In the D.C. region, conversations often start with, “What do you do?” WTOP’s “Working Capital” series profiles the people whose jobs make the D.C. region run.
On any given day in the District, you can find Meredith Artyukhina brainstorming her next embroidery kit design, or putting together packages for her latest order.
Sometimes, though, she hosts special embroidery events in the city, too.
Artyukhina is the founder of Capital Stitch Co., a passion project turned full blown company with a mission to use embroidery to ease mental stresses and build community in the nation’s capital.
But, by no means are the company’s designs the same as the patterns geared toward those needleworking in their golden years.
“It is not your grandma’s stitching, though we have a solid core of grandmothers who defend us to the death online, and I adore them,” Artyukhina said, underscoring how the embroidery community fully embraced her updated designs. “There was no divide between people who had already been embroidering and people who wanted to pick it back up.”
As her company name suggests, Capital Stitch Co.’s embroidery patterns are D.C. focused and include designs depicting the cherry blossoms, the Tidal Basin and reimaginings of the District flag. (Don’t worry, there’s also some treats for the Virginia and Maryland residents, too.)
But her most popular design — and the one that got the business off and running — is the District kit, which marks out the city limits with a collection of blue and peach floral designs.
Capital collabs
Made on a whim, the design paved the way for partnerships with Major League Soccer, the National Cathedral and the Smithsonian Institution. It also solidified an ongoing partnership with Shop Made in D.C., a retail initiative that highlights the work of local creatives, and where Artyukhina hosts workshops for newcomers to the art of the hoop.
Mental health plays a key role in Artyukhina’s business model. “I just recognized when we first started out, just how stressed out and tired and anxious people are in the city,” she said.
“I really do feel like in the last couple of years, crafts have had this resurgence because people are realizing that if I’m working with my hands, I’m not doom-scrolling on my phone, being told that my life’s not good enough 24/7. And, I’m creating something of beauty that I have made myself.”
Whether one picks up embroidery as a youth or later in life, Artyukhina said having the skill works as “an exhaust valve for anxiety or stress for the rest of your life.”
“I’ve had some really transformative experiences with people who’ve said, ‘Your kit got me through labor, your kit got me through my mother’s passing, I was able to help my child with their Halloween costume with the skills I learned through your kits,’” she said. “To have a true impact on people’s lives is in itself a gift.”
Welcoming beginners and building community
At a recent workshop, several newcomers to the craft signed up for the course and echoed Artyukhina’s sentiments.
Nusrat Chowdhury, who attended the event with a friend, told WTOP that working on a pattern allows her to clear her mind.
“I don’t think about anything else, which is, I think, good,” Chowdhury said.
Fellow eventgoer Wendy Fan said having embroidery as a creative outlet was a positive force to counteract the stresses of work life, adding that the craft is “a lot more approachable than one would think.”
“It keeps me off my phone so there’s less of the doom-scrolling,” Fan said. “It’s always good to do something creative on the side and I think that helps my mental health a lot, especially when I’m either too focused — in work zone.”
For Adrienne Millogo, working on the day’s embroidery pattern proved to be “a relaxing kind of hobby” that she’s now looking to incorporate into her daily life.
Whether she’s hosting a class or meeting up with fellow embroidery hobbyists in the region, doing the work to build community is a driving force behind Artyukhina’s work.
“The community matters to me more than anything. It’s fostering new community in the city,” she said. “I hate when I see online people saying that ‘I don’t find D.C. welcoming’ or, like, ‘I have been here three years and all of my friends have moved out.’”
“I’ve been here almost a decade now and I don’t want that to be our vibe. I want our vibe to be inviting. I want our vibe to be that you can have zero dollars and zero cents and still find an event that you can come and hang out with other people at.”
When time and the weather allows, Artyukhina also hosts free meet-up sessions where people can either get together to tackle one of her embroidery kits, work on other art projects, or, just for fun.
“It’s just a really nice hodgepodge mix of people who come on out to these events,” she said.
One of the next meet-up sessions is expected to take on a Halloween theme. Costumes are fully welcomed, Artyukhina said.
For those unable to join a workshop or meet-up session in the District, Artyukhina will also be participating in this year’s Downtown D.C. Holiday Market.
Pride in stitching
Embroidery kits offered by Capital Stitch Co. include everything an interested hobbyist would need: a pattern, assorted threads, fabrics, and, of course, an embroidery needle — all of which fit in a portable pouch while on-the-go. (A win for the commuter, indeed.)
How does the finished product come to be? While Artyukhina serves as the primary designer, it’s a bit of a family affair as her wife manages the spreadsheets and dabbles on the design side. The couple’s cat, Hugo, also serves as an honorary quality control director of sorts. (You can catch weekly mini manager updates from the furball on the company Instagram page.)
When it comes to piecing together designs, the idea is to create it with the beginner in mind so the final product can be accessible enough for newcomers, according to Artyukhina.
In addition to patterns commemorating the nation’s capital, designs also include messages on causes Artyukhina feels strongly about, such as the protection of LGBTQ+ rights.
One of those recent designs was for Pride month. It touched on the historical significance of the 1969 Stonewall riots, with the message, “The first Pride was a riot.”
Similar to the popularity of the company’s District kit, the pride pattern proved a sensation and gave Artyukhina “the impetus to say, like, ‘We can do more dynamic things.’”
“We are a women-owned, trans-owned, disabled-owned business. So, these issues are intertwined with every aspect of our lives, and there is no way to have a business as a queer person, as a disabled person, without queer rights and disability rights and trans rights having, playing a factor into what we do on a day to day basis,” she said.
“I don’t think there is any detriment to speaking up for what you believe is to be right. And I believe that wholeheartedly, that in speaking up for queer rights and disability rights, we attract the right people to our brand.”
A business worth fighting for
From working through city regulations and tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration, Artyukhina quickly learned about the intricacies of paperwork and the hurdles many small businesses encounter when first starting out.
“The paperwork is never-ending,” Artyukhina said. “And there, unfortunately, isn’t, like, a huge support network for small businesses that are just starting out to figure out that kind of paperwork and to even figure out, like, where can I find legal help for that paperwork? Where can I find tax help for that paperwork?”
Before dedicating her life to Capital Stitch Co., Artyukhina worked for years in the legal world and was on a law school track. But, she said, despite having an extensive knowledge of the law, “going over the paperwork that we’ve had to file in the last four years was indecipherable.”
“I cannot imagine being a layman going into a small business and not being able to read half the paperwork that you’re required to fill out. I can barely understand it and I have training,” she said. “It’s tough. I really wish that the city would invest in resources to help people out in that regard.”
Reflecting on the company’s start just a few years back, Artyukhina underscored that starting small is the key to any successful business launch. “We started Capital Stitch Co. with $400 and free platform software,” she said.
“I think a lot of people have a grand vision for a small business, and they need to start with one product that they know they’re going to sell, and they’re going to sell really well,” she said. “And I think that is how we have been able to manage.”
Despite the business hurdles, “it doesn’t trump the fact that the business is worth fighting for.”
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