Profile of a Jersey Stitcher

The local North Jersey online newspaper just did a profile of Wilbert Schmidt and his needlepoint.  Many thanks to Jo I. C. for noticing this and mentioning it on Facebook.
http://www.northjersey.com/community-news/cedar-crest-man-discovers-penchant-for-needlepoint-1.1651858

Wish they'd posted more photos of Mr. Schmidt's stitching.  It looks fabulous!  (The Ebbets Field piece is by Needlepoint Broad, by the way.)

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright August 31, 2016 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Let the Trade Show Begin!

Mary Agnes' shop report this week shows off her latest finish and talks about the business side of the upcoming TNNA show in Phoenix starting January 10.   
http://needlenicely.blogspot.com/2015/01/take-that-stitching-blahs-finish.html

Barbara Bergsten is packed and ready.  It must be a special challenge to pack not only sample canvases but enough ready to purchase items to satisfy the shops.
http://createneedlepoint.typepad.com/create_needlepoint/2015/01/packing-up-needlepoint.html

The show (open to the business owners only) hasn't started yet but I'm starting to see more and more postings on Facebook of new designs from this person or that.  This information I've put in this tab here on Blog, latest on top.
http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com/p/destination-dallas-2013.html

I am putting stitch guide news from the show on the CH Stitch Guides blog under this tab.  Stay tuned and keep checking back for the latest.
http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com/p/latest-stitch-guide-news-from-spring.html

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
© Copyright January 3, 2015 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Amanda Lawford Presents....

Amanda Lawford is updating her website to showcase the other designers that are distributed by the company. The current ones are listed at the bottom of the page:  ARB, DC Designs, Needlepoint Broad, Mariko King, and Elizabeth Mumford.  Since the HP lacquered boxes are going to be distributed by Amanda Lawford, expect to see those on her site shortly.  Other designers may show up, too.  Stay tuned!
http://amandalawford.com

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com
@ Copyright 2013 Jane M. Wood. All rights reserved.

Monthly Clubs Updates

Because so many shops have monthly clubs available, there is always news about them.  Pocket Full of Stitches now offers their Kelly Clark pears club as individual kits.  Can you stitch just one?  LOL
http://pocketfullofstitches.blogspot.com/2011/05/kellys-pears.html

French Knot reminds us that their Little Shoppe Canvas Company Christmas train club starts this month.
http://thefrenchknot.com/current-series.htm

Ruth Schmuff is going to offer the Creepy Characters Club from Needle Deeva.  The stitch guides for each Halloween monster are from Robin King, so you know this will be great!
http://www.notyourgrandmothersneedlepoint.com/2011/04/creepy-creepy-characters-by-needle.html

Do you love turtles?  Jane Nichols has designed a turtle of the month series.  I have a friend who just adores the Jane Nichols sets and buys them to work up her own stitches and reduce her stash at the same time.
http://www.janenicholsneedlepoint.com/Whats_New.html

If you are a New Yorker and want to do your own set of New York themed canvases, check out the wide selection Annie and Company has online.  This is for the easily bored stitcher who likes to do their own thing.  I particularly like the Needlepoint Broad's ornaments but the baseball fan will find plenty to love (or hate) here.
http://annieandco.com/collections/new-york

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com and at http://chstitchguides.blogspot.com

Interviewing Eileen and Elizabeth (Part Two: Elizabeth)

Anyone who gets into an email conversation with me runs the risk of being interviewed for Blog. Last spring when I discovered the Door canvases Ridgewood Needlepoint offers I asked Eileen Aird the shop owner to let me know when all the models were stitched so I could update the information here. She was kind enough to send me photos of each of the seven doors and then submit to an interview about them, her shop and how she got into needlepoint.

At the same time I was busily pestering the Needlepoint Broad for an interview since I've fallen hard for her nostalgic state vacation postcard designs. Imagine my surprise when Elizabeth Hess, the owner of Needlepoint Broad, said she'd be happy to be interviewed but she had company right now--her twin sister Eileen of Ridgewood Needlepoint was visiting!

So we have two interviews in back-to-back weeks with identical twins operating on the business side of needlepoint. [Eileen's interview was last Sunday, July 26.] Elizabeth tells me they are not the only twins, though. She has heard that the owner of Cooper Oaks has twin daughters. One daughter helps with the Cooper Oaks business and the other owns Birds of a Feather. Twins galore!

Before the interview starts, here is the Needlepoint Broad website for your browsing pleasure. I grabbed the Skating Nuns design from her because I found it so charming but Elizabeth sent me photos of new canvases that aren't on the website yet which I've made into a slide show for you. So along with a twin interviewee, you have twin places to browse.

http://www.needlepointbroad.com/

What got you interested in designing painted canvases?

Sometimes when I would go into a needlepoint store, I couldn’t find anything I liked. I just found the canvases too cutsey. I found an image in a Macy’s ad that I thought would make a great needlepoint. Once I got the licensing rights, Eileen suggested I go with her to a TNNA show. I had moved to Arizona in 2003 and so I found that the time I spent with Eileen at the show was a nice space of time without other interruptions.

Do you have an art school or advertising background? No. I am very interested in art as a hobby, mostly museum visiting and learning about different artists. My training is as a lawyer.

How long have you been in the business? The first TNNA show I was in was June 1976. Has anything changed that you've noticed during your career? Are shops and customers more sophisticated or do you see a demand for canvases that will appeal to younger, less traditional stitchers? I believe my canvases appeal to a younger group of individuals.

Looking at your site, I see that your designs fall roughly into the normal categories of floral designs, Christmas, portraits of women, funny sayings, etc., but your vintage postcard designs, the baseball park patterns and the fireworks designs are different than what one usually finds. The state postcards especially really speak to me. How did you get interested in doing them? The postcards got started because one of the artists I was using had several of the designs and I thought they would translate well. Then I worked with the artist I use and we talked about different motifs for different states. It was fun to see what different people thought represented their state. Sometimes they would ask for the motif from another state.

Did you use source material for inspiration or were you one of the kids like me whose parents took us on a week's vacation at the beach each summer? I think the beach designs are pretty universal. The state postcards are really a result of what different people thought would be a good icon for their state, the artist’s ideas and discussions with others.

What got you into designs of ball parks and fireworks displays? The first stadium design was Eileen’s idea. She just thought it could be an expansion of the firework motif. The first stadium was Yankee stadium. Then came ones that were popular in the east…Red Sox and Mets. After the White Sox won the World Series, we quickly got a White Sox canvas ready. It didn’t really sell that well. It turns out you need rabid fans. Now that we have the Chicago Cubs doing so well, the White Sox stadium does better. The stadiums also seem to be popular because it is a needlepoint that one can give to a spouse or male relative and yet they are nice enough that they wouldn’t take away from your décor in a family room. We are introducing brick covers for baseball teams as well. So far we have the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies. I would imagine they will be followed by the Chicago Cubs and perhaps one of the Texas teams.

The newest stadiums (with the exception of the new Mets Citifield) are being done in a slightly smaller size so they can fit into the Sterling totes. We now have the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, the new Yankee stadium, the new Mets stadium and both the old and new Philadelphia Phillies. Nice! A fan could carry a tote bag to the game showcasing their team spirit and carrying their stitching....

I particularly like the designs that are a bit unusual, like the Chinese New Year dragon or the Jersey Girls Don't Pump Gas signs or the College Bound Dog. Were these customer requests? Shop requests? Ridgewood Needlepoint came up with Jersey Girls Don’t Pump Gas. The Oregon version (you can’t pump your own gas in Oregon either) hasn’t done nearly as well, which just shows the geographic differences.

Do you offer custom designs for people? I can offer that to the stores I service. The Chinese New Year was the inspiration of the artist, Nancy Chapman and the College Bound Dog was a joint effort.

Do you offer all your designs in the 13 and 18 count sizes? I see both sizes on your website and wondered since some designers stick to 18 count and some offer both sizes in at least some of their designs. I have tried to do most of the designs in 13 because there is so much less available in it. If you see a canvas in 18, it is hard to get excited by the 13 so I try not to do a design in both meshes.

Do customers seem to gravitate toward Christmas canvases or do you find they have more divergent tastes if they come from the East Coast versus the West Coast? I can’t keep NJ Girls Don’t Pump Gas in stock, but I haven’t sold two Oregon Girls Don’t Pump Gas.

Do you go to the trade shows with your sister and share a booth and astound people who think they are seeing double instead of identical twins? People get us confused when they see us separately and of course if they don’t know there are two of us. Is there a real advantage in having a sibling also in the business? It was probably an advantage for me because Eileen had so many contacts. I think my having this business has helped her with The Doors Club and projects like that.

I want to thank both Eileen and Elizabeth for answering all my questions and pulling together all the photographs for me to present to my dear Blog readers. I hope you enjoy learning a bit about the professionals who run the shops and create the designs that enthrall us. Now, here's the slide show of the newest Needlepoint Broad designs. Enjoy!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow

Interviewing Eileen and Elizabeth (Part One: Eileen)

Anyone who gets into an email conversation with me runs the risk of being interviewed for Blog. Last spring when I discovered the Door canvases Ridgewood Needlepoint offers I asked Eileen Aird the shop owner to let me know when all the models were stitched so I could update the information here. She was kind enough to send me photos of each of the seven doors and then submit to an interview about them, her shop and how she got into needlepoint.

At the same time I was busily pestering the Needlepoint Broad for an interview since I've fallen hard for her nostalgic state vacation postcard designs. Imagine my surprise when Elizabeth Hess the owner of Needlepoint Broad said she'd be happy to be interviewed but she had company right now--her twin sister Eileen of Ridgewood Needlepoint was visiting!

So we have two interviews in back-to-back weeks with the only identical twins I know of operating on the business side of needlepoint. Since Eileen's interview was further along, let's start with her and the story of Ridgewood Needlepoint and those Doors. You can see the website information about the Doors here. I will scatter the photos of each door throughout the interview so you can enjoy and compare them easily to pick out your favorite.

http://www.ridgewoodneedlepoint.com/index.php?p=dolls

Autumn Door

Eileen says the Doors were designed for her shop by Nancy Chapman who is her custom painter. Nancy also works for Needlepoint Broad occasionally, and the Doors will eventually be available through Needlepoint Broad although for the next year they are shop exclusives. I asked Eileen where the idea for seasonal doors of various architectural styles came from. She said, "One of my employees had a Christmas ornament of a door; in addition, I had several customers who wanted to do a small series of doors. Consequently, I decided to do a series based on the seasons. Actually, I love doing things with short and long stitches but that doesn't work as well for buildings. This series was more challenging for me but I enjoyed the challenge!"

Christmas Door

Here's the rest of my interview with Eileen whose words are blue so you can tell my questions from her answers.

First, the doors. I know they are a "club" at Ridgewood and that you taught one of the doors as a class for your customers. In fact, I will be teaching several other doors in the fall and winter depending on interest. Probably Christmas (again), the Patriotic Door, Autumn and Summer.

Patriotic Door

Otherwise folks get a door canvas with threads and instructions every other month? They get a canvas and instructions every other month. Since so many stitches could supply a needlepoint store with their stash, we made the thread kit optional. We also offered a choice of either six or three doors.

Hanukkah Door

Does one get a choice of a Christmas or Hanukkah door for the end of the year? Actually, we started with Christmas or Chanukah because there is such pressure to complete items for Christmas. But yes, they get a choice. Obviously, a "club member" could choose to do both Christmas and Chanukah and eliminate another door or just do all seven.

Valentine Day's Door

Is there a cutoff date for signing up? No, we can still add people; we just add them to the existing cycle I.e. new people would start with the Valentine's Door. Each door is $85 for the canvas and stitch guide.

Now, about the shop. How long has it been open? Ridgewood Needlepoint opened in April 2002. What possessed you to go into the business? I had always visited needlepoint shops when I traveled and thought that I would enjoy owning one. I have been very impressed with some in my travels. I lived in Wellesley, MA for almost two years and enjoyed going to Wellesley Needlepoint very much.

Spring Door

Was the fact that your twin sister is a designer a big influence you? Or were you the influence, getting her interested because you had the shop and needed her to do a few canvases for you? I opened the shop first and Elizabeth was a frequent visitor. She attended some shows with me and saw some designs that she thought would translate well into needlepoint.

Have you always been an entrepreneur or saw a need or did the local shop start to close and you bought it? There was no local shop but I do have a business background. I had decided that I didn't want to be in corporate America anymore. With my kids entering their teen-age years, a local business had distinct advantages.

What's the story behind your entering into selling threads and charts and canvases and the rest? It was just time to purse a lifelong dream. And because I love painted canvas, the shop deals primarily with painted canvases although we do some charted designs at Ridgewood Needlepoint. The things I stitch are usually whimsical in nature or animals. Owning a shop forced me to develop an eye for different types of canvases. And of course, for someone who loves color, what could be better than owning a needlepoint shop.

Summer Door

Do you and Elizabeth have a family history of needle arts and/or business that got you both started down this path? Although we had both dabbled in some needle arts as children, we then started needlepoint in our early 20's. I was a more consistent needlepointer. Elizabeth did some knitting and some other crafts. I was such a poor knitter that even my mother wouldn't wear the sweater I made! Although our mother didn't do any craft, our father's mother knitted.

Now that you are on the business side, what surprised you the most? I'm always amazed at how much inventory is needed! And how important it is to buy different types of canvases. There's a canvas for every taste.

What is the most fun about owning a NP store? Shopping! What plans do you have for the future? We plan to offer more classes. Right now, I'm working on a beginner's class.

Is the website going to expand, you plan more classes, you want to physically expand the shop, etc.? In the past year, I've been much more active with our blog. [Jane forgot to add a link so you could visit it so I've updated this.]

http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/

I would like to offer some canvases through the web site. I have toyed with becoming more of an internet seller, but I enjoy the personal contact with customers and teaching them. I am a firm believer that it is very important to support the brick and mortar stores. They provide the local knowledge and teaching. And for me, needlepoint is about the colors, the colors and the threads. I need to touch and feel.

Has the economic downturn brought changes to the business that you can see in your customers' behaviors? Are folks splurging on a feel-good canvas, staying at home and stitching stockings for the grandkids instead of traveling in retirement, etc.? We are seeing as much as a downturn as I expected. Stitchers always need to stitch but I've been surprised that the finishing has stayed consistent. Or can you see a difference? The major difference I see in the business versus when I started, is that people often come in wanting a specific canvas. Internet browsing has made the customer much more familiar with the canvas designers.

Is there a local bias in what your customers want in turns of designers? There are regional differences. We sell a lot more Yankee and Mets Stadiums than we do Red Sox (Fenway Park). [Jane, whose husband is the largest Red Sox fan in captivity, faints at the mention of the hated Yankees.] In the rest of the country, I believe a much higher percentage of the needlepoint is Christmas related. We almost never sell nativities.

Do you carry a lot of designs that appeal to folks in the NY/NJ metropolitan

region? We certainly carry some designs that are geared for the NY/NJ metropolitan area. For example, a big seller is "Jersey Girls Don't Pump Gas [available from the Needlepoint Broad]. And another big seller for us has been the New York Midtown Stocking (we call it Rockefeller Center Stocking) by DJ Designs. We also sell lots of belts which I understand you couldn't give away in California.

http://ridgewoodneedlepoint.blogspot.com/2009/05/jersey-boys-dont-pump-gas.html

http://www.annieandco.com/designers/dj/images/dl501.jpg

Do you think your customers buy what folks in Texas, California, Florida and the Central States buy? Of course, some things have universal appeal. I bet "Good Night Moon" by Silver Needle sells all over.

http://www.silverneedlect.com/products.php?category=16

Has owning a shop made you a better stitcher? Owning a shop has definitely made me a better stitcher. In order to teach, I've taken many classes to increase my knowledge and my techniques. In addition to technique classes, I've taken classes on color and design. Owning a shop enables me to recommend stitches for far more canvases than I could every stitch. And I am also exposed to many wonderful stitchers, too. I've found that after I've finished a major project (The Doors, Summer Girl, The Paper Doll Club), my stitching bumps up a level. It's one of the great pleasures of needlepoint -- you can always continue to learn and improve.

Do you have time to do any stitching now except for store models? You are right and virtually everything I stitch goes into the store. But I do lots of stitching. I do most of my stitching at night watching TV. Right now, I'm hoping to finish my Rockefeller Center stocking. I am also taking Carole Lake's Straight Stitches (taught by an employee who took the class) and Construction Stitches by Beth Robertson and Susan Howren. I am also taking Tony Minieri's Back to Basic class on a monthly basis.

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about opening a NP store in their own home town? Although you don't need to be in the center of town, I have benefited from easy visibility from a major street. Knowledgeable and friendly employees are very important because they are the store.

Eileen, thank you so much for sending me the photos of the Doors, for answering all my questions and of course for being one of the fabulous needlepoint twins!

Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow