Profile
Joe Kramar
Appliqué Joe
Joe Kramar, known as “Appliqué Joe,” is a Phoenix-based embroidery digitizer with more than 30 years in the apparel industry. His work has been produced for brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Ralph Lauren, Aritzia, the NFL, the NBA, and Nintendo.
Joe focuses on soft, vintage, retail-ready textures made on industrial machines, often combining screen printing, laser cutting, and embroidery in one piece. His book “Appliqué Archetypes” lays out that approach, from frayed edges and intentional pucker to thread choice and keeping laser and stitch files aligned in production. He teaches regularly at Impressions Expo, mentors decorators through The Stitch Syndicate, and co-hosts the Dudes of Thread podcast.