We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Newton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.

Amanda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I never actually planned on making embroidery a business! It all started when I decided to make my son a blanket to match his Arizona State University themed nursery. I patched together my husband and I’s old college t-shirts into a quilt and posted a picture of it online. I then made quilts for my other children, and posted those as well. People took interest and started ordering quilts for their children. After dozens of quilts, my sewing machine stopped working, so my husband surprised me with a new one that did embroidery as well. The more I learned about embroidery, the more I loved it, so I started a page on social media that showcased the things I was learning to make. Before long, it turned into a business page! Eight years (and 5 industrial embroidery machines) later and I now am the “go to” embroidery person for several local companies and shops.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Sure! While I do many custom embroidery orders such as monograms and personalization, I specialize mostly in something called “In-The-Hoop” embroidery. This basically means that the entire project is made on the embroidery machine. For example, if it is a zipper pouch, the pouch is constructed (zipper and all) on the machine while the embroidery designs are being added.

Being a first grade teacher as well, I love to specialize in teacher products. I make lanyards, ID holders, pouches for pens/pencils, notebook covers, and hand sanitizer holders. I also do school banners, keychains, and personalized teacher pennants.

I am most proud of the fact that most of my products are gifted to teachers- I have had friends send me pictures of gifts they received from students that were made by me! Teaching is tricky these days and knowing that something I created potentially brightened a fellow teacher’s day- that’s the best feeling!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My embroidery business is- sorry for the cliche- my creative outlet. It is a way to supplement my teacher income but also fulfill my need to be creative. However, I’m also a mom of four kids (6, 7, 9, 12) who have their own very busy schedules. In order to meet the requirements of my day job and keep my business going strong, I put in the same amount of hours as nearly two full time jobs each week, plus all of the sports practices, music lessons, after school commitments, etc.

How did you build your audience on social media?

While my audience is still growing, the best way I built my followers was to get in some local shops and make sure my social media handles were on every tag/label/card. I also studied the science of hashtags and how to make sure my posts hit target audiences. My friends are really great supporters, too, and are constantly referring people to my pages.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @newtons_appleque
• Facebook: Facebook.com/newtonsappleque

Image Credits
Chelsea Roles Photography