About
BriTon Leap makes embroidery software and components used by many companies at both the hobby and commercial levels. We are Microsoft Certified Partners and Apple developers, so yes, we make embroidery products for both platforms. The unusual BriTon Leap name comes from founders Brian and Tonya Bailie, who took a Leap of Faith in starting the company back in 1998.
We make products used by many companies including: Baby Lock USA, Designer’s Gallery, Adorable Ideas, Vikant Embroidery, Melco USA, Dakota Collectibles, Generations, other “Big Names” that don’t want you to know.
The first product, HUSKeeper was a shareware product for embroiderers to view and convert HUS files for their Husqvarna Viking machines. At the time, Brian and Tonya were sewing machine retailers with a very active sewing store in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
They also released Point of Sale software used by sewing machine stores through the last couple of years.
The first commercial embroidery product, Designer’s Gallery, was commissioned by Tacony Corporation a year later, and debuted at Baby Lock Tech in 2000.
After the success of Designer’s Gallery, Brian released ColorWorks; a phenomenon that created a following for Designer’s Gallery and helped define the brand. ColorWorks was such a success that it was later included with the original product and has been called Designer’s Gallery Studio+ ever since.
Once the genie was out of the bottle, the question was asked, “Can Brian come up with something completely original, year after year?” Well, it’s been 10 years now and the entire industry is in our wake. The Designer’s Gallery product line is the most inventive in existence. The Interactive Designs are a radically fun departure from ‘software’ and ‘stock designs’. The DensityWorks program fixes almost any design, and HoopWorks let’s you sew it regardless of size. The Project Advisor helps you by explaining how to do it, too.
Along the way we met up with some friends. John Deer had a brilliant idea and he and Brian collaborated on Adorable You! which has been out a couple years now.
Alex, owner of the Vikant Ultimate Box needed some help, so he now has the industry-leading embroidery card reader/writer.
Gary Walker down at Echidna has Australian sales of BriTon Leap’s products going at full-tilt.
Lindee Goodall, formerly of Cactus Punch fame, has convinced Brian to make a Mac brand. Being the internet guru that she is, Brian has convinced her to help with BriTonLeap.com as co-editor. Check out her site too at LindeeGEmbroidery.com.
Brian has been a speaker at many events for Baby Lock, includng many Love Of Sewing Retreats with Nancy Zieman, and at many sewing machine dealer events throughout the year, including Australia.
The team also includes David, Tim and Jim, all of whom contribute to the artistic and engineering processes, not to mention the countless dealer partners we have all over the world. Thanks to them, BriTon Leap products are sold in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Great Britain, Canada and the United States.
Brian’s been making computer products since 1982, when his father, John got him an Apple 2+. “Here,” he said, “Computers are the future. Make yourself useful with this thing.”
The first product was ‘Mr. Speaker’ which was the first-ever external speaker for a personal computer, complete with amplifier, volume control and headphone jack. It came out in 1983. And the products came on for years after that.
In 1990, Brian and John bought a sewing machine store in Reno, NV. The customers began teaching them how to sew, which when coupled with the experienced product developers skills, launched a contract sewing and product development company. Clients quickly grew in numbers. Soon we were making products used in Fortune 500 companies, designing patterns, grading patterns, laying up fabric 10″ thick and 20′ long, and working all odd hours making stuff with nearly 20 commercial sewers. Eventually though, newlyweds Brian and Tonya got some offers and decided to try out New Mexico for a while. It worked out great. Today they split their time, albeit unevenly, between New Mexico and Washington State.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy our products!
If you need to contact us regarding a product, please use the website for that product:
www.DesignersGallerySoftware.com
Thanks!
