Fabrics & Furnishings - Winter 2016 Issue by Fabrics & Furnishings International

Fre e co p & S ies at how He tim imte e xtil

Volume 27, Number 1

Winter 2016/2017

The Global Home & Contract Sourcing Newspaper

U.S. Based Unique Wholesale Distributors Partners With Dutch Rollershade Supplier Coulisse The pair form new distribution company Sipco News Network

T. LAUDERDALE, Florida — Family Distributors Inc. has formed a partnership with Coulisse to distribute roller shade components including shade fabric to other wholesalers and fabricators in the USA. The agreement becomes official January 1 between the two companies. Family Distributors

is a division of Unique Wholesale Distributors Inc. and the name will be changed to Coulisse Distributors in the near future. While working with Coulisse for the past four years, Unique says it has doubled in size including the motorization of shades. Unique Founder Sam Pampenella says he likes the Coulisse line of fabrics due to its European design, innovative

colors and designs versus a very plain vanilla palette available from US. shade suppliers. He was a Graber distributor originally but balked when Graber tried to buy him out and move the business to Mexico. Sam never left the US and Graber set up shop in Mexico, he says. There are 2,000 sku’s in the Coulisse line and all of them are (Continued on Page 24)

Sam Pampenella and Jop Vos

Miatex: One Stop, Textile Supermarket

Salomon Ojalvo and dad Jose with brother Jack and Danny Delgado, export manager in the new warehouse

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Yiliao Textile Bets Heavily on Dobby Solids

Warwick Fabrics Celebrates 50th Year

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Leighton, Cameron and Tom Warwick (standing)

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Shangen and Mika Ma, principals of Yiliao

18 Julie Morris

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

Morris Shops Showtime for Blinds To Go® Soft Lines

F FI I N F O The Global Home & Contract Sourcing Newspaper

Table of Contents 520 West Avenue, Suite 701, Miami Beach, FL 33139 USA Website: www.fabricsandfurnishings.com Telephone 001.917.251.9922 | ISSN: 1523-7303

F&FI Winter 2016/2017 | Vol. 27, No. 1 Miatex, King of Closeouts, Is a One Stop, Textile Supermarket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Converter, Jobber Mill Specialist Yiliao Textile Bets Heavily for Future Growth. . . . . . . . . . . 12 JAB Adds ‘Sarah & Sue’ Brand Retail Shops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Covington Sets Another Sales Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Domestic China Market Stays Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Yünsa Wool Upholstery Hits Contract Market. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Kravet To Add ‘The Shade Store’ Shop-In-Shops in Eight Showrooms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Morris Shops Showtime for Blinds To Go Soft Lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Neutex Expects To Expand 2017 Product Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Morris Named SVP Blinds To Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Coulisse Grows North/South American Shade and Blinds Business by 30 Percent. . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Hornschuch Group Expects to Merge With Benecke-Kaliko. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Ali Aydin Named Tetsiad President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Sanchez Joins Kravet UK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

SIPCO NEWS NETWORK India | S. Vishwanath U.K. | Jennifer Castoldi Belgium | Jan Hoffman

EDITORIAL & PUBLISHING EDITOR & PUBLISHER USA & EUROPEAN COMMUNITY 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

WEB DEVELOPER Rocco Cerullo, Artisian Designs Tel: 001.954.914.4758 E-Mail: recerullo@artisian.com DISTRIBUTION Mike Panella E-Mail: mikep@apc-pli.com

Hughes Joins Jo-Ann Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Voyage Brand Exceeds $20 Million Sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 DVK Silk Exports Weaves Its Own Silk, Faux Silk Lines, Ends Contract Production Business. . . . . 23

ADVERTISING SALES

Sharon Crowson’s The Design Archives’ Brand Breathes New Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Color Drives Business & Influences Buying Descisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Six year old Benartex Home Does Well Enough to be acquired by Diversitex, anther converter.. 34 Austral Asia’s Warwick Fabrics Celebrates 50th Year, Looks to Double Sales in the Next Decade..50 Boydaks To Answer Turkish Government Charges Against Them. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 The King is Naked. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

TURKEY Sevim Gunes Tel: 90.532.236.25.24 Fax: 90.216.390.20.27 Email: sevimgunes34@gmail.com

INDIA & CHINA S. Wishwanath Tel: 91.80.26685821 Cell: 91.93.42821379 Fax: 91.80.26684670 Email: s_wishwanath@hotmail.com

Crypton Names Jenna Sendra to New Design Post . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Home Textile America Brand Backed by Sufi Weaving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Jeffrey Fabrics Opens 230 Fifth Showroom After Acquisition by P/Kaufmann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Contract/HospitalityNews

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CHN-Paul Harris Leaves Crestmont Fabrics in Strong Family Hands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 CHN-Brazil’s Tidelli Outdoor Opens First US Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Departments

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Photo Gallery - Intertextile Shanghai. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Photo Gallery - Indigo/MoOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Photo Gallery - Next Stop: Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Design - Design with Depth and Meaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Advertiser Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

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The Ojalvo family, 14 to be exact took a trip to Alaska this year. For More on Alaska, see page 48 Winter 2016/2017

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Miatex, King of Closeouts, Seconds to the Central, South American, Caribbean Buyer Is a One Stop, Textile Supermarket, Says Founder Jose Ojalvo Second generation Ojalvo brothers bring change, but stand on father’s shoulders with great respect IAMI, Florida—Miatex, the 10 million yard ‘king’ of the Central, South America and Caribbean closeout and seconds market has expanded its physical warehouse space to a new location in 60,000 square feet plus a 3,000 square foot office here. The 40-year-old specialist that is more a credit agency and a bank than a typical fabric exporter was founded by Jose Ojalvo (73) in 1976 after arriving from Cuba in 1959. Jose is now receiving the full support of his two sons Jack, 49, (Vice President) and Salomon, (Operations Manager) 33, together with export manager Danny Delgado, a 34 year veteran of the company. All three call on the customers and manage to complement Jose’s vast personal knowledge of the buyers and how much credit

should be extended to them. Terms of 120 days to the best customers are offered. The thriving business is now set to get a complete facelift in the next few years as Salomon spearheads a technical push into a new inventory and sample system that is expected to double company sales to an estimated $50/$60 million. Salomon says he is getting Miatex ready for the next phase of growth by adding new lines to existing markets and also expects to add new markets geographically to the company’s portfolio. While 60 percent of the business geared to upholstery and drapery fabric, Miatex does the balance of its business in mattress ticking, automotive, roller shade fabrics and industrial fabrics. Jack says the fastest growing business today is industrial textiles.” “We’re a one-stop textile supermarket for our customers, Jose

Miatex first quality goods ready for shipment

Panamanian customer (left) with Danny Delgado, Miatex Export Manager

Sipco News Network

explains. “We know how to buy,” Jose says. “It’s no longer about buying cheap. We have the highest quality fabrics at the lowest possible price,” he adds. Designs and colors are an important part of the purchasing process for Miatex. The group has to be careful what they buy, especially since they cut sample books from their purchases. About 90 percent of the fabrics sold are under $3.00 to their customers. “We deal with all of the mills and converters worldwide,” Salomon says. In fact, he spends more time calling on resources than anything else, especially at the Market Resource Center in High Point during Showtime.” He also attends Heimtextil in Frankfurt, ISPA for the bedding industry and IFIA for industrial fabrics. “We carry our own receivables and we are proud of the fact that our current inventory is all fresh and three million yards in stock. Miatex covers the South and Central American and Caribbean markets–specifically Jewish, Arab and Christian customers. Miatex defines first quality goods as overstock, year-end liquidations and buyouts of other dealers or wholesalers. Seconds are slightly damaged goods or ‘A’ quality goods with no more than 10 percent damage per roll. The minimum order for a Miatex customer is one roll all the

Miatex

Ojalvo Family of Spain The Ojalvo family history is traced back to Ojalvo, Spain in 1492 when the family fled the Jose Ojalvo’s ancesters in Turkey Spanish inquisition and settled in Edirne, Turkey thanks to the Sultan. The Sultan rescued over 500 Jews from a burning boat off the coast of Spain at that time. The Ojalvo clan flourished in Turkey until 1915 when Jose Ojalvo’s grandfather left Turkey for Cuba. “My grandfather thought he was in America when he landed in Cuba because everyone was Jewish who spoke Spanish,” Jose laughs. Jose’s father became a peddler, driving a motorcycle with a cart at night, selling fabrics to the Cuban ladies. In 1959, Jose and his family left Cuba for the USA where he first settled in Brooklyn and then later, in Miami. Jose’s first job was at Phillip Wedden Corp., a New York based textile exporter to South and Central America. He took the knowledge gained there from 1972/1976 and started Miatex in 1976. Jose has so many stories to tell, we wouldn’t have space here for all of them! We recommend you hear them personally from Jose! F&FI

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Converter, Jobber Mill Specialist Yiliao Textile Bets Heavily on Dobby Solids for Future Growth Father/son team grows the business dynamically, primarily in USA export. Sipco News Network

ANZHOU, PRC—Hangzhou Yiliao Textile Co., Ltd. fin-

Yiliao’s Hangzhou showroom

ished 2016 with a five percent sales increase, somewhat short of expectations after growing the business 10-20% every year in the last 10 years, according to Mika Ma, principal with his father Shangen. Hangzhou Yiliao sales volume currently stands at $18 Million, he says. It caters to converters and jobbers and some manufacturers. “Business looks softer in 2017 but we will increase our offering of solids and continue to expand our business in the USA and elsewhere. Solid color fabrics bring us good volume,” he points out. Until now, Yiliao has been a low profile, high volume manufacturer of upholstery and window fabrics in natural, synthetic and FR construc-

tions but it is no longer a secret. Yiliao is a key supplier to some important clients worldwide including P/Kaufmann, Barrow and Ashley Furniture, which it sells directly (China to China). Yiliao also sells greige polyester knitted velvet to D’Decor in India, for dyeing there, F&FI learned. The company produces its lines on 20 double width looms, 12 single width looms and 12 dobby looms plus one foil-printing unit. There are nine jacquard looms available for weaving double beam fabric. Mika says Yiliao does woven jacquard, dobby plain, and foil printing. “We do linen looks in polyester and some linen/cotton blends plus

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100% polyester chenille plains that we sell super good. Price range is from $2.50 to $4.50,” he says. The Yiliao dobby solids are priced from $2 to $4 per yard; jacquards priced from $3 to $6 per yard and foil printing from $5.95 to $12.95 per yard. Minimums for purchase are 300 meters to 500 meters, depending on the specific fabric. “Mostly we do 50 colors per collection in solids, but we also do some good plains in over 100 colors. We also weave multipurpose goods for drapery and upholstery.” “We buy all the foil paper from Italy. We are the only one in China who has a foil-printing machine; so this side of the business is less

Mika Ma competitive. These foil designs are copyrighted or if the customer supplies its own design it will be an (Continued on Page 22)

Winter 2016/2017

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JAB Adds ‘Sarah & Sue’ Brand Retail Shops in Germany Golf House Continues Aggressive Expansion Sipco News Network

IELEFELD, FDR—JAB, one of the largest wholesalers of fabrics in the world today and now in its third generation ownership by the Anstoetz family, has opened three retail shops under the ‘Sarah & Sue’ brand in Bielefeld (JAB headquarters), Köln and Paderborn, Germany. The stores opened in 2016. This is JAB’s second entre into the retail field having successfully built a chain of golf shops in the German speaking area. The Sarah & Sue outlets offer curtains, cushions, throws and home accessories as well as an active online ordering system for

German speaking consumers and designers. It is understood to be the pet project of Ralph Anstoetz, one of the principals of JAB but he was not available for comment. The Initial rollout of the stores is in Germany but further expansion might be planned elsewhere—at least in the German speaking area of Europe according to a company spokesperson. “For the moment there are no expansion plans for foreign countries, and we therefore see no sense in making Sarah & Sue known in the US,” she says. “We do not want to create a need if we don’t offer the possibility to order Sarah & Sue goods from

the USA.” The Anstoetz family, which is quite comfortable in the retail arena, also acquired the Golf House retail chain in 2010. Ralph Anstoetz is known to be an avid golfer. The Golf House group has 21 branches in Germany, six branches in Austria and one branch in the Czech Republic (28). The strongly expanding Golf House group is considered the leading specialist retailer in continental Europe and direct shipper in the German and Austrian golf market. Golf House was established in the market 40 years ago.

Over the years, JAB has made opportunistic purchases which blend with its culture. It has also demonstrated success with several acquisitions of other wholesalers like Chivasso and brands like Gardisette. JAB is now growing its retail presence with outlets that are not competitive to the JAB brand. JAB was founded in 1946 by Josef Anstoetz and is celebrating its 70th birthday in 2016. F&FI

Ralph Anstoetz

Covington Sets Another Sales Record, Launches Outdoor Prints, Wovens, Jennifer Adams Contract Sipco News Network

EW YORK, New York— Covington Fabrics & Design LLC finished out its July fiscal year 2016 with a gain over 2015, a record year for this converter according to Greg Tarver, President & CEO. Even the closing of the Hancock Fabrics chain in July failed to dampen Covington’s sales posture as it has more than made up for that loss, Tarver says. The company is now planning a 32 sku outdoor print collection for Showtime plus a 70 sku

Covington outdoor prints

Greg Tarver

Chari Voehl

Stefanie Wotton

Tom Bruno

jacquard collection and the first Jennifer Adams contract collection at Boutique Design West. In general, Covington says it is moving on all fronts to become a more efficient competitor to other converters, says Tarver. In five years, Tarver and his team, Tom Bruno, Senior VicePresident, Sales; Chari Voehl, Vice President, Design and Stefanie Wotton, Director, Marketing & Contract Services, “took the company from creating a stable environment to building on customer ideas and a focus on creativity in all market segments,” Tarver mentions. “We took chances and tried different things,” he says. The Kahan and Rifkin families acquired Covington in 2011. Tarver says the business has doubled since the acquisition and he expects it to double again by 2018. In addition, he says that exports are also up since the company showed its lines at Heimtextil in 2016 although it is not back in 2017 as an exhibitor. “Michael Rifkin took over as our Export Manager

this past year. We didn’t have anyone in that position previously but now it makes sense,” Tarver explains. “We’re getting traction in European markets as well as in South Africa, Canada and Russia,” he says. Furthermore, Covington is branching out to new markets, which include ready-mades, top of bed and decorative pillows produced in China according to Tarver, who has a background in bedding from his days at WestPoint Stevens. “We think the big box retailers are not as decorative as they used to be. This leaves voids to be filled by finished product specialists,” he says. “We are targeting those specialists for finished products and we are doing our own non conflicting lines as well.” “We have definitely grown market share for Covington at the expense of other domestic converters in the USA,” he points out. Covington, which was late to the game of jacquard wovens years ago, is now finding resurgence in printed fabrics. Under the design

leadership of Chari Voehl the company is literally working hand in hand with the customer to develop special custom print and woven programs. “The customer even has input on which designs should be chosen and even how the prints should be colored,” Voehl maintains. “We let the customer review strike offs and art boards before we make a final decision,” Voehl says. With a design team of 10, Voehl has become more sales oriented as a designer. “Retailers don’t want to be shopped so they are developing proprietary programs with us, Bruno adds. Outdoor prints are expanding for Covington on textured polyester base cloths. A collection of 32 sku’s will be presented at Showtime,” Voehl says. “We’re hammering away at the wovens market,” Bruno says. “There’s a big market for outdoor prints with manufacturers of replacement cushions, manufacturers and retail chains,” he adds.

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Winter 2016/2017

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Domestic China Market Stays Flat But Some Fabric Producers Still Add Value With Improved Profit Margins Pressure is due to oversupply position and frozen demand, say exporters. By Vishwanath S

HANGHAI, China — China’s domestic home furnishings demand is flat and the result is an oversupply position according to most market observers here but there are exceptions. First time visitors and exhibitors to Intertextile seemed to fare better at this year’s exhibition here. Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles’ 22nd edition says it had 1,142 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions attracted 37,779 visitors from 98 countries and regions, a drop from the previous edition of 2015, which attracted 42,048 visitors. “Our experience at Intertextile was positive as a first time visitor,” says Mandy Heimann, Director

and Buyer for Orson and Blake Collection, Australia, an upmarket furniture and accessories wholesaler. ‘Though we source furniture as well as sofa fabrics from China and visit other furniture shows in China, we had not been to this show and we are glad we did,” she says. She visited the show along with her husband David Heimann also director of the company. “Our visit to the show was eventful and we are now tied up with a Mongolia based exporter for our cashmere line of made-ups and we are looking around to source other objects that suit us,” they add. To the Western countries, exporting to China has been difficult to enter and penetrate as China produces similar merchandize. In case of Sorensen Leathers,

Denmark a 43-year-old company, the experience has not been different. The company has been exhibiting in Hong Kong market and since 6 years has been reaching to highend customers for its contract line upholstery hides. ‘We have been trying to find a market in China for some time and we exhibited in the show for the first time and made contacts in the China market as well wrote few orders,” says Mads Sorensen, Sales Director & Partner. “China is still very much into price, not easy but with the quality we have, there are still and always will be many wealthy who are sure to appreciate nice and genuine exclusive leather from us,” he adds. “Experiences of Pasaya brand,

Mandy Heimann, Director & Buyer who visited Shanghai Intertextile along with her husband David Heimann Thailand was also positive. “We interacted with buyers from Australia, South Africa, and UK as well as other countries,” says

Nicholas Bernhardt, country Sales & Marketing Manager, Pasaya Thailand. Pasaya collection had (continued on Page 49)

Yünsa Wool Upholstery Hits Contract Market Sipco News Network

RUSSELS — Yünsa is the apparel fabric powerhouse of

the Sabanci Group that is turning its sights towards upholstery, specifi-

cally wool and wool bends. The company produces 14 million meters of wool fabrics a year and is a key supplier of men’s’ suitings to Hugo Boss and Zara. Yünsa is based in the Levent district of Istanbul. The new home effort was shown at MoOD for the first time although the upholstery line has been on the market for the past two years and has been quietly showing at Villa Berlasconi during Proposte. Bora Birgin, Chief Sales Officer was present at MoOD along with Ersin Samsa, the Upholstery Manager. The Yünsa line incudes piece dyed and yarn dyed dobbies “We’re focused on contract wool fabrics with 50,000 double rubs but we have wool for residential use also,” says Ersin Samsa, upholstery sales manager. The range is priced 10-18 Euros per meter. We are also able to make Zirpro finish that enables our products to pass flame tests like BS5852 – 0 (Cigarette) and 1 (Match) tests for domestic

In addition, our products can also pass 5(Crib 5) tests for contract use in Europe and the UK. In addition to showing at MoOD, Yünsa would like to exhibit at Heimtex too. We have also applied for Proposte in the main building if possible. In the past, we have shown in the International Observatory at Proposte but it was not in the main building and therefore not as efficient as the main area.” F&FI

Yünsa 100 percent wool solids

Bora Birgin, Chief Sales Officer of Yünsa, Istanbul, with Ersin Samsa, sales manager

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Winter 2016/2017

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Kravet To Add ‘The Shade Store’ Shop-In-Shops in Eight Showrooms Offering Roller Shades, Blinds Sipco News Network

ETHPAGE, New York — Kravet has teamed up with The Shade Store to bring the company’s custom shades, blinds and draperies to Kravet customers as a shop-in-

shop in eight Kravet showrooms. “I think it is a style trend and a simple way to provide an understandable finished product to a more educated consumer. There are now some very good and smart retailers in the mix,” says Cary

The Shade Store-New York midtown location

Kravet, President of Kravet. “We’ve been working closely with professional interior designers for generations, to simplify the window treatment process for them and their clients and we understand the needs of this discerning customer,” says Adam Gibbs, cofounder and CEO of The Shade Store. The Shade Store’s history dates back to 1946 with a small fabric shop in Mount Vernon, New York. It started as a dressmaker evolved into a sought-after couture window treatment company for design trade and affluent homeowners. When the current generation came into adulthood (the Gibbs brothers and their cousin, Greg Spatz), they looked at the family business and turned the model on its head with the objective of mod-

Cary Kravet ernizing the way people shop for custom window treatments ‘making custom simple’ for consumers. They now have 43 showrooms nationwide and are continuing to expand with more showrooms throughout this year and next. In terms of growth strategy, they tend

Adam Gibbs to open showrooms in markets that have strong online sales. Those online customers have responded extremely well to the idea of having a place to physically shop for window treatments. “There is no better partner (continued on Page 20)

Morris Shops Showtime for Neutex Expects To Expand 2017 Blinds To Go Soft Lines Product Lines UENCHBERG, Sipco News Network

ARAMUS, New Jersey — Julie Morris, Blinds To Go® Senior Vice President, Merchandising & Innovation will be shopping fabric lines at Showtime in High Point this December, she says. Morris is developing a soft lines program to compliment the blinds and roller shade programs at Blinds To Go. She is the former Vice President of Merchandising for Calico, the 73 store home fabrics chain based in Kennett Square, PA. In her new role, Morris has relocated to the New York area and is based in the Route 4 headquarters of Blinds To Go in Paramus. She has been in her new post since April after leaving Calico in March and logging 26 years with

the company, starting out as the fabric buyer. Blinds To Go® brand blinds and shades are manufactured in the company’s 100,000 square foot plants in Lakewood, New Jersey, and Montreal, Quebec. The company currently operates over 80 superstores throughout the eastern United States, and Canada under the Blinds To Go brand name (except in Quebec where it operates under the Le Marché du Store™ brand name). Over the next four years, the company says it plans to expand in size by increasing sales in existing stores and to continue to build superstores throughout the United States and Canada. F&FI

Adds More Coordinates Sipco News Network

Jochen Rieger, CEO and Joseph Wheeler, Export Director, Neutex Home Deco, Munchberg, Germany

Morris Named SVP Blinds To Go Sipco News Network

Blinds to Go

Julie Morris

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EW YORK, New York — Julie Morris, former Vice President of Merchandising for Calico, the 73 store home fabrics chain in Kennet Square, PA, has joined Blinds To Go as Senior Vice President, Merchandising & Innovation. She has been in her new post since April after leaving Calico in March. She had logged 26 years with the company. F&FI

FDR— Neutex Home Deco said it will finish up 2016 with a 20 percent sales increase and has set very aggressive targets for 2017 with expected strong growth in Germany, its home market and an expanding presence in export markets with sales to the fabricator. The Neutex product line consists of decorative fabrics for residential and contract use, made-up products, a variety of innovations in window coverings fabrics and technical textiles. “We see big opportunities to enhance sales and generate a winwin situation by bringing our clients in both areas of the business closer together,” according to Joe Wheeler, Export Sales Director. The key for Neutex is to offer solutions to our clients that in turn inspire their customers to decorate their homes and update their living spaces. Today´s consumer is diverse and with complex needs. We hope to help our partners better capture the current dynamic of today´s consumer and ultimately improve the bottom line with higher sales and profits. In 2017, Neutex SUN is expanding its line of flame retardant fabrics both on a customized level and as a part of its stock collections. “This opens up opportunities with a new trade segment where it is not currently present,” Wheeler says. As a next step, Neutex expects to combine window coverings with traditional decorative fabrics. “The result is a perfect combination of modern functional window coverings with the soft touch of decora(continued on Page 34)

Winter 2016/2017

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Winter 2016/2017

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Coulisse Grows North/South American Shade and Blinds Business by 30 Percent Under Jop Vos Unique increases its Coulisse Offerings in USA Sipco News Network

IAMI, Florida—Coulisse has produced a 30 percent sales gain in 2016 according to Jop Vos, Managing Director of the North American branch of the Enter, Netherlands based supplier of window treatments. “Chile and Colombia are also growing strong, but Brazil has clearly a challenging market environment. In some of the countries in South America the market is going down, but we manage to increase” Vos explains, “with more to come in 2017.” Coulisse, is a $100 million plus window coverings system supplier, is capitalizing on the trend towards roller shades with a major expansion in the USA and South American markets. The company offers more than 750 sku’s in its roller shade collection and most of that is also available in the USA collection. Coulisse

says it refreshes, and replaces each year about 30 percent of its fabric designs. Unique Wholesale Distributors Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, FL, expects further growth, especially with the introduction of four of the new USA fabric and screen collection and the launch of the Roller Absolute 2.0 hardware system. “The new Absolute 2.0 hardware is an amazing new roller system that will compete in each market segment, both in residential and commercial applications.” “Some of the largest retailers in the country have committed to the system,” Vos continues. Unique will spearhead the launch of four new roller shade fabric books supplied by Coulisse. Unique is a major wholesaler and fabricator of roller shades to the window coverings retailers in the USA with thousands accounts nationwide. (See Additional Story p.1) Coulisse also expects to seal a

deal with a major homegoods retail chain in the USA, guaranteeing further growth in the American market, Vos says. At the same time, Coulisse is introducing six of its own in house designed standard roller shade mechanisms made of glass fiber reinforced POM with six new metal finishes for the residential and commercial markets in the USA. Previously, Coulisse outsourced the design and production of its roller shade mechanisms. Production is still outsourced but the design is in house by Coulisse, Vos emphasizes. The new mechanisms offer four different sizes; small, medium and heavy-duty large sizes for the commercial markets. The fourth size is XS (extra small) first introduced in Europe and now is expected to take hold in the American market because of the standard small windows in the USA, 36x60 inches. “The extra small size roller shades from Coulisse are the right

size for many applications in the USA and should really take off sales wise,” Vos says. Coulisse participates in the International Window Coverings Show in Charlotte, previously in Las Vegas. As well as the Interior Design Show (IDS) in Toronto, CA for the first time this year. After four years in the US market, Coulisse is getting the right traction in the market and opened its brand new office on Brickell Key under the direction of Vos, last year. Miami is the hub for Coulisse’s North and South American business. Vos, who joined Coulisse in 2006 covering the Eastern European market, relocated from his native Netherlands to the USA in 2012. He is now the Managing Director of Coulisse America based in new offices on Brickell Key where he covers the USA and an increasingly important South American market. He reports to the owners based in Enter, The Netherlands, about an hour from Amsterdam. There, Coulisse has a 170,000 square foot warehouse and design center, which supplies 7,000 sku’s to the world market. Coulisse

Coulisse’s Jop Vos shows off new roller blind mechanisms says it has a motor solution for each of its systems which include Roller Shades, Roman Shades, Venetian Blinds, Panel Tracks and HoneyCell’s. Some of the most successful fabrics are made of 100 percent Trevira®CS fabrics as well as natural roller shades of jute, paper and linen. Coulisse also supplies blackout and light filtering shades. The company in its expanding export effort now has sales offices in Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Taipei, Warsaw Poland and Moscow. F&FI

(continued from Page 18)

Kravet To Add ‘The Shade Store’ than Kravet to expand our reach to designers beyond our own 40+ showrooms and online tools and give even more professionals access to the simplified custom process we provide,” Gibbs adds. So far, two Kravet locations have added The Shade Store shop-inshops. The Shade Store at Kravet will give customers access to its complete offering, which includes 11 categories of custom window treatments that are made in the USA and ship free within 10 business days, or less, according to a spokesperson at The Shade Store. The first Kravet showroom to welcome The Shade Store shops has opened in the Kravet D&D Building Showroom in New York City with additional shops scheduled to open in Naples, FL; Boston, MA; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Washington DC; and Philadelphia, PA, with swift plans to add Bethpage, NY and Chicago, IL to the list. The Shade Store expects to staff each location with window

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treatment design experts to assist Kravet customers who are looking to create custom roman shades, drapery and cornices using stocked materials and any Kravet fabric. Customers will also have access to the complete offering of The Shade Store materials for custom roller shades, solar shades, woven wood shades, wood binds and more. The Shade Store shop-inshops will offer the trade exclusive discounts and nationwide measure and installation services. Both family-operated brands share a customer-centric culture and commitment to creating the very best experience. “At Kravet, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to make designers’ lives easier,” said Cary Kravet. “With this new initiative, we will be able to provide our customers with the ease of one-stop shopping for high-quality window treatments from the experts at The Shade Store using the very best fabrics – all without having to leave the Kravet showroom.” F&FI

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Hornschuch Group Expects to Merge With Benecke-Kaliko Sipco News Network

eissbach, FDR—Surface specialist Benecke-Kaliko intends to further expand its industrial business, especially in North America with the proposed acquisition of The Hornschuch Group. Benecke-Kaliko is a subsidiary of international technology company Continental AG. Hornschuch is to be integrated into BeneckeKaliko. The corporation says it is able to finance the acquisition entirely from its own liquid assets and available lines of credit. Continental, the parent of Benecke-Kaliko says both companies will operate independently until antitrust authorities approve the acquisition in the second quarter of 2017. “Together with our employees, and with the help of our financial investor, we have experienced dynamic growth in recent years,” says Dr. Hans-Hinrich Kruse, CEO of the Hornschuch Group. “The merger with Benecke-Kaliko now offers an outstanding opportunity in terms of our future continued devel-

opment in our markets worldwide.” The acquisition of Hornschuch should expand the interior business under Bruno Lehmann, Vice President in charge of the interior business unit for Hornschuch. In 2010, Hornschuch purchased O’Sullivan, a US based supplier of vinyl to the furniture industry. Lehmann had a major hand in that purchase. The purchase price for Hornschuch was not disclosed but Hornshuch sales for fiscal 2015 were over $500 million with more than 1,800 employees working at four production sites in Germany and the U.S.A. The Hornschuch Group is a manufacturer of design, functional and compact films, foam laminates, and artificial leather for the furniture and construction industries and for the automotive sector. “Hornschuch generates more than half of its sales with industrial applications. We are thereby consistently and sustainably strengthening our global business outside the automotive industry,” explained

Aydin plans expansions

Bruno Lehmann Hans-Jürgen Duensing, member of the Continental Executive Board and CEO of ContiTech AG. Benecke-Kaliko AG, part of the ContiTech division of the Continental Corporation, develops and manufactures surface materials for passenger and commercial vehicles, the off-highway sector, and other important industries at seven locations in Germany, China, Mexico, Poland, and Spain, and operates 16 international sales offices in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. The company achieved sales of approximately $700 million in 2015. F&FI

(continued from Page 12)

Yiliao Textile Bets Heavily on Dobby Solids for Future Growth extra 2000 Euro for the design cost, but we will refund that amount after producing 5,000 meters for that customer,” he says. “We spend $100,000 each year for designs which we buy from the European market. We have our own design team, and I am the design team director. Together, we develop around 500 new patterns every year.” “Since we are doing an international business, we must follow the global trends, so we buy lots of fashion magazines and interior fabric magazines to get new ideas and understand what’s the design and color trend in the coming year.

Yiliao buys its yarn outside the mill and also does dying outside which is typical of most Chinese weavers. “We are just a weaving mill,” Mika explains. Yiliao is a family owned business. Yangen, Mika’s father started Yiliao in 1987, almost 30 years ago but Mika joined the business in 2005, about 12 years ago. Mika started the successful export operation, accounting for 90 percent of sales today. The balance is domestic business in China, he says. “Before I joined Yiliao, my father only did domestic business. We started the oversea business when I joined the company.

As part of the export operation, Mika expects to hire more sales agents in different areas. “We keep developing new products every season and continue to send new samples to our sales agents worldwide.” While the USA is the biggest market for Yiliao, Mika continues to work with various sales agents based in the UK, Australia, and Canada. Yiliao only shows at Shanghai Intertextile but Mika plans to be at Heimtextil 2017 in Frankfurt to see what the trends are and see some good friends. F&FI

Hughes Joins Jo-Ann Fabrics Sipco News Network

UDSON, Ohio — Michael Hughes has been named DMM, Home Decor Fabrics for the 850 outlet Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores, the largest retail fabric chain in the USA. He joined Jo-Ann September 6, 2016 after having a similar position at Hancock Fabrics for

one year. Hancock closed its 184 stores in July, 2016. Prior to his role at Hancock, he was a consultant. Prior to that, Hughes had a retail background working in various merchandising posts at Dillard’s. He has a BS in Finance & Administration from the University of Louisville. F&FI

(continued from Page 14) Most important, Covington has elected to support its jobber customers. That means Covington will not do cut order. “That is the role of our jobber customers,” Bruno says. From an operations standpoint, Tarver points to tight control over sampling costs (ROSI) return on sample investment, which includes knowing which sales representatives and customers are most efficient in the use of samples. “We’re now moving more towards electronic entry of orders by the customer.

MD of GP&J Baker, a Kravet Fabrics subsidiary. Sanchez was previously with Home Fabrics, a Bru Textiles holding in Midrand, South Africa.

ONDON, England — Quiquie Sanchez has joined GP&J Baker and Kravet brands based in London as International Sales Development Manager. He reports to Ann Grafton, Quiequie Sanchez

STANBUL, Turkey — Ali Aydin has been appointed President of Tetsiad, the Turkish Home Textile Association with over 1,000 members including manufacturers, traders and importers. He replaces Yacar Kucuculik who held the post for six years. Aydin was Vice President of Tetsiad for six years before being named President. He is also the General Manager and a Board Ali Aydin Member of Aydin Textiles. In other areas of Aydin Textiles, Aydin says he is at the same time expanding production of mattress ticking in Istanbul and will move production to Kayseri by January 1, 2017. Capacity should be doubled, he says. Kayseri is the center of mattress and furniture production in Turkey, he adds. In other developments, Aydin says that warp knitting used in upholstery will be expanded in Adapazari. “Our export business is increasing and the Russian wholesaler and furniture business is picking up again after a year’s decline.” Aydin’s two-year-old Rug manufacturing business is another area of growth. “We’re dong new versions of old Ottoman rug designs in prints, woven velvets and jacquards. We’re showing this line at Domotex in January to different customers who buy floor covering but not upholstery.” Aydin rugs are available in 18 sizes in polyester, acrylic and cotton yarns. The yarns are also made by Aydin.“These rugs are inexpensive throw away items with antibacterial, waterproof and easy care features,” he adds.

Covington Sets Record

Sanchez Joins Kravet UK Sipco News Network

Ali Aydin Named Tetsiad President

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We’re also moving certain operations—namely finance and converting functions to Spartanburg, SC from New York. This will leave us with a larger showroom space in New York,” Tarver explains. There is also an 80,000 square foot warehouse in Calhoun Falls, SC. December 2016 Showtime in High Point will also see an expanded Covington space in the Textile Tower with six showrooms and over 200 booked appointments expected. F&FI

Winter 2016/2017

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Voyage Brand Exceeds $20 Million Sales Proprietary piecegoods produced internally Sipco News Network

LASGOW, Scotland — Voyage brand, founded by Ian Dykes in 1998 begins 2017 with 75 employees and exports 30 percent of its production to 30 countries with $20 million in sales. Voyage continues to grow 10 percent a year, Dykes says. He is actively looking for regional partners on a 50/50 basis in the USA and is currently working out a deal in China and the Middle East for a partner to take on the collection. Dykes buys woven fabrics from Europe and Asia and jacquards from small commission weavers in Italy that you never heard of before, and digitally prints 16,000 meters a week in Glasgow as a

converter. He also commission weaves linen base cloth in the UK. Dykes buys velvets from a Turkish mill. He covers his furniture and sells piecegoods to the likes of John Lewis in the UK as well as finished cushions, lampshades, and non-woven wallcoverings. It’s a complete coordinated home furnishings and furniture collection presented in a thick catalog every year. “We have six designers on staff producing our original designs in watercolors. “We don’t buy designs on the outside, preferring to produce our own ranges,” he says. “I shop MoOD every year, go to Heimtextil and Proposte. I go to China every three years. The mar-

Ian Dykes, ket hasn’t changed that much in China with more wholesalers than ever exhibiting at the Intertextile show there.” F&FI

DVK Silk Exports Weaves Its Own Silk, Faux Silk Lines, Ends Contract Production Business Sipco News Network

ANGALORE, India — Originally, DVK Silk International Exports was a contract supplier to several silk exporters as well as to the domestic India market but since 1991, it stopped contract manufacturing in favor of direct export of its own silk and faux silk collections to the American and UK markets. “We have seen drastic change in the market situation since the 2008 meltdown. We had to adopt to the changing market preferences and have been able to adjust to the new trend towards cheaper faux silks made of polyester at a fraction of the silk fabric cost”, say the DVK partners, brothers K. Ram Narayan and K. Laxmi Narayan, sons of the founder D.V. Krishnamurthy, The pair say they deliver natural and blended collections including pure silk furnishings within five to seven weeks. “We weave to order and accept a 200-300 meter batch in a single color,” they add. Naturals, blends and polyesters are priced between $ 25-30 range while pure silk collections are sold between & $11-$25. DVK wants to remain very competitive pricewise. DVK started as a weaver of pure silk fabrics in 1970 under the guidance of their father who was the sole weaver by himself and was also wedded to one single silk yarn. Today, silk fabrics constitute just 15% of the total sales turnover, the brothers say.

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“The change of preference from pure silk to silk looking collections shocked us and we never had imagined that this new preference would continue for this long”, Lakshmi notes. “India completely depends on China for quality silk raw The Narayan material and DVK was paying about $25 for silk yarn then and now we pay over $55 a Kilogram.” It was a difficult period soon after 2008 and DVK Silk carefully strategized the means to survive and stay in the business. “We realized that we couldn’t afford to have any special emotion towards silk alone and started looking at other yarns. The other most important issue was gaining control of the manufacturing process and remove bottlenecks on the delivery of consistent quality,” Lakshmi says. In 2009, the company built a new factory with the entire necessary infrastructure to weave cotton, linen, polyester and blends including silks. “We chose the best equipment such as Sulzer looms, Benninger warping machines, Staubli Dobbies/Jacquards, SWF Embroidery machines from Korea, Juki sewing machines that offer greater customer choice in terms of the variety of weaves and surface structures”, adds K. Lakshmi. Earlier the company used to

Brothers, Lakshmi and Ram weave silk furnishings in its own facility as well as out source from other weavers but DVK now weaves all collections in its own factory taking total responsibility for delivering quality and on time, the brothers say. “We deliver our line of collections between five weeks for regular weaves and maximum of seven weeks for intricate designed fabrics, Ram says. “The most important advantage we gained due to our own infrastructure facility is that we can deliver the quality that we promise to our customers”, Lakshmi emphasizes. He says that DVK has always given importance to the development of trendy collections in varying blend combinations. “The DVK design studio is being further spruced up with new design talent,” Lakshmi adds. “Honestly, there is no appreciable growth in our annual turnover but we hope our creativity efforts will supplement our marketing efforts,” Ram adds. F&FI

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NEW

FROM WEDNESDAY UNTIL FRIDAY

6-7-8 SEPTEMBER

2017

moodbrussels.com #moodbxl indigobrussels.com #indigobxl MoOD & Indigo Brussels are organised by Textirama vzw, Poortakkerstraat 9d, BE-9051 Gent, Belgium +32 9 243 84 50 / info@moodbrussels.com / info@indigobrussels.com

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(Continued from Front Cover)

U.S. Based Unique Partners With Dutch Rollershade Supplier Coulisse stocked on Pampenella’s shelves. “Graber and Hunter Douglas ate up the independent distributors,” Unique founder Sam Pampenella explains. “There are very few independents left in this business but I want to try to service them with components and fabrics.” The window coverings business is figured at $2.5 billion in sales at wholesale. Unique sells through dealers and not direct to the end user. Unique is one of the top manufacturers of finished window shades in the US. It supplies a nation-

Sam Pampenella with $250,000 cutting table.

wide network of as many as 5,000 mom and pop dealers according to Pampenella. The average roller shade sold by Unique costs $200$300 each at wholesale which is considered the upper end of the market. Unique also services about a half dozen Internet sellers of roller shade. “I never dreamed the Internet would become so important to shade sales,” he says. “It accounts for 20 percent of the business today, about $500 million in sales.” Unique keeps 20 trucks on the road delivering to dealers in the Carolinas and Georgia. It has a separate company in South Carolina to help this effort. Unique has no trouble filling up a Fedex truck every day for sales to the rest of the country. Delivery r=from receipt of order from the dealer is 7-10 days. The company started business in 1980 in Pampenella’s garage and today, it occupies over 100,000 square feet in eight buildings which

Pampenella has to tour in a golf cart to get around. Unique employs 330 people, many who have worked in the company for over 25 years, Pampenella explains. His two daughters and sons in law are part of the business. His daughter Kim Buxbaum runs the designer showroom part of the business, which features many jobber lines of fabric in catering to the designer trade. Her husband Danny runs Family Distributors and will work closely with Coulisse in the new distribution company. Son in law Chris Collins is the CEO and his wife Laura helps out with special projects. Pampenella’s nephews run the office and factory. Nevertheless, Pampenella works 10-hour days and longs to slow down a bit. He intends to do so by hiring more upper management executives in the future. F&FI

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Unique Designer Showroom features Kravet, Lee Jofa, Duralee, RM Coco and other jobber lines

New Coulisse hardware collection in Unique showroom

New Coulisse roller shades

Winter 2016/2017

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Sharon Crowson’s ‘The Design Archives’ Brand Breathes New Life Into the Classic Crowson Design Library at Decorex Sipco News Network

ONDON, UK—The Design Archives launched its first collection of prints with ‘Archive 1’ created from the original Crowson Ltd. design archive in September at Decorex. Sharon Crowson, the daughter of Derek Crowson is continuing the spirit of Crowson, the converter by recoloring some of the firm’s best selling designs. “The designs, though strong enough to stand alone have been

worked within specific color palettes, enabling the designer to combine several different patterns in the same space,” she says. The designs are printed on cotton, linen, wool and velvet in the UK, according to Sharon, the Creative Director and sole owner of the new venture. Sharon was involved with the Crowson family business for more than 30 years until Derek Crowson’s retirement in April 2014. The original Crowson Company,

founded in 1978, was one of the largest fabric exporters worldwide before it closed and a very successful brand in the UK. Stock, sampling and photography for ‘Archive 1’ will be available in early 2017, Sharon reports as the initial prelaunch at Syon Park “went very well.” F&FI

Sharon Crowson and The Design Archives’ new range, ‘Archive 1’

(continued from Page 12)

Miatex One Stop, Textile Supermarket way to multiple containers, Jose explains. “We never take anything back but we’ll credit a small group of good customers in order to preserve our relationship,” Jose points out. “When I first started in this business, I sold first quality goods without keeping inventory.

Winter 2016/2017

Nobody went to South and Central America except me and offering credit was unheard of until we did it first,” Jose remembers. “Today, the supplier comes to us. The best time for us to buy is when we are not buying,” he laughs. F&FI

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Color Drives Business & Influences Buying Descisions Color Passport is a new tool of the trade By Jennifer Castoldi

ONDON, England — Did you know that color is the key influencer in 85% of all consumer decisions across all product categories? When you take this fact into consideration it is obvious how important color is in product development. It’s no secret that design teams in many companies find it difficult to explain why they have decided to take a new collection in a certain color direction. The design team’s color decision is often hard to explain to the sales department or upper management. A universal color language system can work to bridge this gap. What if there was a communication tool to validate color choices where designers, management, R&D, purchasing, and marketing could all speak the same color language? Colors systems like Pantone, NCS, RAL, have been tried and true tools of the trade. The Color Passport system makes it more understandable and easier to work with color. When 62% to 90% of snap judgments about products can be based on the color alone, it is imperative that businesses do not ignore the power of color, whichever system they chose to utilize. After 50 years of research, the Color Passport system was born (2015). This system creates measurable color choices that can then be communicated to all types of professionals. Color Passport has launched a unique

color system with an 81-year-old civil engineer in textiles and color named Luc Van Renterghem. Color Passport and its Color Cluster System is the result of decades of research into the influence of color on our brains and how we experience color. The system enables color to be identified according to scientific values. It is based on individual color passports, which can identify the attributes of a color using its unique technical specifications and its more psychological attributes such as style, culture, and type. The system arranges 7200 colors according to these properties and can also work with Pantone, NCS, and RAL in addition to its own color references. “Color and color emotion are science-based,” says Luc Van Renterghem. “Every color has its own ‘Color Passport’ including all its characteristics, giving a new dimension to the understanding of color, working with color or communicating with color. By looking at the passport of a color, consisting of four numbers and three icons, you immediately know what the color stands for, what its scientific values are, as well as which style and which type of consumer it suits and where the color is relevant geographically. In this way color because measurable and therefore much easier to communicate, not only for creative people but also for those working with color,” he says. Niek De Prest, owner of Big Fish and trend coach to MoOD

Niek De Prest Brussels, regularly uses the new system, “Color Passport has created a common language that enables all the people in the organization to discuss the subject of color,” she says. “In my business it is about creating a brand voice based on color. Something every brand should have.” Color is very emotionally driven, and there is also a strong scientific correlation which is harnessed in Color Passport. As with many things in life you get out what you put in. (continued on next page)

In a nutshell, how does the system work? • A passport is given to each color, which allows the user to pinpoint its own unique identity and interpret 7810 colors. • All CP Passports distinguish four numbers for hue and color intensity and three icons that clarify the specific type of color or consumer, the style and the cultural or geographical relevance of its use. • All of these colors are reproducible and provided with values in RGB, CMYK, HEX and Lab and are thus manageable with other color systems such as RAL, NCS and Pantone. • The exclusive ICC color passport profile ensures a controlled color outcome for reproduction methods such as a CMYK environment.

Luc Van Renterghem

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Winter 2016/2017

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De Leo Offers (continued from previous page) Penelope, First Color Drives Business & Influences Buying Descisions Branded Line Color Passport is a valuable tool if new word processing software or substantiated Color Passport color Sipco News Network

AIRFIELD, New Jersey—De Leo Textiles Inc., a 55-year-old sales agency that made its name on servicing the furniture manufacturer with its own collections of upholstery has teamed up with Penelope, a Turkish manufacturer of mid to upper priced upholstery. This December is De Leo’s first Showtime market representing Penelope, says Craig De Leo, CEO of the firm his father started as an automotive upholstery wholesaler. Today, De Leo is a significant player in residential and contract upholstery with a growing transportation textiles business under the direction of Ismail Arslan, Vice President of Business Development. The company, which maintains eight sales reps on the road will offer the new line as ‘Penelope by De Leo.’ “As far as Penelope is concerned, this is the first time De Leo has offered a branded product line other than its own collections.” De Leo explains. High Five, another sales agency, had previously represented Penelope for the past 15 years under the direction of Luc Callens, one of the principals. Now, Penelope has moved on to De Leo as its exclusive sales representative serving the US based furniture manufacturer. “We’ve been able to significantly increase our focus on the high end market with Penelope which has a completely different look than our other collections,” De Leo explains. He says that Penelope offers a transitional to traditional look in natural fibers and organic yarns that are produced internally by Penelope in its own mill. Penelope is well known for its unique constructions and novelty yarns. F&FI

Thierry Lescrauwaet

you learn how to use it properly. There are workshops and training available to learn the methodology and how to apply it to your specific business. It is a complex, yet learnable system. (I myself took part in a day-long seminar at Color Passport to learn more about color as well as the system and I found it to be valuable, but there is a learning curve just like when learning how to navigate a

how to operate the latest smart phone technology. A high level of commitment is needed to get the most value out of the tool. Something that is appreciated with this system is how any trend color story, like those seen at Heimtextil or MoOD Brussels, can be plugged into the system and adapted to a specific market. Thierry Lescrauwaet from Color Passport notes, “A personal

profile can be determined for each company or product range, suited to the target audience, the application, the style and a specific geographical market. In this way decisions regarding color are supported scientifically, leading to financial gain. Colors in collections will indeed be more suitable, making the consumer experience the brand as consistent, trustworthy and recognizable.” F&FI

Craig De Leo

Penelope by De Leo

Winter 2016/2017

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F FI P H O T O G A L L E R Y

Intertextile Shanghai Shanghai Intertextile Surprises Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Autumn Edition 2016 event between 24- 27th August concluded more positively than the earlier edition of 2015. Held at National Exhibition and Convention Centre (Shanghai), the new largest venue in the world for trade exhibitions that created chaos and confusion was almost over come in this edition. Occupying 160,000 sqm, across six halls, the show housed about 1,150 exhibitors from 30 countries & from regions. The other high light was Hall 5.1 that featured a number of editors representing over 30 brands such as Armonia di Interni, Boeme, Designers Guild, LaCanTouch and Zimmer + Rohde that eased the search from leading Chinese retailers for European line of furnishing collections. ‘We re-organized the entire location plan to make the event easy as well enjoyable and additional efforts on a going basis will be our prime task’, said Senior General Manager, Wendy Wen & Group Manager, and Trade Fairs Grace Lin of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. Much more additional improvements can be observed in future editions, they added.

Nabil Tazi, General Manager and principal, PIF Textile, Casablanca Morocco with buyers Prem Bharwani and wife/partner Asha Bharwani, owners, Serba Antik, Jakarta, Indonesia

Yak Wang, President Zhejiang Babei Textile Co Ltd, China With his customer M.Forouzandeh, CEO, Casafina Home Furnishing, Dubai, UAE

Johnny Keeton, Sales Agent, New York; Randy Holmes, General Manager, Mitchell Fabrics, a wholesaler and converter based in Lafayette, IN, USA; Vishwanath.S, F&FI, Bangalore, India with Patikorn Wood-Thaanan, executive-Contract Division, Textile Gallery Co.Ltd, Pasaya, Bangkok, Thailand

Mods Sarensen, Sales Director, Sorensen Leathers, Denmark with his sales agent Andy Lau for China & Hong Kong for the Contract market

R.R. Kankani, Joint Executive President, Sutlej Textiles industries Limited, Birla Home Decor Division, Mumbai, India with his customer, Ivica Sekularac, principal of ‘Nediko’ Kragujevac, Serbia

Stephen Laurenzano, Area Export Manager, Enzo degli Angiuoni, Italy with its distributor, Crystal Owner, Brilliant & Refined, Shanghai and colleague, Cindy Chen

Bret Fleetwood, Managing Director, Scorpio Agencies Limited, his wife Sandra Fleetwood, Director, Jue Hua, Owner Zhejiang Huachen New Material Co., Ltd and Mr Aaron Young, Manager, International division

Sanjay Arora (right), Managing Director, DDecor, India with his customers Cameron Warwick, Joint Managing Director, Warwick, Australia and David Bain, Managing Director, Tex Force Australia PTY Limited, Sydney, Australia

Haveechai Sirikulathada (DEV), Director, Casa Chonburi Co., Ltd, Thailand (center), Sunil Kher, Marketing Director with Mahesh Mansingani, Managing Director, with Vivanta General Trading llc, Jeetu Batra, Managing Director and, Deepak Sajnani, CEO

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

Winter 2016/2017

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American-Made Furniture Fires Up Benartex Home Fabric Coordinates in Better Goods Sipco News Network

EW YORK, New York — “We like where we are today and our five year goal is to turn our inventory three times a year in the $10 million range,“ says Joe Grogan, President of Benartex Home, a relatively new converter started in 2009 and is today a regular Showtime exhibitor. Apparently, Benartex’s success has not gone unnoticed. At press time, the company was acquired by Diversitex, Inc., another home fabric converter. (See related story on Page 50.)

“We’re optimistic about the American furniture industry. The consumer in the USA now understands quality but they want it now; no more six to eight week wait. We stock it for quick shipment,” Grogan maintains. “There is a resurgence in American made furniture and the American producer is being pushed by the retailer for quick ship. You can’t do this with made in China goods unless you stock heavily and we do!” Grogan attended MoOD this year to look for several small mills he

can be a partner to as an important converter in the USA and Europe. Grogan also teamed up with Bob Ellsweig, Vice President of Furniture Sales for Benartex who built a sales force for the upholstered furniture industry and Grogan was off and running as an upholstery converter. About 50 percent of Benartex business is furniture related and the other half is composed of other manufacturers, retailers, jobbers and retailers. “I am this moment looking to expand into Europe, South America and Asia through distributors, he says.

Recently, Benartex scored its first million-yard seller with Protégé Natural. The 55/45 cotton linen fabrics are sold through 1,000 furniture stores. Benartex specializes in natural fibers over constructed into a “quality” product, he says. “We don’t look at mills for product or development—only construction of the greige.” Benartex buys fabrics from Pakistan, India, Indonesia, South Korea, and China. South Korea, India and China account for 80 percent of his goods, he says.

Joe Grogan with ‘Victoria’ His strength is coordinates and his volume price range is $9.15(continued on Page 50)

(continued from Page 18)

Neutex Expects To Expand 2017 Product Lines tive fabrics to broaden the overall design appeal,” Wheeler says. For 2017 Neutex has developed a new line of fabrics, which combines both elements. The collection includes roller, double roller (zebra) and pleated fabrics, which

coordinate with curtaining, or soft, fabrics. “This innovative concept will be a part of the Neutex offer at Heimtextil and cover design styles from natural, classic to contemporary. Each collection is inspired to

integrate drapery fabrics and window coverings harmoniously. “We launched the first collections this year together with our partners in the largest retailers in Germany and the results have been very positive. We are now in devel-

opments to launch the concept in Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands during the first half of 2017.” As Neutex controls 100% of its product manufacturing in house, it is able to combine materials in a way, which guarantees a perfect coordination between product lines, Wheeler maintains. Neutex is a vertical home textile producer with its own in house yarn-dyeing, piece dyeing, weaving and finishing facilities located in Muenchberg. “We produce our own warps to guarantee complete quality control and consistency of our products,” according to Jochen Rieger, Neutex CEO. “Rigorous quality control and on time deliveries are a strong part of our culture and we pride ourselves as an innovative and trustworthy supplier to our customers,” he says. Neutex has made capital investments this year in excess of $1.5 million to improve both the environmentally friendliness of its production facility as well as in new equipment which will maintain growth in traditional business segments and continue to strengthen its position as a rising star in the production of fabrics for the window coverings industry. “Our in house design studio with eight full time designers allows us to customize programs for our

biggest clients both in Europe and North America,” Reiger adds. “In recent years Neutex has capitalized on its long history as a decorative fabric producer and technical know-how to introduce itself successfully as a key supplier to the Window Coverings Industry. The Neutex SUN division is a symbol of the dedication of our organization and the Hoftex Group to establish ourselves as a key player. We want to be a real partner in providing innovative roller, double roller (zebra), screen and pleated fabrics to the top window covering fabricators in the industry,” Riegerexplains. Neutex is solely dedicated to the production of window coverings fabrics and has no involvement with the production of finished or made to measure products in the trade. “We are concentrated on providing top innovation and top service for our partners,” Rieger adds. The company says its turnover is in the $25 million range and is part of the Hoftex Group since 1963. Hoftex is publicly traded on the Münich Stock Exchange. Hoftex has global sales of $200 million US and market a capitalization of about $65 million USD Hoftex is a Member of ERWO Holding with annual sales of about $700 million US (Suedwolle Group and Hoftex Group combined revenues) F&FI

natural beige colorway

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F FI P H O T O G A L L E R Y

Indigo/MoOD

The canal outside Tour & Taxi Centre, Brussels

Textile couple Isabelle Torrelle with husband, Christian Otto tied the knot July 30.

Indigo and MoOD Attracted European, UK Buyers BRUSSELS—Exhibitors and visitors at MoOD and Indigo adjusted to the hot temperature outside the new location at the Tour & Taxi Centre. The temperature inside was cooler but not too cool. Some people were sunning themselves on the canal parallel to the new location. The general feeling was it was less expensive to exhibit at MoOD than previous editions, but the traffic was limited to largely European and UK based buyers. “This could be the basis for an expanding exhibition in future years,” according to Patrick Geysels, the show organizer. Here’s a sampling of the audience there.

Entrance to Tour & Taxi Center, home of MoOD and Indigo

Simrat Kaur (left) and Nimrat Kaur, textile designers are joining their father, Gurvinder Singh in the family business, GM fabrics, Mumbai

Ramilia A. Zhafyarova, Board Director, Leathertouch, St. Petersburg, Russia with Ali Aydin, President, Aydin Tekstil, Istanbul

Patrick Frey, Principal of Pierre Frey, the largest editor in France with Indigo exhibitor Gary Williams, Sales Manager, Artwork Design, Ltd., Cheshire, UK

Anke Vollenbroker Marketing Director of Trevira with Patrick Geysels Director of MoOD & Indigo

Jo McEwan, designer and Tim Wilman, Director of SketchTwenty3 wall covering and digital printed fabrics, Stockport, UK. He says he Exports to Russia, USA, China.

Dennis van Os, Principal, Nooteboom Textiel, Tilburg, Holland buys prints from Vilbet owner, Paco Vila, Spain

Three meter wide format digital printer, Big Impact in Eindhoven, Holland with principal Marco Schoenmakers,

David Villalobos, Director, Castilla Textil, Toledo, Spain with Rajjnish Aroraa, owner, Dicitex, Mumbai, India

Francois van Oost and daughter Alexandra, owners of Vano Interiors, a fourth generation family editeur in Wavre, Belgium with Ozge Hara, Sales Manager and Kaya Cinoglu, Owner of Marteks, Bursa, Turkey

Angus Dunlop, Principal of Lucan Fabrics, Dublin based fabric wholesaler, taking some air outside the Tour & Taxi Center

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Sunbathing on the Brussels Riviera

Mr. & Mrs. Andres Urquiza Arroyo, principals of Dixy Mumbles, Mexico City with Olivier Hellyn, Principal of Movelta, Belgian Weaver

Yasue Ishikawa, Managing Director, Risa Braire Co., Ltd., Kobe, Japan, interior designer with Nihat Erim, Area Sales Manager, Marteks

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F FI D E S I G N

Design with Depth and Meaning By Jennifer Castoldi

he first thing that attracts us to a design is its outward appearance. An important factor in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creations is the stories behind them, offering up more than meets the eye. In this FFI design column these products on show have narratives that add to their appearance. Mathematics, topology, digital print with acoustic paneling, socially responsible rugs, smart textiles, modernization of classic prints, and photorealism add value to these items.

Luisa Gil will astonish you with her patentpending 3D textiles that translate topology calculations into weaves and embroideries. Math is beautiful.

A seat cushion is pretty ho-hum, right? Well not if it is inspired by the Mobius loop, a strip that has only one side and only one edge (think of the universal recycling symbol). Ilze Godlevskis created, through knitting, a cashmere, silk, and alpaca loop cushion that is placed over a chair, and due to the twistâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it is not an optical illusion!â&#x20AC;&#x201D;this design is a single surface.

When digital print and elaborate pin-tucking from N & N Wares come together they truly bring about a new aesthetic adding depth to the wall on multiple levels as seen with this wall panel (which can also be made as acoustic paneling).

Visum by Teresa Baena is a smart object for home use that graphically visualizes and shields/ blocks the threat of electromagnetic fields coming from the outside. The metallic particles inside the silver ink perform the shielding, and the pattern, silver printed on fabric, warns you of the intensity of radiation present in the space.

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Design with Depth and Meaning Re Rag Rug has used remnants from the textile industry along with t-shirts and sweaters heading to the landfill to develop a range of impressive floor coverings. Twelve unique rugs over 12 months utilizing 12 techniques, all without the use of a loom. This experimental project has resulted in a dozen prototypes that can be used to teach people located in textile regions how to produce valuable and beautiful products without the need for expensive machinery.

The modernization of the toile de Jouy: No longer is it limited to bucolic scenes, images of the rural countryside, but toile can now appeal to a larger market branching beyond that of tradition to rappers (Flavor Paper) and seamen (LGD01).

The illusion of wood is on-trend. Whether it is an inspiration from inlaid wooden artistry, a patchwork of wooden scraps, the bark of a birch tree, or the cross section of a cut after yelling â&#x20AC;&#x153;Timber!â&#x20AC;?, digital printing has certainly aided in these diverse photorealistic surfaces as

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 forwardthinking articles are presented on www.Trendease. com each month, additionally videos and podcasts are available on www.Trendease.TV.

seen with this rug from HBC Bulckaert and wallpaper from Stefan Hengst.

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Contract/HospitalityNews C/HNEWS I Paul Harris Leaves Crestmont Fabrics in Strong

Family Hands Which Continues to Cater to Converters, Jobbers Wife Judi, son Michael and daughter Cristina keep the business growing Sipco News Network

AUPPAUGE, New York— Crestmont Fabrics Ltd., continues to soldier on after 32 years in business under the guidance of Judi Harris, cofounder, designer and widow of Paul Harris, who died July 29 at the age of 73 from complications related to diabetes. Crestmont continues to be an important resource to jobbers, manufacturers and converters of sheer drapery fabrics, jacquards, dobby and multipurpose decorative fabrics, especially prints for contract and residential markets. Its target market is the USA although at one time, export was an important business for Crestmont. Under the direction of Miro Vuckovic, Crestmont’s converting head, Crestmont sources product from India, Taiwan, Korea and Turkey but chooses to bypass China. Vuckovic previously worked for Lanscot Arlen, a converter which closed shop over ten years ago, Crestmont is currently marketing a

new collection of prints.“As 2016 comes to a close, we anticipate profits for the company that haven’t been achieved in the last 5 years,” Judi says. In 2003, Paul Harris anticipated a business that would eventually generate $40 million sales but today, the sales volume of Crestmont is reportedly less than half of that figure. “With myself in the background, our son Michael at the helm and our daughter Cristina designing and with the help of our loyal staff, we are currently positioning ourselves to have an extraordinary 2017.” “Michael, having vast knowledge in the computer field,” Judi explains, has brought Crestmont to a new level of efficiency; yet still maintaining the personal service of our family business. We plan to uphold the strong moral and ethical convictions my husband built this business on,” she says. “Much of the business over the last 4 1/2 years during Paul’s illness was conducted solely by our two children Michael and Cristina and our incredible staff with

Paul and I overseeing things,” Judi remembers. “Occasionally Paul would make it into the office and make phone calls. It was unfortunate, because he was generally too sick to do so. He continued to make calls and plan budgets from his hospital bed. He spent the last two months in the hospital at Columbia-Presbyterian medical center. “He fought extremely hard. I never knew anyone as strong as him. He stood for honesty, loyalty Mom, Judi (top), daughter Cristina (center) and and pure, sincere business son Michael Harris (Bottom); Paul Harris in betethics. We plan to uphold ter days with his favorite Teamo® cigar in hand what he has built and with of course, camps it up with his idol, entertainer each new day, strive for Al Jolson. higher goals. He was the ‘one of a kind’ who was living his dream,” Judi says. working there every summer from when “Our children grew up at Crestmont they were very (conitnued on Page 52)

C/HNEWS I Brazil’s Tidelli Outdoor Opens First US Location Brings outdoor fabrics, furniture and extensive hospitality experience to USA Sipco News Network

OS ANGELES, California — After 25 years of creating and transforming the outdoor furniture industry in Brazil, Tidelli has opened its first flagship store and distribution center in the Greater Los Angeles area with a dual focus on residential and hospitality business. Since 1989, Tidelli has continually expanded its market in Brazil with 12 flagships stores. As of today, the company has 24 showrooms in Brazil and more than 3,000 hospitality projects installed. Tidelli offers a collection of over 200 handmade products in infinite color combinations. The Tidelli product portfolio includes a variety of uphol-

stery and wood furniture for outdoor use. The catalog includes a selection of outdoor fabrics from different suppliers, including Glen Raven’s Sunbrella® offered in the American and European furniture collection; Para’s Tempotest (from Italy) and Tatiz (from Brazil), all solution dyed acrylic fabrics. The fabrics offered match with the nautical ropes. With the new collection that launched in October, Tidelli is introducing 21 new fabric patterns. Tidelli is a family owned company founded and managed by three siblings: Tatiana, Roberta, and Luciano Mandelli. The youngest brother, Giancarlo has now also joined the company and will focus his efforts on the Northern hemisphere. Starting as young Brazilian entre-

preneurs, the founders have spent decades doing research and product development. Beyond the internal design team, Tidelli works to create special collections with some of the best independent Brazilian designers including Marcelo Rosenbaum and Fetiche Design, Manuel Bandeira, Maria Cândida Machado. The Tidelli manufacturing facility was constructed in an underdeveloped community with a focus on socially sustainable business practices including continued job and growth opportunities for the local residents. F&FI

Tatiana and Giancarlo Mandelli

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F FI P H O T O G A L L E R Y

Next Stop: Alaska

Alaska, population of 744,000 is home to many wild animals. The Pacific Coast of Alaska hosts many humpback whales, Orcas, otters and harbor seals. The land also is home to many brown bears. (Note: The Ojalvo Family—14 strong—took this trip around the same time I was there. See page 1 story about this great family.) The Alaskan scenery is breathtaking and for me the highlight of the trip is the Hubbard Glacier. Alaska is the largest State in the USA with a smaller population than the smallest State of Rhode Island which has a population of 1 million+ and a landmass of 1,212 square miles versus Alaska at 663,000 square miles and under one million people! Secretary of State William Henry Seward bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for the price of $7.2 million. This purchase was called ‘Seward’s Folly.’ Cruising to Alaska means passing in and out of Canada, specifically Vancouver which is a beautiful city. It is the home of Butchart Gardens, a wonderful botanical experience. Here are some of the highlights. Be sure to place an Alaskan wilderness trip on your bucket list! —Eric Schneider

Pacific sea otter

100th Anniversary of Butchart Gardens totem poll carving

The Hubbard Glacier

A dorsal fin of the Killer Whale-Orca

Wooden carousel killer whale at Butchart Gardens

Harbor seals catching some sun

Icy Strait Point just outside the small village of Hoonah, Alaska

The city of Sitka, popuation of 9,000+

Vancouver, Canada’s Butchart Gardens Background: Hubbard Glacier

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(continued from Page 16)

Domestic China Market Stays Flat positive enquiries but in future exhibitions we will be showing all of Satin Textiles collections,” he added. Some companies have been making efforts to add value with increased profits instead of increasing turnover. “The general demand is weak in our domestic markets though so far our top-line growth has been better mainly due to steadily growing US markets’, says Yak Wang, President, Zhejian Babei Textile Co. Ltd, China. The company is a major player in the production of silk fabrics to high-end buyers in the US. Yang also observes the slowing demand in European markets due to the high cost of silk. As a result, the company is making efforts to become more economical in silk pricing by blending silk with other fibers such as Modal. “Our new strategy that we adapted last year has paid off to earn better profits,“ Wang says. “For the past18 months, Babei has maintained its share in silk bedding fabrics in China,“ he adds. “We created more value by adding related services such as providing a complete package for the decoration of high end homes in collaboration with interior designers. The margins are good (as high as 80percent) and we have stopped the earlier way of doing business, which was to produce and sell. Now we focus on designing with inputs from buyers and interior designers,” Wang says. The common reasoning by the home furnishing fabrics exporters is that price points are getting hit because most of the suppliers are offloading their products in the market at ridiculous prices. ‘Excess supplies are chasing the frozen demand, causing the dumping of goods in order to keep their capacity utilization to breakeven levels: this is worsening the situation as buyers sensing the advantage of over supplies is seeking to the lower

prices further’, says Amitabh Sen, Vice President, Marketing for Alps Industries Ltd. India, a blackout producer. “Regarding the market situation we feel that the demand is frozen throughout the global market though some promising markets still exist.” “However, there is no clue this has percolated to home furnishings spending’, Sen says. “Also we have no clue or ability

to predict how this frozen market demand will defreeze. Currently, the market place is directionless’, he adds. “We are a large vertically integrated textile mill and do huge exports of cotton, viscose & poly blend yarns and home textile fabrics are steadily increasing its market share too’, said R.R Kankani, Joint Executive President, Birla Home Décor division of Sutlej Textile

industries Ltd, India. The company has moderate production capacity and will never lose an order for the sake of price. We are well prepared to compete on price even with any other leading competitor,” he says. “This is worsening the situation as buyers sensing the advantage that comes with too much supply, look for even lower prices,” says Amitabh. F&FI

Mads Sorensen

R.R Kankani, Joint Executive President, Birla Home Décor division of Sutlej Textile industries Ltd, India.

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Austral Asia’s Warwick Fabrics Celebrates 50th Year, Looks to Double Sales in the Next Decade 600 international, local guests whoop it up in Melbourne Sipco News Network

ELBOURNE, AUS—Fifty years ago, an Australian homebuilder decided there was a better line of work so he got into the vinyl coated products business for the local car and furniture industry. Little did he know it, but with this career change, Founder and Group Chairman Tom Warwick (now 74) planted the seeds of a $50 million family business still growing at 10-12 percent a year according to Cameron Warwick, 50, who runs the business Warwick Fabrics Pty. Ltd., with his brother Leighton, 45, both Joint Managing Directors. With this growth rate in place, the pair expect to double sales in the next decade. Warwick is a broad line supplier and the largest fabric wholesaler in Austral Asia today but the

competition is fierce from smaller family owned specialists in residential, contract drapery and upholstery. Warwick does 80 percent of its business in domestic Australia and 20 percent export. In the UK branch, Warwick does 70 percent of its business in the UK with 20 percent elsewhere in Europe, Africa and North America. “The USA is too competitive and we choose to focus on the other markets, especially in Europe and South Africa for growth,” Cam says. Warwick aggressively pursues resort business in Australia, Middle East, China and Southeast Asia. Warwick distribute, across our 3 offices, to 59 countries “The markets have become tougher with margins squeezed more than ever,” he points out. Warwick employs nearly 300 people today with a management in

Over 300 Warwick employees and suppliers celebrated Warwick’s 50th Anniversary at Melbourne’s Luminaire

their early 40’s Cam says. He expects to be present at Heimtextil Frankfurt in January for the first time in three years, he says. He also attends Evteks and Intertextile in Shanghai. “It’s a great way to meet my suppliers which number about 15-20. “ If you want to do business with Warwick, you better see Cam first. He counts D’Décor of India and Kets of Turkey as his most important suppliers but he does business with four companies in India and 10 in Turkey today. “I think sourcing will continue to change with the emergence of key mills as one stop shops. China is purely commodity today. We have our own sourcing office in China where we do business with 15-20 companies. We also produce certain ranges completely in Australia and we are moving towards more production of finished items like cushions and accessories. He is not interested in roller shades however which he describes as too competitive. Since the sons have taken over, Tom has retired and is Group Chairman of the business with his two sons and one outside director. Leighton handles operations

Leighton, Cameron and Tom Warwick (standing)

and finance for the company while Cameron is in charge of business and development. Cam has been with the company for 25 years while Leighton has logged 17 years. The pair has been running the business for ten years, Cam confirms. They purchased the shares of their uncle Max four years ago who went on to purchase local wholesaler Elliot Clarke with his son Luke. The deal was described as very amicable. Max was with Warwick for 41 years. “We’d like the legacy to con-

tinue. I’ve got two kids, four and five years old while Leighton has three children 18, 16 and 12,” Cam explains. Warwick’s 50th Birthday was lavishly celebrated with a 600-person global guest list including suppliers and 30 Warwick distributors at the Luminaire in South Melbourne November 14. This included employees from the UK branch headed by John –Andrew Ovenstone, MD and Martin Irvine, MD of the New Zealand branch. Both MD’s are part owners of these two Warwick branches. F&FI

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American-Made Furniture Fires Up Benartex Diversitex Buys Benartex Home $13.95. Benartex has a $12.95 cotton that weighs one pound to the yard, he says. “Everything is made in two to five colors. We stock high end specialty items

including 100 percent linen from China; dyed wovens from Korea which are embroidered in India and then stocked in Cranston, R.I. The embroidered goods match the

dyed linens form China, he says. The top end of the Benartex line is ‘Victoria’ at $54 a yard in two colors. F&FI

Two home fabric converters are now one

Grogan’s Ancient History After starting at Klopman Mills in the apparel business in 1974, Joe Grogan started to sell to U.S. converters in the early 80’s when he represented Frederick Girard’s mill, IPM from Izmir, Turkey. (No longer in business). “I sold Waverly the first imported print they ever did,” he laughs, and this was followed by prints he sold to Covington, Anju Woodridge (now owned by P/Kaufmann) and Swavelle/Mill Creek, he remembers. “In those days, I could import, make a mark up as the importer of record. Irwin Ginsburg (owner of Anju) was my mentor. He gave me a shot at his business in the 90’s when Japanese currency skyrocketed and Joe began to sell dye discharge metallic prints to the U.S. converter. “Irwin gave me the opportunity to make the metallic goods in South Korea.” “When converters started to go direct, my company was Weavetex. I started to make commissions

as an agency. I needed to reinvent myself at that point so I began to make my own constructions. Then converters started to go to the same mills direct.” It was then that Grogan had a chance to work as a consultant for Covington in the international sourcing arena. “Covington became an excellent client. I ended up working for Covington until 2,000. In 2009, I went back to my own company, Weavetex and made constructions to sell back to the converters.” In June 2009, he says “the retail forecast was bleak. Converters were downsizing. I had the product resources behind me but I needed a strong partner. Benartex had been my customer for 20 years as a quilting converter; a Swiss company owned it since 1893, which made sewing machines. I added home furnishings fabrics to their operation and used their warehouse in Cranston, Rhode Island.” F&FI

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Sipco News Network

AIRFIELD, NJ—Diversitex Inc., a 50-year-old military, industrial and apparel fabrics converter with a 20-year-old home décor fabrics division entered into an agreement to take over all designs and distribution of Benartex, LLC designs and products for an undisclosed purchase price. “Diversitex is committed to investing significant capital, as well as using its larger team into developing Benartex Home and helping it fulfill its great potential,” says Marc Bergman, principal of Diversitex. Bergman made the deal November 2 with the principal of Bernina, a Zurich, Switzerland based textile machinery maker who wandered into the fabrics converting business with the start of Benartex six years ago. Until now, Joe Grogan headed Benartex (see companion article on this page), but Diversitex plans to integrate both divisions into one company. “We have crossover customers in both companies,” Bergman told F&FI. Bergman says the Benartex Rhode Island facility will continue to handle order fulfillment. Diversitex and Benartex are both exhibitors at Showtime in High Point, NC. F&FI Marc Bergman

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Boydaks To Answer Turkish Government Charges Against Them Brothers Haci and Memduh to stand trial for their personal charitable contributions Sipco News Network

STANBUL, Turkey — The Boydak Holding founders Haci and Memduh Boydak, the Chairman and President respectively as well as some other family members have

Haci Boydak

been in the custody of the Turkish Government in Ankara for the past six months according to a spokesperson for the company. The reason for the ongoing investigation and incarceration of the Boydaks has to do with the Boydak’s personal charitable contributions, which have been called into question by the Turkish Government. As a result of the ongoing investigation, the two brothers will appear in the Turkish Court in November to answer the charges against them from the Government. Mustafa Yildirim, General Manager of Boyteks, the $50 million plus upholstery weaving division of Boydak Group continues to manage that division. However, the Turkish

The King is Naked by Israel Brod

IAMI BEACH, Florida — For several years now, Boyteks has run an advertising campaign headlined “The King is Naked.” Just in case you didn’t know the meaning of the advertisement, we wanted our readers to understand what the advertisement is all about. Read on! THE KING IS NAKED A tale by Hans Christian Andersen talks about a vain Emperor who cares about nothing more than his clothes. The Emperor hires two prominent tailors who promise him the finest, best clothes made from a fabric invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or simply stupid. Although the Emperor’s ministers cannot see the clothes themselves, they still pretend to see them for fear of appearing unfit for their positions; the

Emperor does the same. Finally the tailors report that the suit is finished, they mime dressing him and the Emperor marches in procession before his subjects. The townsfolk play along with the pretense, not wanting to appear stupid, but a child in the crowd, too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the pretense, blurts out “The King is naked” and the cry is then taken up by the rest of the townsfolk. The Emperor suspects the assertion is true, but continues the procession. The idiom is used when something is obviously fake or broken but no one says anything about it or worse, people stand around saying how wonderful it is. Pluralistic ignorance is very common in countries with a politically corrupt regime where people are often afraid to voice their opinions and views for fear of repercussions. F&FI

Government has already placed five Board Members on the Boydak Group Board and some observers fear the Government will operate the entire group of 42 companies in the future, effectively ending the Boydak Family’s control and ownership of most of the companies they have carefully built over the past 59 years. The Boydak Group has 25,000 employees and $2 billion in sales. Boydak Holding owns the following Lines of business: furniture, cable television, iron , steel, tex- Memduh Boydak tiles, chemicals, marketing, logistics, technical services, aviation, finance and foreign operations are active in Turkey incude Istikbal, Bellona, in services. The company began Mondi, Istikbal Kitchen & Bath, doing business in 1957 in Kayseri. Hes Cable, Boyteks upholstery and Among the most important brands Boyteks foam companies.

Crypton Names Jenna Sendra to New Design Post Sipco News Network

LOOMFIELD HILLS, Michigan — The Crypton Companies, a performance fabrics specialist in the contract, home furnishings and apparel markets has named Janna Sendra, Director for Fabric Design and Merchandising, a new position. She reports to Lance Keziah, President and will be based in the company’s Bloomfield Hills office. “We are expanding very rapidly and with the addition of two Showtime presentations along with contract we needed someone to manage this,” said Randy Rubin, Crypton Chairman. Rubin also said Sendra has experience both in contract and residential “plus she is now near our Bloomfield Hills

office which makes coordination much easier.” Sendra joins Crypton from Arden Companies, a casual furniture manufcturer where she was a Senior Stylist and Director of Textiles responsible for fabric line product and trend presentations to American furniture retailers. Prior to Arden, she worked at Robert Allen Design, a wholesaler and Wearbest, an outdoor fabric specialty mill. Sendra earned her B.A. from Michigan State University and Janna Sendra her M.S. in Textile Design from her a natural fit to our growing Philadelphia University. “Being able to flawlessly inte- company.” Sendra’s responsibilities at grate client retail goals and the end consumers desires are a must in Crypton include “working with this industry,” said Rubin added. mills, retailers, designers and end “Janna’s proven track record as consumers to advance Crypton’s a commercial and trend driven various products to market,” Rubin F&FI designer and merchandiser makes said.

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C/HNEWS I Crestmont Fabrics in Strong Family Hands young. They knew what “ends and pics” were before they were 10. Paul was sick for a very long time. We really believed he was going to live ... right up to the last few days. He knew deep inside what his fate was; we now realize that ... based on some of the preparations that he put in place. He was fighting for us.” “Slowly he was turning all of his knowledge and responsibilities over to our son Michael. We had conversations where he told me it was only because of his illness that he realized he needed to pass on

During this time, it is understood that business is holding up and all subsidiaries are profitable. F&FI

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the torch to the next generation. He would say ‘it’s a good thing Judi-maybe I will finally retire and we will travel and do the things we’ve always talked about.’ ’” When Crestmont Fabrics started business in 1984, Judi says that Paul was the merchant and she was the designer. “We started in the back warehouse of Max Kahn Curtain Company (New York) with an old desk, a phone, and a pad of paper afforded us by Harry Markowitz, principal of Max Kahn’” Judi recalls. “Harry knew a winner when he saw

one. “He had great confidence in Paul and Paul had the ‘eye of the tiger.’’” “Paul was a man who valued the work of his employees and regarded them as family. He strived to succeed ... not only for our immediate family, but also for those who he employed and felt responsible for. He instilled his beliefs and lived them with our children,” Judi remembers. “We are looking forward to a long and prosperous life for Crestmont Fabrics.” F&FI

Winter 2016/2017

F FI C A L E N D A R November

May

Javits Center-NY

Villa Erba, Cernobbio, Como Italy

December

May 3-5 HD Expo

November 13-14 BoutiqueDesign NY

December 4-7 ITMA Showtime

Home Textile America Brand Backed by Sufi Weaving

May 3-5 Proposte

Sipco News Network

Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

High Point, NC

January

January 10-13 Heimtextil Messe Frankfurt Germany

January 14-17 Domotex The World of Flooring Hannover, Germany

January 16-22 Koln Furniture Fair Koelnmesse Germany

January 19-23 Paris Deco-Off

May 16-20 Evteks CNR Expo Center, Istanbul, Turkey

May 22-25 INDEX, International Interior Design Exhibition 27th edition of INDEX will be held in Dubai, World Trade Center. INDEX Design Series 2017 covers design, upgrade of residential, retail, and hospitality spaces in the Middle East.

June

June 4-7 ITMA Showtime-High Point, NC June 20-22 Heimtextil India Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

January 20-24 Maison & Objet Parc des Expositions Paris, France

March

March 27-30 New York Home Fashions Market March 13-16 Sea Trade Cruise Global Show Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

April

April 6-7 BD/West Los Angeles Convention Center

EW YORK, New York — Muhammed Saleem, Director of Sufi Weaving Industries (Pvt.) Ltd in Faisalabad, Pakistan has taken office space on New York’s Broadway in order to market bedding under the Home Textile America brand. Sufi is a regular exhibitor at Heimtextil in Hall 7. Sales are well into the eight-figure range. Saleem says business is up 15 percent this year. This is a vertical greige goods mill with 600 employees that has been supplying piece goods for bedding since 1971. This is an American corporation with a warehouse in Linden, NJ, which stocks ready-mades and piece goods for bedding. “The customer picks the base

cloth and we do the rest to finish the product,” Saleem explains. He sells direct to medium sized bedding retailers and is now looking for larger retail accounts. “We work with K-Mart in Australia. We also sell blackout to converters in 1,000 yard minimums,” he says. “Its gotten to the point where I think there is a better profit margin in finished bedding than there is in greige goods,” the young Saleem says. He is the Export Manager for the mill and is personally spearheading the finished bedding venture for the past two years. He ought to know what he’s talking about since he’s one of four brothers running Sufi Weaving. The other brothers are: Abdullah Ahmad, manager of the US office; Abdul Wahid, production manager along with Abdul Khaliq.

Muhammad Saleem Maybe the biggest accomplishment lies with the father of the four boys because there are a total of seven brothers in the family! F&FI

Jeffrey Fabrics Opens 230 Fifth Showroom After Acquisition by P/Kaufmann Sipco News Network

EW YORK—P/Kaufmann Inc., the converter has purchased Jeffrey Fabrics Inc., for an undisclosed price. Since 1987 when it was founded, Jeffrey Fabrics has been a converter of decorative fabrics to the ready-made manufacturers of North America. Jeffrey also manufactures and imports bedding,

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window coverings, shower curtains, tabletop textiles, and throws. It is understood that Jeffrey principals Jeffrey Erdheim, and Jeffrey Goldman, are now based in the P/K offices on Park Avenue here in NY. The purchase marks the return of P/Kaufmann into the readymade business. It is expected that P/K can leverage its far-flung vendor base and extensive library of designs to bring a more competitive and diverse product range to the market through Jeffrey. “Both companies are in the process of integrating their

respective customer and supplier base and it appears there is a great deal of synergies and growth prospects for everyone involved,” an informed source told F&FI. No other comments were forthcoming from either company. It is reported that Jeffrey Fabrics has an annual sales volume in the $30 million range but this figure has not been confirmed by the principals in the deal. The ‘Jeffreys’ now maintain offices at the P/K Park Avenue headquarters in New York City. In addition, the pair have opened

Jeff Goldman

Jeff Erdheim

two new showrooms at 230 Fifth Avenue, New York while closing its showroom at 261 Fifth Avenue. Jeffrey anticipates having a larger showroom combining the total space of the currently separate showrooms when it is available at 230 Fifth. F&FI

For more information about one of our advertisers, see the page number listed: Aqualean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

GM Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . 43-45

Ateja. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Aydin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

J. Ennis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Aznar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

J. Queen. . . . . . . . . . . . 37-39, 41

Boyteks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11

KC Fabrics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Classical Elements . . . . . . . . . . 1

Kravet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

CNR/Evteks. . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31

Marteks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Coulisse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

MoOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Covington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Nachik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

D’Decor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Neutex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Dicitex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 & 55

Richloom Fabrics Group. . . . . 9

DiNole. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Rockland Mills. . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Edmund Bell. . . . . . . . . . . 24-25

Softex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Express Air Freight. . . . . . . . 49

Yongshun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-29

Gebruder Munzert. . . . . . . . . 27

www.fabricsandfurnishings.com

Winter 2016/2017