Creating Keepsakes

SITTING IN HER living room, surrounded by bins of yarn and embroidery floss, Erin Medico works diligently to create her next personalized keepsake for a lucky customer as nostalgia tugs at her heartstrings. It was her grandmother who taught her to sew, knit and crochet, and Medico cherishes the memories she has of simply being beside her, learning the craft.

Medico picked up stitching again for the first time since college just over a year ago, and she found it brought her the same peace it had earlier in her life. And so, when her resurrected hobby transformed into a small business practically overnight, it was only fitting to honor her grandma in the name: Lily & Dot.

“Her name was Dorothy; my grandfather would call her Dot,” Medico says. “She also loved to garden. I would garden with her and still really enjoy it. Around her property she had Lily of the Valley. Lily & Dot is for her.

HOBBY TURNED SIDE HUSTLE

Medico decided to return to stitching and embroidery in an effort to set aside some time for herself. As a mom of three and a teacher, she felt lost in this season of always giving and doing for others and wanted to reawaken artistic passions that had given her joy in the past.

So, in early 2024, she bought a couple of kits online to stitch sweaters for her daughter, Avery—one with her name in script, another with her first initial decorated with flowers.

Medico didn’t think anything of it when she proudly posted a picture of her work on social media. But the next day, a co-worker at a Saddle Brook school, where Medico teaches fifth grade math and science, said she needed one for her daughter.

“She must’ve spread the word, because the next day I had about 12 co-workers that wanted sweaters for their kids and I thought, ‘OK, maybe this could be something on the side.’”

Since then, her side hustle has grown through word of mouth. Medico says it’s after her kids are in bed, and the house is quiet, that her evenings begin (usually around 10 p.m.). She stitches for an hour or two, often losing track of time. She also finds moments to work on pieces during her busy days.

“I love it because it’s so portable,” Medico says. “My boys play baseball, and I can take a project with me to work on while I sit in the bleachers watching their games. Or I can stitch while my daughter’s in the pool for swim lessons.”

She’s personalized everything from jean jackets, sweaters and baby blankets to slippers and even pillowcases for a realtor to give to clients when they close.

“You can really embroider anything—I pick up dresses at Target and add designs like bows or hearts, or I pick up things like vintage jean jackets at the thrift store and embroider them.”

COLLABORATING WITH CLIENTS

Medico says stitching has always come naturally to her, but with the growth of her business she’s been able to hone her craft, gaining speed as she goes and networking with other stitchers on social media.

Her designs and fonts are freehand, meaning she doesn’t trace computer fonts, making them truly unique. A simple name sweater typically takes only about an hour; but more intricate designs take up to three hours or more. Medico loves the idea of creating something for clients that might become a keepsake.

“It’s special,” she says. “I have all different things that I’ve made for my daughter. I pack them away and think about showing them to her when she’s older. It’s nice to make something so personalized for people.”

Collaboration is key for Medico. She enjoys the process of going back and forth with clients to narrow in on what exactly they want in a piece. “It’s really nice because they have a hand in the design process too,” she says.

Client and friend Jess Furnari described working with Medico as easy and fun. “Her passion and creativity shines in every customized piece she has made for me,” Furnari says. “She is detail oriented from start to finish, even including washing instructions to prevent the yarn from fraying. We are so lucky to have access to her talent right in our town!”

Carolina Szegda, who has ordered from Lily & Dot multiple times, agrees. “The quality of the embroidery is outstanding—clean, detailed and clearly made with so much care. Everything we’ve received has been not only beautifully crafted but also incredibly durable. You can tell Erin pours her heart into her work.”

And while selling her products on Etsy has occurred to her, Medico says she’s worried she’d miss out on the close interactions she has with clients now, and that it might take away some of the fun for her if it should start to feel like work.

Featuring her goods at a craft show, hosting a Sip & Stitch to connect with others that enjoy embroidery, or perhaps collaborating with local businesses to sell her goods are ways to grow her business that do appeal to Medico right now, as she looks to the future of Lily & Dot.

More than anything, Medico has truly enjoyed returning to this creative outlet. “Even though there are late nights, and at times I feel a little overwhelmed by projects, it’s something for me that I can do and really get into the zone,” she says.

And, sitting in her Ho-Ho-Kus home, it’s not just stitching that recalls memories of her grandmother. Dot, formally Dorothy Evans, and her husband Joseph, moved from New York City to Ho-Ho-Kus to raise their family in the mid-1950s and lived in the borough until her grandmother passed in 2005.

Medico even spent her teenage years living with her grandmother and attended Northern Highlands Regional High School.

“I love the small-town feel; everybody knows each other and both the kids, and my husband and I have a really nice network of friends,” Medico says. “My grandparents were drawn to the town decades ago and so were we; we knew we wanted to raise our kids here.”

For more about Lily & Dot, visit the Instagram page @lilyndot.

BY SARAH NOLAN