A native of Northwest Missouri, Janis is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a Master’s in Accountancy. With 35 years of experience as an accountant in both the public and private sectors, Janis relocated back to the Midwest after retiring in Texas to be closer to family.

Though accounting offered little room for creativity, Janis always sought ways to express artistic abilities through various crafts, including textiles, painting, and photography. Sewing, however, remained the constant passion. Janis spends daily time in the sewing room, designing, experimenting with machine features, and creating clothing from a personal fabric stash.

Learning to sew on her grandmother’s treadle machine, her move at age 8 to a powered machine propelled Janis skills to make clothing for family and friends, including an infamous leisure suit for the husband. Over the years, Janis expanded skills to include embroidery and digitizing, eventually dedicating a year to mastering IQ Designer. This effort led to winning the 2024 Baby Lock IQ Designer contest.

Driven by a desire to share the joy of sewing and design, Janis now creates teaching materials for IQ Designer, sewing, and serging. Available for training nationwide, Janis looks forward to inspiring others to develop new skills.