Janome Educators

Alba joined Janome America in April 2007 as an In-House Educator. She is currently a Dealer Training Specialist where she travels all over the country training dealers in the Janome and Artistic product line as well as teaching them new sales techniques.

Alba has been published in many magazines such as Sew News, Designs in Machine Embroidery, Creative Machine Embroidery, Vogue Pattern Magazine and trade magazines.

Digitizing embroidery designs with a quilting focus remains a passion for Alba as well as quilting and garment sewing.

 

Amy has traveled the US and Mexico demonstrating and educating on Janome sewing machines, sergers and software.

Amy has taught basic sewing, garment construction and pattern making at every level from children and adult beginners to advanced techniques in a university setting. Amy has also developed a program as a paraprofessional therapist teaching sewing and quilting as a skill set for adults with chronic mental illness and traumatic brain injury. 

Sharing her love of sewing, knowledge of machines and accessories to consumers and dealers is the reason Amy loves her job.

Anne’s passion for sewing started with the required Home Economics class. Sewing, creating unique clothes, and crafting was her thing – even using her grandmothers trudle machine. Her first embroidery machine, the MC9000, grew that passion with quilting, embroidery and digitizing.  If it could fit in the hoop, let’s embroider it! Joining the Janome team was a dream come true, Anne is a Janome girl through and through – you know she didn’t stop with that MC9000! Sharing her creativity through her travels with Janome and teaching are some of her favorite things.  Anne lives in Wilmington, DE with her husband and children. Outside of work, Anne enjoys spending time with her family, being the co-rider on their Goldwing and creating more projects!

 

It is with great pleasure and excitement, that we welcome Costa to our Janome Educator Team!

Costa’s passion for sewing began many years ago, at his grandmother’s knee and it never left him! After 40 years of teaching Elementary School Music, both in the States, and abroad, he retired and began devoting all his time to sewing. He began quilting, but quickly realized that his first love was embroidery. He began digitizing and progressed to making difficult and intricate projects. His enthusiasm knows no bounds and is contagious! The only thing he likes more than working on projects, is sharing his knowledge with others! He currently teaches classes near his home in Durham, NC. He is a favorite of both novice sewers and experienced embroiderers. They all appreciate his knowledge and expertise, but most of all his contagious enthusiasm for his craft! He makes learning fun! He is known as an edutainer”.

With degrees in Music, Education, Musical Theatre, and Costume Design, Costa is a perfect fit for our Team!

 

Katy started sewing by taking her mother's scraps and making doll clothes. Her love of sewing is evident in her classes and workshops by stepping outside of the box. 

As an instructor and salesperson for a Janome dealer, she always tries to attempt to 'break it down' to make complicated techniques into simple instructions, while making it fun at the same time with her bubbly personality. 

Katy joined Janome as a Freelance Educational Coordinator in January of 2016.

 

As a Freelance Educational Coordinator, Kelley enjoys teaching others about quilting and sewing. She is very passionate about helping others learn more about her fulfilling hobby. 

Kelley's accomplishments include owning a Janome dealership and quilt shop for six years. She also enjoys being a long arm quilter and teaching all of the newest techniques at the local quilt show where she lives in North Carolina. Her excitement for Janome sewing machines is contagious!

 

Christina has been sewing since grade school when she begged her mother to teach her to sew. Instead of sharing a sewing machine with her mom, her first major purchase was a sewing machine with money she earned at an after-school job in 8th grade. While her sewing career began with making garments, Christina has added home dec and heirloom sewing, embroidery and, of course, quilting to her skills. With the popularity of quilting these days, she can show you how easy it is to free-motion, create feathers and succeed at ruler work.

She has taught throughout the United States at quilt shows and sewing stores and can often be found assisting in classrooms. When you have the opportunity to be in a classroom with Christina, whether she is teaching or assisting, you will learn a lot and, as many of her students will tell you, you will have a lot of fun. She has a very relaxed style, attentive to each and every attendee. When you take a class from her, you will definitely pick up tips and techniques that will help you with all of your sewing.  

 

Geri Finio is a lifelong hand-embroiderer and sewing enthusiast with a love for the many mediums of stitchery and a critical eye for detail. After a successful career in corporate computer technology, she shifted gears to follow her passion. Her strong technology background compliments her artisan talents, as she combines digitized and hand-guided machine embroidery to create innovative designs. Geri owned and operated Studio 187 where she successfully collaborated with high profile artists, interior designers and private clientele, tailoring designs to meet individual needs.

In addition, she embroidered all embroidery examples in the book “Asian-Inspired Machine Embroidery” authored by the internationally celebrated embroidery artist, Joan Elliott; served on the Editorial Board of Stitches Magazine and was often featured on their covers, articles and repeatedly invited to judge their National Golden Needle Awards for industry level embroiderers. Her focus is on elevating the status of embroidery to a level it once enjoyed: A symbol of beauty and refinement. 

 

Terry Mingee BS, MSEd has been sewing and quilting since he was six years old, when his grandmother sat him down at the table to cut out fabric shapes for clothes and quilts. Progressing over the years, Terry began doing finer crafts such as hand embroidery and hand quilting. While working his full-time job as a Dental Hygienist for the United States Navy, he worked with a Janome exclusive sewing machine dealer, honing his skills.

Terry has been a Janome enthusiast for more than 20 combined years. After retiring in 2015 from his dental career, Terry began working as a Freelance Educator for Janome America, Inc. and has future plans of designing and producing more quilting and embroidery related projects that can be found on Janome.com.  

Michele started sewing when she was a young child, making doll clothes with a hand crank toy machine. After graduating from high school Michele worked at a large department store in the alterations department, using the time to learn everything she could about sewing and alterations from her senior co-workers. While attending college in New York, she started her own home decorating business where she went to the client’s home, designed all fabric treatments and then went back to her shop and made the curtains, shades, bedspreads, canopies, pillows, wall hangings, etc. Michele moved back to the Seattle area to raise a family with a special-needs kid. She went to work for a friend in Olympia, WA in a sewing machine store and worked there for 15 years as lead salesperson selling six different brands of machines and teaching project classes.

Michele now does freelance training and teaching around the nation and hopes to continue to do this for many years to come!

 

As a young child, Miriam had a love for textiles and anything she could create with them. 

Miriam attended Maryland College of Art and studied textile arts. She taught herself to sew while in college and from that point, never looked back. 

Miriam has been involved in the fabric world in many different avenues: fashion design, managing a modern quilt store, creating award winning quilts, co-owning a long arm quilting business, serving as a sales representative and most excitingly as a Janome's Education Specialist.

 

Nancy is one of the lucky few who was able to turn her sewing hobby into a career. In 1977, after enrolling in a sewing class and finding that the fabric she needed was not available locally, she decided to open a store called Knits n' Bolts.

Moving forward, Nancy became a Janome dealer, opening Sewing Concepts. By offering a variety of different classes, Nancy helped her clients get maximum enjoyment and value from their sergers and sewing machines. 

Nancy enjoys creating projects to use in classes and working with dealers and consumers as they use their machines and learn new techniques.

 

Nancy has been teaching sewing techniques for over 25 years. Along with being an Educational Coordinator, Nancy has been a regular contributor to Janome Digest, Creative Machine Embroidery, Quilting and Embroidery, Designs in Machine Embroidery, Clotilde's Sewing Savvy and six other sewing books published by House of White Birches. Along with being a contributor, Nancy is also the editor of "Creative Sewing Techniques by Machine" and "More Creative Sewing Techniques by Machine", published by American Quilter's Society. 

Nancy joined the Janome Education department in 2004. She specializes in embellishment techniques, utilizing the features and accessories of Janome sewing machines, embroidery machines and software as well as sergers. Nancy also writes and designs in her studio in Dwight, Ilinois. 

 

Sam has been with Janome for nine years, but he has been sewing for the past 39. Prior to joining Janome, Sam had his own custom sewing business in Texas where he designed and made wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, home decor, costumes, hats and pretty much anything that can be sewn. He also spends time volunteering in the summer -  teaching Girl Scout troops sewing so they can earn their Textile Badge. Sam loves all sewing related gadgets and probably has every notion ever made, some still in their original packaging. When Sam is teaching a class or talking to fellow sewists, it is evident that he is passionate about sewing and teaching it to others. 

 

Susan is not your average instructor. Her extensive experience includes managing a number of dealerships and instructing consumers and dealers in the home industry since 1985. 

She is a professional digitizer, quilter, crafter and seamstress specializing in Machine arts. Susan has also authored many articles for different sewing industry magazines and newsletters as well as having published her own designs and patterns. 

Susan's secret passion is anything Artistic. Being certified by many industry professionals such as Sulky, Martha Pullen, Nancy Zieman and Jenny Haskins in their different styles and sewing techniques - she brings a unique approach to her sewing, crafting and teaching. 

From sergers to software, designing for the home to 18" dolls, Susan is able to inspire and motivate from the very beginner to the advanced professional in the industry.