Morgan Hill - When Wayne and Barbara Conroy got the itch for embroidering they mainly wanted to keep dry.
Up until 1994, Wayne, 60, was the captain on a merchant ship while his wife Barbara, 62, was the purser. They'd spend long months at sea and short intervals on land, recuperating in their motor home. When they sensed the merchant industry was going by the wayside and jobs were becoming more difficult to get, the good-humored couple started looking for things they could do on land. One day, Wayne, who has a penchant for computers and things with moving parts, spotted an embroidering machine in a mall and was spellbound. He jotted down the name of the company that made the machine and started doing research on the Internet to find out how to buy one.
"What we thought we'd do is put an embroidering machine in our motor home and go to fairs and jazz festivals and different events we could do embroidering for," said Barbara, describing the couple's jump from oceanic adventures to running a quirky local business that specializes in everything from customized T-shirts to high school letter jackets to cow-shaped stress balls, all under the roof of Make It Mine on W. Main Avenue.
"We were looking for a business and realized this one is pretty universal," said Wayne. "People like to have their things personalized."
After the idea of taking their embroidering equipment on the road fizzled when the Conroys learned they couldn't insure the machinery unless it was stationary, the couple took the next logical step: Launching a business out of their house in Morgan Hill.
"We started in our back bedroom with one sewing head," Barbara said. The business quickly spilled over to the double-car garage and then to the shed in the backyard. The operation then moved to a little shop on Second Street (where the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is today) and then moved to its existing location one block west of Monterey Road.
While many mom-and-pop businesses face challenges from large chains, the Conroys have found their personal niche in Morgan Hill, catering to a steady stream of repeat customers that includes corporate clients buying pens with logos and soccer teams buying jerseys with their names on the back.
"We're not recession proof, but recession resistant," Wayne said. "We work with businesses, with schools, with clubs, with non-profits, so we have a broad customer base. When one slows down, we found that the others pick up."
For example, when Silicon Valley had its big downturn in 2002 the Conroys lost high-tech customers, but benefited from a local client who started pushing embroidered horse blankets nationally.
"We got a huge increase in her business that offset what we lost from high-tech," Wayne said. "And as her business has leveled out, the high-tech (industry) has started coming back, and start-ups are suddenly getting marketing-department money again."
It doesn't hurt that Make It Mine is the best-known embroidery and so-called "ad specialties" stores in area. There's little or no competition locally for similar services, meaning the Conroys have saved a bundle on advertising while word of mouth continues to increase their sales. Their small staff of two full-time and four part-time employees does not include sales reps, but each year the company pulls a bigger profit than the last, Wayne said.
The company started out by offering customized embroidery - names on shirts, logos on banners, etc. - and grew to offer more services to meet the needs of customers who wanted more things personalized. Soon the Conroys invested in a laser-engraving machine and also began out-sourcing silk screening orders through other companies. When sports teams asked for lettering on jerseys, the couple obliged, learning to work with vinyl materials. When school letter jackets were requested, the small business again adapted to meet the demand.
"Now we're basically full-service ad specialties," Wayne said proudly. "We customize anything."
Barbara and Wayne fit the part of happy-go-lucky business owners who've found their own personalized joy. They're pleased with the success of their company, the happy nature of their business and their close team of employees, including Wayne's sister Alice Hartley and Justin Conroy. Their cozy store one block west of Monterey Road, the main drag, combines the endearing clutter of a thrift shop with the industrious pulse of an arts and crafts studio. Having reached a plateau of comfort after years of hard work, the Conroys are beginning to coast on their success. They don't plan to retire any time soon, but they're relaxing more than they used to.
"Wayne's taking Saturdays off now, which is good," Barbara laughed. "He's had his nose to the grindstone for many years."
"But it's a fun, happy business," she added. "We have great customers who get excited about seeing their logos for the first time on things. A mom will make a wedding dress for her daughter and then we'll embroider something special, or significant to the bride and her mom. We just do really fun things. Always something different."
FINDING THE STORE
- Wayne and Barbara Conroy's mom-and-pop embroidering and engraving shop also designs T-shirts, pens and pencils, sports jerseys, high school letter jackets, caps, briefcases, banners, bags, and just about anything else you'd want to have personalized.
- Address: 101 W. Main Ave., Morgan Hill.
- Store hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm.
- Contact: (408) 776-0556
- Web site: www.mimembroidery.com.
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