Although Artworks Embroidery & Design Studio was just established in Downtown Arlington’s Cultural District this past summer, owner Billy Chestnut has 25 years of experience in the field. Chestnut was taking graphic design classes in college when he learned he could earn credit hours for doing an internship, so he worked in a screen-printing and embroidery shop in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

“I ended up learning everything about the embroidery and screen-printing industry, and when I finished school I stayed at the same place because they offered me a position as a digitizing artist and graphic designer,” he said. “I got really good at the embroidery side of it and started doing my own projects, digitizing my own wild designs and then just kept going from there.”

Chestnut continued to grow in the industry, getting better positions with increased pay. “Something that started as an internship took me all the way to owning my own business,” he said. Chestnut has done everything from managing large production warehouses to repairing the embroidery machines.

Originally from Philadelphia, Chestnut relocated during the pandemic to be closer to family. After running his shop out of a friend’s warehouse space, he decided it was time to set up his own storefront. The Cultural Arts District caught Chestnut’s eye while he was working at nearby Cidercade repairing vintage video game machines.

“There’s so much development happening here and it’s springing up very quickly,” he said of Downtown Arlington. “So I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a five-year lease because I knew it was gonna be worth it.”

Artworks Embroidery & Design Studio is a small one-man operation (for now) but offers a full-service experience. Chestnut has catalogues of fabrics and merchandise items to choose from and can screenprint or embroider any existing logos or artwork. Customers can also request to see a sample what their design will look like on a given fabric before making a final decision about the order, something that takes a lot of time and shipping with larger online retailers.

Chestnut can also work with clients to bring their original ideas to life or create custom pieces, something that is unique to Artworks Embroidery & Design Studio. His showroom wall boasts an elaborate custom-embroidered Matador jacket designed for a client this past Halloween, which is just the tip of the iceberg for what he can create beyond the standard uniforms and sportswear. Chestnut can embroider custom leather jackets, Christmas stockings, monogrammed personal items and even shoes – an excellent last-minute gift idea for holidays, birthdays or other special occasions.

“This kind of artwork here is kind of lost, and now that I’m in this cultural arts district I feel like this would be a great place to actually bring more imagination to it.”

Learn more about Artworks Embroidery & Design Studio by calling (682) 248-3612, emailing [email protected] or visiting 304 W. Main St. Or you can visit the One Start Development Center, on the second floor at City Hall from December 16 – 20, 2024, during Small Business Promotion week. The City’s Planning and Development Service Department is also hosting Customer Appreciation Week during the same time and will be providing refreshments and bottled water for the customers visiting the Small Business Promotion table.

The City of Arlington is highlighting East Arlington small businesses throughout 2024. Canales Furniture, another Small Business of Arlington, who has grown substantially in the last few years, wants to give back to the community and is sponsoring this program with the Planning & Development Services Department for the year 2024. In their new headquarters at 102 E. I-20 Highway, they have dedicated a training room for their growing community, including free English-speaking classes, citizenship classes, and teaching small businesses on how to utilize social media as a marketing tool.