Interview with Stephanie of Designs4Africa

I am Stephanie Geldenhuys from Designs4Africa. I live on a farm in South Africa and have a very dear husband, 2 sons and a daughter.

My digitizing business began as a hobby. I was so fascinated with the idea that an embroidery machine could be connected with the computer and bought the very first Bernina Artista 180 in 1997 in my area. The software came a year later (it was not available earlier). For 3 months I struggled a LOT!! No one was able to help me. My dealer at that time did not even own a computer. By ordering some tutorials from the USA I slowly started to learn how to digitize. I was hooked!! Eventually I started to correspond with some digitizers here in South Africa and they urged me to start my own web site after looking at some of my designs. Eurika of Best Embroidery took me through all I have to know about how to do zip files, jpgs, etc. I cannot thank her and her husband, who built and maintained my first web site, enough. A new world has opened just at the right time in my life. I am blessed!!

I own the Bernina Artista 180E, Bernina Deco 330, Bernina Deco 650, Brother Ultimate 2003 and the Janome Memory Craft 5700. My designs are digitized in Artista Designer Plus v4 and Embird Digitizing Studio. The reason for all the machines is that I myself stitch each of my designs on each of the machines. I have to make very sure that I am satisfied with each of the 5 formats. Then I have a few ladies who test stitch the designs too. It is a lot of work to test stitch, but I do not mind at all as along as the end product is perfect.

There is a long list of requests for sets to digitize in future. Customers requested all of the sets I digitize. That makes it so much easier to not have to think what people would like. As my sets are available on CDs at a few shops in South Africa, I receive requests all the time.

A new world has opened for me since I started digitizing and embroidering. I have contact with so many people all over the world, the supplies we cannot obtain here in South Africa are so readily available on the Internet, new products, designs and all the knowledge I can receive through all the lists are overwhelming, but very welcome. I often buy from the digitizers for two reasons and that is to learn from them and because I love to sew, to make all of the very lovely projects showcased on their sites.

As I said earlier, I feel very blessed!