Dear Embroidery Friend,
Please allow me to introduce myself to you. My name is Bob Mattina and I am the founder of Generations, a family run company based in St Louis and developers of Generations™ Embroidery Digitizing Software. Unfortunately, I’m not the clever one that solely developed the software, but along with my family and our professional development team of software programmers, we have all contributed to make Generations™ Software, what we believe, to be the best in the industry.
In fact, my involvement in the sewing industry commenced in 1973 – I sold and serviced home & industrial sewing machines. I became involved with handling embroidery machinery in 1979 and embroidery software in 1985. In the early 1990s, digitizing software became available for embroidery companies, but at staggeringly high prices – sometimes in excess of $60,000. At the same time, the first home embroidery machines also hit the market. And in 1994, home digitizing software also became a reality, albeit very difficult to learn and use.
In 1996 our team started working on our vision of developing home embroidery digitizing software that was easy to use for a computer novice, but yet offered all the professional features for advanced users. Our aim was to automate the process efficiently – and I have to be honest – it was a tough assignment. I did, on many occasions, consider giving up on the quest for automation. But in 1999, our development team made the breakthrough we so desperately wanted – the IQ Processor. This breakthrough opened up new technology that was the precursor to what we now know as Generations™; which was officially released in 2002.
So why am I telling you this? It’s simple. Sometimes companies and, indeed heads of companies like me, can be very insulated from what customers are saying and experiencing with the products we provide. In 2007, in conjunction with our business partners, we conducted embroidery seminars across the country. From these seminars, we soon realized that there were many misconceptions about embroidery digitizing and, that many Generations™ Owners had no idea of the amazing capabilities that Generations™ provided.
Obviously, this comes down to Education. Typically, software in the home embroidery industry has been sold and supported through specialty sewing and embroidery retailers. Some retailers do an amazing job in educating their customers – this was very evident in different areas throughout the country. Unfortunately, there are also many retailers who don’t offer the same high standard of software education. This is not a slight on these retailers as we all have different fields of expertise.
It is however, an important issue that we need to address; and to this end I am very excited to tell you about recent developments.
In December 2007, my wife and I were invited to attend an Embroidery Convention in Australia as special guests. The event was held by our Australian Distributor, Echidna Sewing Products. This special event took place at Conrad Jupiters Casino and Resort on the beautiful Gold Coast, with nearly 300 home embroiderers in attendance. The atmosphere was amazing as was the enthusiasm and excitement of the delegates.
Almost all of the attendees were Generations™ owners – I was simply astonished with their “can do” attitude towards digitizing and the quality of the abundant embroidery samples on display.
Being in the sewing and embroidery craft market for years, we have long held the belief that the Australian Sewing & Embroidery market is an advanced and unique market. During this special event, they introduced me to something very special – digitise-wise™.
digitise-wise™ is an independent Australian company that has developed an Australian Government Accredited training program for embroidery digitizing. Their approach to Support and Education is indeed unique & effective – and the digitise-wise™ correspondence course is proof positive of that. We are particularly honored as they chose to base their teaching material on Generations™.
I now have great pleasure in advising that we will also be introducing the digitise-wise™ correspondence course to existing Generations™ owners in the USA and Canada. This is just the start of major changes that we plan to implement in 2008. In fact, our mission statement for this year is “Educate in 08”
We will be working closely with our existing retailers and business partners to ensure that education on embroidery digitizing is at the top of all our agendas. At the same time, our company is committed to build important and lasting relationships with our most valued customers – our existing Generations™ owners.
With all this in mind, I would personally like to invite you to join us in what will be an educational and inspirational journey. Over the next four to six weeks, we will be formalizing our introduction of digitise-wise™ for North America and we would like to send you an information pack outlining the course in more detail. We will also stay in touch on a regular basis with newsletters and inspirational projects, all designed to enhance your embroidery experience.
Our records indicate that you have registered as a Generations™ owner, but of course, your circumstances may have changed. Please take a moment to complete the enclosed form and return it to:
Generations Software
P.O. Box 4278
Chesterfield, MO 63006
1-866-985-5800
Or, of course, you can visit our website www.GenerationsEMB.com and update your details on line.
We have a very positive year planned for 2008, including the introduction of Generations™ Trial versions with stitch out capability. Our wish is that all home embroiderers can experience the thrill of creating their own embroidery designs. Our commitment is to ensure that this opportunity is backed with quality education.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter and I hope that we can help enhance your embroidery experience.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Mattina
President