Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Hisaoka.
Hi Amy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my business as an Etsy store that sold car accessories like keychains, organizer pouches and custom cup holders. The demand grew and I upgraded my small home sewing machine to two industrial embroidery machines, a laser engraver, vinyl plotter and sublimation set up. I started doing custom orders for local community members who wanted t-shirts and hats. My local embroidery shop started growing! I joined the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and went to countless business networking meetings. I picked up a lot of new clients and kept growing.
Since I had a lot of requests for t-shirts, I merged my business with a local screen printing business. We continued to grow as a merged company and had to move to a larger building. We now have our own building in Springfield and a small team of custom garment decorators that service other small businesses, events and non-profits.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
While growing the business there was many challenges. We had growth, but not enough employees, or our space became too small and cramped. We learned along the way how to manage more clients while maintaining our quality and small business vibe.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We specialize in custom machine embroidery and screen printing. We have a wide variety of projects and our clients stretch our creativity by requesting many different types of designs, materials and special requests. We have helped other small businesses with custom projects that we usually don’t do regularly but were up to the challenge. We recently helped a local golf shop with some custom club covers for a celebrity… and they needed it the same day! We were able to get them done, including unstitching, embroidering and re-stitching leather. No other embroidery shop would tackle that kind of job. But because of my history working with custom car accessories, I was already familiar with the materials and had the equipment to make it happen!
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Before I had my business, I explored many other business ideas. I had a dairy goat farm, a working dog equipment company, I was a Search and Rescue K9 handler for 8 years and enjoy bonsai as a hobby.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.embellisheugene.com
- Instagram: HTTP://www.Instagram.com/embellisheugene
- Facebook: HTTP://www.facebook.com/embellisheugene
