I've always loved the look of embroidery. I used to do a lot of hand embroidery, this took a considerable amount of time but the end result was always something to be proud of.

When I was 19 I met my husband to be - who already ran an embroidery firm, with its own in house digitizer. The digitizing side of the business really fascinated me. For a while I would do a design, run it out - basically learn from my mistakes. The bug, as it were, then bit me & I went on a 6 month digitizing cause supplied by the agents.

I have since been digitizing almost every day (weekends & holidays included) for about 8 years now.

Did you have an artistic background before learning embroidery digitizing? Do you feel that an artistic background is important or necessary to learn the craft?

I did study art at high school & was always involved in handcrafts.

I personally do not feel that an artistic background is necessary for digitizing. You just have to be a perfectionist, with patience to learn & keep on improving.

What do you feel is your strongest point when it comes to digitizing a wonderful embroidery design?

I feel me strongest point in being a good digitizer in attention to detail, being a perfectionist. I've worked for numerous embroidery firms as a freelance digitizer; I’ve therefore had to ensure that my designs run with few thread breaks, minimal color changes & look excellent.

Do you have any advice for embroiderers as far as what to look for in finding and developing a business relationship with a professional digitizer? Howabout when and when not to add digitizing in house?

My advice to embroiderers for developing a business relationship with a professional digitizer is:
-To let the digitizer know all the relevant details for each design. Such as fabric the design will be embroidered onto, cap or flat work, metallic thread used, do you require thread trims done by machine or by hand, etc. All of this information is vital to ensure design is right fist time.

It is also to the embroiderer’s advantage if the digitizer samples the design out before it is sent out, alignment problems, density etc. can all be sorted out by the digitizer - thereby saving time & frustration for the embroiderer.

What are your plans for the future in your digitizing profession? What do you think lies ahead for digitizers and embroiderers in the industry today?

My plans for the future are to expand the company- buy more digitizing software (only Wilcom systems) & train more digitizers. I plan to "edit" or "proof" every single design before it is emailed out - thereby ensuring the same high standard is maintained.

I feel that the future for digitizers & embroiderers is very bright - improvements in technology = improvements in the quality of the final embroidered product.

Congratulations on your success in the Digitizing Olympics! Do you have anything to mention to the visitors or participants?

Download the winning designs, embroider them, and see what makes them good designs & always keep learning & improving.

This is definitely one industry that you can always learn more. Various digitizers digitize designs differently - it is important to have an open mind.