Ned and Laurie Bond are the founders and owners of Creative Stitchins, a shop downtown which specializes in custom embroidery.  They can customize just about anything that can be stitched.

I came across this store while venturing downtown during a monthly Frederick tradition, “First Saturday” during my freshman year at Hood.  I was enamored by the concept of their business. I had never seen or heard of a store that customizes so many things.  I have yet to come across any store quite like Creative Stitchins. 
When you go into the shop, located at 121 N. Market Street, there are several samples of unique products, many of which are ready to buy.  There are t-shirts, hats, jackets, aprons, and totes, just to name a few.  They also sell jewelry, coasters, cards, wash cloths, and festive products as well.

Although there several things available for customization in the shop, they also give customers the option of bringing in their own things for embroidery.  Last Christmas, I decided that I wanted to get everyone in my family something customized.  I went to Creative Stitchins to get something nice for my grandmother.  Although Ned and Laurie do not stitch pillows together often, I asked if they could make one for me.

I wanted to have a personal message from me to my grandmother embroidered onto the pillow.  Ned and Laurie liked the idea.  They created a template on their computer and asked me about the color, size, and font.  It turned into a fun little project. Once I told them I wanted a beige pillow with green lettering, they went out and purchased the fabric.

I came back the following week to see a sample of the fabric and how it matched up with the lettering.  I loved it.  The next week, I came in and the pillow was ready.  I took a look at it, read the message embroidered on it, and it made me very happy.  Ned and Laurie thought that the concept I came up with and the message to my grandmother was so nice, that they did not charge me anywhere near what I was originally supposed to pay for it.  That was the kindest gesture I ever encountered from anyone I have done business with.  

Their customer service is remarkable.  They treat people as more than just customers.  They treat them as friendly acquaintances.  Every time I go downtown, I make sure I pass by their store to speak to them.  They are two of the most pleasant, kind-hearted, professional people I have ever met.

I really appreciate how they helped me through the design process.  They made a lot of suggestions about fabric, fonts, and colors to use.  They took the time to go over several different templates on their computer with me.  When we came up with the design I wanted, they took the time to purchase the fabric and stitch a sample to make sure I liked the way it looked.  This tells me that they really care about giving their customers the best experience possible. 

Ned is from Baltimore and Laurie is originally from Long Island.  They met in New York when they were software engineers at Cubic Tolls Systems.  “We have been happily married for 15 years now,” said Ned. 

The couple decided to move to Maryland when the company they worked for relocated to San Diego.  “I didn’t want to move to California and Ned wanted to be closer to his hometown, so we moved to Baltimore,” said Laurie.

Ned and Laurie moved to Frederick about 10 years ago.  Laurie enjoyed sewing and eventually started displaying her embroidery work at craft shows.  Laurie’s friends suggested taking it up as a business.

The couple has been in business since August 10, 2010.  “I didn’t get into embroidery until around the time we opened this store,” said Ned.  “It was all very spontaneous.  We were walking downtown one day and saw a space for rent, so we decided to try something new and start our own business.”

Creative Stitchins is steadily growing.  “When we first opened the store, we were worried that we would not have enough stuff to fill up the whole space,” said Ned.  “Now we wish we could have a bigger store because we are running out of room,” Laurie added. 

The space that is now occupied by Creative Stitchins used to be the home of another local business called Earthly Elements, which sells all sorts of rocks.  The owner of that store moved into a smaller space somewhere else on Market Street.  “If a larger space in this general area becomes vacant, we would love to relocate,” said Laurie.  “But the bigger the space is, the higher the rent is, so we will probably stay where we are for quite some time.”

Ned works at the store full-time.  Prior to that, he had 40 jobs in a 30 year span.  Laurie works part-time at Adtek, an engineering firm.  “The best part about this job is dealing with friendly people each day,” said Ned.

“My favorite thing about this job is the creative, artsy part of it,” said Laurie.  “I like making jewelry and crazy unique stuff that you don’t see too often.”  Currently, the Bonds are adding more jewelry and other accessories to their inventory.

Neither of them had any sort of retail experience before opening up their own business.  “We like what we do and we’re still learning the trade,” said Ned.“We had not planned on opening a store in the beginning,” said Laurie.  “We had both done so much engineering work that we were ready to embark on something different.”

“In comparison, Frederick is much more quaint then Baltimore.  Everyone sort of knows each other and there is a lot less traffic too,” said Ned. 
“Frederick is a little more built up then Long Island,” said Laurie.  “We love it here because it’s a nice location and we get to meet great people.”