We recently connected with Catie Shetty and have shared our conversation below.

Catie, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I was always a creative kid. My parents got me DIY kits for pretty much everything; from water color, jewelry making, pottery, and cross stitch. I fell in love with cross stitch at 8 years old and was constantly making new pieces. At that time, youtube wasn’t really a thing, and the directions that came with the kits were terrible; so it was a lot of trial and error to learn how to cross stitch and how to make the final look of product flawless. No one in my family knew the craft either, so I am self taught, which helped me learn embroidery, weaving, sewing, and pattern making as well. I think the most important tool to learning this craft is patience; which is hilarious to me because I am not a patient person at all. It blows my parents (and now my husband) away with how focused I become with stitched and that I can work on the same piece for years before finishing. I have a very busy mind, and working with a needle and thread really slows me down and I find it extremely relaxing. It is a very repetitive craft, but I turn on a podcast and just stitch for hours at a time. I love it so so much.

The thing that held me back years ago was honestly other people’s opinion of me. In jr. high and high school, I didn’t stitch as much because I thought that other people would judge me and make fun of what I was doing. Thinking they would call me “old” or “grandma” terrified me. So I never stitched in front of anyone, not ever my friends. My parents were the only ones that knew I had these skills. It definitely affected me, even sometimes today it does. Cross stitch, embroidery, and any kind of needle work is still considered to be somethings for grandmas to do. Once moving to St Petersburg and seeing all the small business owners and other artists, I really picked up the craft again. Once I dropped that fear of people judging me and just went all out. I learned so much so fast, and still hungry for more. I am still teaching myself new techniques and coming up with new ideas, and I wish I had done this sooner. That is my only regret, is that I waited so long to take the plunge into my art, only because I was worried about what my peers thought.

Catie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As stated before, I am a hand embroidery and cross stitch artist from St Petersburg, FL. I would actually label myself as an all around fiber artist. I started by making custom cross stitch portraits (which is still a fan favorite) but now I offer one of a kind art pieces, home decor items, accessories, jewelry, DIY kits, and even offer supplies for other stitchers. I have even started thrifting denim jacket, vest, overalls and upcycling them with embroidery or hand made appliques. I am also available for custom work or any kind!

What sets me apart for other fiber artist is my pattern mixing, pop culture inspiration, and nostalgic vibe. My pieces are also sometimes “unfiltered” and requires a good sense of humor to appreciate. This is NOT your grandmas craft anymore. I also have a permanent endangered species collection, where every month I stitch a new animal that is endangered and part of the proceeds go towards an organization that helps that specific species. I also create smaller collections through out the year. What also sets me apart, is that 90% of the work I do is one of a kind. I RARELY make the same thing twice, I get bored too fast and don’t like making the same thing over and over again. Other than stickers, DIY kits, and other staple pieces, everything is original and will not be found any where else.

I started my business (Catie Unthreaded) back in 2019 just selling my custom family cross stitch portraits. But after getting laid off in late 2021, I started to create full time; making a wide variety of items. You can find me at pop up markets around the Tampa Bay area, as well as a couple local shops, and even in some store in other states. I also host workshops around town to help others master the craft. I also update my website once a month, but have tons of custom options available. I even had DIY kits or PDF downloads available. Again, I am always available for custom work; bring me your ideas and we can get stitchy together!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

What I have been noticing lately, is there are too many thrifters and resellers that are skewing the market with their pricing. Don’t get me wrong, I love thrifting too, but at the end of the day (in my opinion) these people aren’t actually makers or creators. Sure they spend time looking for cool items and good deals, but they didn’t actually spend time and years learning a specific craft. Specifically for me, these resellers find embroidery pieces at garage sales for .50 cents and resell them for $5 to customers. The same customer comes to see my goods and I have nothing cheaper than $40, so they turn away. I have seen it so many times, where customers don’t understand the time that goes into each piece I make. How my fingers get rubbed raw and my wrists are painful. It may only be fabric and thread, but so much time goes into each stitch. The insight I am trying to point out is to know and acknowledge that true artists have their prices set for a reason, while resellers have theirs and to know the difference between the two.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

As an artist, I have come to know what price range my customers are comfortable with and try to make the majority of my pieces fit within that range. But every now and then, I get a little crazy and I make something so huge, and so detailed, that I get scared it won’t ever sell. I really want to show people that I have the skill set to make something amazing and show the skills I have on reserve when needed. I will have those pieces a very long time, sometimes years. But I never put it on sale and eventually someone buys it. Every time this happens, I am in shock and about to shed some tears. Sometimes I catch myself asking them “Really? You want to buy this?” and I get so excited and giddy. I can hardly believe it sometimes. To know that this person loves what I made and doesn’t argue or comment about the price, it is truly a high you can’t get anywhere else. That is that reason I don’t make the same thing twice; so I can set a fair price for me and the customer, plus the customer is walking away with a one of a kind piece.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.catieunthreaded.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catie.unthreaded/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catie.unthreaded