Stitch in Time
by Brett Ratner
Herald News Service
(Northwest Herald, March 30, 2001)
Jean Pierce took her grandmother's love of genealogy, combined it with her own graphic design and sewing expertise and opened a unique business. Pierce recently started Legacy Embroidery out of her Cary home. Using specialized software and computerized sewing equipment, Pierce can create a variety of custom embroidered items. But, her specialty is family trees. "My grandmother had been researching our own family for about 50 years," Pierce said. "Through her stories and discoveries, I became interested. When she passed away, I inherited her research and materials." Typically, Legacy Embroidery's family trees are embroidered on a fabric and suspended on a hanging rod. In designing custom pieces, the possible use of family crests, the style of lettering and even the choice of fabric can be symbolic of a family's lineage. Pierce also can incorporate heirlooms into the work, such as a section from an old quilt. Legacy's embroidered family trees, Pierce said, often are given as presents. "I was quite busy around Christmas," Pierce said. Pierce said family trees make ideal gifts because they are extremely personal. "You're making (a person's ancestors) alive for them," Pierce said. "They're not just names." Another popular Legacy product doesn't honor people who have lived before us, rather those who have just entered our world. Pierce's customized baby blankets typically feature the information seen on a birth certificate. To make the blanket more special, Pierce can add additional information, such as the names of the grandparents. "It's something that child will have forever," Pierce said of Legacy's custom baby blankets. "It's an heirloom they can carry on." And perchance the living members on a family tree choose to organize a reunion, Pierce can create embroidered T-shirts to commemorate the occasion.
Embroidery business in Cary focuses on family heirlooms
Daily Herald
October 29, 2002
Kim Mikus
Fox Vally Business Column
Jean Pierce’s business is personal. The Cary entrepreneur does custom embroidery with a focus on family heirlooms. About two years ago Pierce started Legacy Embroidery, a business that involves creating special embroidery gifts. Quilted wall hangings, baby blankets, tote bags, Christmas stockings and shirts are some of the items that she embroiders.
The business got started from her embroidery hobby coupled with an interest in genealogy. While her daughters were younger, she created family tree wall hangings and quilts for friends and family. The idea flourished into a business. Pierce tackles a lot of custom orders. For example, she is currently working on black labels with gold writing to be sewn in red silk vests for men in a bridal party. The label contains the bride and groom’s names and date of the wedding.
Pierce has a graphic design degree that she earned in the early 1980s. She worked in a high school foreign exchange program and took some time off to raise her children. The 37 year old mother decided to start a home based business to allow her more flexibility with her children’s schedules.
The heirloom artistry created with machine embroidery and handcrafting can be seen on her website at www.LegacyEmbroidery.com. For more information, call 847-516-2211
