Fabrics & Furnishings - Summer 2013 Issue

Se Sh e F& ow FI tim at e!

Volume 23, Number 3

The Global Home & Contract Furnishings Newspaper

Summer 2013

Keystone Weaving Is America’s Latest Textile Success Story The Caplans and McKinnons Pursue Luxury Naturals Niche Sipco News Netowrk

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EBANON, PA—In less than five years, 83 year old Keystone Weaving Mills, Inc. has become a viable producer of mid to upper price

point upholstery fabrics sold directly to the furniture manufacturer and jobber.

The transformation of Keystone started in 2008 when customers

were running to China for goods and many local mills like Craftex, Quaker and Mastercraft and Weave met their demise. Since that time, many American (continued on page 12)

Comeback Kid Covington Launches 200 Color Digital Heirloom Prints Greg Tarver at Showtime p.20

Eli Caplan and Bob McKinnon

Sherri Donghia Thrives On the Design Edge p.18

Steven Stolman and Louis Renzo

Sherri Donghia (2nd left)

w w w. F a b r i c s A n d F u r n i s h i n g s . c o m

Renzo Brings Licensing Deals to Scalamandré p.6

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F&FI L E T T E R S

How Chinese Silk and an Army Prayer Shawl Shaped Resident Jack Hurwitz’ Life

by Emily Tipermas

The Global Home & Contract Furnishings Newspaper

520 West Avenue, Suite 701, Miami Beach, FL 33139 USA Website: www.fabricsandfurnishings.com Telephone 001.917.251.9922 | ISSN: 1523-7303 Publisher & Editor | Eric S. Schneider

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racing fingers over a sleek black swatch of Chinese silk, Jack describes the fabric’s role in sparking his ideas for the design, manufacture and sale of fine decorative fabrics. Its quality, workmanship and magnetic beauty caught his attention while he was stationed in China during World War II, propelling him to launch a textile business that ultimately grew to international stature. To this day, Jack remains passionate about formulating marketable color combinations for production; indeed, his son Donald, now president of Jack Hurwitz Inc., encourages (continued on page 13)

Associate Editor | Marc Weinreich Art Director | Roxanne Clapp, RoxC LLC Corporate Secretary | Gail Goldman, PhD. CORPORATE CONSULTANTS Printing/Distribution | Interprint Web Printing Web Design | Synthovation

Jack Hurwitz

E.U. Legal Counsel | Herman Nayaert SIPCO NEWS NETWORK India | S. Vishwanath

Table of Contents

U.K. | Geoff Fisher Belgium | Jan Hoffman USA | Marc Weinreich

F&FI Summer 2013 | Vol. 23, No. 3 Keystone Weaving is America’s Lastest Textiles Success Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover

6 Renzo Brings Licensing Deals to Scalamandré . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Harvey Chain in New Zealand at Annual Charity Fishing Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Design: Happy Evolutions by Trendease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Marcus William Brand Helps Stout’s Second Run at High End Fabric Market. . . . . . . . . . 10 Mel Letchinger, Textiles Pioneer, Family Centerpiece, Passes On. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Zack Taylor Leaves Valdese, Now Wesley Hall President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Crypton® Names Keziah President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Surya Rugs Sets Sights On Broader Home Furnishings Product Lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Bharat To Open Sixth Fabrics Store in Gujarat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Tissat Deslee Discontinues Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Valdese Weavers Promotes Key Executives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Sherri Donghia Thrives On the Design Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Comeback Kid Covington Launches 200 Color Digital Heirloom Prints at Showtime. . . . . 20 Fidertessile Prospers With All in The Family Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Gritti Palace Renewed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

E ditorial & P ublishing

Calico Names Morris VP Stores, Operations; Jan Jessup Assumes Merchandising Position. .

Valdese Weavers Names Blake Millinor SVP, Chief Marketing Officer;

24 Arti Bhandari Opens 10th Artéé Fabrics & Home Outlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Laura Levinson Named SVP Merchandising, Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contract/HospitalityNews

21 Indian Fabrics Distribution Converts to Direct Mill Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 George Returns; Valdese Weavers Announces Appointments in Management and Design.22 Herman Miller Acquires Maharam for Substantial Premium Over Annual Sales. . . . . . . . 22

EDITOR & PUBLISHER USA, EUROPE & CHINA Eric Schneider Tel: 001.917.251.9922 E-Mail: eric@sipco.net

Art Director Roxanne Clapp Tel: 001.813.991.1860 E-Mail: rox@sipco.net

A d v ertising S ale S

TURKEY INDIA Italy, Germany, Spain, France Sevim Keskinci Rekha V. Isa Hofmann Tel: 90.532.236.25.24 Tel: 91.80.26685821 Tel: +49 611.890.59640 Fax: 90.216.390.20.27 Cell: 91.93.42821379 Fax: +49 611.87086 Email: skeskinci@gmail.com Email: info@ihofmann.com Fax: 91.80.26684670 Email: s_wishwanath@hotmail.com

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

Subscriptions to Fabrics & Furnishings International are US$125 prepaid for four issues.

Mail or fax orders (US Dollar, Check or International Postal Money Order for payment ONLY) to Sipco Publications, Inc. 3 Island Avenue, Suite 6i, Miami Beach, FL 33139 USA Fabrics & Furnishings International is shipped via air mail to 82 countries. ©COPYRIGHT 2013 by Sipco Publications Inc. All U.S. and International Rights Reserved.

Subscribe online at fandfi.com/subscribe Eric Schneider and Deepak Tiwari will soon launch India Edition, an electronic newsletter about India-made home textiles and fabrics.

India’s domestic market is growing faster than the USA and Brazil, second only to China. The pair hope to make India Edition an important part of the business.

india edition

Deepak Tiwari Editor and Partner India Edition LLC Tel: +91-7666031473 Email: Deepak@sipco.net

Windows Tech Unveils Trevira®CS Anti-microbial, Flame Retardant Curtains. . . . . . . . . .

Departments

27 Photo Gallery - Proposte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 & 29 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Advertiser Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Photo Gallery - Sunbury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Correction In the previous issue of Fabrics & Furnishings International, the company name ‘Siyaram’ and the general manager’s name Abhishek Poddar were misspelled. Further, Mr. Poddar is 27 years old and the number of dobby looms at Siyaram numbers 164. In addition, the new Mumbai based showroom for Siyaram is strictly a ‘to the trade’ only. In a separate interview with Andrea Rubelli, it should be clarified that LULU DK is a high end brand distributed by Donghia.

Donghia is 51 percent owned by Rubelli.

Sahco and Rubelli are partners.

Please note that Nimish Arora is co-owner of Dicitex Furnishings Pvt., Mumbai, India We regret making the errors.

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Calico Names Morris VP Stores, Operations; Jan Jessup Assumes Merchandising Position Sipco News Network

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ENNETT SQUARE, PA— Julie Morris, who was named vice president of merchandising for Calico at the end of 2012, has just been promoted again to vice president of stores and operations for the 73 company

Julie Morris

owned stores in the chain.

This move follows the departure of Laura Grier, the former vice president of stores who was with Calico for 14 years.

Grier was an inside person and not well known to the industry at large like Morris. In addition, Jan Jessup, who has been working for Calico for over 40 years in marketing, public relations and communications posts and often worked in tandem with the Calico buying group, will assume most of Morris’ responsibilities in merchandising, she confirmed.

Jessup and Morris report to Bert Kerstetter, chairman and owner of Calico.

While Jessup now heads merchandising, Morris will continue to be responsible for custom labor, visual merchandising and store planning. Initially, Morris will

tour the Calico outlets in 37 States and work with the six regional managers. The focus of Morris’ activities will be to help Jessup cement Calico’s vision to be the fabric fashion leader at retail.

“We will continue the momentum we have built in transforming the way product moves into our stores,” Jessup explained. “Our speed to market is the fastest in the industry. We expect to show more product than ever before and emphasize greater turnover than previously,” she emphasized.

“The way we merchandise today reduces the heavy investment in inventory we used to have when we stocked goods at all locations. We can now move into and out of things faster than ever and be the fashion leader as a result.”

“Calico intends to claim the position of fashion leader in fabrics retailing,” she said.

“As long as our vendors keep their commitments in terms of deliveries to our Kennett Square warehouse and create great, original product, they’ll be good partners for Calico. We’ve always had close vendor relationships.”

Jessup also pointed out that prints are trending upward.

“Many of the design trends work well with print capabilities whether it’s watercolor impressionist design or Ikat looks that are expensive as jacquards, but less expensive as a print,” she stated. She sees prints in the place of complicated jacquard designs. “We always look for a good mix.”

“We always offer our customers a well edited collection in store which saves them from having

Jan Jessup to look at 30,000 samples,” she added. Jessup is planning to offer Calico stores a large display this fall with the ability of the regional managers to offer a variation of product in each market. “We will change the selection a few times during the year and look forward to inspiring our customers with more choices than ever before.”

F&FI

Renzo Brings Licensing Deals to Scalamandré Wants finished products to round out venerable firm’s product offerings Sipco News Network

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EW YORK—Scalamandré, the uptown jobber known worldwide for its printed fabrics since 1929, is breathing new life into its business through the licensing of finished products under the leadership of Louis Renzo, Owner/Chairman, and Steven Stolman, President.

On May 1, Scalamandré moved from its flagship showroom on Third Avenue to a leased space at Stark Carpet where it will have 2,500 square feet. Contrary to what many might think, Renzo said that Scalamandré never owned the freestanding building it called home.

Renzo is acting as his own licensing agent and is actively looking for other licensing deals where he can leverage his intellectual assets, a legendary design archive and brand. “I am told we have the best iconic prints in the business and a design archive filled with history.”

So far, Eastern Accents, the Chicago bedding manufacturer has launched the Scalamandré bedding line. Lenox China has produced a special Scalamandré china line featuring the Scalamandré trademarked Zebra logo that was originally developed for Gino’s, the famous New

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York restaurant which featured zebra wallpaper designed by Scalamandré. If Renzo has his way, more finished home products will be licensed with the Scalamandré brand. “Think Zebra, think Scalamandré,” Renzo said.

“At its high point, Scalamandré generated $50 million in sales in 2,000 and I think we can do better than that by putting the Scalamandré Zebra logo on everybody’s shirt,” he said. “Scalamandré should be a household name in finished goods.

Renzo bought the venerable fabric house in 2009 and looked for management help in the form of Stolman who joined in 2011; Stefan Lasek, as sales manager and Albert Sardelli as chief designer. Sardelli and Renzo attended Proposte together this year looking for “jewels,” Renzo said. Scalamandré buys 30 percent of its line from Italy; 30 percent from France and the rest from the USA. Renzo has no formal training in textiles or design. In fact, he’s the first to proudly say his education started on the streets of Brooklyn with a high school degree from Midwood High School and the rest is history.

Before his accountant told him

about Scalamandré, Renzo had a series of successful companies including a 24 hour checks cashing service with 32 outlets and the fifth largest armored car service in the USA. He sold both companies successfully. He likes two things, work and golf. He admits to a 14 handicapped but lately, he doesn’t have the time he needs to bring that handicap down a few strokes.

But nothing he did prepared him well enough for Scalamandré’s turnaround.

He’s already invested well into seven figures getting it up and running after he purchased the note from a bank and took it out of bankruptcy from the third generation owners, the Bitter family.

Stolman is a respected designer himself with previous positions held at top fashion houses like Valentino Studio, Pauline Trigere and Albert Nipon. In 1993, helped revive the Lilly Pulitzer label and now he’s turning his attention to doing the same thing for Scalamandré.

Recently, Renzo brought one of his two sons into the business, 27 year old Louis N (Nicholas) in a sales capacity to insure Scalamandré’s future continuity in the Renzo family. Renzo wants to keep the business going and

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has no plans to sell it. He doesn’t know the meaning of quit and is intent in making Scalamandré on top of its game once again. F&FI Scalamandré Logo on Plate Pictured on front cover: Lou Renzo CEO and Steven Stolman, President of Scalamandré

Harvey Chain in New Zealand at Annual Charity Fishing Day Organized by Brett and Sandra Fleetwood

Sofia Haythorn, buyer for Harvey Furnishings retail chain

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F FI D E S I G N

Happy Evolutions

From the runways of Paris to the walls of Heimtextil to the floors at Domotex, these are just a few of the places the Trendease Team has seen a growing number of decorative objects adorning studs. This trend extends beyond the punk rockers of earlier days to now embrace a much broader crowd. The color combinations, patterns, and materials dictate the audience.

By Jennifer Castoldi

The Trendease Team has been hitting the international trade shows non-stop to bring you the latest movements and design directions in home fashion from around the world. Walls, floors, beds, sofas, lighting, fabrics and leathers never looked so good.

Whether aesthetically pleasing or technologically revolutionary, these tidbits are worth a read.

Studded rug from Papilio For example, Papilio’s rug targets a younger market whereas ATT Wallpaper, with its toned down colors and sophisticated patterns, appeals to an older group. By playing with materials, such as a clear stud over a metallic one, and application (think glue rather than piercing), an entire new world of opportunity for design opens up.

Wallpaper from ATT WALLPAPER

Lighting by Mieko Levy From parrots to cranes to peacocks, designers are inspired by our feathered friends. During our recent patrolling of trade shows around the world we found the fowls on wallpaper, cushions and decorative pillows, bedding, and even perched on ceramic housewares and accessories.

Trim on the lights. Mieko Levy took inspiration from traditional Japanese lanterns for her collection of three table lights titled “Noiré”. She wanted to experiment with Moiré effects while using black textured rubber bands. Moiré patterns come to be by the interference between two sets of fine pattern grids, resulting in a type of hypnotic effect. “The bands have remarkable physical and aesthetic qualities in terms of strength, flexibility and texture. To experience these qualities, I needed a rigid structure on which these bands could wrap and stretch,” shares Levy, “Thanks to its elastic properties, the bands can adapt to all possible forms, from the simplest to the most complex.”

Decorative pillows from Artgerecht Wohnen

Delirious Nature from Le Cuir à Paris’

Chameleon leather from JOAO CARVALHO

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Wallcovering from Élitis

Discover one of the trends for Spring-Summer 2014 at Le Cuir à Paris’, the international trade show for cutting-edge leather/fur trends and materials: Turbulences - Delirious Nature.

Color Range: Elusive and glacial, colors are all on acid.

Spirit of Materials: Windbreaker fabrics, shape memory.

Key Words: Mixture of fibers. Mixture of materials.

Aspects-Feel: Leather paper; linen-nylon, nylon-cotton; synthetic raffia; subtle coatings.

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

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F FI D E S I G N

Textile designs by Mae Engelgeer Color forecasters around the world have been noting the return of color into our lives. Proof is found by observing the fashion runways, new talent, contract and residential markets, as well as some innovative materials boasting brightness.

Neon colors (fluorescents) act as strong accent colors for the latest collections shedding a new luminescence on design.

Seating by Japan Handmade

Lounge of Layers by Katrin Greiling for Droog

While neon and florescent colors are undoubtedly popular, at the recent Milan Design Week the Trendease Team noticed yellow as having some extra pop this year. Mostly coupled with grey, black, or white, it was also seen mingling with deep purples and blues.

Philips with Kvadrat Soft Cells Philips and Kvadrat Soft Cells make textiles technical. The Soft Cells are patented, tactile panels on an aluminum frame, with a hidden tensioning device that ensures that the surface of the fabric is perfectly stretched. The panels allow architects, interior designers, and decorators to create an aesthetically pleasing environment with superior acoustic properties. Even more design flexibility is added with the integration of Philips LED lighting solutions that give 100% freedom to content creation.

The Trendease Team attended PV Pluriel in Paris and we thoroughly enjoyed walking the floor of Première Vision to scope out the fabrics, materials, and fresh innovations for 2014. One of the big directions highlighted there was VOLUPTUOUS MUTATIONS. The movement is all about, “Discovering curious hybrids of sport and glamour, of synthetics and naturals. Being carried away by the sensuality of handles to envelop, shape or skim Voluptuous Mutations at Première Vision the body.”

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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 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.

Jennifer Castoldi, Trendease

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F FI NE W S

Marcus William Brand Helps Stout’s Second Run at High End Fabric Market Greenawalt Sees Substantial Growth from New Brand Sipco News Network

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OLMAR, Pennsylvania — The Stout Group has released its new high end brand named ‘Marcus William.’

“We expect Marcus William to add 20% growth over the next five years,” said John Greenawalt, one of the fourth generation family managers of the firm. “Stout doesn’t have personnel titles but if you need one then I am in charge of web development and branding/ marketing ,” he said.

“Because we now have two different brands, we will incorporate both Stout Textiles and Marcus William under The Stout Group. Stout Textiles will still be the bulk of our product offering with Marcus William being geared exclusively towards the high end.

“Business overall has been increasing year over year and we’ve made an extraordinary recovery after our fire in July of 2011. We have been in our new offices for about a year now and feel that the fire is all in the past.

We are looking towards the future with our new brand of Marcus William fabrics.”

Marcus William’s first collection is called Intrigue, an eclectic mix of Scandinavian inspired design and contemporary geometrics. A textured cotton blend provides the base cloth for the embroideries and coordinated solids.

Marcus William will be an addition to Stout’s current line of The Art Of Color ®, available through showrooms and designers, according to Greenawalt. Additional collections will be released in the near future, he said.

Marcus William can be seen at www.marcuswilliam.com.

The suggested retail price range is $80/yard for the solids and $200/yard for the embroideries.

There are 37 total sku’s in this collection; 14 solids and the rest embroideries. All of these goods are made in India from a dozen different mills, purchased by Stout from third parties based in the USA, but designed by a team of UK based designers. Most likely future collections will be prints and velvets all styled with a European look and feel, Greenawalt said.

Pillows (top to bottom, left to right): Ecoleaf 1 Petal, Clifton 1 Rose, Clifton 5 Juniper, Brussels 1 Strawberry, Clifton 2 Coffee, Haviland 1 Blossom, Clifton 3 Cherry

Marcus William, classic and modern designs for the home.

The Stout Group has released a new brand of high end exclusive home fabrics. Marcus William will make its début with the collection Intrigue, an eclectic mix of Scandinavian inspired imagery and contemporary geometrics. A textured cotton blend provides the base cloth for the embroideries and vibrant coordinating solids helps create depth and layering.

(continued on page 23)

Ecoleaf 1 Petal

Curtains: Avignon 1 Petal Sofa: Clifton 1 Rose Pillows (from left to right): Haviland 1 Blossom, Clifton 1 Rose, Haviland 1 Blossom, Clifton 2 Coffee, Brussels 1 Strawberry.

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Marcus William will be a valuable addition to Stout’s current line of The Art Of Color ®, available through showrooms and designers. Additional collections will be released in the near future. Marcus William can be seen at www.marcuswilliam.com.

Curtains: Haviland 4 Melon Pillows (from left to right): Ecoleaf 4 Mango, Avignon 3 Melon, Brussels 4 Marmelade, Clifton 6 Chocolate, Clifton 9 Bluebird.

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Fabric Rolls (from left to right) Avignon 3 Melon, Haviland 4 Melon, Ecoleaf 4 Mango, Brussels 4 Marmelade

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F FI NE W S

Mel Letchinger, Textiles Pioneer, Family Centerpiece, Passes On Sipco News Network

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HICAGO, Illinios — Mel Letchinger, considered by many to be one of the truly great textile importing pioneers, passed away February 4 after a year’s bout with cancer. Mel was born November 20th 1928. He would have been 85 this fall.

According to his wife Mimi, Mel Letchinger’s lifetime career in the home textile fabric business industry began by accident and as a result of contracting Malaria during his service in the US Army stationed in Korea. When he was separated from the service in 1953, he was told that the only thing that disease prevented him from doing was working in a greenhouse; and that was exactly what he’d been educated for with a degree in Floriculture from the University of Illinois.

Through the intersession of a family friend who was in the fabric business, Mel was introduced to and hired to serve as a ‘trainee’ in the Chicago office of Cohn Hall & Marx. After a year or so of folding samples and nurturing customers, he was assigned his first territory: Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia. Finding that territory very unpromising for himself and his young family, he sought another position.

He found that work at Tempo Fabrics and over several years in the 1960’s helped that Chicagobased jobber grow to become a national player by establishing showrooms and sales personnel in several US cities.

In 1971 he was invited to join the firm of Decorator Industries,

a ‘made-tom e a s u r e ’ d r a p e r y manufacturer based in Pittsburgh.

Again, he helped that company grow though his knowledge of the key national buyers. In the late 1970’s he returned to Chicago Mel Letchinger representing Covington Fabrics and several other converters.

In 1975, Mel Teamed up with partner Harold Purcell and launched Purcell & Letchinger.

“We persevered and travelled and sold hard in separate directions,” remembers Harold Purcell who is now retired and living in Chicago. “We brought new fresh product to the market, all before the single Euro currency. We landed products in a USA warehouse, freight and duty inclusive, and translated the currencies. We established showrooms and an advertising concept. Purcell & Letchinger became the sales pioneers of a totally fresh concept. Mel and I became wondeful partners which lasted many years with fond memories.”

While developing the international scope of P&L, Mel became a friend and an admired colleague of the overseas mill

Zack Taylor Leaves Valdese, Now Wesley Hall President Sipco News Network

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ICKORY, North Carolina — Zack Taylor, former senior vice president, sales and marketing for Valdese Weavers Inc., has been named president of Wesley Hall, an upper end North Carolina upholstery producer.

Taylor was with Valdese Weavers for 20 years and was highly regarded by his peers. In his new post, he follows Eddie Deal, who has been elevated to chairman and CEO. In his role as president, Taylor will have an equity position in Wesley Hall according to Deal.

F&FI

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Zack Taylor

owners and executives his firm represented. One of his former business associates, who upon hearing of Mel’s death in early February wrote to his family: “Mel’s vitality, enthusiasm and warmth was contagious; he had a great talent for being able to talk to all kinds of people which surely contributed to his success”.

In terms of our industry, Ellen Letchinger, Mel’s daughter, said “he worked for Cohen Hall Marx, Tempo, Decorator Industries and then became a sales agent in mid life. Along with Harold Purcell, Mel forged the business P&L. After they sold it dad stayed busy up until he got sick last year. He was a very positive person. He left the textile industry on a high note. After that he worked in the lawn and garden market for a family business and finally did a great deal of volunteering with inner city grade school children which he really loved and also volunteered at Northwestern Hospital here in Chicago.”

“Personally I think I was one lucky girl to have had him for a dad. My two brothers I know feel the same. He really was a happy gentle man. My dad sure had great fun in this industry that is for sure! Both my parents grew up on the South Side of Chicago and remained city dwellers to this day. Family, friends, travel, golf, cards with the guys, Temple, his home in Wisconsin and work were all equally important parts of dad’s life.”

Mel left behind his wife Mimi who fondly remembers her husband as “the joyous centerpiece of our lives,” his daughter Ellen and his two sons, Richard and Michael Letchinger.

The sons are both married and each has two children.

F&FI

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F FI NE W S (Continued from Cover)

Keystone Weaving Is America’s Latest Textile Success Story

Keystone Team (top left) Sloan Caplan, CEO & President; Tara Mayer, designer; Ray McKinnon, sales and marketing director; Rob Schlein, QC manager; Scott McLaughlin, vice president, operations; (Bottom row left) Cindie Smolock, customer service manager; Rebecca Keen, designer; Kirsten Steigelman, design director and Regina Burkholder, designer. greater flexibility in dealing with customers, said Caplan.

Keystone focuses on cotton for half of its production and the balance is woven in linen and wool in price points of $8-$17 a yard with some very competitive fabrics in the $5-$7 range. Keystone is mostly a yarn dyed house with some piece dyed qualities. Aspect, a poly/cotton blend at $7.50, is a quick ship program in 16 colors for delivery in two to four days. Everything else is woven to order in two to four weeks. Minimum order is 50 yards with custom colors possible for 600 yards. Keystone is beginning to make extensive use of its sample warping machine purchased three years ago. This frees up its 16 Dornier looms with Bonas heads.

For Showtime, Keystone has divided its 80 new products into four ‘restaurant’ groupings: Gastro Pub, Modern Cuisine, Ethnic Group and Comfort Food in addition to some recolored successes like Carmel at $5.95; Summer and Pebble Beach at $9.95, the three top sellers for the company today. Matelasses are found in each group.

Cotton, recycled cotton, linens and wools are Carmel, Summer and Pebble Beach are the the fibers of choice. three top sellers for Keystone Weaving Yarns are purchased customers, burned by poor quality and missed shipping dates from Chinese suppliers have turned back to American resources.

Keystone has certainly benefited by this trend.

“We were within fifty cents a yard of the Chinese price on some goods,” said Bob McKinnon, a consultant to Keystone. He works closely with Sloan Caplan, CEO & President of this fourth generation family owned mill and also Scott McLaughlin, vice president of operations with 16 years at Mastercraft behind him.”

McKinnon and McLaughlin have changed the culture of the mill from long runs of commodity products to short runs of a highly diverse novelty product range with many customers as opposed to the few that used to buy the linings. “We’re very critical about the people we bring on board. We want to develop uniqueness as a supplier,” McKinnon stressed. A new computer system was also part of the changeover to bring

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outside as well as the finishing which features extensive use of washed fabrics. All finishing is done in Hickory, NC by American Custom Finishing.

Keystone is now proud to count among its most important customers companies like Century, Henredon and McCreary Modern. Keystone is being perceived as a viable local Made in the USA resource to American customers, right up there with Valdese and Sunbury in a natural fabric niche.

“Keystone did this by giving the customer what it wants when it wants it; with no excuses,” says Bob McKinnon, veteran fabric man and consultant to Keystone these last four years. The one time president of Valdese, when it was doing less than $4 million in business is trying to do the same magic again with Keystone.

The hope is that Keystone will eventually generate $50 million in sales within five years, says Sloan Caplan.

To help realize the sales potential, Keystone has hired four fulltime direct salesmen with Rueben Lentz in New York; Robin Starnes and Ray McKinnon in North Carolina and Ralph Skinner in Mississippi.

A team led by Sloan Caplan, did the changeover from weaving commodity apparel fabric linings sold through converters to a natural fiber upholstery house. This team includes Ray

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McKinnon, sales and marketing director and Kristan Steigelmann, design director. Ray came to the job with an extensive background in the upholstery industry as an import agent and designer.

Kristan came to Keystone from New Hope Mills, Mercer Mills and Absecon. She brought along her colleague Rebecca Keen and two other design team hires in Regina Burkholder and Tara Mayer. All are graduates of Philadelphia University. The four man design team works out of a newly designed studio at the mill put together by Ray McKinnon who just unveiled Keystone’s new showroom at Lebanon headquarters. The new space seeks to build upon its recently expanded 2,000 square foot High Point Textile Tower showroom, the old Craftex space.

“The customers who have been through Lebanon are taking pictures of what we have done,” Ray said. She calls it “a walk down Fashion Avenue.”

“If we can get the customer in

the door, they’re going to leave with something under their arm,” Bob McKinnon explains. He must be correct because Keystone had a 300 percent sales increase in December 2012 and the first quarter 2013 is up 25 percent, he says. “We’re working with retailers for the last 18 months which has led to one catalog placement with a major house in a collection of sofas and chairs.

Our goods are moving at retail,” he says. ”We’re in a position to expand in meaningful ways with the customer who now has confidence in Keystone.”

Keystone’s successful catharsis is no accident. The fourth generation ownership is supported by Eli Caplan, Sloan’s dad, and Eli’s brother Perry who recognized the need to change five years ago due to the flagging apparel fabric business. Keystone had already survived a devastating fire in 1997 after coming through the Great Depression, World War II, and several other recessions.

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Crypton® Names Keziah President Sipco News Network

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Bloomfield, Michigan — Lance Keziah has been named President of Crypton, according to Randy Rubin, Co-Chairman of Crypton.

As before, Keziah will continue to report to the Rubin’s.

Keziah, who started with Crypton in 2005, has been primarily focused on the company’s development of licensed mills, distributors, new product development and growing Crypton business in non-traditional markets.

He also has led the sales efforts under Craig Rubin, Co-Chairman of Crypton.

“Lance’s enthusiasm, hard work, inventiveness and vision truly personify the spirit of Crypton,” said Randy Rubin.

“Our business is rapidly expanding, both internationally and in new product segments.

As we have continued to grow our company.”

Prior to joining Crypton, Keziah was affiliated with Collins & Aikman where he specialized in the automotive est

Lance Keziah sector. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Lenoir-Rhynne University with a BA in Business Administration with a concentration on International Marketing.

Keziah resides in Birmingham, Michigan with his wife and three children.

In 2013, Crypton celebrates 20 years in the healthcare, hospitality, education, government, residential and other global industry segments.

During this time, in excess of 100 million yards of Crypton have been installed worldwide Randy Rubin said.

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F FI NE W S (continued from page 4)

Chinese silk and an Army Prayer Shawl his dad’s involvement in fabric creation and selections at their Gaithersburg headquarters. Yet, textiles are but one dimension of the Jack Hurwitz portrait.

In the 1920s, the director of nine-yearold Yakov Hurwitz’s Hebrew school “discovered” the young student’s distinctive singing voice. This educator “found a place for me in the cantorial world,” relates Jack, “and I was a child cantor by the age of 13.” From this remarkable background, further enhanced by his participation in professional choirs of cantors arriving from Europe for training, Jack advanced his formal education, first at Boston’s Hebrew High School and then at Boston H e b r e w College. He hoped to build a career within the American J e w i s h community.

W W I I altered his d e s t i n y .

Enlisting in WWII in the Army the day after FDR’s Pearl Harbor speech, Jack left his leadership position at a Massachusetts synagogue and was assigned to the Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Within weeks, he was appointed assistant chaplain for Jewish servicemen under the Army’s chief chaplain. At the first Shabbat service, he met his future wife Ruth, then secretary of the Jewish Welfare Board, Baltimore Division. She was essential in helping obtain supplies needed for religious services, and for Jack, “It was love at first sight,” he says, holding her portrait. In 1943, Jack served in India as theater chaplain for Jewish troops assigned to work on construction of the Lido Road, a convoy route from India through Burma and into China. Over a thousand

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Second generation management has bold plans for expansion Sipco News Network

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Donald Hurwitz Americans died in this effort.

After every Jewish funeral, Jack clipped a fringe from his official tallit, a simple prayer

It’s hard to believe Jack Hurwitz just celebrated his 93rd birthday.

He converses with the verve of a man half his age.

Summer 2013

Surya Rugs Sets Sights On Broader Home Furnishings Product Lines TLANTA, Georgia — Surya forecasts a $300-$400 million home furnishings business in the next ten years built around its prolific hand knotted and machine made rug line of 25,000 items according to Satya Tiwari, second generation leader of this growing family business now in the $75 million sales range.

Surya is looking to other products including lighting, table accessories as well as pillows and wall decor including hand painted giclee for further business. Satya has recently appointed Jay Dash International to represent his lines in the hotel industry and now is looking for overseas distributors in Brazil, China and Russia.

Satya’s dad, Surya Tiwari started business in 1976 in the Varanasi district in the northern section of India where it remains today. Surya continues to run

the manufacturing end of the business based in India while his son, Satya works out of the 500,000 square foot Atlanta office and warehouse. Everything is stocked for quick shipment in the USA and Canada and Mexico as opposed to custom made product which takes up to five months for delivery, Satya explains. “There is so much opportunity in America but it is very competitive,” Satya says. “The barrier to entry in the US rugs business is very low,” he adds.

In addition to Indian hand knotted rugs, Surya is also producing machine made rugs in Egypt and Turkey. Price points start at $200 for a polypropylene rug and travel upwards to an all New Zealand wool hand knotted rug and further upwards to $10,000 for an all silk hand knotted rug. A catalog the size of a phonebook is given to each of the 5,000 U.S accounts now doing business with Surya and

Satya Surya everything is off the shelf--not custom. There is also an on-line version of the catalog.

“We sell direct to the retailer, especially to furniture retailers which along with designer showrooms, is a growth segment of our business,” Satya explains.

Lighting and fabric stores are also carrying Surya products. (continued on page 24)

shawl marked with Army insignias, to mail with the condolence letter sent to the soldier’s parents. Overcome by memories, Jack unfolds the Army tallit with its missing fringes. “I tried to do some good things in my life,” he says, eyes filling with tears.

This tale of a treasured tallit with missing fringes strikes a chord for anyone drawn to Jewish history and values.

Now comfortably settled into his new home at Landow House, Jack has returned to his cantorial roots, davening at Shabbat and Jewish holiday services on campus.

And, when the voice of this big-hearted gentleman rings forth, he enriches our lives, much as he has throughout his long and meaningful lifetime.

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F FI NE W S

Bharat To Open Sixth Fabrics Store in Gujarat, Praises Local Mills For Revolutionizing Business Sipco News Network

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UMBAI, India — Bharat fabrics is planning its sixth store to pen in Gujarat in

up there with Jagdish (number one), south of New Delhi and Floor & Furnishings a distant third but closing the sales gap fast

Brothers Kunal and Sandeep Gandhi with uncle Dilip (center)

September.

With five stores in India and one more to come this year, Bharat Furnishings is one of the top two fabric sellers in India today, right

under the watchful eye of Makul Khanderval. Bharat’s business was flat last year but is up about five percent in 2013 so far according to Sandeep Ghandi, one of the

three principals.

Bharat is managed by two brothers Kunal and Sandeep Gandhi and their uncle Dilip Ghandi. They attend Heimtextil, Evteks and will go to China for the first time though they are not keen on China, except to purchase lower end ranges in up to $10 a meter with 40 percent duty.

The company started in 1971 and is in its third generation in the same family. “Mumbai is tight on space with 120 million people living here.

Lack of space makes it difficult to display the fabrics properly,” says Sandeep.

The Mumbai store is 4,000 square feet including the basement and ground floor.

“There’s just no room when you consider we have 60-70 lines on display,” Sandeep explains.

More often now, Bharat depends on sales through catalogs supplied by major wholesalers like D’Decor.”There has been a revolution in India these past few years. The mills became (continued on next page)

Tissat Deslee Discontinues Operations Sipco News Network

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est-Vlaanderen, Belgium — TissatDeslee Interior Fabrics has discontinued operations.

Deslee took over Tissat April 19 and stopped production of curtain and drapery fabrics.

Deslee previously discontinued production of upholstery fabrics several months ago but continues to produce mattress ticking fabrics. Thirty people were fired as part of the change.

Four years ago Deslee took over Tissage Versari and 18 months ago took over Tissat and then formed the curtain product group.

Tissat International was a well known producer of upholstery and curtain fabrics.

Besides its own production unit, the

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company also imported fabrics from the Far East.

Deslee Interior is the division of decoration fabrics belonging to the world wide group of DesleeClama. DesleeClama is one of the world players in woven and knitted mattress fabrics with production in Belgium, Romania, Indonesia, US, Brazil and South Africa!

The company operated under the name of TissatDeslee Interior Fabrics.

Both companies, Tissat and DesleeClama will had 50% shares in the company.

Rik Buyse was responsible for daily management. Henk Dedecker of Deslee Interior was responsible for decoration fabrics while Nico Depoorter (Tissat) was responsible for upholstery fabrics. Plans of these three managers are not known at this time.

F&FI

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Valdese Weavers Promotes Key Executives Walters, Brown and Earles Sipco News Network

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aldese, North Carolina — Valdese Weavers has announced the promotion of three key executives.

Senior Vice President / Chief Marketing Officer Blake said in his announcement that “the advancement of Bob Walters, Leslie Brown, and Jason Earles to more senior positions will have a direct and positive impact on the future growth and development of Valdese Weavers.” Walters, Bob Walters Brown, and Earles will report to Millinor.

Bob Walters will become Senior Vice President of Customer Relations, having served as Vice President since 2008 when he joined the company. Previously, Walters enjoyed a 25 year career in the residential furniture industry, rising to the position of President with Thomasville Upholstery.

“Bob’s vast knowledge and experience in enhancing customer satisfaction has helped Valdese Weavers bridge Leslie Brown the gap between sales and manufacturing, and will continue to help the company grow and provide customers with superior products and service,” said Millinor.

In his new position, Bob will be responsible for all customer service functions to both the residential and contract markets, and work directly with customers to develop and manage individualized fulfillment models, according to Millinor.

Leslie Brown will become Director of Sales and Marketing for Valdese Weavers residential Jason Earles brands. Brown brings over 20 years of experience in the residential market, most recently the company. Earles has been as a sales representative for the in various sales functions since joining the company in 2007, company’s Circa 1801 brand.

“Leslie’s background and most recently holding the experience is perfectly suited to position of National Accounts provide leadership and support Manager.

“Jason’s unique skill set has for our selling efforts across our residential brands” said Millinor. significantly contributed to the “In her new position she will direction and effectiveness of be responsible for guiding sales the sales process to commercial and marketing to the more furniture manufacturers, from decorative segments of our product and design all the way residential account base, and through to retail. Through Jason’s will act as a liaison between leadership, Valdese Weavers the Valdese Weavers sales and intends to extend the company’s reach into this portion of the design teams.”

Jason Earles will become textile and furniture market,” F&FI Director of Sales and Marketing said Millinor. for Valdese Weavers with emphasis on commercial and residential markets served by

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F FI NE W S (continued from previous page)

Bharat To Open Sixth Fabrics Store in Gujarat their own wholesalers and the traditional wholesalers were forced to focus on other distribution businesses once they were forced to leave the fabrics trade,” Sandeep explains.

“All of the mills do cut length business.”

Everything changed when cotton became too expensive for Bharat to handle and it was also not that durable compared to polyester,” he says. “ The top four mills here are D’Decor, Dicitex Furnishings, GM Fabrics and GM Syntex. Ajay Arora and Rajjnish Aroraa, principals of D’Decor and Dicitex Furnishings respectively, have created a revolution in the fabrics industry in the last four years,” Sandeep says. “GM Fabrics and GM Syntex have followed in their footsteps by hiring western designers to produce their lines. Dalbir Singh has changed the entire story of GM Syntex with ‘Pure’ brand in the past three years,” he adds. “The GM Syntex catalog is excellent for Bharat.”

“Our 12 books from Bru Textiles (Belgian converter) are selling well in Mumbai,” Sandeep points out. Some of these products are three years old and are still selling well

Bharat Furnishings Fabrics is the second largest fabric retailer in India after Jagdish stores in Delhi. Space is hard to find in Mumbai and proper presentation is difficult.

India — This is one of the 12 books produced for Bharat Furnishings by Bru Textiles Furnishings the mega converter based in Kontich, Belgium. Bharat says the goods keep selling even after three years. The book shown here has 133 samples, mostly color coordinated solids and textures. The books are distributed by D’Décor wholesale division of D’Décor Mills, which has taken over the wholesaling function in India in addition to its manufacturing division. D’Décor is now the largest home fabrics mill in the world with $200 million in sales and still growing.

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here. Everyone now imports their own designs in India. These are dropped shipped to us for immediate delivery.” Sandeep says he recently ordered cut length goods from Kobe (Holland) and wide width curtaining fabrics from Evimteks (Turkey) as well as Nya Nordiska (Germany) for his cut length business. Bharat does some business with Zimmer + Rohde but it is a small part of the overall business.

“Our contract business is growing faster than residential,” Sandeep continues. We develop contract fabrics in India for 300 rupees a meter. That’s about $6.00!

While there is a burgeoning hotel business in India, the fabrics are not that well developed in relation to fire codes. Still, hospitality purchasing groups working for major chains like Marriott in India are ordering better goods for contract.

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Moretti

Tulipwood

Innovation and creativity have always been our credo... and our new offerings is but a testament to this.

D’Decor introduces 8 refreshing, co-ordinated color concepts, designed to give your homes a touch of magic. Co-create coordinated collections across a wide range of technologies, combining lush velvets, high density jacquards, fascinating plains, enchanting digital prints and intricately embroidered fabric in every imaginable color. Welcome to a world of home furnishing, beyond the technology horizon, where imagination is closer than ever to reality.

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Sherri Donghia Thrives On the Design Edge, Travels the World, Looking for Textiles Donghia Resumes Design Consultancy With Glen Raven, RISD, U.S. Color Association Clients Sipco News Network

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EW YORK, New York — Sherri Donghia turned up at a Sunbury party this spring after missing the pages of Fabrics & Furnishings International since 2007.

That was about the time she left her job as President of Donghia Inc., established by Angelo, her first cousin. Donghia is now owned by the Rubelli Group.

When she left, she merely continued her design consultancy, something she established before working for Donghia. “I have a

great passion for working with the students in art, design and fashion. I’ve collaborated with different schools in my work, especially the Rhode Island School of Design where I have been a trustee since 2008,” she told F&FI. (RISD has just been selected as the best art and design school in the world, by the way.)

“Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) needs to add Art & Design for STEAM,” she said.

“The thinkers of tomorrow need to have more art and design in their lives.

That’s why m e d i c a l students are starting to take sculpture classes as part of their training.”

Donghia

Photo from Udaipur in Rajasthan, India - “the land of the kings” also cannot resist traveling with her husband, Roger Eulau and here she gravitates towards textiles around the world of course whether she’s in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, called ‘the land of the kings,’ or in Oaxaca, Mexico or Cuzco, Peru.

Eulau is a Real Estate executive with a passion for photography. “I consider myself an amateur photo journalist but have been (continued on page 25)

The Karen tribe - the Golden Triangle - Border of Myamar & Thailand - weaving

Cuzco to Machu Picchu - the Pisco market

Oaxaca, Mexico - The market

Cover of the ArtistRebelDandy RISD sponsorship package

David Bowie Fabric Collection David Bowie is the subject of an exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Bowie is 66 and has just come out with an album. His musical skill always blended with his ability to market himself to a wide audience. He painted, played guitar, wrote his own music and made movies. Remember Major Tom? That followed landing on the moon; big hit. I can’t stop singing ‘ground control to Major Tom. He wore outlandish costumes and androgynous make-up; leading edge textiles were used in his outlandish clothes for cross dressing.

What’s next from this British icon–maybe a fabric collection.

He knows how to seize the moment in terms of pop culture and current events, milking both for all they’re worth.

—Eric Schneider

Pisco, Peru

All photos by Roger Eulau. Pictured on front cover: Sherri Donghia & Friends - Udaipur 18

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Comeback Kid Covington Launches 200 Color Digital Heirloom Prints at Showtime

Tarver Logs best quarter in company’s five year history under Kahan and Rifkin families Sipco News Network

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EW YORK, New York— Covington Fabric & Design LLC is among the first to offer higher end 200 color digital prints in its Heirloom line at Showtime featuring its own designs just in time for the continued uptick in the print business.

Covington Classics with reinterpreted archival prints and Simply Covington with a geometric component are the two collections being shown at Showtime in June.

The digital portion of the print collection follows President & CEO’s Greg Tarver’s strategy to utilize the latest technology in Covington’s business plan, a plan that has already earned the company the title of “the

comeback kid.” “Digital printing is becoming more of a force and it won’t be a mistake not to push it forward,” Tarver said.

“We’ve taken digital printing to the converter tier and that means very aggressive pricing.”

After being down for several years, the new ownership has turned the veteran converter around. In fact, Covington just celebrated its best first quarter since new ownership bought it in 2008 according to Tarver who has been running the business since 2011 for the owners. “They have provided me with a lot of latitude to try new things. “We’re one third ahead of our aggressive business plan this year,” Tarver explained gleefully. He has spent more than three decades in the textile industry, most recently as President of the Robert Allen

Covington Digital Fabrics

Group and before that, with WestPoint Stevens.

“The business is coming from all areas but if I had to rank the increase by segment it would be contract first, followed by chain, jobber, furniture manufacturer, soft line manufacturers retail and export,” he said in addition to the new digital collection from Heirloom. He’s building on Covington’s strengths, especially in its extensive design archive for newly colored prints.

Simply Covington will feature transitional prints at Showtime.

Special 55/45 linen and viscose prints cloths will be the base cloth for the digital collection.

“The cost parity of digital printing versus conventional printing has become more compelling each year when you consider the cost of screens and printing leadtime,” Tarver remarked.” The minimum order is 50 yards for the digital collection, he said.

Covington Industries was purchased by The Kahan and Rifkin families when it was believed to be a nonprofit organization and though private, it is understood that Covington is now profitable again but nobody would confirm this if you asked them, Tarver agreed. Mark Kahan, Chairman, told F&FI

Fidertessile Prospers With All in The Family Management

“the Covington brand has been around for over 70 years and throughout that time has built a great reputation. While the company experienced challenges after the Gilmore’s sold it, we believed in the brand and saw an opportunity to help bring it back.”

The turnaround has been led by more attention being paid to the contract trade, Tarver said, under the leadership of Craig Shirk, Vice President of Contract Sales and with the company since the 80’s. Tarver said that Shirk has instituted a consistent sales and new product effort and new colorations in the line. Under Shirk, Covington has doubled its contract sales force, Tarver said. “Contract was left to wither on the vine so it needed someone like Craig to pay attention to it and make it grow again,” Tarver explained.

This division has also seen what Tarver calls “phenomenal results” in new sheers and blackout linings. Covington sells direct to the contract market with new product brought out every four months, Tarver said.

In residential sales, Covington has seen interest in lifestyle marketing of its lines in three themes: Country/Southern

Living and Menswear. “The customer knows what to expect from us and so does our sales force. Covington’s recently introduced outdoor fabric collection was considered to be the best received new program in 20 years according to veteran Covington salesmen. The line is made on a polyester warp with a solution dyed polypropylene weft, Tarver said and made in North America.

The other area of growth for the company has been in China where Covington Trading Company was established in 2009. “We’re able to do business in RMB for China to China selling,” Tarver explained, for our furniture and pillow programs.

We’re also making some sales to the domestic China market.”

Covington has reduced the number of mills it works within China in order to produce comparable quality to what is made in the USA. Most of what Covington sells today is delivered from stock within two days of receipt of order from its Calhoun Falls, SC warehouse, Tarver said.

“Of course, some large container orders are drop shipped directly to the customer from China, which is an increasing part of our business,” he added.

F&FI

Gritti Palace Renewed Starwood Luxury Hotel

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OMO, Italy — Fidertessile, based in Agliana, Italy is holding its own compared to many mills in Italy according to Letizia Colligiani during Proposte.

The 30 person company is run by a third generation of family Board Members who are all women and proud of it! Fidertessile was founded by grandfather Pinzi in 1960.

His grand-daughter Serena is now a Board Member along with her cousins Valentina and Giovanna.

Fidertessile unveiled burnout prints on linen grounds for upholstery in one to two piece minimums. The mill works with piece dyed and yarn dyed fabrics with printed yarns. Over 60 percent of the business is in export in the eight-30 Euro range. Fidertessile features viscose, cotton and wool yarns, mostly novelty yarns designed in house but spun with outside suppliers.

The mill does contract as well as residential constructions.

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Andre Schneider, sales manager; Giovanna Colligiani, Board Member; Letizia Colligiani, Board Member and daughter of Giovanna and cousin to Serena Pinzi, Board Member; Valentina Colligani(not shown here due to being a new mother)

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This photo was taken during cocktail party on the roof terrace of the Peggy Guggenheim museum in Venice May 7. Speaking with the microphone is Paolo Lorenzoni, Director of the Gritti. On his left is Professor Philip Raylands, Director of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. In second row on the left of Lorenzoni is Alessandro Favaretto Rubelli and on the right Donghia’s creative Director Chuck Chewning.

The reason why the party started at the Guggenheim is that Peggy Guggenheim was a lover of the Gritti and one of the top suites in the totally renovated hotel is dedicated to Peggy.

The Design of the Hotel renovation is 100% by Donghia Associates, the interior design division of Donghia founded by Angelo Donghia in the early 70’s and now lead by Chuck Chewning. All of the fabrics were designed and reproduced by Rubelli under Chuck’s supervision and the furniture was designed and manufactured by Donghia.

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F FI NE W S

Contract/HospitalityNews C/HNEWS I Windows Tech Unveils Trevira®CS Anti-microbial,

Flame Retardant Curtains

By Deepak Tiwari

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UMBAI, India — Windows Tech India Pvt. Ltd. has introduced antimicrobial flame retardant

Shanu Ali

patient privacy curtains in India.

Windows Tech has been serving Indian and international healthcare sector for more than two decades.

The company came up with anti-microbial curtains to address the fact that most hospital infections are a result of infected textiles. Window Tech said the new curtains are also flame retardant. This feature was developed in association with Trevira GmbH. The curtains feature Trevira CS Bio-Active property which reduce the probability of accidents in advance and prevent flames from spreading, the company said. Trevira CS Bio-Active is said to be an inherent flame retardant

chemical technology which has been combined with an antimicrobial feature for significant germ reduction.

“Patient privacy curtains take on an important role to prevent infection in healthcare facilities,” said Shanu Ali, Marketing Manager of Windows Tech. “There is a necessity and expectation for a wide range of textile products finished with Anti-microbial /Anti-fungal and flame retardant properties.

Trivia(r)CS has excellent resistance properties in color, light and abrasion.”

These curtains also retain their effectiveness even after 100 washes, he said. They are also Oekotex 100 certified. Besides improving hygiene standards,

these have high color brilliance and fastness to light. The curtains are available in green, sky blue, sand, snow and marble.

A Trevira CS trademark satisfies all relevant international fire protection standards, according to Ali. Trevira CS Bioactive plays an important role in Anti-microbial, Flame retardant curtains contract and service textiles in rooms and buildings like hospitals been providing government which are subject to stringent and private sector healthcare fire safety regulation and industry in India with its particularly high standards of products. The international healthcare market remains its hygiene regulations.

F&FI Windows Tech India has major target.

C/HNEWS I Indian Fabrics Distribution Converts to Direct Mill Model, Squeezes Out Independent Distributors

Mill Owners Direct Reach to Retailers Leads to Fierce Market Competition as Markets Grow by Double Digits.

by Vishwanath.S

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ANGALORE, India — The Indian furnishings fabrics distribution model has changed from solely through independent distributors to direct mill sales to retailers.

The exclusive B2B model through independent distributors existed for a few decades but it had many negatives; the one positive factor was that the distributor was prompt in payment. However, feedback in terms of trends, customer likes and dislikes was difficult to obtain through the sole distributor model. This hampered production planning by the mills and was always dependent on distributors’

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limited feedback. In 2008, international markets dwindled and the time was appropriate to try the new distribution model and expand business in the domestic market. The challenge to most of the mills was their ability to keep weaving and shipping out the fabrics by healthy capacity utilization.

The need to aggressively alter and adopt a new distribution was a compelling choice. There was a need to expand distribution to more retailers. Distributors were making sample book collections as though it was their property even though it was a mix of many mill samples that were branded loosely.

D’Decor wrote a new model in the history marketing of

furnishings fabrics in India.

D’Decor formed its own company to distribute to retailers as well to promote its brand to consumers. It lined up a brand ambassador to endorse its collections in the form of top Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri, his wife. D’Decor wanted to be sure the stocking of the upholstery and curtain fabrics from retailers had consumer brand awareness at the retailing level. The awareness of the brand D’Decor through various media provided an Chirag and Amit Mehta. expanding reach to retailers as well as to the consumer. grow. Many industry observers According to reliable sources, feel that D’Decor is now the D’Decor has grown its sales by most established market leader 250 percent and continues to in the domestic market.

However, other leading manufacturers like Dicitex Furnishings chose to stick to the earlier (continued on page 22)

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C/HNews

C/HNEWS I George Returns; Valdese Weavers Announces Appointments in Management and Design for the Valdese Weavers Contract Brand Sipco News Network

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aldese, North Carolina – May 9, 2013 –Valdese Weavers announces the addition of Scott George, Fay McFetridge and Rosemary Harley to the Valdese Weavers Contract division. Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Blake Millinor notes the additions of George, McFetridge and Harley will have a critically positive impact on the future development of the contract business for the company.

Scott George has joined the

company as Vice President / Sales and Marketing of Valdese Weavers Contract. “Scott brings over 25 years of experience managing and growing textile businesses and will provide a seamless transition in providing leadership to fulfill the Valdese Weavers Contract overall growth strategy”, according to Millinor.

Scott is a graduate of the College of Charleston and joined the industry with Milliken in 1981.

Beginning in 1986 with a move to Grand Rapids, Michigan, Scott’s entire textile career has been associated with the

Scott George Contract industry through senior management positions with

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C/HNEWS I Indian Fabrics Distribution Converts to Direct Mill Model model of independent distributors but tried to further expand the network for deeper penetration into expanding markets. “We had four distributors in 2009 but subsequently expanded to 10. The results are highly encouraging and business has grown multifold ”, said Rajneesh Arora, Vice-Chairman, Dicitex Furnishings (Pvt) Ltd Mumbai.

“Adding more distributors has assisted to reach the markets better, weave more fabrics and meanwhile inventories have also increased. We have better feedback region wise and we are able to plan new designs based on demand pattern that we receive from the distributors as well as our sales staff who closely follow the changing trends in the marketplace”, he said. Dicitex Furnishings holds sales conference two times a year inviting all Indian retailers and distributors to see the latest line.

“We used to cater to over 125 plus retailers with four distributors but now we have 550 retailers attended by 10 distributors,” he added.

The challenges are plenty to the retailer including the art of proper display with severe space constraints. Real estate prices have sky rocketed, hampering retail display space at retail. Space availability will never be enough for any mills to show their range in India. However, the departure from selling rolls to cut length to sample books instead of draping fabrics has

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assisted the retailers in conserving the shelf space. “ T h e distribution dynamics have changed since 2008 and the situation is highly competitive,” said Chirag Mehta and Amit Mehta, partners Shah Rukh Khan, Brand Ambassdor DDecor ( cousins) at K.C. Fabrics, strategies are being worked out Mumbai. “We took a few days to ship the goods and will be unveiled very soon”, 10 years ago, but now we ship added the two Mehta cousins.

Recently, the government has out on the same day for even orders that are received till 5 approved a plan to implement FDI (Foreign PM”, said Chirag Mehta and 51 percent Amit Mehta, brothers at K.C. Direct Investment) in multiFabrics, Mumbai. The family brand retailing. Currently the owned business began in 1931 retail structure is coming out in textiles distribution; then from its almost nebulous stage added furnishing fabrics of G.M. and has a chance to mature Fabrics, Mumbai. K.C. Fabrics faster. “The decision would began in three states and now encourage organized retailing, distributes to all India. They are which in turn would result in not alone & have three other more centralized procurement competitive distributors, which operations, improved supply also includes their principals. chain management and reduced K.C. Fabrics has increased its involvement of middlemen sales consistently during the between producers and retailers,” last four years up to 20 percent Chairman S V Arumugam, has a year. “To keep ahead in a said. According to industry marketplace that is extremely estimates, during the next five competitive, good innovative years, the home furnishing collections and the ability to market in India is expected to procure increased shelf space for grow at eight to 12% by value to F&FI our sample books can only drive reach $6 Billion. our business further and new

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Rosemary Harley companies such as Mastercraft Contract, which Valdese Weavers acquired in 2007. Scott will be relocating to the Valdese/ Hickory area.

Fay McFetridge joins Valdese Weavers Contract as Design Director. Fay will focus on developing new products for the contract market with an emphasis on custom development. Fay brings over 20 years of experience in textiles, with an earlier stint as a designer at Valdese Weavers and

Fay McFetridge most recently as Design Manager for Cone Jacquards. “Fay is returning to Valdese Weavers to focus on the hospitality side of our contract business. Fay’s strength in construction and weave development will be a great asset to our contract design team”, according to Laura Levinson, Senior Vice President / Design and Merchandising. Fay is a graduate from the Scottish College of Textiles and currently (continued on page 24)

C/HNEWS I Herman

Miller Acquires Maharam for Substantial Premium Over Annual Sales Sipco News Network

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EELAND, Mich.- Herman Miller (NASDAQ: MLHR ), the office furniture manufacturer, is buying New York’s Maharam Fabric Corporation in an all-cash deal valued at $156 million.

Maharam is a privately owned fabric jobber, specializing in contract fabrics and trendy residential fabrics. It was founded in 1902 by Louis Maharam in New York City. Today, Maharam is a fourth-generation, family-run business. First renowned as a supplier of theatrical textiles, in the 1960s Maharam pioneered the contract textile concept, developing engineered textiles for commercial application.

In 1984, Maharam introduced Tek-Wall, the contract furniture industry’s first high-performance textile wallcovering.

Maharam had previously designed fabrics for Herman Miller. Michael and Stephen

Maharam will stay on with the company in management for the next two years, the pair said.

Herman Miller announced the purchase of the textile jobber Wednesday, April 24 and said the deal is expected to close April 29. Herman Miller CEO Brian Walker called the purchase “a natural and complementary union” and one that combines the firms’ respective “operational strengths and resources [to] provide immediate, mutual strategic leverage.”

Herman Miller is paying a significant premium to acquire Maharam. The purchase price of $156 million is nearly 1.5 times the value of Maharam’s annual sales. By way of comparison, Herman Miller’s own share price reflects only a 0.8 price-to-sales ratio. Nonetheless, Herman Miller assured investors that it expects the deal to be immediately accretive to earnings.

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Marcus William Brand Helps Stout’s Second Run at High End Fabric Market “We only have two brands, Stout Textiles and Marcus William.

Stout Textiles are priced in a retail range of $30-$100/yards with some exceptions selling for more.

Stout Textiles is rooted in traditional designs while Marcus William is more stylized and modern looking with European colors and designs. The price points not only set these two brands apart, but more importantly, Marcus William is fully exclusive whereas Stout Textiles is mainly open line product. We do have exclusive offering through Stout Textiles but not solely like Marcus William is.”

“We’ve decided to create Marcus William because we feel the product is significantly different enough from what we currently offer through Stout Textiles,” Greenawalt explained.

“We also feel that in order to maintain the integrity of our industry of selling to the trade only, we needed to get exclusive product into our showrooms and the hands of designers.”

“Because we are not the manufacturer of most of our Stout products we cannot control distribution channels. With the Marcus William line we will have that control and this product will only be available to consumers who purchase from the trade,” he said.

“Marcus William will be designed and priced to appeal to showrooms and high-end designers and because Stout Textiles is typically known for traditional moderately priced fabrics and trimmings, we felt that we needed to separate this new product and give it its own brand.”

“The Art of Color ranges from about $65-$150 retail,” Greenawalt continued. “The styles and color have been

typically traditional in nature. We have not developed much in the last few years for this line. The line did very well for us years ago while the economy was good and fell off during the downturn.

We think Marcus William will be a new exciting brand that can rejuvenate this segment of the market for us.”

“Because the look and style of Marcus William is designed for this level of clientele, we are positive it will be successful in showrooms,” Greenawalt said.

“This is also part of the reason why we wanted to separate it from The Art of Color and develop a brand of its own.

The Art of Color is our

exclusive offering under Stout Textiles, it’s more of a product line or category rather than a separate brand. The Art of Color has been placed in showrooms and high end designers due to the price points and exclusivity that it has. For the most part The Art of Color is traditional woven designs.”

F&FI

John Greenawalt

Curtains: Brussels 1 Strawberry. Sofa: Clifton 1 Rose. Pillows (from left to right): Clifton 2 Coffee, Clifton 5 Juniper

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F FI NE W S

Valdese Weavers Names Blake Millinor SVP, Chief Marketing Officer; Laura Levinson Named SVP Merchandising, Design Sipco News Network

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aldese, North Carolina — Blake Millinor has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Valdese Weavers, after having served as President of the Valdese

Blake Millinor

Weavers Contract division.

Laura Levinson has also been named Senior Vice President Merchandising and Design of Valdese. She was previously Senior Vice President of product development and design.

Both report to Michael

Shelton, President & CEO of Valdese Weavers, considered the largest upholstery fabrics weaver in the USA today and one of the largest mills in the world.

Millinor joined Valdese Weavers in 2001 to direct the company’s efforts to identify and develop opportunities with both manufacturers and distributors in the hospitality, office furnishings, healthcare, and textile wallcovering markets. “Blake’s transition, to include under his direction the company’s residential sales and marketing efforts, has been enhanced through the interaction he has experienced for the past five years working closely with Laura Levinson and Zack Taylor (former company VP/ Residential, and now president of Wesley Hall Inc.) to fashion the overall product, sales, and marketing strategies across all markets that have resulted in the substantial growth that Valdese Weavers has experienced, Shelton said.

Millinor is an alumnus of The Citadel. He began his textile career at Milliken, and held a variety of responsibilities in the contract units of Mastercraft and

Laura Levinson

Tietex prior to joining Valdese Weavers. He resides in Hickory, NC with his wife Laura, and their children Nick, Jack, and Sarah.

In her new post, Laura Levinson will now direct all of the creative aspects of the business, Shelton said. “Laura has for many years provided the creative impulse for the design and development of our products,” Shelton explained.

Her vision and leadership has

inspired the individual design and development directors and staff at each of our brands: Valdese Weavers, Circa 1801, Home Fabrics, Valdese International Products (VIP), and Valdese Weavers Contract. Beyond this responsibility, Laura has a unique skill set that has established her also as a great business leader inside our company and in our industry. Her broader role within our executive team will give us the benefit of her vision across a broader range of disciplines inside Valdese Weavers”, according to Shelton.

Levinson graduated from North Carolina State University/ College of Design and began her career at Valdese Weavers as a design associate in 1990. She

received a Masters of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1995. She relocated to New York and established a design studio for Valdese Weavers to enable enhanced design integration with key customers’ creative teams. Laura was named the first female Vice President in Valdese Weavers history, and relocated to North Carolina in 2001.

Laura is a member of the Philadelphia University Textile Board, as well as the NC State School of Design’s Leadership Council. She resides in Newton, NC with her husband Jon, and their children Benjamin and Sarah.

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George Returns; Valdese Weavers Announces Appointments resides in Morganton, North Carolina.

Rosemary Harley joined Valdese Weavers as Senior Designer in October of 2012.

Rosemary will focus on developing products for the contract area both in seating and privacy curtain fabrics. “We are excited to have Rosemary’s talents added to our contract team.

Her experience in the privacy curtain market will help us produce products suitable for this area”, said Laura. Rosemary holds a Master of Science in Textiles Design from Philadelphia University and has combined total of 14 years experience in the contract industry having held design positions at Craftex, Victor, and most

recently Bentex Mills. Rosemary resides in Philadelphia, PA. About Valdese Weavers, LLC: Valdese Weavers is the leading producer of decorative textiles in the United States for a variety of uses in both residential and contract markets. The company operates four facilities in Burke County, North Carolina, which trade under the brand names Valdese Weavers, Valdese Weavers Contract, Circa 1801, Home Fabrics, and Valdese International Products (VIP).

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Surya Rugs Sets Sights On Broader Home Furnishings Product Lines The other segments of the Surya distribution include ecommerce sales and hospitality/designer sales. “We have grown our business in the last eight years 25 times,” he says.

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Surya relies on a 100 man rep force in the USA and Canada but is now looking to further expand sales beyond North America into foreign markets. Surya is doing some China to China business

but export beyond the USA is only five percent of the business currently. He feels this will change.

Aside from the business itself, Satya spends a great deal of time

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and money supporting Indian and US based charities like Food for Education.org where he feeds hot lunches to 113 million children and East meets West in San Francisco. Surya

earmarks 10 percent of its profits to nonprofit institutions; charities like these and also is involved in opening schools in rural areas of India, Satya says.

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Donghia published in Town & Country and People magazines. He freely admits moving towards textiles with Sherri everywhere they go.

As part of Sherri’s journey, she attends more art shows in New York and as a Trustee to RISD is up in Providence four to five times a year. She’s currently very excited about “The Male Dandy,” the latest exhibit at RISD covering menswear history.

She also always attends Salon di Mobile in Italy. “They are looking at design ten years from now. Four to five years ago, they exhibited 3D printing for making models. That’s big today.

It’s important to design in terms of crisis and make a difference by recycling, repurposing and reusing,” she says.

She points out that regrettably the USA is the least interested country when it comes to Salon di Mobile. Americans should come to this show and take advantage of all that Milan has to offer.” Donghia’s family came from Bari, Italy.

Donghia also works on color projects with Color Association of the USA. “Our colors don’t always match Pantone. For example, what does a recycled color look like,” she asks.

“Sunbrella(r) color forecasting is a hidden secret. Parent Glen Raven is an American company with an international reach, she says. “Glen Raven is substantial and successful. It moves more slowly than others but always in the right direction,” she feels, “especially in making strategic partnerships.”

Glen Raven held its second ‘Innovation Summit’ during Proposte in May which featured keynote speakers in a panel discussion format organized by Paige Muller of Glen Raven.

There is a concept gallery within company headquarters in North Carolina that Donghia feels is very important. Glen Raven distributes materials to the Marine, Automotive, Industrial markets and displays changes in these materials to designers every two months,” Donghia says.

“Fabrics can easily change the interior and are transportable,” she adds.

F&FI

Arti Bhandari Opens 10th Artéé Fabrics & Home Outlet Sipco News Network

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UDSON, Massachusetts — Artéé Fabrics and Home has developed into a regional northeast 10 store chain with its latest outlet in Metairie, New Orleans, and what was a former Calico fabric store.

The Artéé acquisition of two

Printers Alley stores from P/ Kaufmann in Wilmington, NC and Richmond, VA in the past two years brought the total to 10 outlets.

Artéé is owned by Arti Bhandari Mehta, based in Hudson, MA. She is known to be a highly energetic and

knowledgeable fabric veteran with over 20 years of experience in home furnishings and textile design. She has also has been a consultant to other companies in the area of Indian fabric suppliers which she knows cold.

Indian silks and embroideries are central to her retail operations

which offer updated lines of fabrics in silks, cottons, blends, linens, polyesters, embroideries in upholstery, trims and tassels.

Industry veterans who have shopped her stores say that her prices are sharp. The stores also offer custom fabrication and furniture.

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RISD building

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F FI p h o t o g a l l e r y

Sunbury Displays Natural Yarn Systems in Pop Up Markets NEW YORK—Soho is known for its pop-up retail shops like Target Stores and Apple. So, Sunbury’s Jennifer Hildren, vice president of styling & design developed four themed collections to introduce Sunbury’s new line at the company’s Broome Street studio this spring.

The most interesting of the collections was the Moroccan and Menswear Collections pictured here.

Customers mingled with Sunbury people while sipping Prosseco and eating Chinese food.

“Sunbury took a big risk back in 2007 and introduced alpaca, linen and other novelty yarns to its

Sunbury

mix and today is gaining sales from high end jobbers that would normally choose a European supplier,” said Sherri Donghia, a design consultant to Sunbury.

“These new collections are showing the new yarn systems that put Sunbury into a luxury niche while the rest of the world was struggling,” she said.

Hildren calls The Menswear collection “Well Suited” and this ties in nicely with the history of menswear exhibition, “The Male Dandy” now on display at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Don’t miss it!

Sunbury grouped its new collections into four separate pop up store themes. This is from the Moroccan collection.

Grainne Coogan Mahoney, Sunbury design director, jobber department with Julia Membrino, textile product development manager, Donghia, Inc.

Tamra McLeod, senior stylist for Highland Court division of Duralee with Tom Notaro, Sunbury vice president of sales and marketing with Laurey Pelusio, senior stylist, Duralee

Hank Truslow, principal of Sunbury Mills with Craig Rubin, principal of Crypton Part of the Well Suited, menswear design theme Part of Moroccan atmosphere

Rachel Doriss, design director for Pollack with Marteen Allen, assistant designer for Sunbury

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Don Hurwitz and wife Melissa of Carleton House, Maryland jobber.

Florence Grazi and Miyung Berger of Kravet Fabrics

Well Suited—the menswear theme

Mark Grigalunas, Sunbury director of design; Jennifer Hendren, vice president, styling & design, Sunbury with Sherri Donghia, design consultant to Glen Raven Mills.

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F FI p h o t o g a l l e r y

Proposte Proposte 2013 Attracts The World’s High End Editeurs; Organizers Announce Additional Proposte in Shanghai!

COMO--This year, it was easy to spot the top editeurs at Proposte looking for the best that European suppliers had to offer. The Italians and Europeans are looking for more export business as they scramble to stay viable in a depressed marketplace at home. If an Italian mill is not doing at least 60 percent of its business in export, they will not survive because Italy is way down domestically. Hopefully, things will improve but that doesn’t pay the rent.

Seizing the moment, Proposte has 23 plus companies joining together for a stand at Intertex Shanghai in August.

If you can’t beat them--join them, the saying goes. There was as much activity in Villa Erba as there was in the outside showrooms; plenty of action! Here’s some of the pictorial highlights as our publisher Eric Schneider turned 65!

Gretchen Bellinger, New York fabric queen is also the Queen of Hats! Eric never looked so lovely!

Sunil Shah of Unicraft with Patrick Frey, principal of Pierre Frey, the most successful French editeur on the planet today!

Gianmarco Zamaroni principal of Fiorete with Diete Hansl-Rontgen, director of Nya Nordiska, Dannenberg, Germany

Sara Kennedy, design director of wovens with Pamela Maffei Toolan, vice president design, PK Lifestyles, New York with Abhishek Poddar, general manager of Siyaram of India.

Tony Attard, Director of Panaz, UK contract mill

Umit Ak, director of UAS, stocking fabric supplier in Istanbul with her first Queens Park collection

Jon Stafford director and Deanne Stafford, Wury Textiles, Australian wholesaler with Andrew McMclean, Australian sales agent and Pere Piza, Yutes export manager, Barcelona

Tricia Guild, Designers Guild sparkplug with Rudy Delchambre, principal of Deltracon. Tricia likes to garden and is nursing her sore back! Get better soon my dear girl!

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Sunil Gupta, partner in Swadeshi Silks with American agent Maria Kremer and Andreas Zimmer of Zimmer & Rohde. Swadeshi shows us there is life after silk!

Johnny Keeton and Darlene, his main squeeze

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Diane Harding, (right) designer for Beekalene with Jo Bound, creative director for Boeme Design, both UK based

Tom Bruno and Oscar Reig Plaza, the dynamic Covington Fabrics sales duo with Margarita Casamajor, Barcelona based wholesaler Arcana

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F FI p h o t o g a l l e r y

Proposte

Andre Schneider, sales manager; Giovanna Colligiani, Board Member; Letizia Colligiani, Board Member and daughter of Giovanna and cousin to Serena Pinzi, Board Member; Valentina Colligani-(not shown here due to being a new mother)

Neil Dawe, principal of Peter Dawe Pty. Ltd. in Sydney, Australia with Sebastian Nash, State Manager, NSW, Elliott Clarke, NSW, Australia

Andreas Riedel, German area agent from Bad Wurzach with David Schmidt, Vice President, Market Development for Valdese Weavers, Valdese, NC, USA, the largest upholstery mill in the world today.

V.R. Srinivasan, director of Chamundi Silk Mills, Bangalore, India. Developed new line with American designer Michael Koch.

Eric’s 65th Birthday at The Grand Hotel Fiorete sales agent USA Roberto Gottardo with Elaine Taylor Gordon, US agent

Eric Schneider with the cake!

Matthew Crew of Pavilion with Adele Lacey his fiancé

Catherine Morsell, director of ITMA, High Point with Ivy Berman, US agent

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Tomomi Nakagawa, managing director of Tomo Decor Ltd., Osaka wholesaler. “Things are improving in Japan,” says Tomomi-San

Philippe Petot with Eric Mathou of Matisse

Govind Shah, principal of Unicraft with Kabir Seghal, principal of Beekalene and wife Shraddha.

Richard Oussoren, director of Raymakers Velvet, Holland with Eric Schneider.

Oussoren announced his new partnership with Nick Chen to make finished velvet items under the VelvetLab label for the retail trade.

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F FI c a l e n d a r June 2–5 ITMA Showtime ITMA Showtime is one of the leading fabric industry trade events in America. The show serves as an ideal business platform for eminent corporate professionals to interact with each other and exchange the latest news, views and perspectives from the industry. The event is billed as the largest decorative items-related trade show in the Western Hemisphere and it lives up to this hype by drawing in more than 800 trade visitors with direct purchasing power. Participants are offered the chance to participate in the several informative seminars, forums and discussion sessions that are organized during the show and home furniture items, fabric products, handbags and decorative fashion accessories are some of the chief items of exhibit here. The show is extremely popular among visiting participants and an average of 110 business appointments are scheduled during the event every day.

Exhibitors at the show are also listed in the official ITMA Member Directory.

High Point Convention & Visitors Bureau 300 S Main St High Point, NC High Point, United States Of America showtime-market.com

10 – 12 NeoCon 2013 Neocon World Trade Fair is one of the largest commercial interiors industry related trade events in the United States. The show facilitates seamless information transfer among eminent professional executives and decision makers, regarding all the latest business

prospects and industry happenings. Held at the Merchandise Mart at Chicago over three days, the event welcomes more than 40000 highly qualified trade visitors. Attendees can browse through an exhaustive array of architectural supplies, furniture items, lighting solutions, textiles and several other associated items at the event and topical business seminars and conference sessions are also scheduled here. A special Student Program is arranged during the event as well. More than 700 exhibiting companies take part in the event and exciting showroom parties are also organized here. The products displayed at the show find widespread application in the medical, hospitality, residential and multiple other sectors.

Top-notch networking facilities are also presented to all the participants here.

Venue: Merchandise Mart 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 470, IL Chicago United States Of America neocon.com

July 4–6 India International Yarn & Fabric Show India International Yarn & Fabric Show has emerged to be the largest and the most important business forum where the representatives from the textile, fabrics and garment industrial segments will get to exchange ideas and views and learn better modes of executing their production. For the current year, the organizers have chosen India as their exhibition focal point as it is observed that India is one of the strongest countries where the textile industry is flourishing in a faster pace.

The exhibition has seen a greater portion

Advertiser Index For more information about one of our advertisers, see the page number listed: Aqua Clean Fabrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Aydin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Classical Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Covington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 D’Decor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 & 17 Express Air Freight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 GM Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Keystone Weaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Kravet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Marcovaldo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 MoOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Richloom Fabric Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Rockland Mills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3

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of the visitors are purchasing agents and 16.87 percent of the total visitors belong to this category and among the various types of fabrics and accessories display the most sold product is the cotton and synthetic fabrics. The extraordinary products and services provided by this event have supported it to see a growth in the exhibitor as well as in the visitor count every year.

India International Yarn & Fabric Show is divided into 200 booths and will present the best textile materials.

More than 3000 attendees will be seen attending India International Yarn & Fabric Show. The professionals will be coming from textile and garment sectors and will go through the displayed products thoroughly and select the best one.

Chennai Trade Centre Chennai, India CTC Complex, Nandambakkam Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600089, India 91 44 2231 5552 yarnandfabric.org/IIFS

16 – 18 Home Textiles Fabric Sourcing Expo Home Textiles Fabric Sourcing Expo (HTFSE) is the only event in North America features solely on sourcing for fabrics & materials intended for home applications. HTFSE will provide a best platform for manufacturers, retailers, jobbers, converters, contract specifiers & designers a one stop sourcing venue where they can locate new materials & fabrics for their latest collections.

Visitors’ Profile: Manufacturers, Designers, Research & Development, Wholesalers, Converters, Jobbers, Agents, Buying Offices are the target visitors.

Exhibitors’ Profile: Cotton, Knits, Leather, Linen, Pile Fabrics, Prints, Silk, Silk Look, Synthetics, Trims, Vinyl, Wool.

Venue: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center 11th Avenue & 655 West 34th & 38th Street New York, NY United States Of America usa.messefrankfurt.com

22 – 23 Premiere Vision-New York Premiere Vision-New York is a one of a kind fashion event providing a chance to introduce the new spring collection designs to best mills. The leading players in the fashion industry, come together to showcase their latest designs and styles to a large customer base. Detailed discussions provide a look into economic strategies and future plans of the textile industry. Demonstrations and interactive sessions from nearly 100 different fashion

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and textile companies also facilitate the creation of new ways to evolve the market for current tastes and choices. The various moods and themes reflected by particular materials and design structures are also debated upon. This event offers the very best in terms of creativity and quality from the stalwarts of the fashion and textile industry. The businesses involved also get a chance to increase their own professional networks and make more inroads in to expanding their discipline.

Metropolitan Pavilion 125 W 18th St New York, NY United States Of America premierevision-newyork.com

August 7–9 Home Furnishing Expo Home Furnishing Expo Shenzhen hometex is the biggest home textiles exhibition for import to China and the best sourcing platform of household fabrics such as curtains, sheer, accessories, sun-protection products, wall coverings, carpets, upholstery fabrics, bed linens, etc.

It greets 1200 exhibitors, 100,000 trade visitors under one roof of 130,000 sq.m. every year.

Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center Fuhua Third Road, Futian District, Shenzhen, China, 518048 Shenzhen, China chinaexhibition.com

25 – 27 Surtex Asia Surtex Asia will take place at Kerry Hotel, Pudong Shanghai for three days. This event will majorly focus on the advances made in the home furnishing sector.

This event is an ideal opportunity for the global designers who are looking forth for innovative designs and trends.

This event will provide opportunities to the manufactures to learn about the latest trends, textiles, colors and styles.

Moreover the visitors will get to learn about the modern prints and patterns introduced by the leading textile industry.

Surtex Asia is proposed to make display of the products such as upholstery fabrics, contract textiles, wall coverings and more.

This event will also provide business to business opportunities for the participants encouraging them to penetrate in the global market.

Kerry Hotel Shanghai No.1388 Huamu Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai 201204, Shanghai, China surtexasia.com

27 – 29 Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles is one of the most eagerly anticipated home

textile sector trade events in China. The show is held over a period of three days and brings together several renowned industry experts from this field. As many as 1159 professional exhibitors, that too from 27 different countries, participate in the event and different types of home textiles and other related accessories are showcased here. The networking opportunities available at the show are extensive too.

Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles boasts of more than 41018 trade visitors, who attend the show on a regular basis.

Informative seminars and business forums are also held here. An exclusive brand launching event is hosted at the special Trends area that is set up at the show, which takes up a total exhibition space of 126500 square meters.

Shanghai New International Expo Centre(SNIEC) 2345 Long Yang Road, Pudong Area, Shanghai, 201204, China Shanghai, China messefrankfurt.com

September 10 – 12 MoOD 2013 MoOD Brussels Residential & Contract, worldwide the most important upholstery event, equals quality and professionalism. The exhibitors provide a superior presentation of internationally representative and carefully selected products from their own collections, with quality and added-value as a focus. All-participating companies are export oriented, a fact that gives an extra dimension to the global character of DECOSIT BRUSSELS Residential & Contract.

Brussels Exhibition Centre Place de Belgique 1 1020 City of Brussels, Belgium Brussels, Belgium moodbrussels.com

25 – 27 Heimtextil Russia 2013 Organized by Messe Frankfurt GmbH, the Heimtextil Rossija is 4 days event for textile industry. Held at Crocus Expo International Exhibition Center, 143400, Moscow area., Krasnogorsk, Box office Krasnogorsk-4, Moscow, Moskva, Russia, the event is directed towards exploring various avenues of the trading sector in all over world.

Trade Visitors - importers & exporters from all sectors of the textile machinery industry, including spinning, nonwovens, weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing, garment making, testing, software as well as dyestuffs and chemicals & General Public.

Crocus Expo International Exhibition Center Krasnogorsk-4, P.O.BOX 92, Moscow, Russia heimtextil.messefrankfurt.ru

Summer 2013 n