It was while working as a Stewardess that Marjorie Hunter
learned to needlepoint. Marj enjoyed crocheting and knitting
but discovered it was rather too cumbersome to cart along an
afghan to work on during flights. She insists, "I got into
the designing and painting end because I had become such a confirmed
needlepointer." Her career as a painted canvas designer
began somewhat inauspiciously while Marj was just helping a neighbor
out in her shop. A customer requested a duck design to use on
the cover of a man's jewelry box. The owner could not accommodate
her, but Marj offered to give it a try. Since childhood Marj
had been graced with an affinity for drawing and painting. Marj
left the shop with canvas in hand and as she proclaims, "The
rest is history!" This first success led to more commissions
and before long Marj was exhibiting at TNNA markets, beginning
modestly with only half of a booth. By the time Marj finally
retired from doing shows, she was filling more than three booths.
--
Like many a stitcher, Amy learned needlepoint from her mother,
but it was not until Amy was in her twenties that she was motivated
to pursue it wholeheartedly. She subsequently worked part time
at a needlework store. After moving to Kentucky, Amy held some
unsatisfying jobs before deciding to open her own needlework
shop. After occupying three previous locations, Amy's Golden
Strand, made its permanent home on Summer Ave. in Memphis, TN
in 1985. Her wholesale and stitch guide production businesses,
Amy's Keeping Me in Stitches, are conveniently housed in an adjacent
building. These businesses stay put, but Amy does not; a good
portion of the year she hits the road as she is much in demand
to conduct workshops on creating custom stitch guides, which
she calls "recipes," for painted canvas. By the time
Amy moved her shop to Memphis, she had a firm foundation of stitching
skills and business experience under her belt. She has collaborated
for many years with Marjorie Hunter in writing guides for the
Damarj Designs line of handpainted canvases.
--
Amy fell into this specialty quite unexpectedly. She was already
customer of Marj's in 1993 when she showed her a Damarj design
of the Garden Nutcracker that she had stitched. Amy had designed
a vegetable garden in 3D stitches as a background to the nutcracker
using some of her husband's plants as models. Marj was very impressed
with Amy's imaginative rendition. Amy subsequently asked Marj
to custom design a Robin Hood Nutcracker modeled on one, which
Amy's sister had given to her as a wedding gift. To thank Marj,
Amy offered to let Marj use her version of the Gardener in her
next show. At that time Amy's most fervent wish was that Marj
would ask her to write stitch guides for her canvases. As Marjorie
looked over Amy's stitched pieces, her initial comment had Amy
stumped, "You know what they are going to want you to do,
don't you?" Amy hadn't a clue, so Marj enlightened her,
"They are going to want you to come and teach." Still
mystified Amy asked "Who?" According to Marj, "The
rest is history as far as that is concerned, too." By the
time Amy left market, she had in-hand a make-shift teaching contract,
three confirmed teaching jobs and an agreement to write stitch
guides for the Damarj Designs line of nutcrackers. Amy was soon
receiving more teaching assignments, writing articles for a national
needlepoint publication and creating stitch guides for new additions
the Damarj Line.
Marjorie and Amy meet several times a year just to brainstorm
about designs. Marj insists, "We seem to get the creative
juices going in each other." She adds, "Because I am
still and at heart will always be a needlepointer, I look at
the world in a different way than a typical artist. I now design
with the idea that a stitch guide will be done on the piece,
however. I will eliminate certain detail work, knowing that it
will be put in the stitched piece."
Most of Amy's focus involves designing a continuation of a
theme. She has designed some pieces from start to finish, but
more often Amy's job begins when Marj's is done. In creating
the stitch guides, Amy is inspired primarily by the design itself.
Marj and she will discuss the design as if it is a person that
they actually know or have seen. Amy elaborates, "Sometimes
I look at a design and it instantly has a name and a place to
live, work, and stand at the moment. People get really tickled
with our designing because the pieces frequently come with stories,
names, and personalities. It makes a big difference when I am
deciding on the special techniques, threads, or stitches to think
of my needlepoint as being a photograph of a 'real' person or
thing."
Amy describes her personal artistic style as "mimic."
She explains, "I think of what that object would really
look like or feel like and decide on stitch and thread accordingly."
Amy's choice of threads is flamboyant and her combination of
stitches and techniques bring texture and dimension to the design.
Marj has always given Amy great latitude in writing the stitch
guides and they work as equal design partners in each project.
Often Marj will supply a canvas depicting only the figures and
Amy will select the many details and background features that
truly bring it to life. It is a collaboration that is endlessly
stimulating, challenging and satisfying to both of them.
.
Each brings special talents and skills to every project. Amy's
design style has changed over time, becoming more sophisticated.
Color play is an ongoing learning process and it never ceases
to amaze Amy that she can struggle for days over a color combination
while Marj can take one look and pick out the perfect companions
of hue. That's exactly why teamwork works so well given the proper
combination of personalities and talents it results in
a sum that is far greater than each separate part!
Since their initial collaboration, Marj and Amy have worked
on more nutcrackers, Christmas figures, Deco designs and Oriental
themes and motifs. They plan for many more to come. In the spring
of 1999, Amy bought the rights to the Damarj designs for which
she has written stitch guides and now holds the sole rights to
distribute these as well any new designs on which Marj and she
work together.
The Damarj Canvases, which Amy has created the Stitch Guides
for, are available retail from:
Amy's Golden Strand
Address: 3808 Sumner Avenue, Memphis, TN 38122
Phone: (901) 458- 6109
Fax: (901) 323- 4701
E-Mail: amys3808@aol.com
Website: http://www.stitching.com/amys
And wholesale from:
Amy's Keeping Me In Stitches
Address: 3814 Summer Avenue, Memphis, TN 38122
Phone: (901) 323-6391
Fax: (901) 323- 4701
E-Mail: bobbunger@dellnet.com
Website: http://www.stitching.com/amys
For a previous Shop Focus featuring Amy's shop, Amy's Golden
Strand, go to
http://www.caron-net.com/jan99files/jan99sto.html
