APRIL 24 - MAY 30
SUBMISSIONS
MAY 31 - JUNE 13, 2024
EMBROIDERY SHOWCASE
+ VIEWERS CHOICE VOTING
JUNE 10 - 14, 2024
FEST DAYS
SMP VIRTUAL HOOP FEST
A SPRING EVENT with CONTEST + AWARDS
Join us for a unique virtual festival
celebrating the embroidery arts!
Save the dates!
JUNE 10—JUNE 14, 2024
AMAZING PRESENTATIONS
-and- FUN GIVEAWAYS!
PRESENTERS' BIOS
Our esteemed panel of experts
Joanne Banko
A graduate of Progressive Fashion School formerly located in Cleveland Ohio, Joanne Banko is an author, freelance sewing educator, and self-proclaimed sewing cheerleader! As a Brother Ambassador Joanne contributes regularly to the official Brother blog, Stitching Sewcial. Guest instructor on the popular PBS It’s Sew Easy TV show, and author of the book Wrapped in Embroidery, Joanne enjoys designing projects to help sewing and embroidery enthusiasts make the most of their machines. Visit Joanne at her sewing and embroidery website, www.letsgosew.com, where you’ll find inspiration and information to keep you happily creating in your own sewing space
Reen Wilcoxson
“My love of sewing, crafting & designing began at an early age. After seeing an embroidery machine for the first time almost 18 years ago, I knew I had to have one. Shortly after purchasing a machine, I began to create my own designs. ‘In the hoop’ designs are what I focused on and are what I love to digitize. I offer my fun, unique designs & projects on my website, Embroidery Garden. I’ve been selling my designs online for the past 15 years and have recently begun teaching classes across the country. I enjoy meeting fellow embroiderers and constantly learning new things about this wonderful industry.”
Zandra Shaw
Zandra Shaw is the creator and CEO of Embroidershoppe.com, an established and recognized embroidery house in the home embroidery industry, since 2009. During her career, she has made contributions and featured in the following Magazines: Designs in Machine Embroidery, Flair Magazine and Creative Machine Embroidery.
Karlie Belle
Karlie Belle is a full-time working mom and wife with a serious craft addiction. When she’s not being a dance mom, she loves to be in her craft room and sharing with you how to make beautiful things with an embroidery machine. Catch her on her live Friday night show, “Sip & Stitch.”
Mike Johns
Growing up in a family of crafters, Mike said he didn't become serious about sewing until he studied Costume Design and Technology at Florida State University a little over 20 years ago. He said he enjoys the unique creative process sewing provides. Mike added that teaching has also shown him the special relationship sewers have with one another.
Patty Marty
Patty’s passion for embroidery, sewing and quilting aided her in joining the Baby Lock Training Team in January 2012. Her experience as a sewing and embroidery small business owner has helped bring a new perspective to the Training Team. Like most, she brings a life-long history of sewing and comes from a crafty lineage of women in her family. Patty’s experience of making custom purses, monogramming and embroidery helps her to spread the love for embroidery and the world of the multi-needle.
Anna Avery Vaughn
Anna fell in love with quilting several years ago and has never looked back! Anna’s favorite machines include the Solaris, Altair and Meridian and you can find her teaching using these machines and her favorite techniques in shops around the country and online on the Baby Lock Facebook pages and machine specific groups.
Dustin Gill
Dustin Gill is a seasoned expert in the embroidery industry with over a decade of experience. Renowned for his comprehensive understanding of embroidery techniques and processes, Dustin has mastered the intricacies of the latest machine embroidery technologies. Throughout his career, Dustin has been dedicated to refining his skills and staying updated with industry advancements, making him a valuable resource for both novices and professionals in the embroidery community. He currently works for SWF in the support department.
Lisa Knight
Lisa started sewing at age six, or, as she puts it, "a long, long time." Over the course of those years, she fell in love with the endless creative possibilities sewing provides. When it comes to teaching, Lisa said she loves interacting with her students and seeing their reactions. She also adds that teaching is a two-way street, where she learns from her students in turn. It's a lesson she's retained throughout her career, and it's helped her keep a fresh approach to teaching.
Mary Nesnay
"Born & raised in New Jersey, my background is in computer animation, graphic design, & American history. I began embroidering in 2019 when Disney’s D23 held a design contest for the 50th Anniversary of the Haunted Mansion. Since then, I have learned the art of digitizing and tested a myriad of patch-making methods before finally perfecting my craft. While there are many techniques that can be applied to creating a patch, I believe my method creates the sharpest and cleanest results."
Anne Hein
Anne’s passion for sewing started with the required Home Economics class. Sewing, creating unique clothes, and crafting were her things – even using her grandmother’s trundle machine. Today you'll find Anne on the Artistic Digitizer facebook page, sharing her extensive knowledge of embroidery digitizing and editing; and helping everyone with troubleshooting their projects.
Miriam Coffey
As a young child, Miriam had a love for textiles and anything she could create with them. She attended Maryland College of Art and studied textile arts. Miriam has been published in several articles and appeared on the show Fresh Quilting. Her work has been featured in the Modern Quilt Guild’s “Modern Quilts, Best of the New Century” book. She has also won many awards for her quilts.
Stephanie Young
Self proclaimed “Professional Crafter”. Stephanie is the Craft Coordinator for Siser North America, which is the industry leader in HTV and PSV vinyl. Siser has launched their own electronic cutters, Romeo and Juliet. Stephanie educates on all things vinyl, embroidery and sublimation and offers helpful tips and tricks no matter what the topic is. If you want to have a great class and a good time… be sure to take a class from So Stephanie Says. Be Creative. Be Siser.
Karen Parker
Karen started sewing in the first grade after her grandmother gave her a fruitcake tin to hold her sewing supplies. “I've sewn all these years because it is a part of me just like my hand or my leg, and what would I do without one of those,” she said. “My commitment to my relationship with sewing guided me to earn my Bachelor's Degree in Clothing and Textiles. I love it because everyone can do it! There are no age limits, only limits of the imagination!” She's carried that passion for sewing into her role as a Baby Lock educator. She said the people she meets and spends time with is what she considers the best part of her role.
Dawn Chace
Dawn is an accomplished sewist with over 40 years of experience under her belt. In 2007, she started an embroidery business selling embroidery and applique items in her local area, followed shortly after by opening an online store creating personalized applique and shirts. She merged her love of embroidery and quilting 10 years ago by starting Creative Appliques. She has since created over 6,000 designs including applique designs, embroidery fonts and designs and in-the-hoop projects.
Rosemary Castillo-Sartin
Rosemary’s mother sewed, her grandmothers sewed, her aunts sewed…. Therefore she sews! She has sewed for over 40 years and is now a Brother educator. Her favorite Brother Machines are the PR680W and XP3. You can often find her sewing in her studio listening to a good audio book.
Sara Vetser
Sara Vetser is a Brother ambassador and educator. She also creates content for various social media outlets in order to create an online brand awareness and presence. Sara also specializes in incorporating sustainable sewing and quilting by using recycled material.
Barb Lewis
Barb is a National Educator for Baby Lock with 10 years of experience teaching sewing and serging projects. She is always trying to find something new to sew or serge. She loves to see all the possibilities. Outside of sewing and quilting, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and basking in the Utah weather.
Cindy Hogan
Cindy resides in Georgia with her husband. She has a BS and MS from the University of TN in Special Education and was a full time Special Education teacher until 2003 when she decided to change career paths and use her knowledge of PE-DESIGN® and Education to be a freelance National Product Training Specialist for the for all Brother Software Programs. Cindy is an internationally recognized Brother Software expert. She began working with the PE-DESIGN® software when it was first introduced and began teaching all Brother Software thereafter. She is also national recognized as an expert on the Brother Scan-N-Cut and machine embroidery. She teaches classes on the Craftsy Platform and has been a guest instructor on the Hit TV Show “It’s Sew Easy”.
Coleen Swettman
In the mid 1990’s Coleen become fascinated with machine embroidery. It was love at first sight. She loves every aspect of embroidery from digitizing to seeing the design stitched out on the finished item. Coleen started with the earliest version of embroidery software and enjoys the many new advanced features and ease of use that are available in software today. If an item can be embroidered – she’s probably embroidered on it.
Jennifer Gleich
Jennifer learned how to sew by making Barbie clothes and for 35+ years she kept the lover for sewing all the way into a career. Her favorite place to sew is at a quilt retreat with her best sewing friends on the Oregon coast. Her favorite machine to use is a Luminaire XP3.
Paige Bartlett
"Hello! My name is Paige Bartlett. I am a Baby Lock educator, fabric painter, pattern writer, and lover of quilting, serging, and machine embroidery! My studio is located near Tulsa, Oklahoma, in Osage County. My mom sat me down at her Baby Lock sewing machine when I was 5 years old, and I have been sewing since! Sitting down at my favorite machine of the moment and creating something beautiful has always been so therapeutic for me and keeps me motivated to keep growing my skill set and pushing the boundaries of my creativity. When I'm not in my studio, I enjoy gardening, cooking with my husband, Sean, reading to my baby, Theodore, and being outdoors. I look forward to creating with you!"
Ashley Jones
Ashley Jones, and Educator & Inspiration Consultant for DIME, combines a professional career in Information Technology with a personal interest in embroidery, sewing and quilting to deliver and broad range of knowledge in a simple and straightforward manner. She gained extensive knowledge of nearly every brand of sewing/embroidery machine and embroidery software while working and teaching for one of the largest sewing machine dealers in the industry. She is a Martha Pullen Licensed Teacher and runs her own embroidery business. Now Ashely travels all over the country sharing her tips and tricks for stabilizing, hooping, placement and using embroidery software to overcome everyday challenges with embroidery. She loves to share the abundance of techniques she has fine-tuned over many years.
Milinda Stephenson
Throughout her time as a Baby Lock Educator, Milinda made an important discovery. "I’ve learned that people who sew tend to be smart, creative and determined. These are people who make the world a better place—they are givers—the majority of their sewing tends to be for other people. That generous spirit is contagious, and brings me so much joy!" She said connecting with those people is her favorite part of teaching. "We are healthier when we are in community, and teaching engages me in this fabulous community of men and women who love to learn and love to sew." Milinda started sewing since she went off to college and — as she readily pointed out — since her mom stopped sewing for her. She said she's been obsessed with sewing and design since then. She said her favorite thing about sewing is the infinite possibilities it provides. "It allows me to dream of all the things that can be created—those dreams are fabulous therapy—they help me move beyond daily problems and imagine what can be rather than what is," Milinda said. "And there is this wonderful physical benefit—sewing lowers your blood pressure! It is soothing and therapeutic."
Kathi Quinn
Kathi Quinn, National Education Coordinator for RNK Distributing for ten years, exclusive distributors of Floriani Products has become known for her love for embroidery, sewing, and quilting. Kathi started her passion for all aspects of embroidering with the early home embroidery machines. Kathi began teaching others her tricks and solutions to everyday challenges in home embroidery many years ago. Today she has taught classes all over the country in basic embroidery techniques, all about stabilizers, sewing projects, computer software basics, serger projects, heirloom sewing, and many more. Kathi has become licensed on all major machines through Martha Pullen schools and has recently taught at the Hands On Sewing Schools, and Martha Pullen Schools. Her expertise along with a relaxed personality makes her class fun, informative, to the point and creates a workshop type atmosphere.
Judy Fredenburgh
Judy Fredenburgh is a professional educator for sewing, embroidery, quilting and crafting. Judy’s teaching style takes new technologies and inspires students of all levels to find their unique creativity to exhilarate their sewing and crafting passions. Judy has more than 30 years of experience working in the Sewing Industry. As a former Corporate Educator, Event Coordinator, and Retail Store Manager, and a small business owner herself, Judy has a well-rounded understanding of the Sewing Industry. Judy’s passion for all things sewing started in southern California in 1961 when her Grandmother gave Judy her first sewing machine. More than 50 years later, Judy thrives on sharing the sewing bug at locations across the United States! Whether helping others create sewing projects from new crafting techniques or designing precious family keepsakes for generations to come, Judy brings inspiration, passion and an absorbable teaching style to her students.
Trevor Conquergood
Trevor Conquergood of Saskatoon, Canada is considered one of the True Embroidery Masters of our time. Just like Walter Floriani Jr., Trevor was born the son of an Embroidery Master, and his father and family lived embroidery. Forging his own path, Trevor has learned and taught almost every brand of embroidery software. Even software companies invite Trevor to Europe or Asia to teach educators on maximizing their program’s functionality to get the most of their features and benefits.
