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John has been crafting our needlework stands and accessories since 1995. What began as a hobby in an effort to assist Helen with a stand that would allow her to continue her stitching (which was becoming very difficult due to arthritis and tendonitis in her shoulder and elbow) has become an extremely busy ‘cottage industry’ which necessitated John and Helen both retiring early from their prior careers.
John’s first creation was the Original Floor Stand©. One of our local needlework shops saw the stand and asked if they could show one in their store. It was a bare-bones stand. The shop owner, Shelley Peterson, her staff and customers were more than helpful with suggestions for improvements and accessories. Thus came the idea for a Flip Frame© which has become our signature accessory and is either an optional accessory or an integrated part of all our stands.
The Mark 2 Floor Stand ©is the latest addition to our Needlework Stands. It was designed specifically for use with Wheelchairs. Let us take a minute to let you know how it came to be.
We have a lovely customer in England, who has become a dear friend, who had purchased our Lap Stand. She received it a couple of days before Christmas and contacted us on Boxing Day (Dec. 26th, 2001) because she was so thrilled that she had been able to stitch for several hours non-stop after setting up her stand and project.
Normally a few minutes at a time was all her health could tolerate. She then asked John if he might be able to adapt the Lap Stand by extending the legs so they would reach the floor. Her hope was that this would allow the stand to actually straddle her wheelchair (we did not know until this point that she had a medical problem). It took John nearly a year to come up with a design that would work well for our friend and we sent the prototype to her for Christmas 2002. Another suggestion our friend made for the new design was to add wheels, which would make moving the stand away from the chair easy and convenient. At that time she let us know how wonderful it was – she was even able to take her Mark 2 to the hospital because it fit over her hospital bed and she was able to stitch during her hospital stay.
This friend, who incidentally was one of our first International Customers, has continued to keep in contact with us and has purchased many sizes and types of accessories for both her Lap Stand and Mark 2 Floor Stand. |
In 2004, after many requests from local shops, John added a complete line of Stretcher Bars for Canvas work, Needlepoint and Petit Point. We have two sizes: ¾” x ¾” in 4” to 32” lengths and a petite set of ½” x ½” in lengths of 4” to 12”. All Stretcher Bars are crafted from Aspen and have a lovely smooth finish – no rough edges to snag your fabric or fingers.
Our Hand-Crafted Needlework Stands and some of our accessories can be viewed on our website.
We do not have prices on our website for the following reasons:
- We have a USD Price List for our friends in the USA, and we have a CAD (Canadian) Price List for Canadians and International Customers.
- We prefer to have personal contact with those stitchers making enquiries about our products. It is lovely to speak with each one of you to determine the perfect stand for your stitching requirements and enjoyment. We wouldn’t want you to purchase a stand with limited versatility if you like to do various size works.
- The Shipping and Payment information is different for our customers depending on their location. We do not want to clutter up our website with information that can be sent specifically to each enquiry.
HEARTHSIDE CRAFTWORKS has expanded its profile. Since 2003 we have gradually been adding other stitching products for our customers. Please contact us for information on ‘In Stock/On Order Items’.
We are pleased to announce our latest additions: Dragon Dreams Inc., Cheryl Granda of ‘Glendon Place’ (USA), Vermillion Stitchery (USA), and The Stitchery Studio formerly Studio Art Needlework or Island Art (Canada).
Please keep in mind that, as a home-based business, we don’t have room to keep a large inventory, as much as we want to. We have many items In Stock– ranging from charts to books to fabrics kits to threads to the many unique gadgets, that we, the stitchers, just cannot be without.
Whatever you may need or want (even if it isn't in stock), we would be happy to special order anything from any of the designers and distributors on our lists. It is our intention to provide those stitchers who are not close to local needlework shops the opportunity to purchase their supplies. We make every effort to offer a wide variety of products. We love to introduce NEW DESIGNERS to our family of stitchers.
If you are in Calgary or passing through, we would love to see you. Please call ahead to ensure we will be available and so that we can give you directions to our home. We’ll have a pot of coffee or tea ready if you can spare the time. The address on our letterhead and website is a post office box only located in a local convenience store (not our physical address).
HAPPY STITCHING!
JOHN AND HELEN WILKES
Hearthside Craftworks
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