When an old Swiss dairy barn was moved from Lucerne, Switzerland to the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, it became home to many enterprises that had nothing to do with milk. In 1981, one of those enterprises was the Cross-Eyed Cricket needlework shop, owned and operated through the partnership of two couples. Shopkeeping gave way to publishing in June of 1982. Our first trade show was in St. Louis in the spring of the same year. The new company was so well received and so warmly welcomed that we closed the shop six months later. Until 2005, when Nickie and Jimmy Odom retired, myself and my husband Bob enjoyed an adventure that made the four of us much more than business partners. Our children grew up together. Nickie and Jimmy were and always will be an important part of what we do. They now live outside Charleston, South Carolina and never fail to quote the temperature when St. Louis is deep in Winter.

As a company, Cricket has been blessed with so many wonderful friends. Two of these special people we gratefully acknowledge.

Karen (Hyslop) Blanc who came into the shop one day with two sheets of charted designs in hand asking if we would like to offer them for sale. Before long, by combining her designs and my designs the publishing company was launched. Her talent, enthusiasm and energy were the spurs that move our efforts forward.

Diane Oldfather, now retired, was owner of a wonderful needlepoint shop in Lincoln, Nebraska where Karen worked while attending the University. In addition to contributing designs from her shop, Heart’s Content, she was a delightful woman of wit and letters who brightened every conversation.

As a design company, we long for a 72-hour day. We would spend such a day designing ways to bring pleasure to your “precious personal time.” We aim to create for clarity and ease of use, to produce delight through color and form, and to share meaningful expression through art and design…and, oh yes, most of all, to have fun. We, at the Cricket, respect your personal time and desire earnestly never to disappoint.

Vicki Hastings