ARREST ME RED #1838
Cynthia Magyar, owner of Cruise Kids in Hillsdale, NY, prides herself on this family owned and operated business. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Cynthia, is the designer, graphics and marketing person with an endless source of ideas from her 35 years of experience. Operating a three-head Brother machine, she has a strong commitment to excellent customer service. Other team members include Ken, Beverly, Gerry and David. Grandchildren Lou and Nikolas, Rachel and Cianna provide her products with a true wear test that allows Cruise Kids to guarantee that its products will hold up to lots of wear and tear. “I love Madeira thread colors! They don’t fade and they blend beautifully. Nothing harms Madeira thread -- moms can wash it, pre-treat it, and it still holds its color.” When asked how she came up with Arrest Me Red for Polyneon color #1838, Cynthia explains, “the color just stands out. For the car enthusiasts, it means going fast, hence Arrest Me Red. When they come in and ask for the color, Arrest Me Red, I know exactly what they want!” You can reach Cruise Kids at 518 325-4980 or at www.CruiseKids.com.

RASPBERRY CREAM #1681
Carole Fair, owner of Amazing Monograms in Mechanicsburg, PA, chose Raspberry Cream for Polyneon color #1681. “We carry some unique quilt throws. One in particular is a yellow chenille quilt with raspberry appliqué flowers and some butterflies. We add a name or monogram to this quilt using what looked to me like raspberry cream thread, and it makes for a striking finished product.” Husband Don does all their digitizing and creates many of their own designs. Amazing Monograms runs on two machines: a Toyota Pantogram and a Brother 8500 home machine. Carole had retired from the medical profession and Don from the computer industry as an electrical engineer. Eleven years ago they decided to combine their talents and desire to be entrepreneurs by starting Amazing Monograms. According to Carole, “We are doing very well right now; in fact, this is the best first quarter we have ever had.” Articles written by Carole appear in Stitches magazine. You can reach Amazing Monograms at 717 737-0624 or at www.amazingmonograms.com.


IRISH ENVY #1650
Terry Black and Dan Ezell operate Magic Dove in Cocoa, FL. At first, they opened up a magic shop and had some extra space so they decided to add embroidery with a Tajima single-head machine. Dan points out that “We do a lot of individual pieces for customers and they love that! Not having to meet a minimum order makes it possible for customers to have items customized affordably. We have been very successful with this process.” Dan believes that they are in the “Smile Business” because customers leave satisfied with the quality work that Terry and Dan deliver. When asked about how they came up with the name Irish Envy for Polyneon color #1650, he explains, “Well, when I got the e-mail about the Name Your Favorite Color contest, I was looking at the green Madeira threads … the Kelly green brought Irish into my mind and I thought to myself, wow, wouldn’t it be nice if they liked Irish Envy, because that name would be a great fit for Polyneon color # 1650.” You can reach Magic Dove at 321 433-1130.

SWEET GEORGIA BROWN #1659
Nancy Elkins out of Madison, MS, with It’s Mine Monograms came up with Sweet Georgia Brown for Polyneon color #1659. When asked about how she came up with such a sweet name, she explains, “At first, I came up with 10 names for threads and then I realized that only one could be submitted. I took a look at all of the names and picked the one that I thought would be a winner! I decided to go with my favorite brown, the one I use the most on baby and children’s wear. Sweet Georgia Brown just fit my favorite brown really well.” Running her business on a single-head Melco machine, “50% of my business is customized gifts for babies and youngsters,” she explains. “This type of work makes me really happy because I can be a part of something new.” Nancy also does promotional items for businesses around the area. You can reach It’s Mine Monograms at 601 953-7287 or at www.itsminemonograms.com.

SOLAR FLARE #1965
Leon Tailoring Company out of Indianapolis, IN, has been a family owned and operated business for 104 years. Norman Ettinger explains that Leon Tailoring Company specializes in the tailor making of men’s and women’s clothing. They run a single-head BabyLock machine. When asked how he came up with his winning name, Norman explains, “I have a Science degree and the color of Polyneon #1965 just reminds me of the universe and the amazing pictures I have seen throughout my studies.” You can reach Norman Ettinger with Leon Tailoring Company at 317 634-8559.

PEACOCK FANTASY #1246
Kate O’Connell with It’s Personal out of Naples, FL came up with the name Peacock Fantasy for Classic Rayon color #1246. “That color has always been one of my favorites,” she explains, “and every time I look at it I envision a peacock, so the name just kind of came to me.” She began embroidering in 1983 and then left the field about six years ago. Today, Kate has a fulltime job in another field, but when she comes home, she goes to work on her single-head Melco machine. “I am just getting back into the embroidery business and have not figured out what I want to specialize in as of yet.” Kate also plans to get into digitizing and is planning on taking graphic art classes in the near future. You can reach It’s Personal at 239 331-8741.

PEACHY KEEN #1020
Jo Lynn Persyn, the operations manager for Hermosa Embroidery based in San Antonio, TX, won for her suggestion of Peachy Keen for Classic Rayon #1020. Hermosa has been in business for over 20 years, the last two under the ownership of Jill and Chris Sands. The company runs two Tajima machines (a 12-head and a 6-head) and a 4-head Melco. While the bulk of their work is contract, currently they are busy personalizing baseball gear for local players. Christmas time will find them personalizing stockings for retail customers. Classic Rayon #40 color #1020 is a favorite of theirs for creating skin tones. And as to how Jo Lynn came up with it? She laughs, “It’s a saying my Grandma always uses. Now when something good happens, my fiancée or I will say, ‘That’s Peachy Keen.’”

HEREFORD BROWN #1158
Cynthia Bauer operates her CNL Embroidery out of Aberdeen, SD. She once worked for a big company that did embroidery until she decided to take matters into her own hands. “Finally, in August of 2001, I decided to start my own business and be the big player.” How did she come up with the name Hereford Brown for Classic Rayon color #1158? “My husband and I were brought up on a farm and while I was growing up, my father raised pure Hereford cows. My husband was the one that initially came up with the name when we were ordering thread. It reminded him of the color of the Herefords. While Herefords can be several shades of brown, this is the one we use when doing this particular breed.” CNL Embroidery runs a single-head Tajima and specializes in custom embroidery. Cynthia prides herself on the “one-of-a-kind” pieces she produces. CNL Embroidery also does sublimation on items such as mouse pads and T-shirts. You can reach CNL Embroidery at 605-229-0217.

GRECIAN SKYLINE #1177
Bethany Placides with Vision Art Graphics out of Medford, MA has been in the Embroidery/Printing business for just a little over a year and a half. She runs a Tajima single-head machine at Vision Art Graphics, catering to businesses and specializing in banners and t-shirts, as well as embroidery. When asked about how she came up with Grecian Skyline for Classic Rayon color #1177, she explains, “When I was looking at the thread color, it just reminded me of the way the houses looked in Greece.” You can reach Vision Art Graphics at 781-393-4425.

POT O’ GOLD #1673
Cheri Harwood with Image Embroidered out of Woodstock, GA came up with the name, Pot O’ Gold, for Polyneon color #1673. “There is really no story behind it,” she explains, “it just looks like it!” Cheri runs a single-head Tajima machine and does most of her embroidery work for local schools and churches. Image Embroidered, which has been around for five years, also offers work with heat presses and promotional items. Cheri points out that, “We wanted to start a franchise, but in the end we decided that it would be much better to be independent.” And thus, Image Embroidered was born! You can reach Image Embroidered at 404 271-3074.

CHAMPAGNE BEIGE #1884
According to Sharon Ostrander with Truly Yours in Oscoda, MI, “If you have a logo, we can customize it to anything!” Her Truly Yours is a multi-service business -- she handles the embroidery aspect of it while her husband handles vehicle graphics, sand blasted signs, banners, etc. Much of their business comes from corporate and industrial companies, along with sports logos for schools. Truly Yours operates a two-head Barudan machine. Sharon explains that Polyneon color #1884 “is a strong, light gold color which fits the name Champagne Beige perfectly.” Sharon has been in the embroidery business since 1995, adding, “From 1982 to 1995, I had a hair salon. There was a lady that rented space from me who had an embroidery business. When she decided to retire, I decided to buy the business and get into embroidery. It was great timing and a great way to use my creativity in a different profession. When I first started I had a hard time because the thread I was using broke all the time. Then I discovered Madeira and I am very happy with the quality of the thread. I do not lose valuable project time with Madeira thread, like I did with the old thread I used.” You can reach Truly Yours at 989 739-7060.

APPLETINI #1901
Sara Creppel’s Kustom Stitches in Belle Chasse, LA, specializes in advertising and promotional products. She explains that “the girls and I were talking together and Appletinis reminded us of the color (Polyneon color #1901) and that’s how the name originated!” In the embroidery business for 15 years, Sara bought Kustom Stitches about four months ago, and runs two Melco four-head machines. Kustom Stitches does work for oil companies like Shell and sports logos for schools in the area. You can reach Kustom Stitches, Inc. at 504 394-1547.

MALIBU COAST #1977
Ken Anderson, with Quick Draw out of Los Angeles, CA, won with the name Malibu Coast for Polyneon color #1977. Ken explains, “I live just south of Malibu, so I decided to go for the blue threads and find the one that best matched the color of the ocean. That’s pretty much the story!” Quick Draw runs a four-head Tajima machine. According to Ken, “We do a lot of screen printing, but we do embroidery as well. I would say that 75% of our work would be screen printing and 25% embroidery. We get a lot of contract business from companies. We also work closely with the local universities, such as UCLA. We also work with charity groups.” Ken has been with the screen printing and embroidery business for six years. You can reach Quick Draw at 310 477-6770.

SILVER DAZZLE #1611
When Carole Gamble with What’s In Store out of Caldwell, ID, first heard, “Congratulations, you are a winner in Madeira’s Name Your Favorite Color Contest,” she thought someone was playing a great joke on her. “Are you serious?” she kept asking. Carole won with Silver Dazzle for Polyneon color # 1611. Carole runs her business on two Brother embroidery machines and one Husqvarna (Viking). When asked about how she came up with such a mesmerizing name, she explains: “I just love the color of thread #1611. It is very shiny and sticks out clearly over other colors that have a similar shade. I once did a project on a jacket that featured an eagle on the back. I only used color #1611 for the whole project. The color really stands out.” Carole works closely with Ricki Clemons out of California, depending on the size of the jobs she is working on. Carole adds, “We do work for each other, sometimes the projects are big and other times small. I get a good amount of business from California.” You can reach What's In Store at 208 453-2743.

We want to share some info on our contest winners. Here are the first five winners for Classic Rayon. Next week we will update with the remaining five for Rayon, and then introduce you to the winners for Polyneon. To see the Favorite Classic Rayon Color Kit that resulted from this division, click here!

Fuzzy Antler Brown #1128
Mark Johnson at The Fuzzy Antler Embroidery and Screen Printing company in Ironwood, MI, was very happy to hear that he was selected as a winner in the Name Your Favorite Color Contest. "Around here we have a lot of resorts, so we tend to do a lot of contract work for them," Mark explains. "We also do a lot of work shirts and logos for local companies." Fuzzy Antler offers both screen printing and embroidery, on a single-head Barudan machine. When asked how he arrived at the name Fuzzy Antler Brown for Classic Rayon #1128, Mark laughs. "Well, we were working on a deer logo and started talking about how deer have velvet antlers at times and through that conversation we came up with the name, and the name has stuck ever since." You can reach The Fuzzy Antler Embroidery and Screen Printing at 906-932-1262 or online at www.fuzzyantler.com.

Heart Felt Red #1147
Patricia Yocom runs two Tajima machines (a four-head and a single-head) at her Lake Effect Embroidery company in Michigan City, IN. Valentine's Day was the inspiration for her naming Classic Rayon color #1147 Heartfelt Red. "Your contest was right around Valentine's Day and Classic Rayon #1147 is a very popular red around here. In fact, it never leaves our machines! I took one look at it and the theme of Valentine's Day came to mind." You can reach Lake Effect Embroidery, Inc. at 219-872-3045

Wisteria Waterfall #1275
Located in the foothills of Sugarloaf Mountain area in Strong, ME, Ellen and Steve Bonney primarily focused on screen printing at their Simple T's, but when customers began asking for embroidery, they added a single head Barudan. Now Steve is the graphic designer and digitizer while Ellen runs the embroidery machine and screen press. A few years back, Ellen and Steve took a trip to Italy. They had dinner at a restaurant called the Royal Hunting Lodge. The restaurant ha d a courtyard with a pool that was joined by two staircases on either side. Each staircase was covered with 200-year-old wisteria vines. To most, this scene might have simply looked like a beautiful garden setting, but to the creative Ellen it looked like a "Wisteria Waterfall," which is what she named Classic Rayon color #1275.

Pictured here is an impressive wisteria climbing on a gate in Italy near the Tower of Pisa. Ellen explains, "Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera when we went to the dinner, but this picture gives you a bit of that lushness of color dripping down like water!"

Simple T's most challenging embroidery projects include a wedding address...creating the likeness of a Veteran's military picture on a jacket for an 80th Birthday...and the most recently, a banner for a local high school. You can reach Simple T's at 207-684-3510.

Butterscotch #1225
Maureen Pharoah specializes in hand bags and military bags at her MoMade Fashion Bags in Paris, TN. She was incredulous to learn her entry was chosen as a winner. "I have never won anything before, but this just did it for me!" Maureen embroiders on a BabyLock home embroidery machine. When asked why she named Classic Rayon color #1225, Butterscotch, she simply states, "It just looks 100% like butterscotch!" You can reach MoMade Fashion Bags at 731-642-8053 or online at http://momade.net.

Agarita Berry Red #1181
Office manager Alyce Davidson and John Baker at San Saba Cap in Kerrville, TX entered and won with the name Agarita Berry Red for Classic Rayon color #1181. When asked for the story behind this creative choice Alyce explains, "When I was younger, I used to make Agarita jelly from Agarita berries. The thread color was identical to the color of the Agarita jelly." San Saba Cap operates four Tajima machines (two 12-heads, one six-head, and one two-head.) San Saba Cap specializes in headwear, casual outdoor and corporate apparel. You can reach San Saba Cap at 830-257-2434 or online at www.sansabacap.com.