What Running an Embroidered Shirt Shop for a Year Taught Us

If someone told us two years ago that we would spend entire evenings staring at tiny threads, adjusting needle tension like surgeons, and whispering to our embroidery machine the way some people talk to houseplants, we probably would’ve laughed. Loudly.

But here we are.

After one full year of building Tinicloset – our cozy little corner of the internet specializing in embroidered shirts, custom embroidered hoodies, and all things stitched with love – we’ve realized that running a small business is like being thrown into a game where the rules keep changing, the quests multiply overnight, and the final boss is… inventory management.

So here is our very honest, slightly chaotic, slightly wise collection of business lessons. Think of this as your behind-the-scenes tour of what really happens when a “cute embroidery shop idea” becomes a real operation with real customers, real challenges, and very real 2 a.m. existential moments.

Grab your tea. This one’s going to be fun.

Lesson 1: Embroidery Looks Peaceful on Instagram—Reality Is… Different

The aesthetic photos of an embroidered hoodie under golden morning light? Yes, those are real. But what the photos don’t show is the bobbin thread having an emotional breakdown, the machine deciding to chew the fabric for no reason, or us discovering a tangled knot big enough to qualify for its own zip code.

We learned quickly that the embroidery machine does not care about our deadlines, hopes, dreams, or SEO goals. It has one mission: to teach us patience. Endless patience.

But here’s the fun part: every time we finish a perfect custom embroidered shirt—sturdy, clean, balanced colors, smooth texture—every ounce of chaos becomes completely worth it.

We’ve learned that mastery is simply repetition + mistakes + refusing to give up + coffee.

Especially coffee.

Lesson 2: Customers Don’t Just Buy Products—They Buy Feelings

One of the biggest surprises for us at Tinicloset was learning how emotional people can be about embroidered shirts. Not in a dramatic way, but in a sweet, human way.

We get messages like:

• “This reminds me of my dad’s old jacket.”

• “My boyfriend loves transportations; can you put a little excavator on it?”

• “My daughter collects embroidered hoodies. This one will make her scream.”

Some customers send photos proudly wearing their items, and nothing hits us in the feelings quite like that.

We learned that we’re not just selling thread and fabric. We’re selling memories, personality, comfort, and the joy of owning something stitched just for you.

That realization changed everything for us—from how we design collections to how we pack orders (with more heart and better tape; the first months were… messy).

Lesson 3: Social Media Strategy? More Like Social Media Survival

We started the year thinking:

“Okay, you just post beautiful photos of embroidered shirts, add some hashtags, and boom. Viral.”

We were wrong.

Social media is a living organism. Some weeks it loves us; some weeks it pretends we don’t exist.

What we learned:

• People love authenticity more than perfection.

• A behind-the-scenes thread-disaster video outperforms a perfect photoshoot.

• Instagram Reels either get 200 views or 20,000—there is no in-between.

• And on TikTok, the more chaotic our content, the better it performs.

So we made peace with the chaos.

Instead of chasing trends, we shifted to storytelling—our small business growth, how we design a new embroidered hoodie, how many times we have to redo a stitch because of one rebellious thread. Turns out people enjoy watching the process, the mistakes, and the glow-ups.

Social media isn’t just marketing; it’s relationship-building. And it’s free therapy, depending on how you look at it.

Lesson 4: SEO Is the Long Game—but It’s Worth It

At the beginning, SEO sounded like magic. Or witchcraft. Or both.

But after experimenting for months with keywords like embroidered shirt, custom embroidered apparel, cute embroidered hoodie, small embroidery shop, and handmade embroidered gifts, we realized one important truth:

SEO works slowly… and then suddenly.

Traffic started building up. People from all over the world found Tinicloset through search terms we didn’t expect. Old blog posts with unpopular titles somehow became top performers. Customers told us they discovered us accidentally while searching for “soft embroidered sweatshirt for boyfriend.”

Thank you, internet.

Now we treat SEO like brushing our teeth—boring, necessary, and very good for long-term survival.

Lesson 5: Packaging Is an Art—And a Science—And a Workout

We’ll be honest: our early packaging situation was basically tape versus human. Tape won most of the time.

But eventually we improved:

• sturdier mailers

• cute branding stickers

• better ways to fold embroidered shirts so the design stays crisp

• the magical discovery of a good heat press for labels

We also learned that customers really care about packaging. It’s their first physical impression of us. It sets the tone. It’s the “hello” before they even open the parcel.

Now packaging is one of our favorite parts. We love making every order feel like a gift—even when it’s something they ordered for themselves (the best self-love category, in our opinion).

Lesson 6: Growth Is Not Linear—And That’s Normal

Running Tinicloset taught us that business growth doesn’t look like a straight upward arrow. It looks like a rollercoaster with mood swings.

Some months were amazing—new followers, booming orders, viral reels.

Some months were quiet—too quiet—like the universe was asking us to reorganize our threads or rethink our branding.

At first we panicked, thinking slow months meant something was wrong. But eventually we realized that cycles are part of business. The quiet seasons gave us time to:

• design new embroidered shirt collections

• photograph products

• rest, so we can survive Christmas season without combusting

• fix things we ignored in busier months

Growth isn’t only about numbers—it’s about resilience, consistency, and staying excited about your craft.

Lesson 7: Every Order Still Makes Us Happy (Yes, Even After a Year)

With time, we thought we might get used to receiving orders.

We did not.

Even now, one year in, every order still makes us light up like a Christmas tree. Sometimes we do a little dance (only the embroidery machine can see, thankfully).

Running a small shop means nothing feels guaranteed. So every order is both a thank-you and a miracle.

And this gratitude keeps us motivated to improve our designs, stitching, communication, packaging, everything.

Lesson 8: Originality Matters More Than Trends

The embroidery world has its own trends: smiley faces, vintage florals, minimal linework, retro transportations designs, holiday motifs, and of course the unstoppable rise of the Christmas embroidered shirt. In the beginning, we tried to follow every trend. But over time, we realized that the products people love most are the ones that feel the most Tinicloset. Our signature detailed designs, our calming color palettes, our quirky themes, our subtle but thoughtful animations and illustrations before embroidery. A trend may attract someone once, but a style builds a community.

So now, instead of chasing trends, we treat them as spice—not the whole recipe.

Lesson 9: Running a Shop Is 50% Creativity and 50% Admin Work

We expected creativity. We did not expect the endless admin tasks.

Taxes. Tracking expenses. Following up on shipping. Updating the website. Writing SEO descriptions. Handling custom orders. Monitoring stock. Scheduling content. Answering emails.

We sometimes joke that Tinicloset should hire… Tinicloset.

But the admin tasks taught us discipline. And they made the creative moments even sweeter. Sitting down to design a new embroidered hoodie feels like a reward.

Lesson 10: The Best Marketing Is Being Genuine

People can feel sincerity—even through a screen.

We learned that the more honest we are about our journey, the more people connect with us. Sharing the behind-the-scenes, the struggles, the wins, the silly stories, the embroidery disasters—it all builds trust.

Customers don’t expect perfection. They expect connection.

And as a small business, that’s our biggest strength.

So What’s Next for Tinicloset?

We’re still learning. Still experimenting. Still laughing at our own mistakes. Still staying up late to finish holiday orders. Still sketching new embroidered shirt ideas on napkins like proper artists in denial.

We want to expand our collections, improve our website, create more content, and build a stronger brand voice—one that feels warm, creative, and unmistakably “us.”

But most of all, we want to keep creating handmade embroidered apparel that makes people smile.

If our first year taught us anything, it’s that there’s beauty in slow, honest growth. There’s joy in making something by hand. And there’s magic in building a brand that feels like home.

Thank you for being part of our journey—even if you’re just scrolling through our stories or reading this blog while procrastinating some responsibility.

We appreciate you more than you know.