Pam Chase will monogram your pillows and high thread count sheets. She'll stitch your child's initials on her frilly diaper covers, put your initials on your shirt cuffs and your name in the lining of your mink coat. She'll program her 2500 lb. embroidery machines to stitch elephants and bears onto onesies and mascots onto blankets. She'll put your initials on a square lampshade, but not a round one, because her machines can't handle it.

In short, she can (and does) monogram just about anything at her cozy East Memphis shop, Monograms By Cie. If it's cloth, Monograms by Cie can most likely embroider on it. They'll do work on fur, on fuzzy blankets and on Snuggies. "Snuggies will give you fits," Chase said. "They're easy to work on, but they're impossible to fold so that they look nice!"

The shop was opened in Memphis 30 years ago by Carolyn Hale. When she was ready to retire, Chase bought the shop, moved it into a house that she had completely renovated just west of I-240's easternmost stretch. She's there every day among the whirring machines and multicolored spools of thread with her two rescue dogs, Dash (a bouncy daschund) and Kelly (a wide-eyed boxer).

While the shop has some inventory (mostly baby pillows, blankets, stuffed animals and tea towels), 90 percent of the work that Chase and her assistants do is on items brought in by clients. They bring in their sheets, towels or clothing, pick a font or image from a series of 3 inch binders and Chase and Samantha get to work.

When I asked Chase about the strangest item anyone had ever brought in to be monogrammed, she paused for a few minutes and asked Samantha for a second opinion. Samantha's answer was quick:  "Whitey tighties. Little boys' whitey tighties."

Monograms by Cie is open Monday -Wednesday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The clean, cozy shop is the perfect place to bring gifts that need to be made just a little more special or clothing that needs some identification.

Go There:

Monograms by Cie

1021 Oakhaven Road
Memphis, TN 38119-3811
(901) 763-4833