Fabrics & Furnishings - Summer 2012 Issue by Fabrics & Furnishings International

Summer 2012

The Global Home & Contract Furnishings Newspaper

Zinc Hits $10 Million, Opens Freestanding London Showroom; Top Kravet Brands Go Live in London; U&G Opens Lifestyle Centers Sipco News Network

ONDON — “Zinc Textile already has created sales above $10,000,000 in 2011,” said Justin Marr, creative head of the Zinc brand, a considerable feat given that the brand only debuted in 2010. As a result, Zinc is the Romo owned brand that has enjoyed the most growth since its launch, Marr said. To celebrate, Romo Group threw a coming out party for its new freestanding Zinc

GARY AND BELINDA PRICE Materialised

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showroom here early in 2012. Romo now owns and operates five brands, namely Romo, Kirkby Design, Villa Nova, Mark Alexander and Zinc Textile. “Zinc’s modern, masculine, urban aesthetic lends itself to being rolled out into other product areas,” he said. For this reason, it was decided to give Zinc Textile its own space, where these developments can be showcased. The Zinc Textile design office is located on a mezzanine level

overlooking the showroom. Zinc still retains its s h o w r o o m within the Romo showroom in Chelsea Harbor Design Center in London. Marr joined the Romo Group Justin Marr, creative director of Zinc Brand in mid 2008 in (Continued on page 10) order to develop and launch Zinc.

See Kravet, U&G Showrooms on pages 18 & 20

Zinc London Showroom

New Line Develops Software Israel’s Nachik Grows To Prescreen Fabric Choices Globally, Double Digits Greatly Reduces Sampling Costs, Overall Savings Sipco News Network

ANN GRAFTON GP & J Baker

Page 20

SCOTT WARWICK United

Page 13 Vlad Goldenberg

VYLAND, Pennsylvania — New Line Fabrics, a fabric converter specializing in export markets only, has developed a proprietary Idesign® software package that dramatically reduces the cost of sampling by almost 50 percent by allowing jobber customers to prescreen the exact products they want to order. There is a website called ‘idesigncenter.com’ for further information. “It cost well into six figures to develop the software, said Vlad Goldenberg, sales manager for New Line. “It would pay for the customer to buy it from us rather than to develop it himself,” he said. (Continued on page 8)

Sipco News Network

EL AVIV, Israel — ‘Nachik’, an up and coming editeur and converter which supplies fabric to other editeurs and distributors worldwide has been experiencing double digit sales growth every year since it started in 2002, but Nachik Weberman himself admits it will be a challenge to grow at the same rate. Nachik Weberman “We are selling our collections to more export markets but our biggest growth is expected to be with our existing customers,” said Nachik, 44, and his partner/wife Susan, 41, married 18 years. (Continued on page 17)

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F&FI L E T T E R S Letter to the Editor

Letter From Proposte on its 20th Anniversary by Massimo Mosiello, Director of Proposte

he world has changed over the last 20 years. In May, 1993, the European producers exhibiting at Proposte were undisputed leaders in a market that had yet to ‘go global.’ There was no World Trade Organization (WTO); the Maastricht Treaty that would lead to the birth of the Euro was not yet in effect; China was changing its Constitution to promote private economy; and CERN was making the technology behind the World Wide Web public: now anyone could publish a website. In this new world-better according to some; worse according to others-in order to thrive alongside other countries

The Global Home & Contract Furnishings Newspaper

who are now quite rightly jumping at the opportunity to claim their slice of economic wellbeing, Europe has to become an advocate for a new kind of well being: ethical and environmentally friendly. We covered this issue at our recent conference in Milan on the 15th of February. Faced with the most serious economic crisis of modern times, Europe’s salvation lies in making ethics the focus of business. The most enlightened industry-generally the industry that exhibits at Proposte-has accepted to play this role, whose starting point is respect for People and the Environment. So this is why Proposte, after all these years of research, creativity and innovation, has decided to broaden its objectives by shifting its focus to include sustainability, through product quality and quality of life. This letter was reprinted from an invitation to the 20th Anniversary of Proposte held May 8-10, 2012 with the permission of Mr. Mosiello, the director, left.

3 Island Avenue, Suite 6i, Miami Beach, FL 33139 USA Website: www.fabricsandfurnishings.com Telephone 001.917.251.9922 | ISSN: 1523-7303

Publisher & Editor | Eric S. Schneider 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 E.U. Legal Counsel | Herman Nayaert

SIPCO NEWS NETWORK India | S. Vishwanath U.K. | Geoff Fisher Belgium | Jan Hoffman

Table of Contents

USA | Marc Weinreich

F&FI Summer 2012 | Vol. 22, No. 3 Master’s Avantgard® Brand Takes U.S. Market Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 MoOD 2012 Again Stresses Textiles Innovation for Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Max, Christiane Baumann Start New Contract, Hotel Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 RM Coco Builds Contract Division, Hires Heritage House Industry Vet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Asian Wallcovering Powerhouse Goodrich Global Adds Fabric Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Phifer Designed Fabrics Division Scores Outdoor Furniture Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Joanne Adds Fulltime Creative Director To Market Growing Home Product Mix . . . . . . . 12 United Fabrics Trades Up, Scott Warwick Sees Uptick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Pollack Leaves Pollack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Lyons Named Designtex President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Principal Denis Halard Again Takes Nobilis Fontan Reins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 U&G Breaks Out ‘Lifestyle Centers’ in Durban and Shanghai Showrooms . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Party, Party at Harry’s Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Kravet Opens New 4,000 Square Foot Showroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Contract/HospitalityNews Pacific Rim’s Materialised Has Growth Spurt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Global Marketplace Kenya: Furnishing Fabrics Market Grows at 15% a Year

Departments

ear F&FI: We are long standing customers of Desatex and very sad to find the news just now about the Company but we have an order for old Desa patterns we used which Trudi might be able to arrange through her venture Elite Deco. But we cannot find contact details to contact her! If you can help Trudi and us by putting us back in

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 ales

TURKEY Sevim Keskinci Tel: 90.532.236.25.24 Fax: 90.216.390.20.27 E-Mail: skeskinci@gmail.com

INDIA Rekha V. Tel: 91.80.26685821 Cell: 91.93.42821379 Fax: 91.80.26684670 E-mail: s_wishwanath@hotmail.com

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Photo Gallery - Proposte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo Gallery - Sunbury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advertiser Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E ditorial & P ublishing

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touch that would be much appreciated. Andrew Cater ~ www.marksburybags.com Note: Trudi Desmet can be reached at: Desmet.trudy@gmail.com We will all miss Desalux of Belgium, especially Trudi’s parent’s Germaine and Gerda Desmet who closed their mill and retired from the industry earlier this year.

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

Italy, Germany, Spain, France Isa Hofmann Tel: +49 611.890.59640 Fax: +49 611.87086 Email: info@ihofmann.com

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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 2012 by Sipco Publications Inc. All U.S. and International Rights Reserved.

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Master’s Avantgard® Brand Takes U.S. Market Share; Second Generation Owner Erich Imbach Leads Charge Sipco News Network

ONTREAL, Canada — Master Fabrics may be one of the last Canadian wholesalers to penetrate the USA market but in just over one year, it has increased its American business to 25 percent of total sales, according to Erich Imbach, the second generation family owner and president of this $10 million plus jobber/ converter. Master joins a short list of Canadian jobbers operating in the USA today. This list includes the giant Joanne Fabrics and J.E. Ennis both in Toronto; Maxwell Fabrics in Vancouver and Renaissance, also based in Montreal like Avantgard. Avantgard focuses in on middle to higher end markets in the USA in the $2--$100 price point to the designer trade. “Years ago, we did half of our business in the States and I see no reason why it should not double in the next five years for us.” Erich took over the running of the business seven years ago from

his father, Bobby who started the business 40 years ago. Bobby still comes to his office when he’s not in Florida basking in the sun during those cold Canadian winters. He still loves to carouse with the local customers “We haven’t stopped investing in our business just because of the recession,” the younger Imbach said. “”We’re now in a growth mode and we’re very optimistic about the future. Eventually, we’ll get out of this recession and we will see good growth. Now, we’re building strong ties with 50 suppliers, with 80 percent of our buying focused on just 10 of those,” he said. “Just 10-15 years ago, we bought half of our products from China and today with Chinese prices up 35 percent, China represents less than 15 percent of our purchases.” “Chinese leather has dominated the furniture business for a long time but this is changing slowly. We also see a greater desire among our customers to buy more products from local suppliers. They want quality and

choice. Of course, beige suede out of China is one thing but if you want variety in checks, plains and plaids, you can’t get that from China. We hope that U.S. furniture manufacturing comes back to the USA.” Avantgard concentrates on direct sales to decorators with its higher end lines as well as sales to manufacturers, hospitality and healthcare markets. Master is the name used for its converted lines for the hospitality, healthcare, cubicle curtain and drapery markets while Avantgard covers the lines purchased from other suppliers in India, Turkey, China, USA and, Europe Master has a warehouse and office in Montreal, a showroom in Toronto and 100 agent showrooms around North America. It sells through 40 company and independent agents and has 30 fulltime employees which Imbach says are his key to success. “We attend all the major shows and have a stand at MoOD in Brussels.” Master was part of the early shift to Chinese goods as it saw

Joanne Prévost, decorative design director; Fitz Graham, sales manager upholstery; Julie Lanthier, converting designer contract & upholstery director; Erich Imbach, president. (not shown: Margaret Dietsch, decorative sales manager for Canada; Ira Klienhaut, decorative sales manager for USA) its local markets dry up in bedding and manufacturing disappeared in the USA and Canada. “It was a perfect storm scenario. We started to import from China using our original designs to produce chenille in piece dye and yarn dye; jacquards and tapestries. We competed with our domestic manufacturers in the USA but we had better prices from China. We shipped containers from China to Canada every week. We knew the

local manufacturers of fabric were having a hard time. “We originally had a great business in transfer printed flock when we became a converter in 1985 after starting life as a jobber in 1972 with printed floral and flock lines. We serviced the furniture manufacturer. That was a huge export market for us until China happened. Our export business dwindled and we had to rethink the market.” F&FI

MoOD 2012 Again Stresses Textiles Innovation for Europe; Three Hall, Three Day Event to Incubate Start-Up Companies Sipco News Network

RUSSELS — MoOD is promoting the reindustrialization of Europe through innovative textiles, especially from start-up companies, in this year’s three day event September 11, 12, and 13.

upholstery, mainly in Hall 11; curtains in Hall 7 and contract in Hall 9. The show is structured around the specialist buyer in each area, he said. “Textiles has everything it needs to be the first to flourish again provided it’s carried by ground breaking innovations,” Geysels added. “The Fair is doing everything it can to bring innovative textiles to the show floor. Startup companies will be invited for the first time to show their innovative textile products and a special seminar for the use of textiles in architecture is planned for September 12.” Each hall with a have its own focus, he said. Hall 9 is geared to Contract and is sponsored by Trevira®CS; MoOD is also flanked by Indigo with 100 sellers of Patrick Geysels, General original artwork Manager Textirama vzw at the entrance of

“We currently find ourselves in a transitional space which will determine the future of the textile industry,” said Patrick Geysels, general manager of MoOD. MoOD is becoming more and more specialized by hall to meet the needs of the specialists who attend each year, Geysels pointed out. MoOD concentrates its 200 plus largely European and Turkish exhibitors in the fields of

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MoOD in Hall 9. Outdoor fabrics occupies the space between Hall 7 and 11; Tends is the focus in Hall 11 at the ‘Fluxus’ Café. Hall 7 is the Discovery Zone, which includes yarns and is also the location of the Blue Drop Award winners for Innovation. This will also be the location for startup companies invited to the Fair where 150 innovative samples from exhibitors will be on display. Also, the two best startup innovations will be highlighted. Regarding this year’s trend

book, ‘Fluxus’ means pure flow, Geysels said, and ties into the important art movement from the 1960’s. This was a transitional time for the world and Geysels feels it fits the current times as well. Even ‘change’ is changing, he said. Fluxus covers transition; Prorsum, which means straightforward, is symbolized by an aggressive color palette and Eccentrics is inspired by expensive materials. These are the three trend book themes for MoOD this year. F&FI

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Max, Christiane Baumann Start New Contract, Hotel Business Sipco News Network

MUND, Austria— Maximilian Baumann and his cousin Christiane have launched Saba Weavers as a new company specializing in the contract and hospitality fabrics business. They were previously part of the management of Bruder Baumann and Baumann Dekor, their Gmund, Austria based family business for many years. Maximilian and Christiane are

no longer associated in any way with their old firm Baumann Dekor. In fact, Christine Seidl, MD of Baumann Dekor, sent out a notice to all suppliers to this effect in April to end any possible confusion over the Baumann’s relationship with Baumann Dekor. Trade sources questioned the departure of the Baumann’s from the original family business since Max and Christiane accounted for a significant part in sales

themselves within the hospitality trade. Max and Christiane will continue to specialize in supplying hotel owners and designers as a specialist contract/ hospitality fabric business, as well as serve the international wholesale business as well as the aircraft interiors, the caravan and the upholstered furniture industry. Max showed his new contract fabric collections at the Grand Hotel in Como, during

the recent Proposte exhibition. Baumann Dekor participated once again in Proposte this year and their new management was present on its stand in the Villa Erba.. Baumann Dekor declared bankruptcy on June 28, 2011 according to Christine Seidl, managing director of the company since January, 2011. Baumann Dekor was bought from the bankruptcy court by three investors. F&FI

Maximillian Baumann

(Continued from front cover)

New Line Develops Software To Prescreen Fabrics

Vlad Goldenberg New Line is a U.S. based converter with sales only in Europe, Asia and Middle East. It does not do business in the USA because almost its entire product line is made in wide width at 280 cm. The US doesn’t handle wide width so it does not pay for New Line to sell in the States. “This software is already saving New Line and some of our jobber customers who have ordered the software, hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted sampling costs according to Vlad Goldenberg, sales manager for New Line. It grew out of taking a course at MIT called ‘Lean Sigma’. After the course, Goldenberg developed the program with his New Line partners Len Lurye and Alex Levintoe along with a software specialist. It is geared for jobbers with 2,000 sku collections who use the iPad®.” “Here’s how it works: the user keys on floral damask as one example, and the software knows it’s floral damask; then it automatically looks for matches to that design by color,” Goldenberg explains. This saves the designer time by building a collection around the one item that is chosen, all in the same color;

sheers to match, wallpaper to match and trim. It will then tell you if it is in stock and then it converts the choices into a room setting so you can see how it looks in place. You end up with a jpeg file of the finished room with the fabric in place where you wanted it. “Designers can take a day to look at 29 books or this software enables the designer to look at 3,800 sku’s in about 15 seconds. The samples are for touching only.” “Seven months ago, a Russian customer wanted to show the program to his customer,” Goldenberg continued. “We customized it for designers, specifiers and architects. By prescreening the choices online, it reduces the bulk of samples by at least 1/3 of the weight. They love it in Russia and the features are growing. Right now, we’re talking with two companies in the USA about buying the software. We also launched a Mandarin language version in China where we have established New Line China. The cost of the program is anywhere from $10,000 to $225,000 depending on what is wanted by the customer. The price of the software is determined by the number of sku’s multiplied by the number of users.” “Our sales person in Europe is walking the customer through Idesign. The next step is to tailor a version for the jobber to use with his customers. The jobber can put any suppliers’ products on the program. He can do this himself or we can do it for him.” The software allows fabric suppliers including designers and clients to review a supplier’s line online and pick out the designs and coordinates including wallpaper and trim without ever receiving a sample in advance. Armed with

this information, the customer can order exactly what they want with no wasted samples. “The market we are in requires three years to be in the black with most products. By reducing the cost of sampling, we can accelerate this process so it will take less time to recover our costs, Goldenberg said. “Sometimes you can get a return on product within six months but this is very rare. With sampling costs at six figures each

year plus Fedex costs of $50,000 a year, there is money to be saved by using this Idesign software. We are a great account of Fedex, but should we just hand over all of our money to them in order to send out tons of samples each year?” “The customer also complains about rising prices. Our customer has a perceived value of what we offer based on what he thinks his customer will pay for it and that’s it. How do you make an

8-10 percent net profit in this business when you have $300,000 in sampling costs and $50,000 in Fedex charges? Of course, you have to feel the fabric in your hand before you buy it but you can prequalify your selections using the online approach. It costs us $800 to ship our latest collections to Russia as an example, because the sample book shipment weighs 34 kilos.” F&FI

RM Coco Builds Contract Division, Hires Heritage House Industry Vet Sipco News Network

Born and raised in Chicago, Ill., ape Girardeau, Missouri – Deborah Newberger received her masters of science in Newberger joined RM Coco in April communication from Northwestern University before going to work for Dana to lead the company’s newly Mills, a converter of textiles formed contract division. founded by her parents in Jim Rust, president, said 1967. The mill began as a the company hasn’t ever converter for mobile homes “pushed” a contract line but but then went directly to sees a new appetite for this specifiers. It was sold to market now. Tom Hilb of HeritageHouse In her new role, Fabrics in 2011 and Newberger will select Newberger remained with product, hire sales agents in the company for one year the U.S. and overseas, control under Hilb’s direction before pricing and decide which accepting a position with RM products to merchandise. She Coco. will focus on all areas of the Hilb said he declined to contract line, from hospitality comment on Newberger to health care. leaving for RM Coco but did “It’s her division,” Rust said. “She’s responsible for Jim and Beverly Rust, principals confirm that he recently hired Don Greene, former vice the whole works.” of RM Coco president of the piece goods Rust said he hired division at Robert Allen, and Newberger because the contract market is an area in which they’ve Jeff Veach to build out the company’s sales and never had a strong foothold, admitting that marketing. Rust was recently at Proposte with his wife Coco “didn’t merchandise properly.” “Hotels are now remodeling and as the and Jocelyn Anderson, product development travel industry recovers I’m confident the manager. He said that "it was a very nice market that we will continue to shop." F&FI contract market will grow.”

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F FI NE W S (Continued from front cover)

Zinc Hits $10 Million Sales, Opens Freestanding London Showroom Zinc Textile launched in January, 2010. Prior to this, Marr had spent 12 years spearheading the home textiles division at Andrew Martin International, a London based editeur. He attributes Zinc’s immediate success to innovative, well considered designs, produced for us by a diverse base of weavers and printers, each with their own specialty plus “smart, aspirational photography.” Marr also said he has the back up of “Romo Group’s unparalleled customer service and commitment to maintaining high stock levels.” He also pointed to Romo Group’s extensive international distribution channels as key to Zinc’s success so far. The new Zinc Textile showroom is located in an old converted wharf building, on the bank of the river

Thames. The 2,800 square feet space is double height, flooded with light, and in keeping with Chelsea Wharf’s industrial origins, it has been fitted out with polished concrete floors, galvanized steels, and exposed brickwork. This strong masculine look is the perfect backdrop for showcasing Zinc’s ever growing collections of modern fabrics and trimmings. Wallcoverings, carpets, and furniture are in the pipeline for Zinc’s future expansion. Located just 300 yards from Chelsea Harbor Design Centre (which is home to the main Romo’s original London showroom)t, the new Zinc space uses iconic 1970’s furniture from designers such as Milo Baughman, Tobia Scarpa and Michel Ducaroy, to show to great effect, Zinc’s newest upholstery offerings. F&FI

Pattern book browser upholstered in Knight glass bead fabric.

Jonathan Mould, principal of Romo is speaking to Paul Turnbull of Turnbull Design, London. Ricky Lui, Romo Group’s Chinese distributor is behind Jonathan. Behind Ricky is Coco Monty of the Mayfair hotel London.

Showroom Exterior

Front of showroom showing Meteorite Mineral from the Galactica collection.

Zinc upholstered sectional

Back of showroom showing hanging lengths of the new collections.

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Asian Wallcovering Powerhouse Goodrich Global Adds Fabric Lines USA to supply more fabric for Asia, Middle East distribution by Eric Schneider

INGAPORE — Goodrich Global, an $80 million distributor is adding more fabric lines to its home furnishings mix of wallcovering, carpet, fabric and flooring to meet the needs of

Carpet

Goodrich Showroom

hospitality specifiers. The addition of more fabric lines after three years in the hospitality fabric market is expected to boost revenue to over $100 million in the future, according to Alfred Neo, general manager. He has been with the company for 26 of its nearly 30 years, seeing its employee count rise from seven people to 512 today. Goodrich has flagship interior furnishings showrooms in Singapore, Hong Kong and China from 5,000-7,000 square feet. Neo travels extensively, almost nonstop between his main office in Singapore and the other markets in Asia. He attended this year’s Hospitality Design Show in Las Vegas. Neo also said Goodrich is currently looking for additional lines from the USA to round out its hospitality offerings which specify FR for all markets, even mainland China. Stephen Foo is the product manager heading up the search

Joanne Adds Fulltime Creative Director To Market Growing Home Product Mix Sipco News Network

ORONTO, Canada — Joanne Fabrics/ JF Fabrics Inc. has hired Lisa Nicholl to its management team as creative director, a new position. She reports to Shelley Hovesen Camilleri and her sister Kim, both principals in the company. Nicholl was previously CEO of inVU Drapery Company a Toronto based retailer of custom drapery and piecegoods. In her new post, Nicholl Lisa Nicholl is responsible for Joanne’s merchandising and design direction. “In addition, Lisa will be leading our marketing department to continue to grow and strengthen our brand position,” according to Hovesen Camilleri. In the past two years, Joanne has added two new product categories, wallcoverings and hardware. “With aggressive growth targets, we need the power of marketing behind us to bring customer awareness to the fact that Joanne/JF is no longer just fabrics, but embraces the entire home furnishings spectrum,” she said. F&FI

for the new fabric lines which now include New Line Fabrics, a U.S. based converter and Baron, and an India based leather line. Goodrich also represents James Dunlop Textiles, the New Zealand based fabric wholesaler. “We are planning to add other fabric lines to serve the big appetite of the mainland China hotel industry which continues to grow even as Chinese exports continue to slowdown because of the currency issue,” Neo said. Goodrich Global has 21 showrooms in Asia and the Middle East, including India and Dubai. It was formerly known Alfred Wong as Goodrich Wallcoverings & Carpets Pte. when it was founded position in the commercial and in 1983 but was renamed its corporate markets,” Neo stated. “China is clamping down on current name in 2004. “As Southeast Asia’s leading residential sales now but in a supplier of interior wallcoverings, few years that will grow again. we aim to be an internationally While Goodrich concentrates acclaimed lifestyle brand on hospitality fabric sales, it is for wallcovering products in looking at the chance to do some the residential market, while residential fabric sales in the maintaining our leadership future. (Continued on page 14)

Goodrich Global Adds Lines by Eric Schneider

oodrich Global is looking for other principal lines in the $4-$20 per yard range according to Stephen Foo. “We are in the process of beefing up our collection to suit the residential market and the furniture market,” he told F&FI. Here are Goodrich Global’s current lines: North America New Line J.Ennis Fabrics Barrow Industries Spradling International Koni Hospitality Europe Harlequin Eijffinger Q-Designs Wilman Interiors Blendworth Adelco New Zealand James Dunlop

Phifer Designed Fabrics Division Scores Outdoor Furniture Market Sipco News Network

USCALOOSA, Alabama — Phifer, the world’s largest producers of woven fiberglass and aluminum insect screens is becoming a more significant player in the outdoor woven jacquard and dobby fabric market through its Designed Fabrics Division, according to Hugo Benitez, national market manager. In fact, this division helped Phifer realize an overall sales gain even during the slowdown in 2008/2009, Benitez said. “Today, Phifer sales are well ahead of that time period. The company sells one piece minimums on in stock

Hugo Benitez

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items direct to manufacturers outside the USA but works through Trivantage, a U.S. based distributor for U.S. sales. Phifer also produces a line of Sheerweave Fabrics for the window treatment market that is becoming increasingly decorative for the healthcare, hospitality and residential markets. Although Phifer was founded in 1952, its Designed Fabrics Division is only five years old. “We may be very new to the upholstery business but we have become the ‘king of sling’ in our PVC Phifertex fabric lines,” said Benitez, a 26 year veteran of Phifer. “It’s something that grew out of our PVC coated sling and cushion fabric business. Phifer upholstery is woven from olefin and in some cases a combination of our olefin and PVC coated yarns,” he explained. “We want to offer a one-stop shopping experience to the outdoor furniture manufacturer,” he said. The Designed Fabrics Division employs three fulltime in house designers under the eye of Carol Harkey, vice president, design. “We produce about 400-500 new designs each year and we’re finding that High Point is becoming a

more important market for the casual furniture business,” he said. Phifer also offers its customers the ability to design custom fabrics. The company offers 100 stocked olefin fabrics in solids and patterns and added about 30 new fabrics to its line July 1. “We also make pvc wallcoverings which we supply to Knoll, Designtex and others that offer the Microban® antimicrobial protection, suitable for healthcare applications,” Benitez added. F&FI

Phifertex Bally Castle Seaglass

Phifertex Jungle Beat Lagoon

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United Fabrics Trades Up, Scott Warwick Sees Uptick by Eric Schneider

ENNSAUKEN, New Jersey — United Fabrics is a family owned business which concentrates on strong, in-stock, customer service for

rural re-upholsterers, small manufacturers and the decorator trade in the USA. “We like to think of this as a family business,” said Scott Warwick, president, and a second generation principal along with partners Robert and Neal Grobman and Mitch Warwick, Scott’s father. United was started from a car trunk

by two cousins, Barney Beifield and Robert Grobman. Scott is president and Neal Grobman, Robert’s son, is running the business today. “This industry has been difficult but we are growing again,” Scott confirmed. United carries Naugahyde vinyls, urethanes; solids, [plaids and dobbies from Glen Raven Sunbrella®, Sunbury, Victor and Valdese Mills; and performance fabrics for the contract/hospitality market. “We’ve upped our game Lindsey Baker, Robert Grobman and Scott Warwick from a range of $25-$35 to as high as $50-$60.” Nearly 100% of our lines are in stock,” he said. United is a 50 employee company with an estimated $15 million in sales that was established in 1946 in Philadelphia. It acquired Pacific Hide in Los Angeles in 1986 and now has 50 employees. United moved to its current location in Pennsauken

and combined both companies in the 12,000 square foot Long Beach, CA. warehouse. Mitch is now chairman; Scott, 45, is president and is responsible for marketing and sales; Neal, executive vice president, handles operations and finances; Robert, 35, handles operations, customer service and human resources. (Continued on page 15)

As part of a regular update of the Pacific Hide showroom in the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, the company decided to showcase the variety of leathers it carries. Pacific Hide refers to the leather mosaics as “moo-saic”. According to Bob Grobman, The large “Bull’s Head” mosaic is made up of over 4,800 one-and-a-half inch leather squares hand cut and applied by three staff members over a four week period. The “Bull’s Head” design was inspired from a Pacific Hide & Leather logo from the 1970’s that was digitally redrawn and reproduced on large vinyl boards. These boards were then applied to a thin sheet of plywood and attached to a wall at headquarters in Pennsauken, NJ. After placing all the squares, the mosaic was disassembled and shipped to California for installation in the showcase outside the showroom. Overall, the mosaic measures seventy-eight inches tall by ninety-three inches wide. The second mosaic, the current logo, was made from the same squares and also installed by hand over a traditional wood door cut down to size. “In the first week, we already received an offer to purchase the smaller mosaic. However, it’s not for sale,” Grobman said.

Pollack Leaves Pollack Sipco News Network

EW YORK, New York — Mark Pollack is leaving Pollack Associates, the company which bears his name that he founded along with two other partners, after 25 years as design director. “I am stepping down to pursue other interests,” he said in a letter to one of his suppliers. “Although my last day in the office will likely be April 26th, I will remain involved with the company as a principal, advisor and consultant.” Rick Sullivan and his wife

Mark Pollack

Summer 2012

Susan, the other two principals who founded the firm with Mark in 1988, are staying with the firm. Rachel Doriss, associate design director for the past five years will be taking Mark’s place as design director. Pollack “I am leaving a thriving, well managed company in the very capable hands of others. After the 26th any business-related emails and phone calls that in the past would have been directed to me should be directed to her.” “Leaving a company I co-founded was an incredibly difficult decision to make. It is hard to believe how fortunate I have been during my 36 year long career in the industry. Not only have I been able to do what I love to do, design textiles, but I have also had the honor and privilege to work with so many generous, considerate and talented people. I have learned so much from all of you, and I will always treasure the time and experiences we have shared. Many, many thanks.” F&FI

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www.fabricsandfurnishings.com 13

Contract/HospitalityNews C/HNEWS I Pacific Rim’s Materialised Has Growth Spurt Owner Says Crypton Lines, Prints Lead the Way Sipco News Network

SW, Australia — Materialised, a specialist jobber and converter of contract, healthcare and hospitality fabrics is growing its business 10 percent annually according to founder Gary Price. Materialised is the Crypton® fabric distributor in the Pacific Rim and this business is ahead as much as 30 percent according to Randy Rubin, co-owner of Crypton with her husband Craig. The couple recently returned from a visit to Australia and New Zealand with a side-trip to see Materialised principals Gary and his wife Robyn. “Gary is so refreshingly innovative in what he does with Crypton fabrics, especially textured colored plains which he digitally prints,” Randy Rubin said. “He is world class in what he does.” She said that U.S. distributors of Crypton upholstery fabric like Momentum

family recently attended a 25th anniversary party for the Sunbury Design Studio in New York. (See separate story) That’s a long way from Sydney, Australia where Materialised is based but it gives one an idea of the loyalty the Price family has to key suppliers. Materialized began life in 1980 under Gary’s watchful eye but now is in its second generation of family management under Gary’s kids: Belinda who handles design, marketing and sales and her brother Matthew who handles production. From very small beginnings in 1980, Materialised has grown to become the market leader Gary Price and Belinda Price in supplying ‘performance’ Materialised has also piofurnishing fabrics to health and hospitality projects across neered the printing of textiles Australia, and New Zealand. by dye sublimation process The Materialised website in Australia. “Our experience in this technology has states. positioned us as the leader in both and sporting apparel,” Gary explained. “Among many firsts, Materialised introduced Crypton waterproof upholsteries to this country and to this day proudly holds the position as Crypton’s highest volume Australian outlet,” he said. Materialised has 45 employees in offices across Australia & New Zealand. Blakehurst, a suburb of Sydney, is the change soon. company’s printing, warehous“Over the years, Goodrich Global has ing and distribution centre. emphasized regional expansion and product Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane, integration,” Neo added. “This has positioned Melbourne, and Perth have us as a “one-stop” service provider both company sales offices/showlocally and overseas. rooms staffed by highly expeGoodrich’s core business is the import, rienced and dedicated teams, export, supply, installation and distribution the website states. of interior furnishing products. F&FI “Our mission is to create

and ArcCom are also having a banner year—along with Materialised which sells Momentum’s Crypton line in the Pacific Rim. In addition, Materialised produces a range of drapery fabric coordinates with the upholstery lines. “Recently, we signed a licensing deal with an important designer to Kate Spade that is going to be very important to us in the print arena,” Gary said. Rubin credits Gary with innovative printed designs and this new licensing agreement will expand the library for Materialised in both digital and transfer printed ranges. Sunbury Mills, Sunbury, PA. is also a major supplier of woven jacquards and Crypton product to Materialized. “Materialised is a great account for us,” said Thomas Notaro, vice president, sales and marketing for Sunbury. “We wish we had more accounts like Gary Price.” Price and his

(Continued from pg 12)

Asian Wallcovering Powerhouse Goodrich Global Adds Fabric Lines Roughly 80 percent of the Goodrich business is wall covering related. It does a big job for RJF and J. Josephson vinyl wallcoverings in the hospitality and contract markets. Goodrich has had those lines for as long as it has been in business, but fabric is now growing at a faster rate, he said. It’s so new that Goodrich hasn’t been able to show its fabric lines on its website yet but that will

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

an enterprise that benefits all stakeholders including our clients, staff, suppliers, community and shareholders,” Gary said. “We strive for excellence in, and adding value to, the supply of furnishings within the hospitality and health-care industries. Gary said that the entire range of Materialised fabrics is “performance” oriented offering flame retardancy, washability stability, durability, and crease resistance. “These are all all standard features of our lines,” he said. Materialised fabrics are specified in hotels, motels, youth accommodation; hospitals, health-care and aged care facilities; corporate offices, theatres, clubs, pubs and restaurants; correctional facilities and anywhere “performance” furnishings are required, he said. F&FI

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F FI NE W S (Continued from page 13)

United Fabrics Trades Up, Scott Warwick Sees Market Improvement Mitch, Scott, Neal and Robert are the partners. Pacific Hide has a showroom in the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles where it showcases both United and Pacific lines. Pacific caters to the design trade and stocks leather. Pacific will sell as little as half a hide. While the leather is imported, United’s lines are primarily domestic and sees domestic as the way the market is going. United and Pacific Hide both sells lots of Naugahyde vinyl along with the leather and fabrics. The company’s first priority is customer service. It

offers bread and butter lines in middle to lower end price points to many out of the way accounts which might fall under the radar of the competition. “Two guys in a garage as well as smaller furniture manufacturers are typically good accounts for us,” Scott pointed out. United’s expertise in shipping small packages has turned it into an exporter of fabrics to England, Australia and Asia. “We continue to expand to do business everywhere,” Scott said, “but we’re moving more into decorative fabrics than previously through our network of 15 reps. If it’s in our sample book, we stock it.” Pacific Hide originally was a United customer. Pacific was first a tannery and then a distributor of leather. Pacific also carries the higher end part of the United Fabrics collection mixed with its leather hides, mostly from South America. Lindsey Baker is the buyers/designer for United and picks all products. Mitch Warwick, Scott’s father joined the company as an account receivables clerk in 1962 and eventually worked his way up as partner. “Mitch is a salesman at heart. He celebrated his 50th anniversary with United in January,” Scott said. F&FI

Lyons Named Designtex President Will her stellar design skills keep the company on an upward path? Sipco News Network

EW YORK, New York — Susan Lyons has been named president of Designtex and is expected to start her new post in June. At presstime, neither Steelcase Inc., the owner of Designtex nor Designtex executives would comment on this development due to the fact that Lyons had outstanding contractual obligations with another firm. Lyons also could not be reached at her New York office. There have been rumors in the market about her appointment for several months. Designtex is a New York based contract specialist jobber with approximately $70 million in sales to the corporate and hospitality markets. Steelcase, the parent company is the home of the the following brands: Steelcase, Coalesse, Designtex, Details, Nurture, PolyVision, and Turnstone. It is a global publicly traded company with fiscal 2011 revenue of approximately $2.4 billion. Industry insiders find her appointment curious since her skills lie in the design area as opposed to sales but she had extensive previous experience with the firm and was well regarded by her peers. Lyons is a veteran designer who previously held the top design post at DesignTex but left several years ago to become a consultant specializing in materials. George Whalen has been interim president of Designtex in the absence of a fulltime president since Hamilton retired to Jacksonville, FL several months ago. Lyons reports to Frank Merlotti Jr., who is based at Steelcase Inc. in Grand Rapids, MI where he is president of Coalesse, a premium furnishings brand wholly owned by Steelcase Inc., and also

Summer 2012

oversees Designtex. Lyons will work out of Designtex’s Varick Street headquarters in New York. She returns to Designtex after starting her own consulting firm, Lyons Consulting, which specialized in the design of environmentally intelligent products for industrial and consumer use. Her last post at Designtex was creative director and executive vice president of design. She is a lifelong champion of sustainable design and collaborated with William McDonough to create the first collection of compostable contract textiles. Lyons is also one of the inventors of a patent-pending, closed-loop printing system designed to incorporate only reusable materials. She is the recipient of numerous national and international design awards, and her work is found in museum collections in the United States and Europe. In addition to her own practice, Lyons has served as creative director for color & materials at Herman Miller, Inc. Zeeland, MI where she created materials for the office, healthcare, education and residential markets. F&FI

Frank Merlotti Jr. and Susan Lyons

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F FI G L O B A L M A R K E T P L A C E

Kenya: Furnishing Fabrics Market Grows at 15% a Year Chinese set shops not only for B2B transactions but for B2C too by Vishwanath. S

AIROBI, Kenya — The economists predict that the next trade and business prospectus after Asia is hidden in Africa. In the furnishing fabrics segment, Africa which is largely dependent on imports, expensive high end furnishing fabrics are imported regularly to satisfy many rich homes who still prefer the classic western colonial,

style. “The markets are growing at 15% a year but margins are treading lower and the Chinese are making a positive entry”, said Nishit Shah, owner, Nishit Shah & Company Ltd., Nairobi. The 25 year old company caters to high end homes and is active in the contract sector for new build as well as refurbishing hotels in East Africa. Shah started his business by

buying cheap stock-lots and supplying to markets. Shah’s visit to Heimtextil in 1986 changed his activities. “In those days there were no sample books and we had to order rolls and convert them to our own sample books to approach the market”, he recalled. Encouraged by market response Shah started ordering container loads from US and European weavers, a very risky

step those days, he remembers. Importing large quantities was a gamble but these were well marketed, the company grew and currently employs four designers with 50 staff. Shah has also added He said that curtains sell more and upholstery follows. He admits that the market is yet to mature to western standards but the choice of colors and designs by affluent consumers are classy. “Things

Nishit Shah are changing in terms of price competition that was never faced earlier,” he said. According to the best available information many African countries including Kenya are always in need of foreign financial aid. China, always quick to make such deals has obtained thousands of business visas. In turn Chinese have set shops not for B2B transactions alone but for B2C trade. “ The popular Bishara Street in Nairobi city once run by Kenyans & Indian origin Kenyans are giving way to Chinese families who have opened up retail outlets offering low prices. This is a big concern for other importers”, added Shah. Chinese nationals are now in joint operations with other Chinese importers of a variety of goods. These operators get direct ship loads as opposed to container shipments are the cheapest way to ship. This has given a further edge to the Chinese fabric merchants as transportation cost to Africa has always been expensive to all other importers. The Kenya economy is the largest in Central Asia and major activities are agriculture, Tea, Coffee and fresh flowers to Europe. Kenya’s economy is market-based, and maintains a liberalized external trade system and has 5% GDP. Tourism expansion, growth in telecommunication & construction is aiding commercial activities. Home building activity has seen the real estate prices sky rocketing and money has become expensive to borrow at 24% a year; so the retail margins are fat. “In this growing market there is a huge gap in terms of professional marketing. By offering total services from basic concept to execution of decorating homes by in-house designers we expect to strengthen our standing further”, Shah said. Most of his imports are from Europe and a little from America, which was once a major source for us, he said. F&FI

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Principal Denis Halard Again Takes Nobilis Fontan Reins

Former Manager Burns Out, Leaves After Four Years Sipco News Network

OMO, Italy — Denis Halard, principal of Nobilis Fontan, the $30 million plus decorative fabric editeur, has returned to the helm of the 84 year old company after a four year absence.

Nobilis’ Halard Returns

“I had assigned new management to Nobilis in 2008 so I could focus on the real estate business,” he explained while shopping at Proposte in May. His appointed manager Richard Aouate, complained of exhaustion from the fabric business and asked to leave which he did, Halard said. “I have now re-discovered my passion for the fabric and wallcovering business.” In addition, his son Norman has joined the business as of last September which “makes the future more enthusiastic than ever,” Denis said. “I am now developing a plan to redevelop our business and this is helped by my perspective from the last four years in another business entirely,” he explained. “I was previously too involved in day to day business at Nobilis. Now I have a greater idea of what needs to be done.” Mr. Halard was picked for the cover of Fabrics & Furnishings International’s first issue 22 years ago and he is as spry and dynamic as ever! F&FI

(Continued from front cover)

Decade Old Nachik Brand Impacts Global Market, More Collections, Export Sales, Coming On Stream Nachik and wife Susan build family business together said. Also in 2007, Nachik began to exhibit at Decosit and then MoOD as well as in hotels at Proposte and Heimtextil. MoOD normally sees the biggest launch of Nachik product where there is a coordinated theme for the stand, sampling and presentation of 20 collections annually. A vintage leather line called ‘Chesterfield’ that is actually a fabric was the big Nachik hit this past year in cotton/ polyester basecloth with an a c r y l i c coating, along with ‘Arctic Lace’, a stonewashed metallic l e a t h e r look. Both Old Jeruselum City Wall Section breathable

They both met while becoming lawyers at UK based Sheffield Law School. Neither of them will disclose sales figures but sales are significant with a staff of 30 they share with Elite, the sister company. In 2007, Nachik separated from the parent company and stands alone today but also shares certain operations and logistic support with the mother company, he

Summer 2012

items are made in Asia for Nachik as the converter. “We focus on innovative fabrics. In 2009, Nachik won a coveted ‘Blue Drop’ Award from MoOD,” he said. Nachik focuses on top editeurs with exclusives in respective markets on designs given for as little one piece minimums. “We’re not about the amount of money a customer spends with us. We want the customer to buy our collection. Customer has to try his best to sell it. All orders are appreciated. We do not supply cut length—only sampling and we are in-stock for immediate delivery most of the time. Nachik relies on agents in some markets like UK, Portugal, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia and distributors. Agents can sell the open line while the distributor can buy specific items exclusive to them. “We have different customers in the same country but they each

have exclusivity on the item they buy,” he explained. “We are trying to stay one step ahead but we too have experienced the difficulties in this business. Above all, we try to be modest in how we work and live at Nachik.” Susan handles Susan and Nachik Weberman customer service on a day to day basis but still finds time to be home by 4 PM to be with her logistics. We try to find the best three boys while poppa Nachik cost of delivery for our customers travels one to two times a month whether it is one roll or a container to visit his customers in Europe, to their port or warehouse. The the Far East and in the USA. “I customer pays the freight but we am not traveling as much as I tender and find the best freight forwarder.” should,” he said. Nachik originally started life “Our biggest hurdle is where we are,” Nachik points out. “It as the export division of Elite, would be closer to market if we the domestic wholesale business had a warehouse in Europe but started by his father and mother we have a warehouse in Tel Aviv 40 years ago. His parents just only and we are not planning celebrated their 50th wedding to relocate; but we do a pretty anniversary, he said. The parents effective job using sea, air and normally accompany their son to UPS shipments to our customers. the trade shows, leaving Susan to F&FI “We’re strong and efficient in care for her kids.

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com 17

F FI NE W S

U&G Breaks Out ‘Lifestyle Centers’ Russian Furniture in Durban and Shanghai Showrooms Tycoon Murdered Sipco News Network

URBAN, Saudi Arabia.— Upholstery & General, one of the top 25 largest fabric wholesalers in the world with six showrooms in South Africa, has pioneered a new concept of fabric retailing called ‘Lifestyle Center’ which shows all of U&G collections on the frame in comfortable vignettes in store according to sales director Farouk Danka. Danka feels this move will reduce the endless amounts of time it takes for the consumer to make up her mind about the fabric purchase. As a result, U&G will now show all of its 100 collections in 2,000 feet on frame. “We believe this is the world’s first lifestyle center,” he says. “We’re not going into the furniture business. Unless we show how the fabric

Sipco News Network

Hassan Moral. Moral Textiles, Bursa, Turkey with Andrea Maharaj, agent, Duotextiles, Durban, S.A., with customer Farouk Danka, sales director, Upholstery & General, Durban looks, the customer has no idea what to expect. That’s what I want my lounge to look like will be the

words uttered by the customer when they see our floor,” he said. The furniture is not for sale

“

Turkey is the future of the upholstery business. Prices are higher than in China but the goods are more up market.

”

Shanghai, China

OSCOW, Russia — Mikhail Kravchenko, a 46-year-old self-made furniture multi-millionaire, was buried by his parents Galina and Vyacheslav here May 23 after being gunned down in a mob style hit near his home in the upscale suburb of Peredelkino early Sunday morning, May 20. Kravchenko, known as ‘Misha’ to his friends, was the owner of 250 Marta 8 furniture factory stores in Russia which reportedly turned over an estimated $200 million in annual revenues. His suppliers are still very much in shock over the way he was killed and do not know what the future holds for the Russian fabric business, especially for those who supplied 8 Marta factories. Executives of 8 Marta have no idea why he was murdered according to the con-

but the fabric is. That’s what is so unusual about the new showroom created with the $4 million renovation of four detached buildings in the current Durban location and a second showroom that has opened in a Shanghai, China skyscraper. U&G said it stocks everything it sells with a $5 million back up inventory. Prior to this, U&G had the same hooks and hangars all over its showrooms showing the collection like so many other showrooms do around the world. Obviously, Danka saw a need to change to spike current business conditions to a higher level. “We are also looking for more lines to distribute,” he said during the recent

sumer press which covered this tragedy. A number of important Russian fabric wholesalers supplied 8 Marta with imported fabrics from Europe and the USA. Misha was born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, attended Moscow University and also set up a private school in Moscow. His wife and five year old daughter were tragically killed in an automobile accident in 2001. At the time of his death, he was a bachelor and had been known to be mingling with English Royals. He was also known to be a writer, photographer, sportsman and poet. The easy going Misha seemed to be well liked by his friends and peers but some say that jealous rivals are to blame for his death. The police are investigating his murder. Nobody really knows why he was assassinated but some feel it was business related. F&FI

Evteks Fair in Turkey. “Turkey is the future of the upholstery business. Prices are higher than in China but the goods are more up market. We buy from a dozen mills in Turkey with still some goods purchased from Chinese sources. U&G focus on the $7-$10 upholstery lines “The Turkish handwriting is different from the Chinese. Turkey is ahead of the design curve while China produces commodity items with smaller designs.” Danka also sees that prints are trending back to the industry with 20-30 percent of his business now in prints which he buys from Spain. F&FI

Party, Party at Harry’s Bar

ake Como, Italy — May 8, 2012 Eric Schneider’s 64th birthday hosted by J.Queen-N.Y. 1. The fireworks were spectacular. 2. Jon Andrew Ovenstone, president of Warwick UK and Jerry Mobley, J. Queen designer with Gail Goldman, corporate secretary for Fabrics & Furnishings International 3. Julie Brady and Steve Downend, Warwick UK designer 4. Scott Tooter, P/Kaufmann, New York, 4. Joyce Alcantara, J.Queen export manager and Maciej Kuchareczko, principal of Dekoma, Poznan, Poland 5. Eric Schneider with Rose, Margaret Bachleda, First Class Fabrics-NY to his left.

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

roposte is never at a loss for beautiful fabrics or for words! This year’s event was punctuated with some beautiful products, but “I can’t buy them all,” said Scott Kravet who brought a large group of his designers to help him choose. Proposte has become the ‘Haut Couture Event’ of the fabrics world in sharp contrast to any other exhibition. Some also say the real story is with the companies showing outside of the Villa Erba but we could argue that point all day! Here are some photo shots of the customers and their suppliers:

Lorella ed Emanuele Molteni, principal of Vincenzo Molteni, Inverigo, IT with Scott Kravet of Kravet and Arthur Richards, U.S. agent extraordinaire.

Proposte

All Prosetex: Davide Colombo, export manager; Philippe Coupe, French agent (formerly with Enzo Angiuoni) Luigi Proserpio, principal; and the customer, Ariane Dalle, artistic director of Manuel Canovas, Paris. Cameron Warwick, principal of Warwick Australia and UK said that he is gradually replacing European lines with Turkish product.

Cesare Spinelli, principal of Spinelli Vincenzo in Lecco and king of high end silk jacquard organza, with Goldie and Prem Bharwani, owners of Serba Antik, Jakarta with Adriano Maegna, of Spinelli

Jeffrey Layne, co-owner of ArcCom in Orangeburg, N.Y. with his brother Peter (right). That’s Jean Marie Clarke, Phoenix, Arizona based agent for Mario Sirtori and Amanda Eaton, ArcCom designer.

Gail Goldman, wife of F&FI publisher with Gretchen Bellinger, Albany, N.Y. editeur. Check her out! Hermes scarf hat et al!

Rick Brown, MD of Marco Australia with Patrea Burrows, agent, Rick’s son Darcy and Karla Alexander, his daughter, also with Marco in sales.

Joyce Alcantara, export manager of J.QueenNY with Boss Julie Brady Maciej Kuchareczko, Dekoma owner, Poznan, Poland

Summer 2012

Celine DeKort and brother Neil are back with their father, Cornelius at Bernard Reyn, the Dutch editeur. No place like home, right?

Juan Climent, owner of Alhambra , Alicante, Spain with Deco Interiors of Lima Peru: Erika Torres, designer and owners Gino and Hilda Navarrete

Gabriella Angiuoni makes cupcakes like these but helps her brother Roberto with Texar.

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com 19

F FI NE W S

Kravet Opens New 4,000 Square Foot Showroom in Chelsea Harbor Design Center, London Sipco News Network

ONDON, England — This photography layout represents the new Baker/ Brunschwig/Lee Jofa showroom by Kravet Inc. in over 4,000 square feet of the Chelsea Harbor Design Center here. Kravet was founded in 1918 and is now in its fourth generation of family ownership. It owns the brands Kravet, Lee Jofa, Groundworks, GP&J Baker and Brunschwig. Kravet purchased the GP&J Baker brand in 2001 and more recently, bought Brunschwig in 2011. This new showroom is the creative work of Ann Grafton who heads Kravet’s European operations. This is a decidedly up-market showroom representing all of the top brands in the Kravet ‘stable.’ It represents the first time Kravet has combined all of its brands in one showroom in the UK according to Cary Kravet, company president and principal. F&FI

The GP & J Baker area of the showroom and hanging display showcasing current GP & J Baker collections and the best of previous collections

Reception Weave wall displays Baker Lifestyle area of the showroom and hanging display showcasing current Baker Lifestyle collections and the best of previous collections

This is the Brunschwig and Fils area of the new showroom and hanging display showcasing the best of previous collections

Hanging display showcasing current GP & J Baker collections and the best of previous collections

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

Ann Grafton, Managing Director of GP & J Baker

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Sunbury Has 25th Anniversary Designs On Customers; Soho Studio Hosts Jobber Crowd, Business Improves

Sunbury

SOHO, New York — Sunbury Textile Mills celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Soho New York based design studio on Broome Street with a Spring cocktail party complete with delectable gourmet cupcakes from a local bakery for about 100 guests. Sunbury executives indicated they were doing more than “just holding our own,” in the marketplace. While residential sales have not yet recovered for the U.S. industry as a whole, Sunbury said residential was showing signs of renewed life while contract and Sunbrella® outdoor fabric sales were “still strong.” “Hospitality sales have gotten off to a nice start this year,” said Sandra Ravan, showroom manager of Décor de Paris in Los Angeles. “Some hotel projects that were put on hold have restarted while home owners are refurbishing again.” Materialised owner Gary Price said his contract specialty business was up 10 percent this year in the Pacific Rim. More than celebrating its studio as a location, Sunbury was paying homage to its design staff headed by Mark Grigalunas, senior vice president of design and one of the owners of the mill. His handwriting was evident in more than the fabrics shown. The graphics and design of the showroom reflected his taste and his staff. On hand for the festivities was a bevy of jobbers, their in house designers and also Sunbury jobber product design people. Henry Truslow IV, CEO and Thomas Notaro, vice president of sales for Sunbury proved to be gracious hosts. Here’s a visual who’s who of the evening.

Tom Notaro, vice president, sales, Sunbury Textile Mills with Curtis Breedlove, president, P/Kaufmann Contract, New York and Henry Truslow IV, fourth generation owner/CEO of Sunbury.

Elise Connor, director of design, Curt Pindler, president and Rachel Francis, assistant director of design for Pindler & Pindler, high end jobber based in Moorpark, CA.

Lauren Stewart, assistant designer, jobber product, Sunbury Mills with Sandra Ravan, showroom manager, Décor de Paris, Los Angeles and Alison Bierman, design manager, jobber product, Sunbury.

Randy Trull, textile consultant with Dave Swers, assistant general manager Glen Raven Mills, Burlington, NC with Craig Rubin, principal of Crypton. West Bloomfield, MI.

Lindsey B. Baker, buyer/designer, Robert Grobman, general manager and Scott L. Warwick, president, United Fabrics, Pennsauken, NJ with Mark Grigalunas, senior vice president, design, Sunbury Textile Mills, Sunbury, PA.

Cupcakes

Summer 2012

The cupcakes visited Sunbury celebration but didn’t last long.

Gary Price, principal of Materialised, a contract specialist jobber based in New South Wales, Australia with daughter Belinda, product and marketing manager and wife Robyn.

Randy Rubin, principal of Crypton with Cynthia Degenhardt, principal of Rodolph, a Sonoma, CA based high end jobber.

The boxed cupcakes disappeared with the guests.

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com 21

F FI c a l e n d a r June 11-13 NeoCon 2012 Neocon 2012 will display large collection of furnishing products and accessories such as Art, Architectural Products, Building Products and Services, Carpet/Flooring, Ceiling Systems, Casegoods, Flooring, Furniture, Lighting, Seating, Stone and Ceramic Tile, Sustainable Products, Technology / Textiles, Wall Treatments and more. More than 40,000 attendees will attend the Neocon 2011 and discover the latest furnishing concepts. It will cater to both commercial and residential furnishing sector. Visitors can get an array of furnishing products for home and office at one single place. Attendees can make some fair deals at the expo and get some discount as well. Newly born companies will get innovative business deals and forge some new business contacts at the expo. Venue: Merchandise Mart Address : 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 470, IL City : Chicago Country : United States Of America www.neocon.com/

July 4-5 Premiere Brasil Held in the Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Premiere Vision-Brazil is transited itself into Brazil’s one of the biggest event on Fabrics & Textiles sector. It is aimed towards displaying fabrics, fabrics for woman’s wear, men’s wear and children wear, laces. The venue becomes hub of pioneer exhibitors from different

parts of the world which give a view of environment & cleaning technologies, urban utilities & services. Venue: Expo Centre Norte Address : R. Jose Bernardo Pinto, 333 Vl. Guilherme City : Sao Paulo Country : Brazil http://www.premierebrasil.biz/

24 - 26 Home Textile 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. Venue: Javits Center Address : 11th Avenue & 655 West 34th & 38th Street City : New York Country : United States Of America http://www.hometextilessourcing.com/

31 – Aug 1 Indigo New York Indigo New York Fashion Edition a much awaited event catering to the textile design market in North America. Inviting some of the top notch designers from the world of fashion and textile designing, this event draws over 120 exhibitors, acquainting attendees with the new designs and information on a wide variety of fabrics in vogue at a given point in time. More than 2,500 visitors arrive each year to add a new leaf to their style book and stay updated about the latest fashion trends.

Advertiser Index For more information about one of our advertisers, see the page number listed: Classical Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Covington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Express Air Freight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 GM Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 High Five Textiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Indigo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Kravet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Marcovaldo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Rockland Mills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3 Textirama/MoOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ZW Fabrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Indigo New York Fashion Edition is held at the style capital of the world, New York, for two action packed days. A surface seminar series is an added bonus, as visitors can interact live with leading fashion experts and view prints, knits, embroideries and appliques. Venue: Metropolitan Pavillon Address : 125 W, 18th Street, (between 6th & 7th Avenue) City : New York Country : United States Of America

August 7 – 10 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. 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. Venue: Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center Address : Fuhua 3rd Road, Futian District City : Shenzhen Country : China www.szcec.com/

28-30 Intertextile Shanghai 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. Venue: Shanghai New International Expo Centre Address: 2345 Longyang Road, Pudong New Area Shanghai P.R.C.

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

City : Shanghai Country : China www.messefrankfurt.com.hk/

September 11 – 13 MOOD 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. Venue: Brussels Exhibition Centre Address : Place de Belgique 1 BE City : Brussels Country : Belgium http://www.moodbrussels.com/

Sept. 11 - 13 Indigo Brussels Home Edition Indigo Brussels Home Edition is a unique show which exclusively serves the home textiles segment in Europe, inviting over a 100 famous design studios from different parts of the continent. It caters to professionals from the world of fabrics and textiles, offering weavers, manufacturers, printers and publishers the opportunity to address their requirements on an international platform and showcase a variety of linen and home decor products. Indigo Brussels Home Edition is co located with another leading show, Mood, which is reputed to be the most comprehensive furnishing fabrics fair in the region. Over 4000 attendees visit this event which records significant representation from the European Union, especially countries like France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The United States and Asian nations like India, Japan and China also send participants each year to the event. Venue:Brussels Exhibition Centre Address : Place de Belgique 1 BE City : Brussels Country : Belgium http://www.indigo-salon.com/homebrussels/

September 19 - 21 Indigo Paris Fashion Edition From 150 to 180 international studios present their collections with a unique and creative offer: designs, embroideries and appliqués, knits, fabrics, vintage, transfer paper, archives for all markets and sectors. Each session, the Indigo Fashion Area gives space to discover and to get inspired by the trends of the world of decoration displayed on screens presenting creations from our exhibitors. http://www.indigo-salon.com/fashionparis/

Venue: Paris Nord Villepinte Hall 5 Paris, France

19 – 21 Expofil The exhibition helps to define yarn collections by supplying details of trends to exhibitors at the start of each season. It plays an active part in disseminating new products, new ideas and technologies by showcasing developments in textiles and finished products brought about in partnership with fashion creators and representatives from across the industry. Venue: Paris Nord Villepente Address: Parc d expositions et Centre de Conventions, Roissy Charles de Gaulle City: Paris Country: France www.expofil.com

November 13-15 SoFab International Trade Fair of Upholstery FabricsPoznan International Fair Ltd. Poznan Poland SOFAB is an excellent initiative for the industry representatives and members of upholstery fabrics and components to meet and share expertise and business base for a better networked performance, especially in Poland and the Central Eastern European regions. Also known as the International Trade Fair of Upholstery Fabrics and Components for Upholstered Furniture, it will provide the manufacturers with a platform to showcase their offerings to a large number of prospective clients. SOFAB is the first edition of the International Trade Fair of Upholstery Fabrics and Components for Upholstered Furniture to be held in Poznan will be a 3 day affair and will give an opportunity to display their products as well as expand their market reach by way of promoting through advertising campaigns, which is also a part of this event. Email:sofab@mtp.pl www.sofab.pl Glogowska 14, 60-734 Poznan, Poland Tel 48/61 869 29 99

January 2013 19-20 January 2013 Indigo, the world’s leading show for textile design and creation, is launching a new edition dedicated to the home and decoration in the heart of Paris. It targets professionals in the decoration, design and lifestyle sector,The location: The Bourse de Commerce, in the centre of Paris. http://www.indigo-salon.com/homeparis/ Venue: Bourse de Commerce 2 rue de Viarmes 75001 Paris, France

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