What does it take?
They say if you choose a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. But if you take a closer look, even your favorite hobby can become frustrating. There are the days the needle breaks, bird’s nests inexplicably happen and you make bad thread color choices on the very last remnant of fabric you had for a special project. Dwelling on those frustrations doesn’t do any good—except to learn from them.
There are also the momentous days when you complete a project and it looks fantastic. Or those days when you learn and master a new technique on your embroidery machine or you learn a shortcut in your embroidery software.
The tiring days along with the triumphant days of accomplishment; get woven together to create a wonderful and unique story about our lives. That is what has happened at Designs in Machine Embroidery.
The Team
(Left to Right) Stephanie Sanders, Eileen Roche, Gary Gardner, Sandy Griggs, Denise Holguin, Samuel Solomon celebrated their 100th issue by taking a cooking lesson at Sur La Table
A wonderful story of hard work, big dreams and even a little bit of crazy made it possible for Designs in Machine Embroidery to start with Volume 1 and progress to Volume 100.
The magazine would not happen without a dedicated team. The team is led by Editor and Founder, Eileen Roche and her business partner, Gary Gardner.
Samuel Solomon, the Creative Director, has been with the magazine since Volume 6.
Aside from being the magazine historian (we often go to him and ask, ‘do you remember what issue the embroidered project was in?’) he is responsible for laying out each page from cover to cover. He’s also responsible for the cover. Plus Sam is our go-to for last minute ideas and special details. “Hey! Let’s add decorative flags to our celebratory cupcakes for our 100th issue. Sam! Will you make them…now?”
For this photo shoot, we stacked all 100 issues in the scene with our special decorated cupcakes
Details take more time but they make the difference! You’ll find this “Simply Charm-ing” project by Katherine Artines on page 40 of Volume 100.
Sam, Eileen and Managing Editor, Denise Holguin, spend a good portion of their time planning the cover. The beauty is in the details—from selecting the cover project, to determining how the project should be photographed and what text and colors should go on the cover. If you’re not a detail person, you might say, “it’s just a quilt”, or “it’s just a garment” but it’s more than a quilt or a garment. It’s a project we have selected because it represents what our magazine is about and also our hope for what will inspire you.
If you have Volume 100 handy, take a look at the front cover. It has a beautiful silver sheen to commemorate our 100th issue. This is also the very first issue we’ve published without a project or model on the front cover.
Once you open the cover, you’ll see the contributions of Eileen, Denise and a talented team of writers who stitch original projects to inspire and educate our readers.
In Eileen’s spare time, she contributes to every issue with a project or article. You might ask, with such a busy schedule, why not outsource all the projects? Why should Eileen spend her time stitching? The answer is simple: It’s fun! She loves to create, design and develop new embroidery techniques she can share with you. She remains as passionate about machine embroidery as she began with Volume 1.
Volume 1 of Designs in Machine Embroidery. Yes, Eileen made that beautiful butterfly quilt!
Eileen used vintage linens to make this project – it’s one of our favorite creations she’s made over the years.
Left: Eileen purchased this hoodie and added the “LOVE” applique. It’s #cute and #cool enough for even the toughest of critics! Right: Eileen understands her readers love t-shirts but want to look fashionable while wearing them. This t-shirt remake meets that goal.
This love has also spread to Managing Editor, Denise Holguin who has launched her first-time project series, “Subtle Tees.”
Here’s a behind the scenes look at the photo shoot for Subtle Tees. If you had seen Denise at the shoot, she was ready to spontaneously combust with the excitement of having her garments photographed. We’ll feature more t-shirt behind the scenes in an upcoming blog.
You remember this blog began with doing what you love. Denise is an avid photographer and is generally seen carrying two cameras around her neck. Choosing the first theme for her Subtle Tees series was an obvious choice. She found a way to incorporate her love for photography with embroidery.
Stephanie Sanders began working for Designs in Machine Embroidery when she was still Stephanie Stubbs. She started her career in our Circulation Department (with Volume 12), answering the phone, entering subscription orders and handling the day-to-day duties of magazine circulation. Now she handles our accounting department and countless other duties too numerous to mention! So many large and small tasks magically get complete because of Stephanie’s efforts. She recently got married and now has a baby girl we hope to recruit for the magazine someday!
Advertisers
As ubiquitous as we think machine embroidery has become, it’s still a niche market. Learning about the latest embroidery products and innovations from reputable sources is made much easier by flipping through the pages of Designs in Machine Embroidery. Sandy Griggs, our Advertising and Sales Manager, has been responsible for building relationships with our advertisers.
The magazine could not be printed without the support of our advertisers. Every advertiser featured has contributed to the magazine’s success. We have the privilege of informing you of new embroidery products and innovations that will fuel your creativity.
We also love the new innovations because it fuels our passion to create new projects. From improved hardware and software to a broader selection of stabilizers and threads and a wonderful array of embroidery designs that span every conceivable theme or interest you can imagine.
Speaking of designs, the clever innovation of in-the-hoop embroidery designs is a relatively new development. Who would have imagined taping fabric to the underside of the hoop as you stitch? In the early days we were too busy stitching teddy bears on our garments.
One of our favorite in-the-hoop designs that is functional and can also be displayed as art! The project was made by Tari Intardonato for Embroidery Online and was featured in Volume 99.
We’d like to hug all the innovators in the industry for helping the market grow.
Readers
What good is producing content if no one is willing to purchase a magazine? We are grateful to our readers who have supported us through the years. Many of our readers have been faithfully supporting the magazine since Volume 1. Whether you have been with us since Volume 1, started halfway or just picked up a copy recently, we are grateful.
This has been our small but mighty team’s livelihood for 17+ years. During those years, our kids have become adults, we’ve been blessed with marriages and even babies. We’re all a little older and wiser but one thing remains the same. Machine embroidery is our shared passion and we can’t wait to bring you another 100 issues!
With gratitude,
Eileen Roche, Samuel Solomon, Denise Holguin, Stephanie Sanders, Sandy Griggs
As a special token of our gratitude, please enjoy this free applique heart embroidery design.
25 COMMENTS
Gail Beam
8 years agoCongratulations on your 100th edition! Gail
Denise Holguin
8 years agoThank you, Gail. We appreciate you so much.
Denise
Becky
8 years agoCongratulations on a job well done! I wish you many more years of success with a very good magazine. Keep up the good work.
Denise Holguin
8 years agoThank you, Becky!
Joy Teague
8 years agoThanks for all of the wonderful designs and ideas that you
have shared with us. Congratulations on your 100th.
Joy
Denise Holguin
8 years agoJoy,
Thank you– we are excited to continue sharing ideas.
Denise
karen
8 years agoCongrats to you and your staff on your success. Thank you for publishing a great magazine.
Denise Holguin
8 years agoKaren,
Thank you! We are a close-knit team — I think it makes all the difference!
Denise
Terri
8 years agoI really enjoy your magazine! Congratulations on 100 great issues!
Denise Holguin
8 years agoTerri,
Much appreciated!
Denise
Joanne Banko
8 years agoHeartfelt congratulations to everyone at Designs! This is an outstanding accomplishment!!! You are all wonderful in all that you do. I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to participate over the last several years. Here’s to another hundred, plus more!
Denise Holguin
8 years agoJoanne,
We love having you part of our team. Sometimes I wonder how in the world our pages get filled with projects — then I look and it’s because of writers like you!
Denise
Lee
8 years agoI’m new to all of this, mostly I just come and read the blog. Congratulations on your success. I hope the cooking class yielded some kitchen embroidery ideas.
Denise Holguin
8 years agoLee,
I’m always amazed how other activities outside of machine embroidery can influence our work. I wouldn’t be surprised if kitchen themed ideas start popping up in the magazine or blog.
Denise
susana molnar
8 years agoCongratulations to all of you,what a wonderful group. Now hurry up with the next 100 issues. Thank you for all the ideas & thank you to your advertisers.
Denise Holguin
8 years agoSusan,
Haha! Yes, we will get right on the next 100 issues!
Denise
Phyllis Hiles
8 years agoCongratulations on your 100th edition. Love this magazine and am a long time subscriber.
JD
8 years agoCongratulations for putting together such an informative and fun magazine. Looking forward to the next 100 or more.
Carol V. Chambers
8 years agoI had a years subscription to the magazine a year or so ago and enjoyed the magazine. However I live in the UK and am now on a limited pension and the cost of postage effectively doubles the cost of a subscription. Is there no way you could do a digital edition without the cost of postage?
Denise Holguin
8 years agoHi Carol,
We have Digital only access of the magazine available. You can read the magazine from the convenience of a smart device (such as a tablet or smart phone). It is not available via regular PC. To get started on the digital access, first you must visit the online store for your specific platform (Google Play or Apple Store) and type in “Designs in Machine Embroidery”. Download our app which is free. Then at the top you will see an option for new subscribers. Click on that link and this is where you can get pricing and complete the process for digital only access. If you need further assistance, please email us: [email protected].
Carolyn
8 years agoCongratulations on 100 issues. I love your magazine, just renewed my last month! I especially loved spending time with you and Denise at a weekend event close to my home a couple year ago. Would love to attend another one. Keep up the good work! It’s not just a “magazine”, it’s a learning experience.
Denise Holguin
8 years agoThank you, Carolyn!
Bruce
8 years agoLove this post. Congratulations!
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