Needle Nicely was founded in Blowing Rock, N.C., in 1971 by Trubey Walker and Peggy Rente. Peggy soon returned to Miami where she opened The Naughty Needle. In 1981, Trubey opened a branch of Needle Nicely in Vero Beach, Fl., while continuing the Blowing Rock branch as a summer business. The Vero store soon became the organizational center of operations as well as the dominant outlet and in 1996 the Blowing Rock shop was closed.
Trubey's custom design business developed into a full-time wholesale line that is now sold to other needlepoint shops. In 1998, Trubey sold Needle Nicely to Mary Agnes, the long-time manager, so she could concentrate her energies on designing. She is still doing some designs exclusively to Needle Nicely and also does some custom designing.
Needle Nicely is known for its wide selection of handpainted canvases, large variety of fibers, quality finishing services, and custom designs. A substantial mail order business developed in the years when the Blowing Rock shop was the only outlet. In lieu of a catalog, we often send canvases on approval.
During the summer of 2005, our 2-story building experienced leaking problems from a new roof. The leaking was a result of inept roofers, rather than any hurricanes. However, Hurricane Wilma solved all the problems by totally removing the roof. This happened near the end of the storm, so internal damage was minimal. The roof had plastic put over it, but no further repairs were done. On November 1, 2005, the rains from Hurricane Beta came to south Florida. Because the rains came during the day, I was able to enlist my friends and employees to bundle the hanging canvases and fiber from 3 spinner racks into black trash bags and take them to the safety of a storage unit. On November 5 we physically moved the shop to a new location in Indian River Plaza (the locals call this KMart plaza). The new carpeting and paint will wait until spring. The important things are that we are dry and in business, with minimal damage to the inventory. The cabinetry is the worse for wear, but that too can be fixed in the spring.
Needle Nicely
Owner: Mary Agnes Rhudy Cussen
1531 US #1
Vero Beach, FL 32960
Phone: 772-567-6688
Fax: 772-567-7918
Email: nnicely@gate.net
