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Erica Michaels |
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Designer's Name: Linda Stolz |
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Location: Clarksville, TN
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It’s a pleasure to have you join us today for the Friday Feature Linda! Has this been a busy summer for Erica Michaels Designs?
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When were you first introduced to cross-stitch and do you remember your thoughts as you completed those first few rows of X’s?
Like many of us, the women in my family all did needlework. One grandmother quilted and crocheted; another did knitting, crochet, tatting, embroidery, and her own sewing. My mother sewed most of our clothes as children and did crewel embroidery – and I had an aunt who was a professional seamstress. However, none of them did counted cross stitch! I had done quite a lot of crewel embroidery through high school, but it wasn’t until I was in college that I ran across a magazine with a counted cross stitch sampler in it. I do remember enjoying the work – maybe it was just the orderly progress or something, but obviously it was only the beginning! Over the years I lost track of it and thought it was long gone but I happened to find it just a few years ago and its framed and hanging on the wall in my office now.
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Your name isn’t Erica or Michael…can you give us the scoop on your company name and why you chose it? When I decided to take the step into designing in 1999, one of the very first things I had to do was decide on a name for my new business. It was not an easy or quick decision to make, but it was literally one of those “light-bulb” moments while getting ready one morning. My husband and I have one son – Eric Michael Stolz – he’s just turned 13 and has been a great joy for us (I hear that may be changing now since he’s an official teenager?) and the name “Erica Michaels” just hit me one morning as a name that had a real personal connection to me but also had definite possibilities as a business name. We quickly did an internet search and didn’t find any immediate problems – and so it was done! It’s a bit confusing sometimes – but believe me – I’ve learned to answer when someone calls me Erica!
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New From Erica Michaels... Toil & Trouble hits the cross-stitch market just in time for fall and Halloween. This catchy cauldron of X's has a stitch count of 96 x 171 and retails for a suggested $7.50. As you can see from the image, plenty of the essential elements of a good witch's brew are incorporated into this seasonal design! Make this a part of your fall decor and it's guaranteed to catch the eye of your guests! |
What was your profession before cross-stitch? In college I went back and forth between interior design and graphic arts – finally choosing the first. I worked with a design firm in Wichita, Kansas for several years then moved on to a series of other office and administrative jobs. It wasn’t usually very creative work but in looking back I can see that it gave me valuable experience in the general business and office work that I still use today.
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Would you explain how you first got started designing cross-stitch patterns? It was in 1998 or so. Our family had moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and since Eric was preschool age we decided that I wouldn’t work in a full-time “rat race” kind of job. Eric was just old enough that I could find some stitching time again, so I went looking for a local shop and found The Silver Needle. Not too long after that I began working there and found my creativity being fed and nourished once again – that was very gratifying! After a time I became more involved in creating some of the shop exclusives, and before I knew it I was regularly designing the shop’s Secret Needle Night kits and several camp projects. One day, I came into the store on my day off – Lindy and Mona grabbed me, sat me down, and proceeded to inform me that I should start my own design business. As they say – the rest is history…
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What are some of your favorite things about being a part of the cross-stitch industry? Two things I think – first, the people and secondly, being able to nurture my creative side on a regular basis. It wasn’t long after I started designing those Secret Needle Night kits that I realized how much I had missed doing something creative. And the people in this business are just the best – the kind of friends that you don’t see very often, but when you do meet up again at a show or retreat, it’s like you haven’t been apart much at all! And meeting stitchers from all over is great fun. I’ve worked at two cross stitch shops and have been privileged to be invited to teach at retreats around the country. There is nothing quite like a group of stitchers coming together and sharing – I still spend time with friends here in Clarksville every few months. We don’t get much stitching done, but it’s wonderful to chat, share and come together.
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From your viewpoint, do you see enough young stitchers being mentored and taught so that the cross-stitch industry will be able to sustain itself in the future? I wish I had a crystal ball on that one! I honestly can’t say I see many young stitchers first-hand but I just have to believe that they are out there somewhere! I recently taught a group of 12-year-old girls to punchneedle, and they just loved it! I hope they continue to seek out all that they can create with a needle and thread. Young people today live a much more fast-paced lifestyle and I think it’s hard for them to slow down and take the time to do what feeds that place in all of us that gets satisfaction from creating with our own hands.
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When you aren’t designing or stitching, what do you enjoy in your spare time? Spare time – what’s that? When I do get some down time, I’m usually reading – I love historical fiction and I’m currently revisiting Pride and Prejudice and other works by Jane Austen. I also sing in a couple of small choir ensembles at my church nurturing that part of my soul. I also like to stitch pieces from other designers - just because I have my own line now doesn't mean I have to give up the rest of it! I rarely get the opportunity to work on other designs, but I enjoy it immensely.
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Would you share a little about your family? I’ve been married to my husband, Len, for 20 years this fall. He’s been so very supportive of my designing endeavors and his sales and marketing background has been invaluable whenever the creative side of my brain isn’t paying so much attention to the practical business side and it helps keep everything in balance. Eric is our only child and I hope to be the proud mom of an Eagle Scout in the near future.
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Our features usually end on a culinary note…would you mind parting with a delicious recipe? Well, I’m one of those people who really doesn’t “cook” at all; the most I will admit to is “food preparer” – the microwave is my friend. In fact, I have a little note on my refrigerator that says something like “I only have a kitchen because it came with the house”. Thankfully, both my husband and son are pretty handy in the kitchen but it doesn’t help that I’m also a very picky eater! Although by no means an original recipe, this is a recipe for coleslaw which we like here at home; it’s also perfect for potluck get-togethers. Chinese Cole Slaw 1 pound package coleslaw 1 bunch green onions, chopped fine 1 cup sunflower seeds (no shells) 1 cup slivered almonds 1 package Ramen noodles, any flavor 2/3 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar ¼ cup sugar Put coleslaw, onions, seeds, and nuts together in a serving bowl. Mix the dressing separately – oil, vinegar, sugar and the seasoning packet from the noodles. About 30-45 minutes before serving, break up the Ramen noodles and mix in with coleslaw. Pour the dressing over the slaw and stir well to coat.
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