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Creating a Portfolio

Detailed Application Instructions

Developing a portfolio of your work is a must! It allows your customer to see the quality of your embroidery. It also allows you to show-off some of your existing accounts. “Name-dropping" can be effective when promoting your business. If you do the work for a well-known company in your area, then by all means display that work to others. When they see a recognizable name in your portfolio, their perception of your business will generally rise a notch or two. Another advantage of a portfolio is to give customers logo ideas. Many times a new business owner will not have an “official" logo. Looking at existing designs is a great way to stimulate his/her creative process. Of course, be careful that they don't try to duplicate someone else's logo, since this would probably be a copyright infringement. The third benefit of a design portfolio is to allow customers to view actual sew-outs, not just pictures. Embroidery is unique in the fact that it is three-dimensional. Many times, people like to touch and feel the texture of the stitches. This is something that can't be done with screen-printing. NOTE: Portfolios are also a great way to display stock designs. 




STEP 1: Create The Swatches

Sew out the logo on felt. Felt is preferred as it gives a nice clean finish to the embroidery. In addition, you want your swatches to be consistent in appearance, so do NOT use a variety of fabrics - stick with the one type.

Using either pinking shears, or a rotary cutter, cut out each sample in a uniform manner. They should all be cut to the same dimensions, such as 3" X 5". Create a rectangular template, so that you can trace it on the back of the swatch, then cut it out following the outlines.






STEP 2: Create The Portfolio Notebook

Purchase a heavy-duty three ring binder.

Purchase heavy-duty photo albums that have clear pages with 3" X 5" pockets. Ultra-Pro offers a wide variety of heavy-duty photographic page holders. They can be found in local department stores and the internet.

IconUSA.com is an online source for Ultra Pro Products. (Tajima Sales & Support does not endorse or guarantee their products or services.)

For larger designs, use three ring sheet protectors found at Office Supply stores. They come standard in an 8 ½" x 11" size and can also be found in larger sizes, though a larger notebook will be required.