Embroider or Not To Embroider?

I have been sewing since I was little, and I never thought more of it, other than making my own toys, fixing all my mate's hems and - yes I will admit, sewing my own costumes -  AWESOME ONES! for my themed parties and carnivals.

I started making scrub hat only as a favor to a work colleague, he had a especially small head and I was willing to give it a go. One year and half later, here I am - Not bad considering that I have very limited time! London Struggles, I'm sure you relate, that's for another post ... or few of them hahaha! 

When I first had the thought of embroidering, it came up to me while scrubbing at work - yes, I know! To my defense, it was a particularly slow surgical day and were on a break waiting for test results!. 

I remembered those Facebook posts that were going around with this Aussie nurse that had decided to put her name on the front of her surgical cap - How Clever, why didn't I ever think of that?!. It became viral, and finally it became a trend. YAY! 

Me and my AWESOME hubby decided to invest in an embroidery machine. OH MY!, it wasn't an easy task. We searched all different brands, models and sizes. I remember those old times -Yes, I sound like a grandma -  that when shopping for stuff there was only a couple of brands on the market. Now its just the opposite, there is so much, that my brain shuts down -⚠⚠  information overload!!!!!⚠ ⚠.
I need to compare, look at images, reviews... search.. seach... SEARCH!. 

We made a decision, yay us! we bought this amazing Brother VR embroidery machine. It is a beast, even though it only has 1 needle, its seriously AMAZING. So much, that we decided to give her a nickname "Vivi" and treat her like family - at the end its our baby! hahaha. 

You can imagine how clueless we were.. are kinda.. still are! Brother made an awesome machine, however they don't really have much info on how to use and troubleshoot when using it. Not only that, the company we bought it through www.britishsewingcentre.co.uk - are AWFUL! Only good customer service before you spend the money once bought.. you are forgotten!!!! Don't even get me started. 

We managed to get the embroidery machine working, thanks to some awesome YouTube videos, bough some thread and tested on a few hats and baby products - and voila! incredible results. Now we can do pretty much anything, ... even portraits!!! a bit freaky if you ask me... but it is possible!!! 

 I definitely recommend that if you are thinking of getting one, you DO IT! its pricey but if it will help your business grow. GO FOR IT! if you need any advise just drop me a line or a comment on this post, and more that happy to help - I completely understand being clueless.... BEEN THERE!

Romi