Alabama Mom Chooses Embroidery to Re-Enter Business World

May 7, 2008

Shown here is a bag embroidered by Robin Dennis and Missy Houghton, owners of Miss Robin's Embroidery and More in Madison, Ala. Since they have eight children between them, much of their business comes from kids' sports and activities.

When Robin Dennis was ready to get back into the business world after working as a stay-at-home mother to five children for 22 years, she did what all of the job search experts advise. She thought about what she does well and went from there. While raising her children, she spent many years sewing Halloween costumes and working on other needlework. The most logical step for her was to start a business using her seamstress skills, which led her to embroidery.

After working on a tabletop machine for four years, Dennis took the plunge, and with her business partner, Missy Houghton, she purchased a two-head Tajima in February to open Miss Robin’s Embroidery and More LLC in Madison, Ala. The pair currently works out of Dennis’ home.

According to Dennis, Houghton is a teacher and finishing up the school year. After school is over, she will work solely on the embroidery endeavor, primarily selling and helping Dennis with the stitching as needed. Right now she works with Dennis when she’s available.

Dennis currently embroiders about five hours per day and does simple digitizing at night. “I have to send out the more complicated digitizing right now,” she says. “We’ll attend a training a training class after Missy is finished with school. One of our goals is to do all of the digitizing in-house.”

Much of Miss Robin’s Embroidery and More business comes from kids’ sports. Since Dennis has five children and Houghton has three, they’ve been able to network through the kids’ activities to pick up business. For example, for the past four years, Dennis has embroidered the names of players on the backs of shirts for a baseball recreation league. She started out doing three or four teams and did 17 teams this year. She and Houghton also are embroidering garments that teams previously had screen printed or heat pressed. “The players find that the embroidery stays on much better than heat-pressed letters,” says Dennis.

Eventually, the two plan to expand into screen printing and heat transfers. “There are a lot of kids in our area, and therefore a lot of sports. We’d like to work on teamwear,” says Dennis. “Another goal is to get into a retail space.”

Dennis’ advice for others who might be interested in starting an embroidery business from home? “Don’t give up. When you first start out, it can be very time-consuming,” she says. — Liz Aull

2009 Top-Volume Shops Stay Strong in Tough Economy
Decorators on Impressions’ annual list of top-volume shops prove that an economic downturn doesn’t necessarily mean a slump in production, sales volume or mindset.
As America’s collective business community continues to struggle with the longest recession since the Great Depression (though not near the same magnitude), stories of resilient companies — such as Impressions’ 2009 Top-Volume Shops — offer a beacon of light during this overcast time. Though the largest companies can be the hardest to fall in weakening economies, this hasn’t been the case with our industry’s top shops. That these big players remain securely at the top of their game may have a little to do with luck, but probably a lot more to do with resourcefulness and well-earned reputations.
July 01, 2009

Small-Fry Fashion Adds to Solid Kidswear Basics Biz
Kidswear is trending more than ever toward adult and juniors styles, even as the majority of the market remains tried-and-true basics.
Oooh, baby! Today’s kids are sporting some decidedly progressive, adult-driven apparel, including sun dresses with Affliction-style heraldry designs, diapers decorated with abstract sublimated designs, vintage-wash fabrics and organic cotton one-piece body suits. These fashion-forward offerings are part of a bumper crop of products from industry suppliers, who continue to unveil new twists for tots, even as classic kidswear items retain their perennial popularity.
July 01, 2009

Digitizing for Specialty Fabrics – Part 2
In the final part of this series, our expert guides you through fast and efficient techniques to use when digitizing and sewing on woven fabrics such as tackle twill and stretchy materials like Lycra spandex.
Part 1 of Digitizing for Specialty Fabrics (Impressions, May 2009) was about using an abundance of underlay to control the loops and piles of napped fabrics like terrycloth. If you read that article, I’m sure you would never have thought I would talk about specialty fabrics that require no underlay. But that’s the case with one specialty fabric.
July 01, 2009

Tech Tip: Achieving Crisp 3-D Embroidery
Puffy foam embroidery continues to be a popular option for those customers looking for something different to give dimension to their designs. One of the biggest challenges with this process, however, is preventing the foam from sticking out between the stitches in 3-D designs. Some simple solutions in both the digitizing and embroidery stages can help correct this problem.
July 01, 2009

Find Relief from (Thread) Tension Headaches
Thread tensioning is such a big part of the embroidery process. If it is set correctly, the machine will purr and the design will look beautiful. If the tension is off, it can make you pull your hair out and say things you shouldn’t.
June 22, 2009