The second step is creating an stable base for each segment of the logo. A good embroidery artist will study the garments being used and also has good understanding of how the embroidery machines work and think so that the finished product is as perfect as possible. In the image below(the yellow stitching is for illustration purposes only) you can see three concentric circles of yellow stitches covered by zig-zag stitches in the letter"O". This pattern is designed to both stabilize the garment but also create a better environment for the future stitches to rest upon. Without these base stitches the letter might sink into the fabric or change shape slightly--both of which aren't the quality we want to produce. 

Below you can see the first 4 letters have been finished. Just as above the "C", "R" and "E" have had base stitches underneath but now you can see the finished, rich satin stitches of each letter. 

With the text finished the designer then moves to the other elements of this logo. Again, for quality purposes we add base stitches to hold the garment in place and then add the second layer of stitches that we actually see. 

Below you can see a screen cap of the sewing process. The top left corner of the red trapezoid shape is being filled with stitches at roughly 1000 individual stitches per square inch. These stitches are incredibly dense,durable and tightly woven. The pattern, direction and density can all be altered by our design team to change the way light hits the logo to alter the overall finished product. 

With the fill stitch completed in the middle section we add a detailed satin stitch around the border of the area. This cleans up the edges and gives a better finished look. 

Below is the completed design as digizitzed.  As stated above, the colors shown are primarily used internally for our own illustration to indicate that each different area is a separate sewing sequence when programmed into the machine. In this logo, the yellow "CROELL" text is the first sequence, the green trapezoid is the second sequence and the two red rectangles are the third sequence to be sewn. The machine operator who uses this design file will have to program the machine based on the actual requests of the customer.  

Based on garment and customer input we then program the machine.  We could sew all three sequences in the same thread color or all three could be different colors. In this example, sequences 1 & 2 (text and trapezoid) are to be sewn in red and the 3rd sequence (rectangles) is to be black.

Almost there--we send the image above to the client for approval. During this process we also will sew several test runs on different fabrics to make sure everything meets our standards.  Our artists are familiar with the machines and usually produce the text runs themselves so that they personally see each logo to ensure that the logo they create will sew smoothly and perfectly. It's not uncommon to add or subtract individual stitches in a logo to finalize the production run. Every time weed it a logo we will sew a test sample to confirm our edits were correct before we allow the file to proceed to the actual customer's garments.   

Not all logos are the same and the process shown here might take as little as 90 minutes and might take all day with edits, samples and approvals.  We take tremendous pride in our ability to embroider many types of fabrics with even the most complicated of graphics and hopefully this brief tour has shown some of the back room work we do to make things look great for our customers! 

I was reminded of a time in the late 80's and early 90's when the battle cry around many communities was "we have to stop Walmart!!" and the public outcry of what Walmart would do to the local businesses. There are so many similarities between the rise of Walmart and the rise of the Internet but the common thread to how we, as local/small businesses can compete against them hasn't changed:  service.

The initial panic felt by retailers when Walmart moved to town eventually gave way to the realization that while Walmart might have cheaper products,they also aren't very good at helping you find the product that you need, or worse yet, they know very little about the products themselves. So, smart retailers upped their game with service and knowledge and the consumers who demanded better remained loyal.  Walmart replaced the bottom retailers but the top stores survived.

The internet's strength compared to Walmart is that it has infinite levelsof research materials on the same device where you're shopping. There really is almost no excuse for failing to make an educated decision withan online purchase, right?

Besides, after doing all the research prior to purchase you can also read reviews from other consumers and see what they think, right?

Well...here's the problem. The internet lies. I know, Iknow...I'm shocked, too. 

Just for fun, go ahead and search "Amazon review fake percentages".  You'll find countless articles stating anywhere from forty to sixty percent of online reviews as being fraudulent. This one from Forbes is a good start.  

Most studies agree that 80% of communication is non-verbal. So…if 50% of what’s online is untrue and 80%of what’s communicated via written words (and by extension, online) falls through the cracks is it any wonder that people who shop online are continually disappointed?

The consumers are going to figure out that it’s still (and always was) better to shop face-to-face than online. It doesn’t mean Amazon is going away, of course, but it does mean there will be a shift back to traditional shopping as consumers try and try and try to “save money” and ultimately decide to buy from a brand, face and company they trust.

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