Who is Betty Nicassio?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Betty\u2019s journey to preserving photos on fabric began first with embroidering as a young girl. Her father was refused for service in World War II due to a bad back. When Betty was 3 years old, her parents bought a trailer. They traveled from job to job throughout California living in the trailer. Betty recalls that because her family moved around a lot, she did not have any toys and there were never any children her age to play with. Her mother was an avid embroiderer and she taught Betty to embroider to pass the time. Later, when they settled down, Betty learned to sew using a sewing machine. In High School, she won every award the Home Economics department gave out (\u201cexcept for drapes and gowns\u201d) . \u201cI had a knack for needles,\u201d Betty recalled. She loved to personalize things, teach sewing (she was an Elna<\/a> educator for many years), and could even fix sewing machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1980, Betty began experimenting with preserving photos on fabric. \u201cIt was in me,\u201d Betty said. Her first try was using turpentine as an agent to preserve photocopies of photos on to glass. Through the years, Betty tried many different processes and finally came up the process she preferred using a photocopy machine, white mending tape, and a hot iron.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Her newfound techniquefor preserving photos took a lot of patience, trial and error. She went to lots of stores and tried a lot of copiers before she found the right one. She would order 1,000 yards of mending tape at a time to find the right size that would fit larger pictures. The trickiest part of her experimentation was the ironing. She had to figure out which temperature was best (exactly 250 degrees), how long to hold the iron down, and how much pressure to use pressing down on the iron. Once she had her technique down, Betty developed a four-hour class that she taught for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As time went on, Betty continued to experiment. When transfer paper came out, Betty tried working with it but she \u201cnever trusted it 100%.\u201d Finally, with the advent of ink jet printers, she knew \u201cthey were it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1999, Betty\u2019s husband \u2013 and business partner \u2013 passed away. She again looked at how she could improve on her business. It was soon after that a formula was created that allowed fabrics to go through ink jet printers. Those two innovations have made all the difference. Today, Betty has teamed with a company to produce photo fabric that is \u201cjust the way I wanted it\u201d and \u201cis different than any other product out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Betty takes orders for her products for preserving photos on fabric on her website. \u201cI\u2019m so in love with the process I have today,\u201d exclaims Betty. \u201cIt is so rewarding. I hear so many stories of how people use my techniques to memorialize family members. It energizes my customers and that spurs me on to continue to perfect what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Preserving](\"https:\/\/road2ca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Bettysphotofabric2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPreserving Photos on Fabric<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Preserving](\"https:\/\/road2ca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Bettysphotofabric.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA Rewarding Business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Preserving](\"https:\/\/road2ca.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Bettysphotofabric3.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n