Fabrics & Furnishings - Autumn 2018 Issue

Fre at Me Cop oO ies D

Volume 28, Number 4

Autumn 2018

The Global Home & Contract Sourcing Newspaper

Marteks Launches Its First Upholstery Collection to Complement Its Curtain Fabric Range, According to Principal Kaya Cinoglu F&FI News Network

“The upholstery collection will be around 30-40 products with color lines. We intend to cover price points of 10-25 euros, for the most part.”

“We are also working on a very high-end upholstery line with a very good designer, and this will be ready for Proposte 2019. This collection will be around 30 pieces, with color lines covering different looks for luxury interiors.”

“We already do have a couple of upholsteries in our line and they

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Kaya Cinoglu

URSA, Turkey — Marteks A.S. will introduce its first upholstery collection ever in September with a greatly expanded offering for Heimtextil 2019, according to principal Kaya Cinoglu.

Rumors of the forthcoming upholstery collection broke at Proposte, where Marteks is now a regular exhibitor in the Villa Erba and “some of the editors have bought already,” he says.

Keyston Bros.

Ter Molst Exceeds Reaches New Highs 300 Million Euros in Sales PAGE

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31 Dee and Ann Duncan

41 Luc Tack

work very well, so we decided to launch a full upholstery collection.

We have been thinking about this already for the past two years,” he says.

“In just 12 months, we have gone from being a 100 percent decorative curtain and sheer company to 90/10 in our production. Our decision and target now is to bring this ratio to 70 percent curtains and 30 percent dual-purpose fabrics, mainly (continued on Page 41)

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13 Jessica Green

Four Hands Names First Time Upholstery Director

SHOWTIME PHOTO 18 GALLERY PAGE

Chameleon Exterior

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Showtime

Showtime Photo Gallery

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Contents Table of Contents F&FI Autumn 2018 | Vol. 28, No. 4

Cover American Silk Expands International Sourcing Activity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Four Hands’ Continued Upholstery Growth Creates First-Time Director Position. . . . . . 13 Valdese Expands Performance Product Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Cathell Says Prints Are on Comeback Trail; Magnolia Prints Makes Deal with STI . . . . . . . . . . 14 Gliner Sells Jacquard Fabrics to Pearlstine Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Chinese Upholstery to Pay US Customs Duty in September . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Erkli Joins Ilkiz Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Wide-Width Velvet Loom Will Produce Seamless Draperies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Byrnes Brings the Springs Creative Baxter Archive to Life through Digital Printing. . . . . . . . . . 21 Muney Joins Wearbest Bella-Dura Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 JF Fabrics, Ashley Wilde Make Exclusive Canada Deal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Valley Forge Wins Gold Stevie® Award for Large Manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 By-The-Yard Bella-Dura® Grows 30 Percent Annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Shelly Leaves Classical Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 KB Contract Leads Keyston Bros. Parent to New Highs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Yokeley Named Glen Raven VP of Marketing as Hunnicutt Departs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 McMahon Leaves Charles Parsons Interiors GM Post After Six Months. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Andrea Favoretto Rubelli Takes Back President, CEO Mantle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Fiorete Favors Wallcoverings While Gemini Padana Still Prefers Sheers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Ter Molst International/GTA Passes 300 Million Euros in Sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Marteks Launches Its First Upholstery Collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contract/HospitalityNews Coated Fabrics Manufacturer Serge Ferrari Says More Acquisitions Ahead in Order to Achieve Global Leadership Research Report Predicts Indian Hotel Room Expansion Will Grow 30 Percent by 2019, with More Growth Coming in Years Ahead

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Valley Forge Integrates Mechanized Roller Shades into Hotel Systems as Artwork Moves to Window

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Design

The Shape of Design & Fresh Materials

26 & 27 Calendar

Advertiser Index

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Classifieds

Photo Galleries

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On the Road: Lyon

Showtime

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19 On the Road: Positano

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The Global Home & Contract Sourcing Newspaper

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PUBLISHER & CEO Michael Schneider, Publisher/CEO Tel: +1.212.404.6936 Mbl: +1.917.399.7464 Fax: +1 212.504.9591 E-mail: michael@fabricsandfurnishings.com

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

USA John Lowe Tel: +1.336.687.0477 E-Mail: johnlowe@northstate.net

FRANCE Gerard Poirot Email: gerardpoirot@yahoo.com

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American Silk Expands International Sourcing Activity F&FI News Network

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IGH POINT, North Carolina — In its second century of existence, American Silk Mills is increasing its global sourcing of upholstery fabrics since its acquisition by Sutlej in November 2017, according to President Cynthia Douthit.

With that acquisition, the original mill was spun off separately, and recently-named Legacy Mills is still developing and designing products for American Silk, including 100 percent polyester ASM performance fabrics. American Silk continues to source domestically,

as well with other suppliers. This Showtime, American doubled its typical offering to 300 SKUs of new product with 90 percent exclusivity in all designs, Douthit points out.

During the transition moving away from owning its own mill to operating like a converter, “American Silk has been able to hold on to its customer base,” Douthit says, and “still maintains our image as a fashion design and luxury supplier.” To accomplish this feat, American Silk had to beef up its finance, sales, and design departments. It maintains distribution and customer service in

Plains, Pennsylvania, but still operates marketing, merchandising, and design out of High Point offices on Wrenn Street.

Its latest Spezzatura Home Collection designed by Christine Rendino is multisourced on an exclusive basis, and includes highend fabrics from $15 to $55 a yard.

“We’re sourcing fabrics from Italy, Pakistan, Turkey, India, and China,” says Douthit, a 19-year veteran of the company. She had an extensive design background before assuming the role of president at American Silk.

American Silk has a history of

sourcing outside the United States since its founding in 1896. It has always sourced velvet overseas, partnered with Chinese silk weavers in its earlier history, and has distributed the Sensuede® Collection from Japan.

Current velvets in the line are sourced from Italy, Turkey, the United States, and India, but not from China.

F&FI Cynthia Douthit and Susan Hedgecock

Four Hands Continued Upholstery Growth Creates First-Time Director Position for Jessica Green Can she continue to purchase innovative fabrics, leathers and make the marriage to frame?

F&FI News Network

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USTIN, Texas — Four Hands pulled a bold move when it hired Jessica Green away from the giant American Leather in Dallas, Texas, this past summer as its new director of upholstery, a new position.

Four Hands has been experiencing “explosive” growth lately, according to Green, since the company logged a 40 percent sales increase in upholstery this year, with more to come. Four Hands is buying about $16 million worth of upholstery fabrics and leather a year, but this could double in the next five years if Green gets it right, she feels.

Green, who worked at American Leather since graduating college in 2006, now hopes to work some magic for Four Hands, as it catapults itself from $160 million in sales to a higher atmosphere with the big boys of upholstery.

She was one of the “top 30 buyers of upholstery fabric” at American Leather, according to the Fabrics & Furnishings International list published last December. Now, she’ll try to reinvent herself and

put Four Hands on that list in the future.

She’ll be working closely with Rick Lovegrove, vice president of product services and head of upholstery at Four Hands. He has a 23-year history of manufacturing experience, and with Green on board he expects to focus on other areas. In her work, Green will also mentor Christina Fareri, product developer for upholstery.

“Our strategy at Four Hands is to secure exclusive options from our vendors, and at the same time bring the beauty of unique weaves and artistic leathers to the retail floor,” she says.

Going forward, she will be testing higher price points, Four Hands works with about 10-20 vendors currently, but this number could expand, as the company searches the globe for the right fabric and leather looks and has the piece goods shipped to China, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia, where the furniture is produced.

“China is a great source for bodycloth, and the Chinese goods will continue to get more sophisticated. … Performance is at the tip

of everyone’s tongue these days.

The fabric has to be worry-free. It has to be hydrophobic where spills bead up, and offer durability and cleanability.”

Otherwise, she feels “performance” is a pretty elusive subject and should not be oversold on the retail floor. She feels that “double rubs may be oversold in performance fabrics because not every mill has in-house testing.

Of course, some distressed leathers are not cleanable! We let the retailer handle the whole issue of cleanability.”

“Polyester fabrics made from recycled water bottles, as shown

by Milliken and Valdese, and recycled cotton yarns from Spain, as shown by Valdese and Sunbury, are two clear trends. In addition, luxurious velvets and exaggerated weaves with a distressed feel are the highlights of Four Hands cover selection,” she says.

At the most recent Showtime, she cites Sunbury’s design aesthetic, and also picks Keystone Weaving out for “its fresh, natural fibers in wool, linen, and cotton fabrics.”

FOUR HANDS TEAM: Christina Fareri | Product Developer, Upholstery; Jessica Green is in the middle; Rick Lovegrove, Vice President, Product Services Group (also head of upholstery) “As consumers feel more disconnected, they want the handmade, human elements in their upholstery,” she notes. “Many suppliers are producing solution-dyed acrylics for indoor/outdoor fabrics.

Four Hands produces its outdoor furniture line in Indonesia.”

She also sees that Valdese is doing some serious homework

concerning the number of samples they send out versus the return they get businesswise. “Valdese is always an inspirational point for me,” she says. “We’re open to new ideas and shopping the market for fabrics and leathers. I expect to attend Showtime, Heimtextil, and Proposte next year,” she adds.

“Our partners stock our fabrics and we order as needed from them. We are looking to special order.”

Four Hands stocks finished furniture in Austin, which it distributes to lifestyle and independent retailers nationwide. It produces no furniture in the United States currently. It produces private-label, as well as the Four Hands brand overseas.

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Valdese Expands Performance Product Range, Now Offers Crypton Home®, Inside Out®, and Sustain® F&FI News Network

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ALDESE, North Carolina — With its appetite for performance fabrics whetted by the introduction of Crypton Home four years ago, Valdese Weavers has developed a portfolio of performance fabrics with the addition of

Inside Out

Inside Out, a 55-SKU solution-dyed olefin and high-energy dyed polyester line of solid textures and decorative jacquards.

Inside Out, with its second collection, is priced at $10-25 per yard, and minimum orders are one piece per color. All Valdese performance fabrics are made in the United States, except for some imported performance products in the VIP line.

Valdese notes that its trio of performance fabrics is growing faster than anything else the mill has on offer. “The response has been phenomenal,” according to Christy Almond, vice president of product development and marketing.

“Lots of programs are in the works, but we have already rolled it out at Fabricut and Calico,” she adds, “with more to come.”

Inside Out was three years in the making before it was introduced last December. The brand came along with the acquisition

of Dicey Mills, but it took time to get the product right, which includes the right aesthetic. “There is a tradeoff between synthetics and natural fabrics, but Valdese is able to emulate linen weaves with polyester. UV ratings can be achieved with synthetics as opposed to naturals, which cannot hold up to the sun,” Almond points out. “Valdese designed Inside Out to be used inside or outdoors with inherently cleanable and stain resistance built in.”

Valdese also produces Sustain, a value-oriented line of soft-handed body cloths in the $4.95-9.95 price range. “Sustain performance fabrics are woven with our proprietary solution-dyed olefin yarns.”

Both Inside Out and Sustain can be cleaned with bleach and are both said to be fluorine-free. Inside Out and Sustain feature novelty yarns produced by Valdese internally.

Inside Out offers a limited

Cathell Says Prints Are on Comeback Trail; Magnolia Prints Makes Deal with STI F&FI News Network

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TLANTA, Georgia — “I’m seeing a swing back to prints in the furniture industry, because there is nothing that can give you color like a print,” says Stan Cathell, president of Magnolia Home Fashions.

STI, the Kings Mountain, North Carolina, mill giant, will be selling Magnolia’s print line on cotton and polyester goods. These prints will correlate with STI’s Interior Revolution, as well as the Revolution Outdoor. The Magnolia outdoor prints on polyester start at $3.95. The STI Revolution Outdoor begins at $4.50.

“When we were a sales agency under the Homcraft name, we sold Sunbrella® and other lines, but with Glen Raven taking over the Homcraft sales force last December, we had to find a new home. By teaming up with STI, we can now offer a variety of prints both indoor and outdoor. The timing was perfect for the debut of Magnolia’s outdoor prints and the introduction of STI’s new Revolution Outdoor.”

Cathell was showing his new print lines at the STI showroom at the Home Fashion Resource Center (312 South Hamilton Street) at this last Showtime, and that will continue, he says.

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Magnolia is a line of over 100 designs and 300 SKU’s that sells for $4.50 a yard. Magnolia caters to the entire upholstery industry, as well as retail and online suppliers.

“Jacquards and wovens are fine, but no one wants to sit on heavy fabrics in a warm climate. The residential world needs color on accent pillows, chairs, and ottomans. Prints give the furniture grouping a certain style you can’t get any other way.” He says their prints, designed and colored for the American market, offer a unique value for those trying to achieve a look and color story.

For the past 20 years, Cathell has been designing, converting, and selling pigment-printed fabrics to the American furniture industry with the help of Christine Bray, his chief in-house designer who has been with him the whole time.

Initially, he was printing cotton fabrics at his own plant in Carrollton, Georgia, but this changed when he sold the plant in 1998.

From that point, he converted prints at Santee Print Works in Sumter, South Carolina, and he continues to do so with his latest agreement with STI. F&FI

three-year warranty with 50,000 double rubs that is backed up with in-house lab testing at Valdese, as well as outside testing. Because of the minimum double rubs of 30,000 for Sustain and Crypton Home, all products can be considered for contract use, but contract applications are still in the beginning stages since the products are so new in the market.

The trio of products is completed with Crypton® Home. The fouryear-old brand features exclusive designs in linen, rayon, and cotton blends from $8.95-20. Due to the nature of the chemistry, the other Valdese performance brands utilize synthetic fibers only. Crypton Home is said to have the safest chemistry, well below C6 standards.

Crypton Home can be used with the widest variety of fibers, including natural fibers.

But the question remains: what is a performance fabric? Valdese thinks it knows the answer. It must

Christy Almond be durable; how many double rubs must be reached before it pulls? It must be cleanable with soap and water, bleach-cleanable, quick-dry, and resistant to both liquid stains and mildew, as well as having UV protection.

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Gliner Sells Jacquard Fabrics to Pearlstine Group F&FI News Network

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AKEWOOD, New Jersey — Jacquard Fabrics, a small upholstery mill, was sold in March 2018 to The Pearlstine Group for an undisclosed purchase price. Moshe D. Pearlstine is the new owner.

Jacquard Fabrics has sales in the $6-7 million range, but the new owners expect to expand the business. Leonard Gliner, the former owner since 1980, has retired to Palm Beach, Florida, but his daughter, Michelle Gliner Rogers, will continue to be sales manager, according to Leonard.

The sale included the 60,000-square-foot factory and 50 looms, as well as Michelle’s Fabrics, a fabric outlet at the same location. The new owners expect to house a design studio within the retail space.

Jacquard is a resource to many high-end fabric jobbers and sells custom woven product direct to the hotel industry. The original mill was founded in Patterson, New Jersey, in 1937 as a tie silk manufacturer and moved to its current location in 1987. Before Gliner purchased Jacquard, he was in the fabric jobber business from 1962 to 1980. Before that, he worked for his father in the custom drapery and slipcover business.

F&FI Stan Cathell

Chinese Upholstery to Pay US Customs Duty in September F&FI News Network

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ASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Trade Representative has announced there will be a 10 percent duty to be paid on the value of Chinese made upholstery made of synthetic or natural fibers starting in September.

The tariff is levied under section

301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.

U.S. Wholesalers and other importers of Chinese upholstery fabrics are pondering their options in the face of the new Trump Administration tariffs. F&FI will cover this development in future issues.

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Erkli Joins Ilkiz Group F&FI News Network

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IGH POINT, North Carolina — Cem Erkli has joined the Ilkiz Group as a board member with responsibility for US operations.

Previously, he spent 13 years as a textiles sourcing and development professional in Shanghai, where Tukek Holding, the

Turkish parent of the Flokser® brand, was a client.

The Ilkiz Group is the owner of HP Fabrics and the Microfibres® brand. Ilkiz is the result of a friendly split among the Tukek brothers earlier this year.

F&FI Cem Erkli

Wide-Width Velvet Loom Will Produce Seamless Draperies F&FI News Network

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STANBUL, Turkey — Fabric manufacturers can attest to the fact that woven velvet, which is highly prized in the market right now, is also one of the most difficult fabrics to handle and ship. That is why the news that Van de Wiele, in Kortrijk,

Belgium, has produced a three-meter-width velvet loom for upholstery and curtains is so highly anticipated.

“This loom is on the market a couple of months,” according to Joseph Verschelde, sales manager for NV Michel Van de Wiele in Gent, Belgium. Verschelde has been with the company for over 37 years.

“You can see it running in our showroom. It’s a fantastic loom.”

The problem with velvet is that it excessively marks up and shows creases from shipping and handling. When sewn up for curtains and draperies, for example, there is always a problem with marks which results from the sewing equipment.

“You can see it running in our showroom.

It’s a fantastic loom.”

It is for this reason that the market is waiting with anticipation to see the new wide-width velvets, expected to hit the industry later this year and early 2019. With seamless production of draperies, a savings for the workroom will be realized, and less handling will mean less creases and marks in the velvet.

Belgian area velvet manufacturers like Muvantex and at least one Turkish producer, specifically Rekor, are aware of the new threemeter-width loom developed by NV Michel Van de Wiele. Yet it has not been determined that any fabric producer has yet purchased the new loom.

The question remains, will anyone buy the loom. and will commercial production be realized this year or next?

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Joseph Verschelde, Sales Manager, NV Michel Van de Wiele

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Showtime

Showtime Photo Gallery Showtime Brings Fabric Buyers

By Eric Schneider & John Lowe

Rhonda Swaim, Sales, Swaim Originals; Craig DeLeo, CEO Edward B. DeLeo Co., Inc.; Sydney Warren, DeLeo intern; Katie Atwater Williams, Creative Director, DeLeo

Chet Linker, Sales Representative, King Hickory; Deitra Smith, Director of Merchandising, King Hickory; Drew Patton, sales, Golding Fabrics; Cathy Brown, Design Director, Golding Fabrics;

Jim Ennis, Principal, J. Ennis Fabrics with Andrew DiSarno, Buyer, Fabric.com

Keith Hart, VP Sales & Mfg., King Hickory

Cary Kravet, President of Kravet, Bethpage, NY with Mike Shelton, CEO, Valdese Weavers

Amanda Schuler, Partner, Gus Design Group; Iwan Nassimi, Executive Vice President, Nassimi Textiles; Edward Nassimi, President, Nassimi Textiles

Katie Williams, Director of Design, De Leo with Mindy Derketsch, Fabricut stylist and Craig De Leo; Valerie Hamroff, Fabricut stylist and Katie Smart.

Director of Sales, De Leo

Randall Tysinger, design product, E.J. Victor and Jeff Rocque, sales representative, High Five Textiles

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Christy Almond, Valdese Weavers, VP Product Development & Marketing; Amanda Hedrick, Valdese Weavers, Design Director for Circa 1801. The next five people are with Crate and Barrel’s product design and development team: William Doherty – Manager, Product Design & Development – Upholstery; Becky Weber - Divisional Merchandising Manager, Product Development & Design – Textiles/Décor/ Seasonal; Madeleini Odulio – Associate, Product Design & Development – Upholstery; Susan Petersen – Manager, Product Design & Development Textiles; Judy Miller – Divisional Merchandising Manager, Product Development & Design -Furniture; Caitlin O’ Connor – Associate, Product Design & Development - Textiles

Sean Gibbons, CEO, STI with Keith Koenig, Principal, City Furniture in Southern Florida. Koenig makes his upholstery at Kevin Charles Fine Upholstery, New Albany MI.

Gil Tavares, Business Development Manager, Regal Fabrics, Inc.; Corey Faul, President, Newport (Division of Layton Home Fashions)

Scott Kravet, Chief Creative Officer, Kravet Fabrics (New York, NY); Alice Guercio, Vice President Product Development, Kravet Fabrics; Neil Nahoum - Valdese Weavers Sales Representative; Daniel Kravet, Director of Sales and Merchandising, Kravet Fabrics

Buyers turned out for the summer 2018 Showtime in High Point June 3-6 to find the fabric industry reflecting the reality of current times. While fabrics of natural and synthetic fibers that resist spills and stains are still (and likely will remain) popular, fabrics reflecting exotic, multi-colored designs that were all but non-existent in the 20th century also are in demand. That’s not to say that traditional styling is passé, and many fabric buyers are still looking for solid colors and conservative designs as well in a variety of fabrics. Reflecting heightened ecological concerns, the Sustainable Furnishings Council was on hand with its executive director Susan Inglis, who warned upholstery fabric and textile manufacturers in speeches that failing to implement green manufacturing practices will adversely impact profits as well as the lives of their consumers and the world at large. F&FI

Anna Hilton, Valdese Weavers (Valdese, NC), West Coast Sales Rep; Lauren Ward, Massoud (Dallas, TX), Creative Director

Kristin Olson, Regional Sales Director, Covington; Tom Bruno, Senior Vice President of Sales, Covington; Melissa Burt, merchandising director, Bauhaus Furniture Group; and Aaron Larry, Executive Vice President, Bauhaus

Inma Williams, Showroom Design Director, Decorative Fabrics of America (Keystone, Se7en) with Jim De Bernardo and Anne Lekow of Ethan Allen with Reuben Lentz and Noel Palma, with Kristin Steigelmarr, Design Director, floral pattern Keystone Mills Armstrong Daisy in the Se7en line.

Noel is a summer intern majoring in merchandising and interior design at East Carolina in Greenville, NC Chameleon Style

Herb Kahan, principal of Regal Fabrics and Camay Arad, owner of Chameleon (see cover photo)

Furniture by Chamelon www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

Chamelon Style Store in Grande Arroyo, CA Goes to Showtime

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Lyon

On the Road: Lyon, France

By Gerard Poirot

Lyon was home for the Lumière brothers who started to create moving pictures in 1892 and gave their first public screening in 1895. The Lumière Institute now promotes movie classics under the leadership of director Bertrand Tavernier.

Lyon City Hall, former office of the present Minister of the Interior, Gerard Collomb, long-time mayor of Lyon.

Maison des Canuts, a museum in the heart of the 19th century district of silkworkers, displays a collection of looms

Lyon is often called the Capital of Gastronomy (not for Parisians). Les Halles food market upholds the tradition. The bistrot is called ‘bouchon’ in Lyon, as in cork: popular food and drink.

Houses along the Saône River, Lyon town center

Sponge head on ceramic lady

A night at the Opera: The 19thcentury Opera House, renovated in 1990 by Celebrity Architect Jean Nouvel

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A traboule, one of the many hidden backdoor passages used by the French resistance to escape the German Nazis.

Priano

Paolo Sandulli is a painter and a ceramist Here is the blending the two worlds of human and the sea in Priano, Italy (see Page 24)

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F&FI L E T T E R S

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Byrnes Brings the Springs Creative Baxter Archive to Life through Digital Printing F&FI News Network

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IGH POINT, North Carolina — Springs Creative, the remaining part of Springs Industries based in Rock Hill, South Carolina, is offering the 500,000 SKUs of Baxter Mill’s textiles archive to hospitality and residential designers in an effort to build its digital printing services business. Tom Byrnes, vice president of merchandising, is heading up the effort and reports to CEO Derick Close.

can print these designs in other countries.”

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The archive dates back to the 1800s and includes the recently acquired Ilene Danchig collection of art and documents. “The real beauty of the archive is how it is brought to life through digital printing,” Byrnes says. Springs offers a wide assortment of base cloths to the designer in narrow and wide widths, up to 118 inches, for digital printing. “We also have a global network where we Ilene Danchig

Muney Joins Wearbest Bella-Dura Brand account management. She replaces Nikki Rubalcaba who joined Valdese Weavers in January.

In her new role, Muney will be responsible for increasing sales and driving business forward for Wearbest core product as well as the Bella-Dura® brand.

She was recently in sales at Victor Textiles.

Muney has also held posi-

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EW YORK, New York — Roslyn Muney has been named Sales Director of Wearbest Sil-Tex Mills, the fourth-generation family mill based in New Jersey and its Bella-Dura® brand of high performance textiles as of May 16, 2018.

She has over 20 years of experience in customer and

tions at Burlington Industries, F. Schumacher and Arc-Com. She reports to Ari Gasner, President of Wearbest/BellaDura®.

Roslyn holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Philadelphia University with a major in Marketing and a minor in Textile Design. F&FI

JF Fabrics, Ashley Wilde Make Exclusive Canada Deal F&FI News Network

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ORONTO, California — JF Fabrics has been named the exclusive distributor of the Ashley

Shelley Hovesen-Camilieri

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Wilde line in Canada, and JF showrooms only in the United States.

Ashley Wilde is a converter of fabrics based in the London, UK, area.

“Ashley Wilde has an existing private-label business to wholesalers in the US,” according to Nick Jones, export manager of Ashley Wilde. “We export worldwide through various channels,” he says.

The Canadian market represents a new region for Ashley Wilde. The launch offers ten collections of decorative coordinated designs, with 320 SKUs in all. It includes prints, some of which are on warp-knitted velvet, as well as embroideries and woven jacquards. Another ten collections are planned for launch in the autumn, according to Gisella Furfaro, JF’s marketing coordinator.

Ashley Wilde has had a long history of co-branding with designers like Kylie Minogue, Emma Bridgewater, Roald Dahl, Ted Baker, Karl Lagerfeld, and Holly Wlloughby.

“We are thrilled to be working with Ashley Wilde,” says JF principal Shelley HovesenCamilleri. “We currently distribute Duralee, The Finial Company, and Pindler & Pindler in Canada.”

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Positano

On the Road to Positano, Italy

Naples near Via Toledo Street

Supersonic Italian jets show their colors

Sfolliadel is the crisp Neapolitan pastry filled with lemon cream at Rosari cafe in Naples Great pastry at Pansa in Priano

Inside cave in Ravello

Castillia of Naples

At the Villa in the hills, only 400 steps from the beach

St Andrews church in Priano

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By Eric Schneider

Beachside, Capri

Amalfi Coast by motorboat turns up endless surprises

Interesting rock formation on the Med on way to Positano from Capri

Heads of sponge worn by ceramic ladies in Erkeli

Fried anchovies in Priano restaurant

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Ceramic Artist at work in Anacapri

Italian cat sunning itself

View of Positano

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F FI D E S I G N

The Shape of Design & Fresh Materials

By Jennifer Castoldi

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ofa silhouettes, material innovations, and unique processes were attention grabbers during the recent bout of international design scouting.

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tay puffed. Gen Xers who watched Ghostbusters, and those who picked up on the cult classic during special interactive staged events of recent years, like Secret Cinema at the Troxy, will be familiar with the plump figure known as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Bibendum, in English often called the Michelin Man or Michelin Tyre Man, is almost one hundred years older than the sugary giant. What do these two imaginary figures have in common? The designer upholstered pieces of late can be viewed as cousins to these curvaceous fictional beings. Paris, Milan, New York are all cities where voluptuous forms can be found.

Freistil

Cappellini

Ferm Living

Diesel

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o, you want to stay ahead of the curve? Upholstered chairs have curve appeal. We enter autumn in the Norther Hemisphere, a perfect time for cozy furnishings, ones that hug you. Arced towards the form of the body, these pieces scouted from around the globe bow inwards to create a welcome, warm space.

NORR11

Dante

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MĂźller

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F FI D E S I G N

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rendease was intrigued by the collection ‘Grow’ and how textiles can indicate the air quality of a room.

Designer Larissa Siemon explains, “Algae don´t only live in water. The aerophytes, known as air algae, live on the surfaces of trees, rocks and buildings.

Aerophytes gain their nutrients and water from the air.

They are perfectly adapted to temporary drought. In combination with indirect sunlight they photosynthesize like ocean algae - but air algae are not only green. If they are cultivated in high concentration in water many more colors show up. These are perfect conditions for designing colorful textiles. The living pigments on curtains indicate the quality of the air in a room by changing their color intensity depending on the humidity of the air.

Additionally, the aerophytes convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.”

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he study around ‘Marine Cotton’ was also fascinating. Melanie Gloeckler writes, “Algae grow up to 40 times faster than rooted plants. All they need is light, water and nutrients. Due to the rapid propagation, they are often seen as a plague. Starting from these properties this study deals specifically with the growth and utilization of fibrous algae to be used in textile contexts. They are processed by means of newly interpreted technologies into either semi-manufactured products or up to a finished grown product. Marine Cotton represents an alternative to current resources and technologies of the textile industry.”

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hankfully with these products, King Midas never laid a finger on them. They are not gold through and through, rather, they only contain a touch of golden shine to add to any style interior.

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lavor Paper, known for its high-end wallpapers made either by screen print or digital F print, sometimes a combination of the two, showed its latest range at both the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and WantedDesign Brooklyn. Known as the ‘Inkling Collection’, these designs are high-resolution photographs of screen print inks used for the company’s production that are blown up super-sized and digitally printed for the wall.

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Bernie RaesideBell of the new company Detta, is a skilled hand-knitter of home and fashion textiles. She showed a sample of one of her handmade designs, handknit and foiled, to illustrate a touch a luxury at ICFF.

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Jennifer Castoldi is the CEO and Chief Creative Director of Trendease International.

Since 2004, Trendease has been providing cutting-edge and competitive design information to readers and clients spanning over 170 countries. Trendease is an influential resource reporting on global trends and key international design events. Hundreds of images and forward-thinking articles are presented on www.Trendease.com each month, additionally videos and podcasts are available on www.Trendease.TV.

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he Textile/Surface Design degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology had an exhibition of its students’ work, with the aim to demonstrate the strong relationship between creativity, technique, and marketability. During their degree, the students study the disciplines of painting, screen printing, weaves, and emerging technologies. The Trendease pick from the group is this woven jacquard, ‘Pollination’, from Rose Chiarello.

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F FI NE W S

Valley Forge Wins Gold Stevie® Award for Large Manufacturing Category in 16th Annual American Business Awards F&FI News Network

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ORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – May 14, 2018 – Valley Forge Fabrics won a Gold Stevie® Award in the “Company of the Year for Large Manufacturing” category in the 16th Annual American Business Awards® in May. More than 200 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s Stevie Award winners.

Over 3,700 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in

virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including “Startup of the Year, Executive of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year, Live Event of the Year, and App of the Year.”

The winning nomination, called Diversification in our Industry, centered on Valley Forge’s strategic plan to diversify the business. Historically the

deeply passionate makers who are very proud and motivated by manufacturing here in the USA.” Valley Forge Fabrics, Inc. is a 40+ year old family owned and operated company and one of the world’s largest suppliers of decorative textiles for the hospitality industry.

Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The

company sold only piece goods but it has evolved to encompass finished product for the hospitality industry. These products include bedding and the fabrication and installation of window treatments like roller blinds.

“Our diversification into more complex textile products for hospitality allows us to provide more value to our customers,” says Diana Dobin, second generation family leader of the business. “We are innovators at heart and are

International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service.

Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations.

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By-The-Yard Bella-Dura® Grows 30 Percent Annually, Says Irwin Gasner, Wearbest Principal; Muney Named Sales Director F&FI News Network

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EW YORK, New York — Wearbest Mills, the weaver of Bella-Dura is having its biggest success with a by-the-yard program sold from stock to the wholesaler according to Irwin Gasner, CEO.

Irwin Gasner Bella-Dura is an indoor/outdoor performance fabric woven in Garfield, New Jersey.

The program covers 230 sku’s of Bella Dura and is priced from $12.95-mid $20’s. In addition, Bella-Dura supplies product on a proprietary basis for as little as one piece as long as the customer orders it in at least six colors.

At Neocon, the first licensed collections of Bella-Dura textile wallcoverings in 54-inch design repeats were introduced by Lumm, a New York based wallcovering distributor.

This follows a passamentarie licensing program with Trimmings By Design based in the UK. Surya has also signed on for a licensed Bella-Dura Roslyn Muney, Bella Dura sales rug program. director After nearly 15 years in the market, Gasner has However, Wearbest remade his family owned mill into a performance fabric engine cater- continues to weave the ing to the residential and contract warps that still sell for jobber. There is a five-year wear their customers but warranty on the Bella-Dura fabrics the bulk of the busiwhich are guaranteed not to pill. ness today is clearly “Almost all stains can be removed the Bella-Dura brand with household cleaners but the woven in solution dyed most stubborn stains might require polyolefin in the USA. Bella Dura Gasner says all of bleach,” he explains. Further, BellaDura can pass the 1,500-hour sun the Bella-Dura fabrics fade test and is specified for IMO can the pass double-rub test from 50,000-100,000 so this also qualifies use, Gasner says.

“We exited the ‘pretty’ residen- the fabric for contract applications. tial business in terms of design Gasner says all BellaDura products in 2013 which includes working with cotton, polyester and silk,” he explains. “Now, we no longer design in that category.”

textile rugs can pass the ACT standards.

He says Bella-Dura is inherently anti-microbial so that it resists mildew. Lastly, Bella-Dura is recycla-

ble. Wearbest accepts used fabric which is then recycled by an outside vendor.

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Shelly Leaves Classical Elements F&FI News Network

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Bella Dura trimmings

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Bella Dura textile wall covering

ALEIGH, NC—Steven Shelly, Director of Sales for Classical Elements LLC since 2007, has left the company.

His future plans are not known at this time.

Classical Elements is an importer and supplier of trimmings to the upholstery, jobber and fabric industry.

Prior to joining Classical, Shelly was Vice President, Sales for Wright Co. Inc., another trimming supplier. For five years, he held various posts at Wright including International Sales Manager.

He worked for Schumacher, the high end jobber Steven Shelly for six years prior to joining Wright. F&FI

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~Bob Bruijn Holland Haag

Agaath den Heijer, CEO

Bob Brijn, Owner

Rob Appel, Sales Director

“Thank you, Fabrics and Furnishings International. We are very pleased with and honored by the great attention you gave us in your latest edition with regard to the opening of our new facility.

We didn’t expect to get such a prominent place in your magazine, which is known as the number one of its kind in the upholstery and curtain fabrics industry worldwide.

It is fantastic that our company, for which the opening of the new facility was one of the most important milestones in its 98-year history, got such a reward from you.”

For marketing information contact, Michael Schneider +1 212-404-6936 • michael@fabricsandfurnishings.com

F FI NE W S

KB Contract Leads Keyston Bros.

Parent to New Highs, Pushed On

by Duncan Family, Dee, Ann and Brooke F&FI News Network

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OSWELL, Georgia — Keyston Bros., the 150-year old Western goods distributor of saddles, whips and lashes is carving out a sizeable niche in awnings, automotive, marine, RV and contract upholstery says Dee Duncan, the owner who bought the company in 2001.

Business has grown every year since 2010 at the rate of ten percent, he says. Dee (short for Daniel) and his wife Ann, Chief Operating Officer are turning their original investment into a sizeable empire in the north of $75 million in sales they say. Dee thinks $100 million in sales is a possible target by 2024.

He says he is in markets “we don’t want to talk about. We prefer to stay under the radar.”

The contract division is branded KB Contract and Duncan considers contract/hospitality/healthcare to be his largest growth opportunity going forward. He recently landed a veteran professional in Elaine Schroeder, National Sales Manager at KB, who worked for Kravet Contract for 17 years. Mark Schechter is Senior Vice President Sales. The company does almost no residential fabric business.

Keyston has 250 employees located in its Roswell headquarters and in 17 warehouse locations around the USA plus 50 sales people on the road and 22 independent reps. Dee says Keyston draws from a $16 million off the shelf inventory with delivery to his customers in 24 hours.

“Our job is to take care of the customer with their questions answered right away without referring them to their sales representative,” Dee explains. Keyston takes orders on the phone but doesn’t do much business on the internet.

“The banks call me now and not the other way around,” he laughs.

It wasn’t always that way though.

Keyston Bros. made saddles

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After Dee bought the company in 2001, 911 hit and put a crimp in his sales.

“It was a challenging start but we survived and flourished.

Prior to the purchase of Keyston Bros, Dee worked for Spradling vinyls for two years and before that, he worked for Peachtree Fabrics for 19 years where he and his dad were both partners.

“We convert 40 percent of the wovens and vinyls in our line at suppliers located in Thailand, Viet Nam, Costa Rica and Colombia,” Dee and Ann Duncan Duncan explains. About ten percent of the business is in leather that is purchased only daughter joined the compafrom sources in the USA, Italy ny five years ago and is Senior and Brazil.” Over 50 percent of Marketing Director. Brooke helped his products are made in the USA develop a highly pliable line of

by Valdese, Crypton, Abercrombie, vinyls with an anti-bacterial finish Sunbury/Glen Raven, Wearbest, for the company. KB Contract has Nassimi and Spradling. “We don’t been a player in performance vinyls choose to do much in China,” he and fabrics for the past ten years.

She is part of the younger genadds; but he does source vinyl in eration moving up in the compaTaiwan.

The company generates about ny, boosted by a summer intern 30 percent of its sales in coated program. There is a steady supply fabrics; 30 percent in woven jac- of graduating students coming to quards and dobbies and another Keyston from the Harbert Business 30 percent in an ‘other’ catego- School of Auburn University.

“Our products pass 50,000 doury which includes Sunbrella®, by Glen Raven Mills, Inc. Duncan says ble rubs in fabric and 100,000 douhe is the second largest distributor ble rubs for the vinyls,” Dee points of Sunbrella in the USA due to out. “L.A. Fitness, one of our clihis substantial awning business. He ents utilizes a line of vinyls called also admits to traveling 200 days ‘Olympus’ on its exercise equipa year and leaving the keys to the ment which passes 1.8 million dou‘store’ with Ann. Dee travels to Asia ble rubs.” The product sells for $12 twice a year; Europe three times and is made in Thailand.

KB Contract is big on developa year and to South America once a year. He also works the contract ing proprietary products. It sells a shows in the U.S. and craves one to vinyl covered awning fabric made one relationships with the design- to its own specifications by Snyder F&FI er. “I’m always looking for new in Ohio. resources,” he adds.

Brooke Kahn, Dee and Ann’s

Brooke Kahn and intern Erin Kelly

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F FI NE W S

Contract/HospitalityNews C/HNEWS I Coated Fabrics Manufacturer Serge Ferrari Says More Acquisitions Ahead in Order to Achieve Global Leadership F&FI News Network

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YON, France — Serge Ferrari, a family-controlled publicly-held textiles company, will continue to make acquisitions in order to become a stronger international player in the furniture fabrics business, according to Isabelle Vidal, manager of the company’s yachting and furniture division.

Philippe Brun This division includes yachting, indoor and outdoor furniture, architecture (such as tensile roofs, solar protection, microclimatic facades, acoustic solutionsm and roofing underlay), and purpose-specific materials for professionals that include lightweight modular structures for industrial applications, environment protection solutions, and products for bioenergy produc-

tion and visual communication.

Vidal says Serge Ferrari wants to be a larger supplier in order to win a greater share of the American and Asian markets, not just in Europe, where the company is a major player.

As part of the strategy to grow the American business, Serge Ferrari launched an exclusive agreement at Neocon with Stinson’s Stamskin collection for the contract market.

In fact, the company is looking to hit over $500 million in sales, according to the chairman, Sébastien Ferrari. He will not provide guidance to financial analysts, but he was quoted in a local newspaper saying that Serge Ferrari will be a €500 million company, and belong to the German-Swiss “Mittelstand” club without diversifying further. He says it can achieve this sales level just by strengthening positions in segments where the company is already present.

Serge Ferrari produces two ranges of furniture fabrics: Batyline and Stamskin. Batyline is a combination of sheathed, high-tenacity polyester yarn and synthetic yarns.

It is available in several weave patterns: Batyline Eden can be used both for seating or for upholstery on chairs or cushions. Batyline Duo comes in light or metallic shades. Batyline Canatex is formu-

lated with hemp for an authentic matt look and feel, while Batyline Iso plays on transparency and a palette of vibrant colours.

Stamskin is treated with multilayer mass-dyed coating, and is very flexible. It comes in three distinct feels: Stamskin Top is a faux leather fabric. Stamskin Top Club has a realistic leather feel. Stamskin One is an ultrasoft faux leather fabric. Stamskin Zen is a comfortable fine-grain faux leather fabric, suited for the healthcare and wellness industries.

At the 2014 IPO ceremony, Chairman Sébastien announced sales of around 215 million euros in 2018. In fact, it will probably take two more years, according to Reuters Thomson’s estimates, to reach 200 million, because sales increases have been coming more from acquisitions than organic growth since the IPO in 2014.

The Ferrari family retains more than 60 percent of the shares and voting rights, while two banks own about 10 percent of the capital.

The share price, currently at nine euros, should reach the target price of 11 to 13 euros in the next 18 months, according to the opinion of two financial analysts, says Philippe Brun, Serge Ferrari’s chief financial officer.

On a separate note, Sébastien

owns 70 acres of vineyards in Provence, which produce a renowned—the pressbook is thicker than the one for Ferrari fabrics—wine in the three colors (pink, white, and red). The vineyards belonged to the Ferrari forefather, and were later sold to salvage the business. Then Serge married Mireille, the daughter of the new owner of the vineyards, and the property was returned to the family!

Ferrari’s past history indicates a voracious appetite to grow through acquisition. Here’s a recap of their previous purchases: • 2017: Serge Ferrari acquires Plastitex.

• 2016: Serge Ferrari acquires a 51% stake in Giofex (the distribution network covers Germany, France, the UK, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia, has 60 employees, and made 12 million euros in sales in 2015 with 2,000 small and medium-sized customers).

• 2001: Serge Ferrari buys the Starnoid business unit from Swiss group Forbo and branches out into the marine equipment, furniture, and breathable membranes markets.

• 2000: Serge Ferrari acquires a 50% stake in Tersuisse (based in Lucerne, Switzerland) main

yarn supplier, as a joint venture with Rhodia. In 2005, Serge Ferrari acquires and purchases the remaining half of the shares.

• 1997: Serge Ferrari acquires the Batyline business unit (Taraflex), a specialist of cable-sheathing extrusion processes for furniture manufacturers.

Louis Ferrari, the forefather of the Ferrari dynasty, supplied parachute material and then manufactured truck tarpaulin to get his business started. Later on, his grandson Serge started his own company after patenting a new technology named “Precontraint,” which guaranteed a better durability of industrial fabrics by stretching it to the max in the production phase. This company, named Serge Ferrari, was taken over in 1992 by Serge’s two sons, Sébastien and Romain.

Sébastien, a high school dropout, joined his father in 1981; Sébastian is now 59 and serves as president. Romain, an engineer, joined the family business in 1991 to oversee technical and product development; he is now the general manager.

The Precontraint patent is no longer in force, but the company has kept improving the original process to keep ahead of its competition, says Philippe Burnat, head (continued on Page 38)

C/HNEWS I Valley Forge Integrates Mechanized Roller Shades into Hotel Systems as Artwork Moves to Window F&FI News Network

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OMPANO BEACH, Florida —Valley Forge is integrating its motorized roller shade product line into hotel management systems. Also, digitally printed roller shades are moving to the window as artwork for the hotel room goes forward.

“Fabric performance is very important as it relates to roller shades, but the mechanism is equally important,” says Ahmet Sapmaz, vice president of global strategic business development.

Valley Forge’s roller shade program hit new sales heights in 2017,

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about 70 percent higher than in 2016. This has paced the company’s double-digit growth last year, and in 2018.

“We like European sources of fabrics and mechanisms, which we assemble in the United States for our customers. You’re only talking about 1.5 yards of fabric in each roller shade, but we do all of the cutting,” he says.

“There is more to this business than you can imagine. You need a staff of estimators, someone to measure and install the roller shades, and a workroom to get it right,” he continued. “You don’t

just decide to go into this business without the proper support that goes along with it.” He also mentioned that some converters are still entering the roller shade business, but they are five years behind in the learning curve.

Valley Forge is now digitally printing the majority of its roller shade fabrics, and these products are becoming artwork in the hotel room, as opposed to free-standing artwork. This gives the hotel room a contemporary, minimalistic look, he explains. “Art on walls is less and less specified due to the roller shade development. Roller shades

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continue to save the hotel purchasing agent money,” Sapmaz states.

He says that those in the fabric business have no choice but to get into roller shades, because that’s what the customer is now demanding with hotel retrofits and new builds.

“This is the most active part of the fabric business today.” F&FI Ahmet Sapmaz with Latex printed light filtering manual shade custom made for a Santa Monica, CA hotel, printed in house at Valley Forge, all 100% Made in the USA!

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C/HNews

C/HNEWS I Research Report Predicts Indian Hotel Room Expansion Will Grow 30 Percent by 2019, with More Growth Coming in Years Ahead

By Vishwanath.S

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ANGALORE — Indian and international chain hotels’ room capacity is expected to increase by just over 30 percent by 2019 compared to 2015, according to HVS Global Hospitality Services in New York City. The research report says the 112,284 available rooms in 2015 is expected to reach 146,485 rooms by 2019, and will continue to grow further up to 2022.

According to hospitality fabric and furnishings suppliers, the demand should increase further by 2022. They stand ready to serve the growing demand from the hotel segment. American hospitality group Marriott International has more than 50 signed projects in its pipeline in India, adding 30,000 rooms over the next few years from what is currently 20,000 rooms.

Wyndham Hotel Group is adding 40 new hotels; Hilton, which has 17 hotels now, plans to double it to 34. Also, several three-to-five-star India-based hotels like ITC group, Oberoi, Taj group, and many budget hotels, are adding several thousands of rooms.

“We accord prime importance to the look as well as to the feel, and the rooms should also be backed up with long-term wear and tear,” says Pavan Krishna, executive housekeeper for Westin Hotels in Hyderabad, India. “Sometimes we are not satisfied with local sourcing in terms of buying desired quality, and always prefer specified and luxury appealing fabrics,” he adds.

“FR is not a must, but we insist if it is necessary in some areas of applications,” he adds.

“We recently executed a Trump Tower project near Delhi, and the objective was to decorate Trump Lounge at the Oberoi Hotel, where it was specially designed to showcase the plan, layout, and life model of the towers,” says Manjit Wadhwa, director for

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Trump Tower Lobby Entrance Seasons Furnishings Limited in New Delhi. Seasons produced the fabrics, as per the specific design for wall cladding and upholstery for the sitting areas. “We had to meet strict specifications in terms of high Martindale, breathability, anti-static, and easy maintenance,” says Manjit.

“We are very bullish on a steady increase in demand for furnishings, and are geared up to meet the demand”, says Anurag Kapoor, director of KBL Textiles, a distributor of furnishings fabrics in New Delhi.

“The industry is growing at an even faster pace than expected, eight to nine percent, with Indian brand hotels’ expansion”, he notes.

“Now designers are playing a key role in providing standards that we can comfortably fulfill, and our business is on a fast track”, Anurag says. “The Indian market is very price-sensitive as standards are ignored to save cost, but now with the big brands coming in and adopting international standards the demand for features like FR and stain proofing are growing.v“ At this point in time, I think Marriott is the most demanding brand in terms of specifications, while curtains, blinds, and other window solutions like blackouts are becoming a necessity. Still, FR standard fabrics are an option and not a must, as required in advanced countries. Going forward, FR will become a necessity,” he feels.

The company has been supply-

ing to several branded hotels, such as Radisson Group, Park Plaza, Carlson Group, Le Meridien, Marriott, and other chain hotels.

Warwick Fabrics, Ltd., has been supplying hospitality fabrics for 10 years in India. Mohit Agarwal, sales director of South Asia for Warwick Fabrics, says that original fabrics specified by designers used to be copied due to budget constraints, but that’s now changing for the better. “Not

to blame anyone, the contractors had limited options in order to meet budget constraints, ready stock availability, and stiff delivery deadlines,” Agarwal says.

“Now, Days Inn hotel project purchasers are planning in advance, and also stick to the original specifications. They are willing to pay a reasonable price as the original fabrics lasts longer,” he adds. “The situation now is buyers expect at least 40,000 Martindale, color fastness above five, with easy clean options.” aWarwick, which imports the specified contract fabrics from China and Australia, expects to grow by 10-12 percent annually.

F&FI

Pavan Krishna, Executive House Keeper, Westin Hotels, Hyderabad

Manjit Wadhwa, Director, Seasons Furnishings Limited

Anurag Kapoor, Director Kbl Textiles Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi

Mohit Agarwal, Sales DirectorWarwick Fabrics India Pvt Ltd.

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BOYTEKS PUTS CUSTOMERS FIRST! BOYTEKS Tekstil says “We may be living in different regions, but there is only one world we have, and the resources of this world are unfortunately limited. We aim not only to produce for consumption but also to protect our world in the production consumption chain. In this direction, we produce for future generations.”

BOYTEKS Tekstil has a quite substantial place within the sector as one of the most important suppliers of the furniture manufacturing enterprises in mattress ticking, upholstery fabric and carpet. Although still being a young corporation, it has become one of the world’s most important manufacturers of mattress ticking and upholstery fabric by shining among the long-established corporations thanks to its innovative and distinct point of view embraced as a principle. Customer oriented business approach underlies this success. Welcoming its customers through an approach in which the processes are managed conjointly instead of traditional mutual merchandising, Boyteks Tekstil is a true business partner for furniture manufacturers with its business principle of producing new ideas and shaping those based on its customers.

Offering an extensive product portfolio ranging from velvet and nubuck fabric from office and garden furniture upholstery fabrics, Boyteks Tekstil receives a great deal of attention from not only the furniture sector but also various sectors with the its product variety and the quality of its products.

The principle adopted in fabric manufacturing is to specialize the products of the furniture manufacturers instead of merely selling the textile products to them. In this context, by presenting the publicity and advertising materials to its customers to be used in their advertising campaigns and activities, Boyteks Tekstil also provides support and assistance to marketing activities as well as offering support in terms of products.

Boyteks Tekstil, cutting a wide swath with its innovative products in particular, crossing line with flying colours with its products that make the lives of end users easy and not wasting their precious time and even offering support in terms of healthcare. Successfully emphasizing the flame retardant property on each product, Boyteks Tekstil offers the opportunity to the furniture manufacturers to diversify their brands through the products recovering the energy consumed in a tiring and exhaustive day in addition to the products that are easy to be cleaned and catching the latest trends and becoming popular recently.

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F FI NE W S (continued from Page 36)

C/HNEWS I Coated Fabrics Manufacturer Serge Ferrari Says More Acquisitions Ahead of the Serge Ferrari Academy in charge of training new employees. He conducts tours of the production site for new employees at Saint-Jean-de-Soudain, a 45-minute car ride from Lyon, the regional capital.

Burnat stressed the unique advantage Serge Ferrari has acquired by buying the Swiss company that manufactures its polyester yarn, ensuring a consistency and quality valued by customers, he says. He also saluted the acquisition of Plastitex, a former formidable Italian competitor of Serge Ferrari in the outdoor and indoor furniture fabrics market, in 2017.

However, Serge Ferrari does not have total control on the chemicals needed to coat its two main product lines for furniture, Batyline and Stamskin, since the pigment powders and granulates used to make the liquid “pasta” coating the yarn come from Inovyn, a Solvay/Ineos joint venture, and from other outside suppliers such as Vinnolit, a Westlake Chemical company for PVC. Serge Ferrari’s IPO in 2014 raised funds to increase its sales force fromo 150 sales representatives to reinforce its R&D department (30 employees) and fuel an 8.6 percent growth in 2017.

Romain Ferrari has long been an evangelist of recycling as a way to reduce environmentally unfriendly chemical processes.

Serge Ferrari is very serious about recycling, and has managed to set up an efficient network for collecting used or wasted fabrics and to transform them into primary components practically without loss, the company says.

Romain Ferrari also insists on the gain, resulting in using lighter alternative solutions that demand less energy and maintenance. Developing recycling is worth the effort, he says, to differentiate the company from its competitors in terms of image and goodwill. Beyond being an innovative company, Serge Ferrari insists on promoting three values among

its employees: tenacity, loyalty, and generosity. Testimonials of good behavior have been gath-

ered to celebrate pioneering, courage, long-term honesty, and consideration through role mod-

Serge Ferrari key data • 2017 sales: €172 million. 75 percent of sales made outside of France and Switzerland.

• Presence in 80 countries. Eight subsidiaries (United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, India, China, Turkey, and Germany). Two

els. An audit of the social and environmental impacts of the antimony trioxide sourcing led

representative offices (Spain, UAE). More than 100 distributors.

• More than 1,500 customers. Products come in large bolts, reels, or ready-cut panels.

Materials are directly installed or further transformed by the Group’s customers.

• 830 employees.

the company to explore an alternative source through recycling.

F&FI

• Three production sites: one in La Tour du Pin (France) and two in Switzerland. 70 million kilometers of yarn produced annually in the Swiss factory.

• Three percent of sales allocated to R&D. Two to three new patents registered annually.

Isabelle Vidal

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F FI NE W S

Yokeley Named Glen Raven VP of Marketing as Hunnicutt Departs F&FI News Network

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URLINGTON, North Carolina — Craig Yokeley, previously vice president of operations for the Trivantage division of Glen Raven, Inc., has been named vice president of marketing for Glen Raven, reporting to President David Swers.

Trivantage is the distribution division of Glen Raven, which markets Phifertex®, Sunbrella®, and other brands of outdoor fabric.

Yokeley replaces Hal Hunnicutt, who left Glen Raven in early May. Hunnicutt’s plans are not known at this time. As vice president of marketing, he had been involved in marketing strategy and execution for Sunbrella® and other Glen Raven brands for nearly ten years.

Yokeley joined Glen Raven in 2000 and was the director of marketing services for Trivantage prior to being named vice president of perations in 2013.

None of the parties named in this report were available for com- Hal Hunnicutt ment.

F&FI

McMahon Leaves Charles Parsons Interiors GM Post After Six Months F&FI News Network

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YDNEY, Australia — Jacqueline “Jacquie” McMahon has left her post as general manager of interiors and homewares at Charles Parsons & Co. She took the role last December, and Charles W. Parsons, managing director and fourth-generation family owner, has confirmed she left the company in June.

McMahon was based in the Charles Parsons headquarters in Redfurn, New South Wales, Australia. Charles Parsons is a 103-year-old wholesaler and converter of fabrics, including apparel and

floor covering.

The company has five showrooms in Australia and three in New Zealand, with numerous distributors both in Australia and abroad, even as Charles Parsons far away as South Korea. It is an exporter of fabrics to Asia and to the Northern Hemisphere.

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Andrea Favoretto Rubelli Takes Back President, CEO Mantle F&FI News Network

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EW YORK, New York — Donghia chairman Andrea Favoretto Rubelli has reclaimed his posts as president and CEO in the wake of the departure of Jonathan Witmer, who has held those posts since February 2017. “[Witmer] profoundly restructured and refocused the corporate and commercial organization, with a focus on customers, partners, and employees. … Rubelli and Donghia ownership will continue to support these changes and investments and wish Witmer the best,” Rubelli says. Rubelli also points to a myriad of problems facing the trade showroom business today. He says design center rents are escalating faster than the foot traffic, the costs of talented salespeople and digital marketing are increasing, the lifespan of textiles is shortening, and that there is a less diffused culture for the use of decorative fabrics other than toss pillows, as well as limited resources for consumer outreach. “These are, in essence, the challenges I’ve been noticing in our decorative fabrics industry more and more lately, resulting in mergers and acquisitions,” he told F&FI. “Every company has a different recipe of facing these changes, and certainly Donghia has adopted a precise strategy that I will be carrying on over the next few Andrea Rubelli months.”

F&FI

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Fiorete Favors Wallcoverings While Gemini Padana Still Prefers Sheers in Tougher Than Ever Market Conditions Sheers are now a commodity item and easily obtained F&FI News Network

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OMO, Italy — Fiorete in Fino Mornasco is continuing its twoyear-old push into the wallcoverings market in the face of the rapidly declining sheer business, according to managing director Gianmarco

Zamaroni, while Umberto Passaglia, the principal of Gemini Padana in Busto Arsizio, Italy, digs even deeper into the sheers business.

Both men were interviewed at the recent Proposte exhibition.

Zamaroni says there is space in the market for special products. He is

doing digital prints, even on wood, along with acoustic fabrics which absorb noise, fiberglass and bonded leather, and laser burnout designs.

He is selling wallcoverings to the United States, France, and China, where he has a book program.

Both men agree that sheers have

Umberto Passaglia with style GP68283, available in over 30 colors in 60/40 poly/linen become a commodity business, dominated by Chinese mills who sell finished panels directly to the retailer at extremely low prices.

“Fiorete is applying all of its expertise in fabrics to new, innovative wallcovering designs and

constructions. Fiorete is applying fabric, print, embossing, and faux finishes onto wallcovering applications. These are luxurious novelty wallcoverings with layered applications of everything we know about textiles, which even include our velvet, wood, and steel finishes,” Zamaroni points out.

“Fiorete is now doing 75 percent of its business in contract wallcoverings and velvets,” he continues, “while Fiorete sheers are only 25 percent of the mill’s turnover today.” Five years ago, sheers were 80 percent of Fiorete’s business, but this is no longer the case.

On the other hand, Gemini’s Passaglia says, “We survive in the sheers business by doing a little bit of everything. Wholesalers are almost finished in the sheers category, while the Chinese sell readymade sheer panels directly to the retailer.”

He also points out that the life of the sheer article is shorter, and this is very difficult for the editeur. Nevertheless, he is still sampling his customers, who look for new ideas. He still sells contract and residential sheers worldwide.

He and his brotherr have some Vamatex looms, but mainly thirty Dornier looms to feed in jacquard, dobby, and plain constructions.

“The way things are today, it is hard for the customer to find a good sheer supplier. He doesn’t know if he is buying from a weaver or converter. Sure, you can do your own collection of sheers for little money,” Passaglia explains. F&FI

Gianmarco Zamaroni with Crushed stainless steel wallcovering by Fiorete

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F FI NE W S (Continued from Front Cover)

Marteks Launches Its First Upholstery Collections to Complement Its Curtain Fabric Range, According to Principal Kaya Cinoglu for upholstery usage, in the next three years.”

Why is Marteks, a curtain fabric house, breaking with tradition and going down the upholstery road?

Cinoglu says upholstery fabrics are always in fashion because “they do not really have alternatives, and what we have experienced developing and producing dual-purpose fabrics is that the repeat orders have been more successful.”

“There are a couple of reasons. The first reason is we see a decline in demand and sales for the decorative curtains in the interior shops,” says Cinoglu. “There has been a big trend towards other window treatments such as blinds, window shades, and shutters.

Designers are

working on minimalistic designed interiors and they tend to use less and less decorative curtains. Our company’s focus for the past couple of years has been at the middle to high end. Brands working on such alternatives tend to use less expensive fabrics when they use curtain fabrics at all, so we are not competitive enough for the most part.”

“We will follow the same strategy of aiming for the better end of the consumer market, working first with our existing clients to develop creative, different upholstery qualities for them. Almost all of our clients already do have upholstery lines. We want to compete with the higher-level producers, not the inexpensive commercial products.

This will also complement our drapery product offerings, so we can offer products for the whole interior market rather than focusing only on the decorative fabric part.”

“We have made agreements with Dutch and American designers. I can’t give you names at the moment. We also have consultancy

Kaya Cinoglu & Associates

agreements with experienced technical engineers in this field. Our aim is to first reach and work with our editor and jobber client base to keep developing products exclusively for them. That will be our main target, and we already do have a few articles in their upcoming collections. We might be working with some manufacturers in the future as we progress further, but that’s not our primary intention for the moment.”

Marteks upholstery “We will be working with our existing looms. new piece dyeing and yarn dyeing We already have fully integrated machines, as well as on a brandfinishing capabilities in-house, and new Benninger Swiss warping our machines are fully equipped machine, to avoid capacity issues in with different kinds of finishing the future. We want to better serve for upholstery products, including our client’s needs, developing for aero and various other types of both decorative curtains and upholF&FI finishing. We have just invested in steries.”

Ter Molst International/GTA Passes 300 Million Euros in Sales, Targets USA for More Growth in Performance Fabrics Money Out

Money Out

F&FI News Network

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OSTROZEBEKE, BE—Ter Molst International (TMI) has become a global textiles leader, doing business in over 90 countries on four continents with 300 million euros in sales.

TMI management has now been passed from the founder, Chairman Luc Tack, to his twin sons, 26-yearolds Gregory and Remy.

Ter Molst, the Belgian upholstery and curtain fabric mill, along with Symphony, a trading company, are regular exhibitors at MoOD, Proposte, Evteks, Heimtextil Europe and Asia, and Showtime (USA).

“Business was easier before, but today it is necessary to build and advertise our brands of upholstery, ticking, and curtain fabrics to effectively compete in the world market,” Gregory says. His father, Luc,

Remy Tack

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15%

branch focuses on the local market. group of performance fabric com15% The low, medium, and high- petitors which now includes 30% priced product lines cover price Culp, Valdese, STI, and other 30% points from $1.50-$30 a yard and importers.

15% MONEY OUT “We have 40 designers are sold on all four continents.

15% MONEYruns OUTthe Belgian (170 in-house in three contiGregory 90 million Euros upholstery (30%) $90 looms) and Chinese operations. nents, styling our lines with million Euros mattress tickingmeter (40%) $120color influence a European This120 includes a 10,000 square 90 million Euros upholstery (30%) $90 45 millionin Euros towels (15%) $45 that you won’t find in other warehouse Hanzhou, China, and 120 million Euros mattress ticking (40%) $120 American another 30,000 square meter ware- (15%) 45 million Euros latex mattress components $45 lines,” Gregory 45 million Euros towels (15%) $45 40% house in Belgium. Remy lives in says.

45 million Euros latex mattress components (15%) $45 “We’re easy to do North Carolina and manages the 40% $300 TOTAL business in the United States (16 business with if you have $300 TOTALand 80 ticking looms) good credit. You can buy upholstery 90 million Euros upholstery (30%) 120 million Euros mattress ticking (40%) as little as one roll with and India (40 looms).

45 million Euros towels (15%) (30%) 90 million Euros upholstery About a year ago, Ter Molst 30-day credit terms,” 120 million mattress components ticking (40%)(15%) 45 million Euros Euros latex mattress USA launched its first Vivalife® Gregory points out. “We 45 million Euros towels (15%) 45 million Euros latex mattressacomponents Ter Molst USA/GTA, ten-year-old(15%) performance fabric collection of feel there is tremendous potential six plain uphol- for us in the United States.” In Asia, acquisition of a former Burlington stery designs, to Symphony will launch a new brand Industries plant in Reidsville, North be broadened in this August that will be specifically Carolina; Global Textile Alliance, which also produces upholstery and the future in the traded in Asia.

The original Ter Molst/GTA ticking in Coimbatore, India; and $4.50-$6.50 price range per yard; traces its earliest roots to the year Clarysse, a towel manufacturer in these are body 1803. It was purchased by Luc Belgium.

Artilat is the mattress compocloths made from Tack in 1990 and became the basis 1 solution-dyed ole- of a textiles empire which now nents division, while Oostrotex 1 fin. In this grow- includes Symphony, a textiles trad- produces olefin yarn in Belgium. ing but crowded ing company based in China since The Tacks also own a controlling segment, Ter 1997; Monks and Pieters, a mat- shareholder stake in Picanol, the Gregory Tack F&FI Molst joins a tress ticking company in Belgium; loom manufacturer.

didn’t believe in marketing, but the boys live it.

Armed with this new philosophy, TMI promises to become a more important competitor worldwide, but especially in the United States, where with 400 employees, it has invested more than 40 million euros since it acquired an old Burlington Industries plant ten years ago in Reidsville, North Carolina.

The Belgian, Indian, and American operations could be considered clones of each other in the way they are operated under the umbrella name of Global Textile Alliance, Inc. (GTA). Each GTA

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F FI C A L E N D A R

F FI NE W S

August August 27-30 Heimtextil Asia

F&FI CLASSIFIEDS

National Exhibition & Convention Center, Shanghai

September

Wanted Sales Reps

September 11-13 MoOD & Indigo

20 year old mill direct textile company based in NY. We are looking for sales reps for our contract line. Email sarika@poshtextiles.com

Tour & Taxis Brussels

_____________________________________

INDEX & HOTEL SHOW SEPTEMBER 16-18

U.S. Sales Agent Wanted-Readymade Drapery Panels and cushions!

Dubai World Trade Centre

Jacob Javits Center, New York

We need a qualified sales agent to represent our medium priced readymade woven jaquard/embroidered/velvet/ printed/chenile line for Drapery panels and cushions. Knowledge and contacts of the big box retailer is essential.

If interested, please contact Gurvinder Singh, Principal of GM Fabrics by email.

December

Contact: gurvinder@gmfabrics.com _____________________________________

September 24-27 NY Home Fashions Market

November November 11-12 BoutiqueDesign New York

December 2-5 Showtime Fabric Market

ADVERTISE HERE! $10/word, min 25 words please contact Mark Kresel mark@fabricsandfurnishings.com

High Point, NC

January

+1 443.930.3790 _____________________________________

January 8-11, 2019 Heimtextil Frankfurt, Germany

Advertiser Index For more information about one of our advertisers, see the page number listed: Aqua Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Ateja. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33 Boyteks. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11, 37 Covington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 D’Decor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Advertise Here!

Only $495 • 4.75”w x 3”h Contact Mark Kresel, mark@fabricsandfurnishings.com +1 443.930.3790

Dicitex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Express Air Freight. . . . . . . . 40

Duban Leaves Kravet for Bryan Ashley Post F&FI News Network

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OS ANGELES, California — Robert Duban, Vice President of contract sales for Kravet Fabrics since 2013 has joined Bryan Ashley Furniture in Deerfield Beach, FL as Vice President, Sales. Prior to joining Kravet, he was Executive Vice President of Sales of Covington Fabric & Design LLC. Prior to joining Covington, Duban was Executive Vice President, Contract Sales at Robert Allen. Bryan Ashley Furniture is a hospitality furniture specialist that is owned by OFS Brands in Huntingburg, Indiana.

F&FI

Kravet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 GM Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . 34-35 MoOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 ON-EM. . . . . . . . . . . Cover, 8-9 PDF Systems, Inc.. . . . . . . . . 16 Richloom Fabrics Group. . . . 15 Rockland Mills. . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 Softex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 STI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Texmar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Check out our new state-of-the-art website! www.fabricsandfurnishings.com Robert Duban

Yongshun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23

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