Here is a little bit of information about me including my background and THC's early stages of birth, so to speak. Thank you for visiting my site - I hope you are enjoying your time here! I was raised in a large Catholic family in the upper Midwest with the bitter cold winters and weekly blizzards. I developed an interest for needlework at the early age of eight, with embroidery of pillow cases, dresser scarfs for our May alters, and had already begun my prized collection of embroidery floss, of course arranged by hues of my favorite colors. Even at such an early age I was much intrigued with colors, and anticipated a new box of crayolas in my Easter basket. I guess that early development of creating with the gentle shades of color was truly the basis of my career to come. I began designing needlework patterns in 1974 with the premier needlework design being a birth announcement for my daughter. With constant encouragement from my friends, I formed The Heart's Content, Inc. in 1980, having released over one hundred copyrighted designs to various other needlework companies. With a small child, my focus then was being the best mom I could possibly be to her, and to continue my education/profession in the medical field. Originally with even those first designs released, every proposal that was created at my drawing table was stitched over one linen thread, thus authoring my "one-over-one" cross stitch technique of transforming needlework into needleart. My creations have brought endless enjoyment to thousands of avid needleartists, and have rewarded me with several honors and acknowledgments over the years. In 1997 I retired my position in the medical field, and am most delighted to awake each morning to pursue my beloved pastime, now spun into my lifetime career. Recently I built a design studio onto my home, separating the business / printing / offices / assembly / work stations from my private creating center. Truly the nucleus of my business, privacy became apparent, and has now afforded me the wonderful God-given backdrop of the ever-blooming hardwood forest that surrounds my home. Several inspirations are heartened from this space with the wonderful surround of nature beyond my three walls of glass. Newly formed beds in my English-styled gardens afford much enjoyment and illuminations for future designs. Recently completed, "Floral Finesse" has awarded THC much recognition with being the inaugural achievement of incorporating all of DMC's 390 solid colors within one design. It truly speaks for itself. I've published over two-hundred designs, ranging from Olde Colonial restorations, and re-creations of Colonial Williamsburg homes/buildings, Stylized Florals & Animals, English Botanicals, Samplers, both reproduction and original, Tropical Floral Series, and have hand-gathered a fine collection of exquisite needlework accessories for my avid needleartists and students worldwide. The Heart's Content, Inc. supplies designs in a most complete conformation of kits, leaflets, and chart-paks to specialty needlework shops worldwide, and also offers a complete mail-order service to global stitchers. It is now my pleasure to provide these same creations through yet another medium . . . this web site. Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge my photographer, Steve Seilo of Photodynamix, Green Bay, Wisconsin for an outstanding job of portraying the imaging of my website. Steve has captured the visual impressions of my designs from the beginning of my career, and with utmost passion for detail, truly understands the significance of an accurate photographic image for your stitch interpretation purposes. Together with the creator of this website, he has dedicated endless hours to the portral of its contents, and has enhanced my pride as the designer behind these pages. For him, I am grateful!   The Heart's Content, Inc. | Products | For Shop Owners | THC Newsletter Place an Order | About Maureen | Back Home E-mail The Heart's Content, Inc. 4440 Indian Trail Green Bay, WI 54313 (920) 494-9434 www.theheartscontent.com