Conversations with Michelle Wood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Wood.

Michelle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started sewing in 1996. I found a Bucilla felt Christmas stocking kit in the craft area at Walmart. It was 10.00, and I thought it would be cute to make for my daughter. Never sewing a thing in my life; it took me a whole year to make it… and it looked awful. But I decided to try again. I bought another kit, went to Borders Book Store, and bought some embroidery books to learn the stitches… we didn’t have the internet then. After that, I was hooked and made Christmas stockings for my whole family. Then friends… Then friends of friends and family offered to pay me to make a stocking or two for their family. So, from about 1999 to 2010, I was making about 10 Christmas stocking and ornament kits a year. Christmas Eve of 2010 my brother, Joe Gosinski was murdered in Torrance, California. I didn’t sleep for months, and I just started sewing stockings constantly, it was sort of therapeutic. I ended up having about 50 stockings made by Christmas of 2011. I put them on eBay and my Facebook page. I sold them all in the first week they were on. From there, I found a few Bucilla Facebook pages and joined. Then in 2019, someone who worked at Plaid Crafts… the company who produces the Bucilla kits. Invited me to be a Plaid Ambassador (a Plaid Ambassador is someone who creates projects and inspires others to craft by providing information and help.) and stitch the models that are photographed to be on the cover of the kits. I was beyond excited and thankful. Since then, I make over 100 kits and models a year. I make Christmas stockings, ornaments, tree skirts, anything people me ask to make. People find my Instagram, Facebook page, and my YouTube channel. I get emails, messages, and phone calls from people all over asking me to make a Christmas stocking or 6 for their family. Moms who maybe don’t have time and Grandma’s and even Great Grandma’s who maybe have made stockings for years, who know their hands and eyes won’t do what they once did. Also! Husbands of ladies who make stockings for everyone in their family and have never have had time to make one for themselves. This is what I love to do, and I always tell people… I’ll stop sewing when people quit asking me to make Bucilla kits for them.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I guess I can say it’s been smooth. It’s been a process of lots of practice… When you make things for others it’s always a huge worry as to if they will love the finished piece. They always do, and that makes me the happiest.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an Artist with a needle and thread. I make hand-stitched felt pieces. Christmas stockings are the most popular then Christmas ornaments, specializing in Bucilla kits.

I am known for… well, other stitchers think I’m fast at putting the kits together. While it can take others weeks or months to put a kit together. I can make a kit in 3-5 days. This is only because I sew about 8 hours a day. More in the winter.

What sets me apart? I guess it’s because I don’t just make the kit. I personalize them, I will change the skin color, add embellishments, change felt colors for a sports team. I make each piece for the person it’s for. Not just making them to sit and wait for someone to buy them. Mine are made to order. I don’t have a store.

What I’m most proud of? Definitely, the Bucilla models I make for Plaid Crafts. When I see the model I made in the Herrschners, Merry Stockings Catalogs on Websites, on the cover when the kits are produced. I am incredibly proud and thankful. I never would have thought that just something I enjoyed making would turn into me stitching for the company and making these pieces for people all over. It’s like Christmas at my house every day. I absolutely love doing what I do.

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Practice makes Progress!

And

Make something that I would want to buy from someone. I don’t just make a kit. I put a lot of thought and love into everything I make.

Pricing:

• It really depends on the kit. My stockings sell for 125.00-175.00
• Ornaments ~ 20.00 per ornament (6 come in a kit, usually)
• Wall Hangings and Wreaths – 150.00 each

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/michellesbucillacreations?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellesbucillacreations?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/user/michelleannewood?fbclid=PAAaYBh0eOW0cdleqRd7RQwp9y7NBxexdxjjPFQ5AzjIxOWPHLJPrNEQGvMk8