How did you get started with digitizing and embroidery? I am a Technician Engineer in Textile and Clothing Technology. I was working in one Finnish company that produced clothes in Estonia. I travelled twice a month to Estonia to check that the production was going well and on schedule. I also calculated the needed fabrics and accessories and made the orders, and made the sewing instructions of the products. I was well paid and good at my very rewarding job... and always fighting with my guilty conscience. I had the real treasures of my life at home and I was running after money! I had to work on weekends if it was busy time (it usually was) and also on weekdays late at night (16 hours working day wasn't a rarity). So the decision to quit the job was one of the hardest and absolutely one of the best decisions in my life. Suddenly I had a lot of time not only for my family but also for myself. The time was right to learn something new and so I filled my long-term dream: I bought an embroidery machine and digitizing software. I believe that my studies in textile technology have made the learning of digitizing a little easier. I love digitizing so much because it is an endless project, you'll always find something new to learn. After a year of practising (digitizing and stitching, making changes in digitizing and stitching), I felt ready to contact Carol to ask if StitcheryMall was interested in selling my designs. I was really grateful and happy to get chosen. At the same time I decided to build my own webstore for the Finnish customers, because I found it quite difficult to get embroidery threads and stabilizers or they were really pricey.

Has your business changed since you started digitizing?
I have been in the embroidery business only one year, so there haven't been many changes yet. I have developed my webstore for my Finnish customers. In addition to the embroidery designs, threads and stabilizers I have begun to sell fabrics, items to embroider and now I am developing embroidered products to sell. I have also done some custom digitizing and designing for some Finnish cloth producers.

What types of future projects are in the works?
I am interested in everything that's possible to create with my machine and digitizing. I want to make in the hoop quilting, soft free-standing lace and some 3-D projects.

What personal information would you like to share?
I am a native Finn (Finland is situated in Northern Europe). We live about 28 miles from our second biggest city, Tampere. At the moment we have wintry cold weather (-28°C, -18.4 F). I have a wonderfully supportive and loving husband. We celebrate our wedding day on the Independence day of USA! Next summer we will have our 19th anniversary. We have two sons, 13 and 15 years next month, who have made our life so rich. We have also two pet rabbits. We have a great hobby, me and my hubby, we dance Tango Argentina, and also different dances generally. It is a great way to keep our relationship close and to have time just for two of us. It is also a good counterbalance to sitting at a computer!