and lighted alter pieces, and her town has a vibrant art community, as well as one of the nation's best craft schools, she says. "That's why we live here. It's a huge community of artists growing at a rate that can't be monitored," Dement says. "People from around the world come here for the crafts."

A Life in the Industry

Dement, who has a degree in commercial graphics, has been immersed in art since childhood. "I thought embroidery would be a great, expansive medium to share artistic ideas," she says of her attraction to the industry.

She began working for retail alterations supplier B&G Lieberman in 1980, followed by stints at MacPherson Meistergram, Barudan, and Compucon USA. During her tenure with these companies, she had an impressive list of responsibilities and accomplishments, including designing software for Barudan embroidery machines, supervising an art/showroom department and designing trade-show booths.

She owned a digitizing company, Data Motif Inc., from 1991 until 1997, but didn't find it terribly rewarding. "I just wanted to get back out in the public arena and expand, because digitizing wasn't enough to sustain me," she says.

Educational Needs

It takes a certain skill set to be a top digitizer, she says. "The really good ones have an art or computer background, and they take to digitizing like a fish in water," Dement says. "People with a business background have so much to figure out. They don't even know how to use a graphics program."

The market is "flooded" with digitizers lacking in skills, Dement says. "So many people go into digitizing because the technology makes it so easy," she explains. "And leasing makes it easy to get into. It changed the face of digitizing."

Of course, customers find out quickly when they're dealing with a season pro vs. a newbie with fancy software and minimal skills. "Some veteran digitizers are commanding a good fee because embroiderers know their design will run right the first time," Dement says. "The general public will shop to save a dollar, but they usually end up coming back and paying a little extra."

Barbara Geer, president, Grand Slam Designs

One of the biggest killers of embroidery productivity is thread breaks. By keeping your machine well maintained and minimizing stitch counts, you can lower your chances of frequent thread breaks. Photo courtesy of Mind's Eye Graphics, Decatur, Ind.

One of the first steps to take when evaluating a design to digitize it is what is it being sewn on? If it's a knit, you'll want to use more underlay than a woven. Stitches tend to sink into knit fabrics so they need more support. Photo courtesy of Sew Amazing by Patti, Fairview, Tenn.

Digitizing Designs For Maximum Productivity

By Barb Geer

Do you sometimes feel the need to manufacture time? I sure do! While we can't turn our bodies into factories adding time like employees to a line, we can make better use of the hours we have, saving precious minutes that can be used for other projects.

In a typical day in our little shop, we see and talk to customers, some of whom require vast amounts of time for perusing and decision making. We work on designs for orders. We have embroidery machines running on one side of the building and printing on the other. The phones are ringing, the fax machine spews paper, and then there is snail mail and e-mail to contend with.

To survive all this and be profitable, it's imperative that we have constant production at top efficiency levels. One of the best ways to achieve that goal is found in the design set-up. By understanding what it takes for efficient production, you can digitize accordingly. Minimizing stitch counts and trims are just two examples. Keeping your machine in good working order and changing out needles regularly help eliminate thread breaks decreasing downtime.

Analyzing the Design

The first step before you start digitizing is to analyze the design. You have two goals in mind: maintain the integrity of the image while digitizing it to run smoothly and quickly. For most designs, it's more efficient to digitize from the "back" to the "front." You'll also need to evaluate what types of stitches to use for fills, columns and outlines.

Underlay is another big consideration. You have to decide how much and what type. Proper underlay ensures you have good coverage and allows you to make specific areas of the design stand out giving the finished piece dimension and texture. All of these considerations are important, because no matter how efficient the design, if the rendition is not beautiful, the customer will not be back.

Minimize Stitch Counts

Most designs are too stitch intensive, and this is caused by the fill pattern. Changing the parameters for fills, columns, and stitch lengths in the software program results in significantly lower stitch counts. A design with fewer stitches ordinarily means fewer or no thread breaks on a well-maintained machine. Since each program has its own language, I can't tell you exactly where to set your specific numbers. Practice with fills at different densities until you find the one that is the most efficient for you.

Column density is another variable that can be adjusted to meet the needs of both the design and the garment. Wide columns require a higher density than narrow columns. The narrower the column, the less density required. If the column is very narrow, particularly when under one millimeter, turn it into a run stitch to save even more time and eliminate machine problems. Columns generally require underlay, but run stitches do not.

Create underlay stitches for the garment type and kind of stitch. Woven fabrics and caps are easy. They provide a strong, solid foundation for embroidery allowing the thread to sit on top of the garment. Knits, however, are like a sponge absorbing thread. So be aware that underlay will vary from fabric to fabric.

Much more underlay is necessary when embroidering on knits than wovens. If the job is on a woven fabric, eliminate excessive underlay. Stand-alone columns need only a center walk underlay, while columns that border a fill may need an edge walk, adding twice as many stitches, but necessary for a clean distinctive edge.

One of the greatest compliments one can receive as a digitizer is that the designs run trouble free. The easiest way to get one of those acclaims is to reduce the stitch count wherever possible. This is also the best way to have designs run productively as possible.

Barbara Geer, president, Grand Slam Designs, an embroidery stock design and contract digitizing operation, has been in the decorated apparel industry since 1990. She is a popular speaker at commercial decorated apparel and home embroidery events. She also is a frequent contributor to commercial and home embroidery publications such as EMB, Stitches, and Printwear. You may reach Barbara at 800-569-8138; 218-222-3501; e-mail barb@grandslamdesigns.com or visit her Web site at www.grandslamdesigns.com .