When Marie Zinno was a new mom she taught herself how to sew.
At the time, the Jackson Township resident couldn’t have possibly imagined she was laying the foundation for a successful at-home business.
But that’s exactly what she did, one stitch, one project, at a time.
“I started to sew when my son was a baby,” Zinno, 42, explained. “He was a good napper, and I didn’t want to clean all day and I didn’t want to watch soap operas, so I taught myself how to sew. It kind of just mushroomed from there.”
Zinno’s business, Sew Creative Embroidery, was born out of those early days. She is quick to point out that she never fancied herself a sewer, especially in high school economics.
“I am not very good at following directions,” she noted, with a smile. “I’m more visual. So, (when I was sewing) I would look at the pattern and then say to myself ‘I will figure it out on my own.’ That has caused a lot of mistakes, but you learn from your mistakes and you never do it again. That’s what’s so wonderful about embroidery. There are not a whole lot of directions, so I can just embellish and have fun as I want.”
As an embroiderer, Zinno does her design work on the computer with embroidery-specific software. Off of her office space is a work area that houses two embroidery machines, each with six needles, that make Zinno’s designs, a company’s logo, or monogram, come to life on hats, golf shirts, bibs, nursery layettes as well as so many layettes and other items. She learned how to use them on her own.
Zinno even parlayed her experience to include a writing career. Her book, Machine Embroidery for Babies & Tots, spent a week on the top 100 craft books list at amazon.com. And although Zinno is proud of all the work she has done, it is her book project that she is particularly excited about.
“Krause Publications, a hobby and collectable book company, out of Wisconsin, came to me because they were familiar with my items from Designs magazine, where I do a lot of designs for babies and children,” Zinno said. “Actually, I do a lot of specialty baby stuff for my business as well. Krause was looking for someone to do a book for babies and children’s embroidery projects. So that’s what we did.”
Embroidery for Babies & Tots is a full-color, how-to guide. Filled with beautiful photos of Zinno’s creations, the book includes butterflies and flower designs for little girls and nautical and airplane designs for boys. According to Zinno, the book offers a lot of shortcuts and unique ways to embellish ready-made items. Fellow embroiderers can also learn how to hoop (preparing an item on the machine for embroidery) things quickly with the book, which also offers a children’s perfect placement kit for baby décor and clothing.
She regularly writes for the industry publications, Stitches and Designs in Machine Embroidery as well. Zinno also travels occasionally, to speak about or teach her art.
“I am still a little blown away,” Zinno said about how her business has grown. “It has mushroomed into something nice and I can still be home with my kids. There is a little travel involved but my husband helps out.”
Zinno and her husband, Doug, have two children, Lindsey and John.
