Mystic Stitch

Thank you for participating in our Friday Feature this week Kelly! Would you begin by telling us a little about how Mystic Stitch got its start?
Established in 2001, Mystic Stitch began as a hobby. I was frustrated by the selection of cross stitch patterns available at my local needlework store. I wanted to stitch something of substance, something that I would want to hang in my living room and not the typical samplers that I would find everywhere. There were several pattern creating programs on the market all with very cool design options so I decided to try and create my own. I was very disappointed to find that none of these programs gave a clear exact match to the original work of art that I started with. I asked my sister (a computer programmer) if it was possible to take bits and pieces of the commercial software and put them together in a new program that I could use to design cross stitch. She could and we did.

With the help of 6 different software programs we came up with what is now Mystic Stitches’ designing software. It took several weeks to come up with just the right features but luckily for me my sister was obsessed with computers as I was cross stitching so the work was really a labor of love. After designing a few patterns for personal use I was asked by other stitchers’ to create patterns for them. I soon discovered that I was not alone in my frustration and there were others out there with a real desire to stitch more modern, intricate designs. The days of stitching our mothers “samplers” were over. There was a lot of trial and error but the response has been amazing! 7 years later, we have a customer base in over 29 foreign countries and in 50 U.S. states. I do all of the designing and web site work along with marketing & customer service while my husband Tony deals with production and coordination of our stores and distributors. He also deals with the publishing houses and artists we work to ensure that our contracts are updated and that royalties’ are paid promptly. It has grown into a true family affair. Our kids often help with bagging and boxing up shipment. We have grown but are still small enough to provide quality designs with a real personal touch! We jokingly refer to our designs as the “paint by numbers” for the new millennium.