Studying Japanese

Every morning before the work day begins, Bob, Todd and Jon get together to study Japanese.

In addition to just wanting to learn the language, there is another reason for these classes. Todd will soon be leaving on May 6th to serve a two-year mission in Tokyo, Japan for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been preparing for many years and his mission is entirely self funded. We are excited for his new venture and want to help him in his preparations. Todd was born in Japan and his family moved to Hawaii when he was 5 years old. He was perfectly fluent in Japanese for a five year old. "The Japanese language is ingrained in me, although when I don't use it, I lose it. These lessons are helping me to recall and rebuild my language skills," he said.

Bob lived in Japan for 10 years and has taught Japanese language classes at both private schools and at a public college in the U.S.. He wrote a college-level conversational Japanese textbook that has been used in both high school and college classes. His experience and background are very helpful in teaching Todd and Jon.

Jon's interest in learning Japanese was sparked when he traveled to visit our factories in Japan in 2006. He feels understanding the language will help him communicate more clearly in business interactions.

p.s. to Todd. Don't worry. We'll hold your job open for you.

Meet Todd, Vice President

We would like you to meet Todd, one of our Vice Presidents here at Superior Threads.

Todd is the second son of Bob and Heather. His main focus with Superior Threads is working with the accounting department and implementing our Continual Improvement Kaizen Program (see blog post for March 9th). "Employees and customers submit ideas to help us become a better company, improve our processes, and better serve our customers. My job is to turn those ideas into realities," Todd said.
Todd also does a lot of traveling for Superior Threads. Last year he worked around 12 shows all over the country. Fortunately, shows are a favorite part of his job. "Ladies in the quilting industry are the friendliest group I've ever worked with," he added, "and I enjoy seeing many parts of the U.S."
Another wonderful location that Todd loves is Japan, the place of his birth (or, as his parents tell him, he was 'made in Japan') and where he lived for the first few years of his life. Todd enjoys visiting our factories and being able to give input on new products. When he was 18 he went to Japan and worked in the factories. "It was a time to learn about the business and to grow up and mature. The experience really expanded my horizons," he said.
We might add, he's also a Black Belt in Karate. And single.


For a hobby, Todd loves music. He works on writing his own music and records and edits for other musicians. He has performed many times for audiences in Utah and Nevada.
If you are ever placed on hold when calling our office, you can hear Todd singing in the background the song he recorded "Where Did I Hide My Stash?" It is also on our website.

Power Steam Pro

We have a new product that we want to share with you. It's a steamer called the "Power Steam Pro". Mother Superior has tried many different types of steamers and this is the best one she has found. It's perfect for working with Texture Magic, our steam activated shrinking fabric.


The steamer can be used for many other purposes too. It removes wrinkles on fabric 5 times faster than ironing. We love how it doesn't leave a line when working with wool, and it's great for travel when you want to tidy up your clothes coming out of a suitcase.

Not only that, but it provides a cone for facial steaming. We love it when we can multitask and take the wrinkles out of our fabric and our faces all in one day!
Superior Threads is currently offering a 50% discount off the list price.
You can order your own Power Steam Pro HERE.

School of Threadology

We have been talking a lot about progress on our new building that will contain the School of Threadology. Today we want to share with you our vision for the School, and hope you will be as excited as we are for this new endeavor.

Our goal is to be the most comprehensive sewing education center in the world. While our main focus is on quilting, we plan to offer sessions for all sewing related fields.

The School of Threadology will occupy 7,800 square feet of newly designed and constructed classroom space on the 2nd floor of the addition to our office and warehouse in St. George, Utah.

Jon Cole, our Vice President showing the plans.

Our estimated completion date for the new building is late summer 2009. We are currently planning sessions to begin in the Fall of 2009.

Many of the best-known teachers in the industry have already agreed to teach at the School. Ricky Tims, Alex Anderson, Libby Lehman, John Flynn, and many more will offer classes.

In addition to sessions taught by the industry's superstars, we also will offer:

Quilting techniques (taught by top teachers in the industry)

Open Thread Bar. A hands-on session using all types of thread.

Quilt Retreats. Plan your own schedule.

Longarm Classes (taught by top teachers in the industry)

The Longarm Machine Hop. (Imagine 3 full days to try all brands of midarm and longarm machines with no salesperson around!)

We also will be providing sessions for business owners. We will offer Superior Training for Store Owners/Managers/Employees.

Bernina USA has agreed to provide our Home Machine Classroom with sewing machines. Thank you Bernina! If you prefer, of course you can bring your own machine.

The Longarm and Midarm Machine Classroom will be equipped with most major brands of longarm and midarm machines.

We will keep you updated with our building progression, and news of the School in future posts and in our Newsletter.

Starting Fall 2009, Superior Threads and the School of Threadology will be the PLACE TO BE!

Pat our Front Office Manager

We want to introduce you to Pat, our Front Office Manager. Many of you from all over the world call in and talk to Pat as you place your orders with Superior Threads, and now you can place a name with a face.


Pat is our longest full time employee at Superior Threads, with over six years of service. Pat's main love and emphasis in her job is Customer Service. She loves working with people, and believe it or not, loves troubleshooting. If there is a problem, you can count on Pat to help you work things through. "I want everyone to be smiling when we are at the end of our conversation," she said.
Pat also helps train employees, making sure procedures and protocol are being followed. "We even teach proper telephone language. I want each customer to be treated with the utmost respect." In addition, Pat updates our staff on changes taking place.
When asked her favorite part about coming to work, Pat added, "Working for Heather and Bob. This is a very comfortable working atmosphere, and how we all treat each other is very important to both of them. I appreciate Bob's goodness. I fit naturally into his philosophy that customer satisfaction is most important. Of course it helps to have a quality product that sells itself. I'm proud of the high standards of Superior Threads."

These windows between offices were also Pat's suggestion. When a call comes in we can communicate with each other to make sure we have the answer you need.
Next time you call, make sure to tell Pat hello and that you saw her on our blog!

Cone Storage Container

We love new products, don't you? Superior Threads has a product that will make thread storage even easier than before.

Introducing our "Cone Storage Container".

This clear plastic container holds 30 standard cones, such as King Tut, So Fine!, Rainbows, LAVA, etc.

(*threads not included)

Size: 17.2"L X 15.44"W X 5.25"H

This container is made of a strong plastic that won't shatter, and best of all it's Stackable!

You can order HERE

Grandpa Bob (with the Superior grand baby Avilyn) going over business ideas with Yeimy.

Granddaughter Avilyn, being the Superior Baby that she is, agrees that the new Cone Storage Container will be very useful!

S.T.E.P. Program

We are always looking for ways to provide Superior Customer Service. We appreciate your business so much that we want to make sure you are taken care of in the best possible way. We have an extensive training program for our employees, with a heavy emphasis in the customer service area. We call this program S.T.E.P which stands for "Superior Threads Educational Program".

We have a library filled with books on business, self improvement, and customer service. Mother Superior suggests that ideally we each read one book a week, or at least 30 books this year. As we increase in knowledge we not only become a better person, but also a better employee.
After reading the book, we turn in a 1 page report, and Mother Superior provides us with a $10 to $20 reward. We like this program! Pati, one of our office staff, reads about 5 books a week, and leads our team. She has the potential to really add to her paycheck this year.

Each book read can generate 10 to 50 ideas on how we can improve Superior Threads.

After living in Japan for many years, Bob and Heather adopted many of their ways. Our philosophy is to work from the "bottom up". Those working in the warehouse understand so much more of what needs to be done in the warehouse than those who are in an office. We receive many suggestions. We are open to most ideas and if one doesn't work, then we will go back to the previous way of operation until we find a better way.
Our goal is to serve you better. Let us know how we are doing.

Mother Superior's Travels

Mother Superior has been traveling and wants to share with you a few of her experiences.

My first stop was the Empty Spools Seminar. This 5-day quiltmaking workshop is held at Asilomar Conference grounds in Pacific Grove, California.

I had a great time. This is the first time I've attended Empty Spools. The weather was rainy and cold. Only on the last day did I look up and see the ocean. But the whole purpose is to stay inside and sew, so I wasn't one bit disappointed. I really enjoyed my class with Carol Taylor.

I don't go to many places where there is a sign with my name on it.

Next I was off to the Sew Expo in Puyallup, Washington. We took along our muscle men and booth eye candy Trenten and Todd.

Not too many young men get to pose in front of a quilt. They love trade shows. To quote Todd "I sure get to adopt a lot of grandma's".

Having one of those days!

We love visiting with other vendors at trade shows. This is Scot Lindsay, President of Dream World, Inc. Scot and his wife Annie are the ones who have brought us the Bendable Bright Light, and the wonderful custom free arm insert tables that fit around our machines.

Now that I am back home, we can see the progress on the School of Threadology. We now have walls.

Look at that blue sky! This is winter in St. George, Utah. It's 71 degrees today.
The concrete floor has been poured and 30-foot scaffolding is in place for the masonry. The School of Threadology will be on the top floor with plenty of room for classes and all the fun activities we have planned.

What The Pros Say

We are blessed to be associated with many of the finest quilters in the industry. Alex Anderson helped us develop a line of the highest grade cotton thread, MasterPiece, which is ideal for piecing (thus the name), applique, binding, and bobbin. We want to share with you some of her comments:

"I fell in love with MasterPiece™ and Superior Threads."
It is my privilege and pleasure to be associated with Superior Threads, whose reputation throughout the sewing and quilting community is that of excellence. They are known for their business integrity, quality of product, and excellent customer care. Superior Threads sincerely believes in education and is dedicated to providing the best products and product knowledge to today's consumer. I applaud their attention to our needs.
MasterPiece™ is a #50 extra-long staple Egyptian cotton that is ideal for today's quilter. It is fine and smooth and a delight to work with. It is wonderful for piecing, quilting, and also in the bobbin. Accuracy when piecing becomes instantly enhanced because MasterPiece™ creates a very smooth, flat, and even seam which does not add any bulk. A flatter seam is especially important when sewing together blocks that contain many points.
For machine quilting, MasterPiece™ softly blends into the quilt layers, enhancing the quilting designs we have grown to love. When used in the bobbin, due to its fine, smooth quality, I'm surprised at how much thread I can load onto the bobbin.
With fifty-nine wonderful colors available, MasterPiece™ is perfect for both machine and hand appliqué. An extra-long staple Egyptian cotton means very low lint and the strongest cotton thread available. This results in a cleaner sewing machine, less breakage, less frustration, and less down time. With all these benefits, it could easily be called nature's finest thread.
Having quilted for several decades and sewing since I was a child, I have had the opportunity to work with many different threads. I have fallen in love with both MasterPiece™ and the company which created it, Superior Threads. MasterPiece™ is truly the masterpiece of quality and the name Superior says it all.
Sincerely, Alex Anderson

Kaizen

At Superior Threads, we strive to run a Superior business. In fact, taped to Bob's computer monitor is this quote: "What am I doing now in order to be better today than I was yesterday?" We seek for excellence through our KAIZEN program, which is the Japanese word for "continual improvement." We believe it is our employees and our customers who really manage Superior Threads.

Two years ago, KAIZEN was created. Since that time, over 1,100 ideas have been contributed. Not only is there an 85% implementation rate, but Superior Threads rewards employees for their suggestions with $$$. As much as we all love the money, we also thrive in the acknowledgement that we are valued for our opinions along with the work we do.

The KAIZEN boxes are located right in the middle of the workstations, allowing employees to write down their ideas the instant they occur to them.

We also depend heavily on our customers' suggestions. In our newsletter we have a section entitled $30 Idea Winners. We have received so many wonderful comments from you. It's Bob's job to sort through the ideas and make sure the best ones are implemented. He feels like he has thousands of business consultants around the world who help us become better. We love hearing from you. If you have an idea regarding products, service, education, or any other aspect of our work, please e-mail us at info@superiorthreads.com and have an opportunity to win $30. If your suggestion is chosen, your idea will also be written up in our monthly newsletter.

Texture Magic

We are so happy to share with you a new product offered only through Superior Threads!
TEXTURE MAGIC is a steam-activated fabric. The fabric shrinks 30% in all directions with the use of a steam iron.


Simply sew Texture Magic to the back of your fabric, apply steam, and the fabric shrinks magically, creating a beautiful textured effect.


In January at our School of Threadology, Annie taught a class using the prototype of the fabric. Annie designed a purse, using the Texture Magic on the bottom of the bag.
Annie also experimented using Texture Magic on all types of fabrics, from cotton to velvet.

We are already brainstorming the many uses for this fabric. Think of how beautiful this would be on the front of a coat, or in blocks on a baby quilt.

The package comes in a 47" X 18" size, complete with detailed instructions.

DVD Thread Seminar

By popular demand, Bob's seminar, Thread Therapy with Dr. Bob, is now available on DVD. If you've ever had the privilege of attending one of Bob's thread Seminars, you know how much information he can pack into one hour. In addition to the recorded-live seminar, this DVD contains 88 pages of educational material, all our Thread Reference Guides, our 72-page color booklet, and more.

You can now order the DVD HERE for the introductory price of $19.95 (regular price will be $24.95).

Congratulations to Leah!

Congratulations to Leah S. of Arizona for winning our $100.00 Gift Certificate!
We had 122 comments with 202 votes for our Giveaway.
Leah said "I haven't been lucky enough to try any Superior products yet, but if I were to win, I'd get some King Tut and MasterPiece thread."
Well, here is your chance Leah! We are very happy for you.

We also apologize for the difficulty some of you experienced in trying to leave a comment. Blogger, our Google blog host, experienced some technical difficulties this last week. Thank you to those who kept checking back with us. We appreciate your patience.

We Are Here To Teach You!

We've had a wonderful time meeting all of you the last 4 days in Puyallup, Washington at the Sewing and Stitchery Expo. Bob taught seminars every day with a total of over 500 people in attendance. Bob's seminar has now been recorded on DVD and is available on our website. Our main focus at Superior Threads is Quality, Service, and Education. We realize that the more you learn about thread and it's many uses, the better your experience will be when working on your projects. Please check out our Education section website where you will find 100 pages of very valuable information. We are here to teach You!

We've loved reading your comments from our last post on prewound bobbins, and wanted to follow up with some additional information that we hope will help.

We carry 3 different types of bobbins, each having a valuable purpose.

1.) SuperBOBs: made from The Bottom Line 60 wt. lint-free polyester thread.

2.) MasterPiece bobbins: made from 100% extra-long staple Egyptian-grown cotton. 50 wt. 2-ply. L-style has 85 yards, M-style has 148 yards.

3.) BOBs: recommended for hand applique. Made from The Bottom Line 60 wt. polyester thread, comes in 36 colors on a plastic sided L-style 100-yard bobbin.

You can purchase our bobbins individually, by the dozen, 1/2 gross (72), or gross (144).

We have variety packs available, or you can select just one color.

Make sure to view our webpage to see which prewound bobbin best fits your needs.

*Dear rff: We will be happy to replace your missing center post at no cost. Sorry to make this so public, but we didn't have a way to reach you. Please contact us with your e-mail and we will get right back to you.

This is a good place to remind all of you: We are happy to respond to your questions. Providing prompt service is very important to us. Please make sure to leave us an e-mail address or a blog return address so we can reply.