In a world of fast fashion and automated everything, Ponte Vedra entrepreneur Emily Gleason is betting on something refreshingly old-school: genuine human connection and handcrafted personalization. Through her business, Emily Ann Embroidery, Gleason is among the first in Northeast Florida to offer live embroidery experiences — bringing her skills, and her machine, directly to clients at events and parties.
The setup is as charming as the concept. Gleason arrives with a custom-built pop-up cart — crafted by her husband — and a 100-plus-pound embroidery machine that can stitch just about any design onto any fabric item that fits beneath it, all in under 30 minutes. Guests can choose from company logos, monograms, initials, and more, with full control over thread color and lettering style. The whole process unfolds right in front of them, turning a simple keepsake into a memorable moment.
Gleason's path to entrepreneurship is rooted in family tradition. She spent years learning to sew from her grandmother and, in the early days of raising her three children, hand-stitched their baby clothes. Emily Ann Embroidery was born during the pandemic as an Etsy shop, but word of mouth grew so quickly that she eventually closed the online storefront to focus entirely on local orders and live events. Today she holds a regular partnership with Lemon Twist Boutique in Ponte Vedra, which carries her embroidered goods and relies on her for all of its custom personalization work. She also serves clients including the Ponte Vedra Ocean Club and a soon-to-open local pilates studio.
What keeps Gleason going, even as her schedule fills up between running her business and homeschooling her kids, is the joy of the craft itself. She's been candid about the fear of burnout that can come when a passion becomes a profession — but says that hasn't been her experience. For her, the live element is the whole point: giving people something meaningful to take home rather than a forgettable giveaway.
This story was originally reported by Holly Tishfield for the Ponte Vedra Recorder.
