Embroidery artiste Stephanie Edghill’s youngest fans are her sons—Lucas, two-and-a-half years old, and Liam, just eight months. Only recently, she and Lucas were working on a keychain together for a new client; he was helping with the glue (don’t worry, not the hot glue kind). Since Liam is too young to be hands-on, she puts him next to her in a laundry basket “with some balls to play with. He enjoys that,” she says.
Her boys inspire many of her pieces, especially her handprint keepsake kits and embroidered baby books—something new she’s introduced.
The 39-year-old mom-preneur is the proud owner of her home-based business, The Little Bowtique. She stitches eye-catching hoops for hangings, bookmarks, Christmas tree ornaments, and embroidered clothing. Her signature style is largely locally inspired, though she did not grow up in Trinidad. She left at three and lived in Nigeria, Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil and the US with her family before returning at age 23.
If, when you think of embroidery, images of older women sitting calmly bringing creations to life come to mind, you’re not far off. Stephanie grew up watching both her mother and grandmother excel at handiwork—embroidery, sewing, quilting and silk painting. But it wasn’t until 2020 that she picked up the craft herself after discovering a page on Instagram showcasing embroidered bows. She thought, “I’ve never seen anyone in Trinidad doing something like this,” so she gave it a try.
She started with some of her mum’s vintage thread, an eight-inch hoop and an old pillowcase. YouTube and guidance from her grandmother helped her master her bow. When she opened her business, her intentions were to specialise strictly in bows—as her brand’s name suggests—but requests for other designs started pouring in merely a week after she launched.
Today, The Little Bowtique has a growing clientele—stay-at-home moms, dads, corporate clients, middle-aged women—and everyone in between.
WE: The Little Bowtique often features such intricate details. Walk us through your process, from the initial idea to the final knot.
SE: It really depends on the work. If it’s a portrait piece for a wedding or based on a picture, I work strictly from that. But for the most part, I have customers who have an idea of what they’d like. I’ll send some ideas or they’ll see something on my page they’d like me to recreate and with what colours. This part is really nice as I get to know my customers a bit more, so as I’m working on their piece, I have them in mind and the special person I am creating for. So I sketch, then carefully choose colours as there’s no such thing as just a yellow or just green; there are a million shades. Then, I get to stitching, always starting with the script. Once I finish, I clean up the piece and, of course, include my branding.
WE: What inspires your colour palettes and patterns? Are you influenced more by our vibrant Caribbean landscape or a more minimalist, contemporary aesthetic?
SE: Definitely a more contemporary aesthetic. It’s funny, my grandmother always loved my work, always complimented it, and noted that “embroidery didn’t look like this in my day.” She calls it modern embroidery. I don’t usually gravitate to bright colours unless a customer requests it; I’d usually go for more pastels and dusty tones.
WE: On average, how many hours of labour go into a single custom order?
SE: Gosh, this is a tough question as it usually depends on the piece. Smaller pieces, like a custom bookmark or keychain, I’ll spend about two to three hours. My hoop pieces can take anywhere from three hours to a couple of days to finish, depending on the size.
WE: What has been the most challenging or sentimental commission you’ve ever been tasked with?
SE: This is so hard because so many have become my favourites over the years. I honestly can’t say, as the nature of what I do is special. A special person, a new baby, newlyweds. My pieces are meant to be heirlooms, so they are all sentimental by nature.
WE: As a wife and mum of two young children, how do you carve out the mental and physical space for your craft?
SE: It’s an outlet in a way. I get antsy if my hands aren’t busy or I’m not getting to be creative. So it’s almost like therapy. Mentally, it’s my happy place and I can dedicate time to the creative side of it. The business side can fall to the side at times. I am fortunate to have a supportive village to help me with my boys, so I have a lot of help to give me back that time. Having said that, that time is also split between working and doing things for my family, so I don’t get the time to dedicate to my work as I used to, which I do miss at times. But once the boys are home from school or from my parents’ house, or once they’re up from a nap, my work day ends. I no longer work on weekends (except during the Christmas season); those times are reserved for them. Embroidery is my full-time job alongside motherhood. Before kids, I’d wake in the morning and work until ten in the night. I don’t get this uninterrupted time anymore, so my turnaround time is much slower than it once was, but I still get the same excitement as before to dive into my work!
WE: What’s your advice for other mom-preneurs who are afraid to start a business because they feel they don’t have the time?
SE: Honestly, it feels unfair to give advice standing where I am at now because I started this business before becoming a mom, so I created something I could come back to. But I will say: just do it, just dive in. Don’t question yourself, don’t answer to anyone else. If you have an idea you think others would love and appreciate, do it. Do it for you, do it for them. And if people love and respect what you do as much as they should, they will also understand if your timing takes a little longer. We are not machines and we have little humans that need us way more, but take that leap of faith. Be honest with customers about your turnaround times and even if you only start with an hour or two a day, start!
WE: Where do you see yourself and your brand in five years?
SE: When I started this business, I was told, “It’ll probably just be seasonal,” and I’m happy to report it hasn’t been. I’ve been fortunate for my business to do well year-round. Throughout the year, there are special events that people celebrate and want my work to be a part of that. I don’t think I’ll ever have anything like a storefront or website, but I hope my work will continue to grow and in five years, I’ll be happy to be right where I am now doing something that I really love.
