Who are you?
Toni Melton of Satin Stitchery
Where are you located?
Nashville, NC
What do you create?
All kinds of unique embroidered items, including personalized and custom orders. I have home decor (clocks and framed embroidery), purses, handbags, keyfobs, book and journal covers, personalized stuffed animals and baby rattles, patches to honor your military family members, and recycled clothing dressed up with embroidery.
What is your favorite place to visit in the "triangle"?
JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store - I'm a fabriholic! I enjoy doing several different crafts, and JoAnn's supplies most of my "crafty" needs.
When did you start creating?
I have been doing some type of crafting most of my life. My maternal grandmother was a practical machine sewer who made clothes and home dec items - she got me started on machine sewing. My paternal grandmother did more "crafty" and hand sewing projects - she made dolls with gourd heads completely hand sewn, including their bodies and clothes and taught me her hand skills. I later added cross stitch, hand embroidery, quilting, beading and machine embroidery to the list, along with short stints at termari balls, knitting, kalediscope making and other things.
What inspires you?
All kinds of things. I love the beach, so my shop includes several beach themed items, lighthouses and the like. I also love color, texture and all kinds of cloth, so you'll see many brightly colored items and different fabrics in my inventory...for instance, hot pink and lime green shoulder bags embroidered with quilt or jacobean inspired designs. I am also inspired by the wonderful things I see other crafters create. I belong to several groups on Flickr and follow several blogs, checking out what others are doing. 
Where do you create?
My DH and I just moved to a new house and I have taken over one of the bedrooms. It's still a work in progress as I haven't totally unpacked or found a home for everything yet, but I'm setting up a sewing studio, with a cutting table, my regular sewing machine, my embroidery machine and as much shelf space as I can manage to store fabric and crafting supplies.
What are your goals?
I left a corporate finance job in the Kansas City area last year to move back to North Carolina, where both my DH and I were born and raised. I'm looking for another job now, but would like to grow the home business to the point where a regular day job won't be necessary.
What do you do when you are not creating?
I like to spend time with my DH, walk my dog, talk with my kids who are different parts of the country, read, do some yard work (but not too much, I don't have a green thumb like my mom and grandmother).
--You can find more of Toni's work on her website and on Flickr.
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