Embroydica celebrates the art of embroidery from its ancient roots to modern interpretations, connecting makers around the world through shared passion and creativity.
For a brief time in 2021, Lilia Filkov was unemployed and looking to develop her marketable skills. She enrolled in a local computer class where one of the assignments was to create a small project utilizing her new tech skills. Little did she know that the “small project” she created for the class was the cornerstone for Embroydica, an online encyclopedia for all things embroidery that Lilia and her daughter Roza Goltser launched earlier this year.
At its core, Embroydica is a place for embroidery enthusiasts worldwide to find curated articles, artist spotlights, and community-driven content, and in the future expanding to include patterns, tutorials, online classes and more. The duo’s goals are to preserve traditional embroidery techniques, highlight modern interpretations, and build bridges across cultures.
Mother-daughter team Lilia Filkov and Roza Goltser created Embroydica, a global platform dedicated to preserving and promoting embroidery traditions.
Photo courtesy of Roza Goltser.
Founders
At one point in 2023, Lilia began to think again about her computer class project – a web page detailing types of embroidery – and dared to dream about building a full-blown website focused solely on the rich world of embroidery. She recruited her daughter Roza, who wholeheartedly believed in the project, and the two got to work creating Embroydica.
Lilia, originally from Belarus, has been a hand-embroidery designer for more than 30 years and has worked in the world of high-end fashion, bridal and evening couture. Her daughter Roza is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and has a passion for fashion, photography and digital storytelling. Reflecting on why the pair work so well together, Lilia says:
“I’m more talented with my hands and embroidery design, but Roza is more talented with drawing, design and photography.”
Website Development
Lilia and Roza knew their new endeavor was going to be a lot of work given the intricacies and quirks of website development, not to mention the task of coalescing and researching all the content. At one point in the process Roza said to her mother, “Our job will be non-stop.”
With little experience in web development, SEO, marketing, etc., they turned to Score, a no-cost mentoring service funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Score volunteers assist small business owners with tech issues, marketing, finance, and accounting, among others. Lilia and Roza found the assistance they received from Score invaluable. Lilia says, “Score is a very helpful organization for new businesses. They are all volunteers and they want to help.”
The mother/daughter team officially incorporated Embroydica in 2024 and the site, using the Wix platform, went live in August, 2025.
As they continue to develop Embroydica, Lilia and Roza are taking their time and making sure the site speaks to long-time embroiderers as well as a new generation of makers. Indications are good that embroidery is still a vibrant hobby: there are currently 2.2 million TikTok videos and 32.8 million Instagram posts with the embroidery hashtag.
From regional embroidery histories to artist spotlights and tutorials, Embroydica offers an ever-growing online encyclopedia for stitchers of every skill level.
No Shortage of Content
Embroidery enthusiasts will find a lot to explore from the site’s main navigation drop down menus: Encyclopedia, World Embroidery and Inspiration. The Encyclopedia section takes a deep dive into types of embroidery, from the familiar, like needlepoint and crewel, to the lesser-known, like bandera. The World Embroidery section lets users click on various continents to learn about that region’s rich embroidery history, while the Inspiration section is just that – a round-up of stunning examples of embroidered artwork, artist spotlights, book reviews, embroidery in fashion design, and more.
Lilia and Roza, currently Embroydica’s only employees, rely mainly on knowledgeable freelancers for the site’s content. Lilia thought she knew a lot about embroidery but her research is showing that she has just scratched the surface of the ancient handcraft. Similar to language dialects adapted from region to region, embroidery techniques have adapted and evolved around the world. Because of these regional differences, Lilia and Roza go straight to the source and work with writers and embroidery experts worldwide.
One such expert is Gisella Tamango, an embroidery expert and the vice president of Corporazione delle Arti, Italy’s embroidery and textile arts trade organization. Gisella’s recent article for Embroydica delves into the intricacies of bandera, an embroidery technique developed in Italy’s Piedmont region in the late 17th century. Additionally, writers from Armenia, Brazil, Georgia and Serbia have contributed in-depth content to Embroydica.
Growing the Business
To build their business and generate revenue, Lilia and Roza are hard at work trying to secure advertiser and corporate support. Additionally, they are building out an Embroydica membership platform which they hope to release in early 2026. Tiered subscription plans will give members access to classes and instructors, exclusive embroidery patterns, special guest events, subscriber forums and more. Membership fees have not yet been set.
Additional revenue sources from the site will include a shop with embroidery kits, patterns, and finished embroidery pieces by artisans. Until they can fund a marketing budget, Lilia and Roza are relying on organic social media engagement and word of mouth to get Embroydica in front of embroidery enthusiasts.
Community Connection
Lilia and Roza are firmly committed to creating a community platform where fellow embroidery fans can interact and share their love for the art form. They know that making connections locally as well as more broadly is essential to achieving this goal.
The Community section on Embroydica is an interactive spot where users can chat with each other, form groups, share their work and discuss all things embroidery. Closer to home in eastern Pennsylvania, Lilia and Roza are connecting with local universities to work with students, particularly those interested in a fashion design or textile arts career. They plan to give students free membership to Embroydica and encourage them to utilize and contribute their knowledge to the site.
To extend the scope of their embroidery community, Lilia and Roza are building a section on the site for kids where they can explore the world of embroidery and other stitch craft in an age-appropriate and fun manner.
Embroydica fosters a vibrant community where enthusiasts can connect, learn, and celebrate the timeless art of stitching.
Photo courtesy of Roza Goltser.
They firmly believe that teaching children to embroider can lead to health benefits, similar to the benefits experienced by adults when they craft: feeling a sense of accomplishment, enhancing cognitive functioning and reducing stress.
An important component of Embroydica, still in the development phase, is a volunteer program Lilia and Roza have named Stitches for Smiles, Threads for Healing. The goal of the program is to bring volunteers to rehabilitation centers, schools, and senior centers to teach embroidery and in turn, foster joy, healing, and intergenerational connection. Interested volunteers can contact Embroydica HERE.
For the Love of Embroidery
For Lilia and Roza, Embroydica is clearly a labor of love.
“We are very excited to talk about the website. It’s like another child—we’re so proud of Embroydica.”
They are making progress on the site every day and their followers continue to grow. The two know that to be successful, they need to get the word out to all the makers out there who love embroidery as much as they do. Lilia and Roza are certain that once fellow embroiderers find each other, there’s no end to the possibilities for Embroydica.
Sign up for free on embroydica.org and watch for exciting updates in the coming months.
Paula Wilson
contributor
