Sewed Up: How One Machinist Stitched Together His Dream Business
Published on May 07, 2025
Sewed Up Embroidery owner Jalon Williams holding up one of his creations
By Morgan Newell
“It all started with LEGOs.”
It’s a simple statement, but for Jalon Williams, the sentence holds so much power. At seven years old, Williams surrounded himself with toy bricks, sparking his creativity and craftsmanship. He would take the LEGOs, create something, then tear it down and rebuild. That early fascination with creating something from nothing was more than just child’s play; it laid the foundation for a lifelong journey of engineering.
“I loved using the same set of blocks to make something new,” Williams recalled. “Your imagination is the only limit.”
He couldn’t give all the credit to his LEGOs though. His father was a major influence in his life. A mechanic, machinist, carpenter, and iron worker, his dad could do it all. Williams watched his dad growing up and knew he wanted to be just like him. It was a legacy of skill and pride in craftsmanship that he would carry forward into his own career.
Between the family influence and the LEGOs, Williams embarked on the path of a machinist —a person who operates and sets up machine tools. He quickly rose to the top of his field working on high-precision implants for trauma patients. The job was fulfilling and checked off the box of working with his hands, but the itch to do something different and unique kept gnawing at Williams.
“Thirty years is a long time to do the same thing, and I didn’t want to retire from that lane,” he explained. “I started looking at ways to build wealth for myself.”
He already knew what he was good at. The question was what he wanted to do, and it was a question that went unanswered for some time. Then, a friend called with an unexpected offer “One of my friends had recently purchased a shop full of equipment, including an embroidery machine,” Williams remarked. “My friend said to me ‘If you’re a machinist, you can work any machine, and that embroidery machine is the money maker. If you can run that, you can do anything.’”
The Sewed Up Embroidery office where Williams works
So, he did what he does best—he took the machine apart, studied the manuals, cleaned it up, and taught himself to run it. Within two weeks, Williams was embroidering garments. The new skill sparked his interest, but the spark wouldn’t be stoked into a flame until two years later when Williams got hurt playing basketball. The injury put him on short-term disability. During that time, he got fired.
“That lit a fire under me,” he said. “I knew then that I wanted to work for myself.”
Luckily, an opportunity came knocking when a friend reached out about someone exiting the embroidery industry.
“Right place, right time,” he said. “I had built my business credit, and I went all in. It wasn’t easy, but it worked out.”
With the support of his network, countless hours of YouTube tutorials, and online forums, he set up shop. Only two months after being fired, Williams, who was completely self-taught, dove headfirst into embroidery. His business, Sewed Up Embroidery, got its name from a phrase that stuck in his mind.
“Once I got my hands on the equipment, I knew I’d have the embroidery game sewed up,” he quipped.
Sewed Up Embroidery t-shirt
Two and a half years later, Williams calls Sewed Up Embroidery a high-quality custom embroidery shop with industrial strength. He runs a six-head machine that lets him embroider six garments at once. He takes on everything from single-piece jobs to bulk orders and prides himself on doing what others can’t.
“I do it all, and I do it at a high level,” he said.
He’s not just running a shop; he’s building a brand. His business offers everything from hats and shirts to jerseys and accessories.
“If you have it, I’ll give it a try and embroider it,” he explained.
His business pushes beyond embroidery. To him, it’s built on relationships.
“Small businesses are the heart of the community,” he added.
That deep-rooted commitment to community is what pushed him to invest in his own growth, not just as a craftsman but as a business owner. He admitted that the business side wasn’t always his strong suit. So, just like he learned to embroider, he sought resources to learn how to be an entrepreneur.
First, Williams started attending Charlotte Business INClusion meetings, where he learned to read RFPs, build capability statements, and connect with other people who could help him scale his operations. To further strengthen his business foundation, he applied for the AMP Up Charlotte and soon became part of Cohort 10.
“That program changed everything,” he said.
AMP Up Charlotte is a business growth education initiative supporting small businesses in the Charlotte area. The program provides participants with the tools and knowledge necessary to push their businesses to the next level. Through business development curriculum, leadership opportunities, and mentorship, the AMP Up Charlotte program aims to foster economic growth.
Williams' AMP UP Charlotte certificate
Williams said it gave him the tools to grow beyond the shop floor—building leadership skills, learning to delegate, and gaining a solid grasp of finances and marketing. Through the program, he became HUB-certified and secured vendor certifications with the city, county, and state.
The machinist turned embroiderer now feels he has a better grasp of both sides of his business. Without the program, he said he might have been able to learn it slowly over time. However, AMP Up and other business-centric events gave him the boost he needed.
“It really opened my eyes to all the opportunity in Charlotte and helped my business grow faster,” Williams noted.
His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is steeped in his own experience: you have to believe in yourself. Williams said he wouldn’t be where he was at today without his friends encouraging him to take that initial risk. It was pushing himself out of his comfort zone that propelled him to where he is today. He encourages other aspiring entrepreneurs to be social with their passions because you never know what the person you’re talking to can do for you,
“Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart, so you have to be dedicated,” Williams said. “But once you get there, man does it make everything worth it.”
Today, Sewed Up stands as a testament to what happens when creativity, craftsmanship, and courage come together. From LEGO bricks to industrial embroidery machines, Williams built something with the help of his community to benefit his community.
May is Small Business Month in Charlotte. The City of Charlotte offers a wide range of services to launch and grow small businesses, including grants, loans, workforce development programs, and networking events. Learn more in our Small Business Month article.