Behind the Thread.
Hey! Thanks for stopping by :) I’ve been designing, sewing, digitizing and embroidering for 20+ years… I’m a one-woman show - stitchin’ away & running my business full-time in my home studio. Before the pandemic hit, I had managed and grown several embroidery departments - becoming an independent artist was always my end goal. In August 2020, I was able to take the leap! I had been laid off from my job and had no choice but to stay home with my children (try to homeschool them) and make it work! I LOVE what I do!
I've always been an artist... drawing, painting, sculpting & now sewing. I first started sewing on my mom's old Kenmore in 2000, under the name 'Amiable Creations'. I'm a self-taught seamstress, mainly learning through trial and error... but, I've always loved to figure out how things are constructed. Even to this day when browsing through shopping racks, I study the garment... carefully inspecting how it was made. My first projects (& a lot of my recent ones) were made from salvaged pieces found in thrift stores or hand-me-downs from friends, and I continue to incorporate recycled fabrics and scraps into many of my creations. I love turning something old into something new ~ giving new life to a forgotten, tossed away garment. I am a fabric hoarder and have a hard time resisting fabrics that catch my eye in fabric stores, thrift stores & vintage shops.
I grew up in Vandalia, Ohio... a small midwest city just a few miles north of Dayton. I have my BA from Wright State University. I started out as a Studio Art major, then changed to Classics (you know, all that Greek and Roman art and history stuff), and graduated in the Spring of 2001 with a major in Classics and a minor in Art History
Soon after graduation, I moved out to Colorado and spent a few years in a cool little town called Red Cliff. While I was out there, I started my career as a commercial embroiderer at a silk-screening shop... LOVED that job! I also skied, traveled, followed music, hung out with friends, and adopted the best dog ever, a chocolate lab, Baxter Moose.
In 2005, Baxter and I moved to Asheville, North Carolina - a beautiful artsy city that I was happy to call home for 8 years. I met and married my wonderful hubby in Asheville and became the mommy of a beautiful little boy, Waylon. In 2013, we tried our luck out west - back to Colorado, where we had our second son, Ryder. I was able to continue building my embroidery skills there running a 4-head and a single-head for a commercial silk-screening shop. Since we live like gypsies, we tried another adventure - this time to the northwest in Kalispell, Montana - just outside of Glacier National Park.
We moved back to Asheville in 2016 and I am very happy to be here with our family and friends. Not only do I sew for fun at home, I also embroider professionally - I manage a large embroidery department at one of the best businesses in town... we have two commercial embroidery machines: 6-head and a single-head - I LOVE IT! I feel as though my creativity is never-ending, and being around sewing machines, nature and my wonderful family and friends provides constant inspiration :)