Volume 33, Number 3 • Summer 2022
Global Home & Contract Sourcing News
Warwick Targets $100 million Sales Mark; Joins Top Jobber Ranks India provides fast growth plus new homewares, bedding businesses F&FI News Network
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OMO, Italy—Warwick Fabrics based in Melbourne, Australia has emerged as one of the top volume movers of fabrics in the world market, exceeding $75 million in sales, (100 million AUD) with significant growth projected over the next five years according to Cameron Warwick, Co-owner of the wholesaler with his brother Leighton. Cam’s goal is to be one of the top five global fabric wholesale networks in terms of sales volume by 2027. Just seven years ago, Warwick now a 56-year-old company, founded by their father Tom, was listed as number 16 on the World
Fabric Wholesalers List - compiled by F&FI with sales of $53 million. How did Warwick jump to the top sales echelon in just a few short years in the face of the Pandemic? It was by no accident; Cam, responsible for sales, product development and branding took steps to get there. The key to Warwick’s growth fication of an established
Djamila Celina, Eurotex Design Director is also Mrs. European Nation. She heads to Mrs. World final in Palm Springs, California! • P13
Djamila Celina
Warwick robotic warehouse, Melbourne, Australia. Eric Schneider (right) congratulates Cameron Warwick
lies in the diversibrand, while lever-
Valdese Weavers Modernizes Plant, Builds Brands Through New Marketing Channels, Showrooms • P6
Blake Millinor
Seth Pariser, SVP Marketing of US Wholesaler Christopher Hyland Inc., gets down to business with Joe Wheeler, SVP and Export Manager at German Curtain Fabric Producer Neutex. “Although this was virgin territory for me, I was pleasantly surprised to see current suppliers and old friends like Joe!”
See more pictures from Proposte • P14
aging from a strong logistics and operations platform, Cam says. (continued on Page 18)
Valley Forge Develops Automated Management System, Streamlines Business Model for 2023 • P12
Michael and Diana Dobin
Former Calico Chairman & Owner Roy B. Simpson Sr., 98 • P20 Roy B. Simpson Sr.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Eric, How are you? I miss you too. I have not talked/seen you almost a couple of years. International travel for me is still very limited, only a couple of trips within Asia. This has to do with the still very tight control due to COVID here in China. The last couple of weeks there has been a new wave of cases with the COVID. This time it has a lot more impact than Hohans Cheung before. More cases in a month compared to all the cases we had in two years time. Especially Shanghai and Shenzhen have been affected severely. But if this wave will be handled correctly, it will hopefully result in lifting the mandatory quarantine when entering China. Then we can slowly start with more international travels again. I really hope that I can go to Europe and the USA again. My world is still focused on the home textiles as always. The domestic market has been quite slow the last year. But our export, with its ups and downs, has been growing again. We added two new complete lines for production of sustainable vegan faux leather. Instead of producing articles which were in the past inherent hard and had a synthetic feel to it, we are now making articles which have a good touch and a soft hand feel. Regards, Hohans Cheung, Morphrow China Co. Ltd.
Erkan Tuzeman’s ‘Winbrella’ Builds Global Cut Order Business F&FI News Network
Global Home & Contract Sourcing News
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STANBUL—Winbrella is the brainchild of Erkan Tuzemen, a textile engineer who thinks what the world needs most is a global supplier of cut length fabrics. The company was first started up in 1997 in the construction industry by Erkan’s father but in 2007, Erkan opened Winbrella and now has 38 employees with mainly Turkish goods. Erkan is selling to 56 countries with two roll minimums at half the price of European goods, he points out. Erkan Tuzeman His line is mainly in curtains and sheers with some upholstery for the mid to high end furniture producer. Winbrella is the middle priced offering; ‘Advantage’ is the line of plains and ‘Laluxe’ is the top end of the Winbrella range. The line consists of plains, velvets, embroideries, prints and textures. Tuzeman is also offering a line of e-commerce readymade curtains for domestic sale under the ‘Vanilla’ brand. “I love this business. I want my brand to be in the shops,” he says. He’s looking for more retailers and agents to carry his line. Winbrella offers same day delivery and 95 percent in stock. With over 3,000 retailers in the local Turkish market, Erkan has a big base of business to pursue export. Erkan had a space in the Centrale Hotel in Como for Proposte and he’ll follow this up with a stand at Hometex in Istanbul. F&FI
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Valdese Weavers Modernizes Plant, Builds Brands Through New Marketing Channels, Showrooms F&FI News Network
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IAMI BEACH, FL — Valdese Weavers has spent the last two years modernizing its weaving and warehouse operations, spending millions of dollars to do so, as a response to the strong domestic business they continue to receive from the furniture manufacturer, contract OEM, fabric distributors and other speciality markets. Additionally, they have invested in new marketing channels that aim to increase the awareness and engagement with their multiple performance brands. Investments in manufacturing include new equipment in the company’s yarn production, weaving and finishing departments. Due to the complexity of the company’s business and extensive product offering, infrastructure investments were also made in the warehouse and shipping departments to ensure timely delivery even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Impressively, Valdese Weavers continued to ship their customers at normal lead times with guaranteed delivery even during the most challenging times of 2020. Blake Millinor, President and CEO of Valdese Weavers, is especially proud of how the company responded and performed during the pandemic. “When many other companies were and continue to struggle with supply chain issues, our supply chain remained strong in part because of our capital investments and strategic planning,” says Millinor. The future continues to look bright
as Millinor further states, “our domestic business remains strong, because our customers continue to come to us for solutions for challenges created by the ongoing global supply issues. We will continue to invest in our business so we can continue to exceed customers’ expectations in terms of fabric design, manufacturing, and service.” In early 2021, Valdese Weavers also began renovating their office facilities in North Carolina. “This renovation was dually beneficial - it provided our employees with a refreshed, updated office space with stateof-the-art technology and a workspace for customers to visit, learn more about manufacturing processes and collaborate with product and design teams,” Millinor says. Many furniture manufacturers and fabric distributors bring their teams to Valdese Weavers for their textiles training class, Textiles 101. In addition to modernizing their manufacturing and office facilities, Valdese Weavers is making a greater overall effort to increase their brands’ awareness and enhance how their customers engage with their sales team and products. In 2019, they opened the InsideOut Performance Fabrics® Outreach Gallery in the 200 Steele Building in High Point. “The purpose of this showroom is to provide education on the many benefits of InsideOut Performance Fabrics and inform the attendees on where they can see the product through various manufacturers, retailers and distributors,” Millinor indicates. The company also relocated their
Valdese Hamilton Street, High Point showroom
main showroom from Market Square Tower to 311 North Hamilton Street. The N. Hamilton showroom and the InsideOut Performance Fabrics Outreach Gallery are both open during High Point Market. Market attendees are now able to learn more about the company’s various brands and also browse the products available through their newly created Materialworks division. This initiative is deliberately not affiliated with Valdese in an effort to differentiate it from the various product types and service models offered to the broad client base the company serves. There are many well-known brands within the textile industry and others that have multi-faceted marketing strategies to reach customers through multiple channels to maximize the value of their brands. “Our capital investments, strategic decisions and brand building initiatives have all contributed to the continued success of Valdese Weavers and our customer partners,” says Millinor. F&FI
Some Italian Mills Raise Prices 10 Percent Due to Higher Energy, Raw Material, Shipping Costs F&FI News Network
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OMO—Exactly 18 Italian upholstery mills blame “out of control” energy, raw material, and shipping costs for a 10 percent price hike in fabrics as of April 1 according to a letter sent to many editors and other customers in the USA and Europe. The mills large and small signed their names to this letter. (Their names are available on request to eric@sipco.net) “For months, we have been suffering an exponential increase in costs, compounded by the, recent war events, which are undermining the entire supply chain, from dyeing 6 • www.FandFI.com • Summer 2022
to finishing processes: all energy consuming processes which require important use of methane gas,” the letter states. “Furthermore, disproportionate increases (from a minimum of 30% to 60%) are putting the whole industry on its knees, risking severe critical closures, some of which are already in place,” the letter adds. “The cost of raw materials, yarns, processing, transport, paper, and plastic packages… continue to rise and there is no reassuring signal of recovery,” the letter says. The letter from 18 mills is careful to note that any increase is up to each company.
One European editor who received the letter increased his cost with all 18 mills by 10 percent. In some cases, the increase started in January 2022. Another American Editeur suspects that bigger customers could balk at the increase and negotiate while smaller customers don’t have the same leverage. This could not be verified of course. “Ultimately, we pay the price for these mills to survive, and the bigger companies rule the roost while we lose our competitive edge,” the smaller customer says. F&FI
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Consultant Reinhard Backhausen Says Circular Economy is the Future of the Textile Industry F&FI News Network
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OMO, ITALY—“There are not enough resources worldwide if we are going to continue to waste them the way we are doing now,” says Reinhard Backhausen, Textile business consultant who has found his new mission in life. “What we take from the planet and end up wasting will become a major problem in the future unless we change the way we do business and the way we produce things,” he says. “We should not just take away resources but reuse, recycle and keep products in those loops so we can use the existing material again and again,” the former mill owner explains. “I was a pioneer of circular economy in my former mill between 2008-2012. We practiced ‘Cradle to Cradle’ and called our products ‘Returnity,’ he recalls. We offered a discount to our customer to return the
products they bought from us. We used the fabrics returned to us as material for new products,” he says. “We were 10 years
Reinhard Backhausen is a textile veteran. For 35 years, he operated the Backhausen mill in Vienna, Austria that was founded in 1849 and is still in operation. He became a consultant in 2013 and began to give advice to international companies with regard to marketing strategy and implementation of “Circular Economy.” He counts his clients among Valdese Weavers, D’Décor, Reliance and others. He also works with the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency of Switzerland (EPEA) He tries to increase his clients’ network, developing a customer base for each client.
Reinhard Backhausen
ahead of the market in this area and nobody understood what we were doing.” Backhausen says the world will have a problem in getting materials in just ten more years if conservation is not practiced. Now the time is right to recycle and reuse materials.” (continued on Page 24)
Crevin Covets the Green Brand Designation With a Reusable, Sustainable Mentality F&FI News Network
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ARCELONA—Uulco Baljet, Crevin’s Export Manager is presenting his company as the leading supplier and brand of recycled upholstery fabric in the spirit of the circular economy promoted by Reinhard Backhausen. (See the other story on this page) “We want to be sustainable and non-polluting. There is a market for this with the younger generation, especially in Europe,” Baljet feels. He says that Crevin expects to be carbon neutral by 2025. Crevin mainly caters to the European upholstery customer with sales that grew 20 percent in 2020 and a whopping 40 percent in 2021. Business in 2022 is expected to be up 15 percent. Crevin’s business has grown so fast that it had trouble keeping up with the orders so that a normal six-week delivery cycle stretched to a 12-week delivery on some items. Crevin sells through 25 agents to 60 countries including China, Korea, Japan, Australia, and Canada. Baljet hopes to get back on schedule with delivery by farming out production, especially greige goods for piece dying to 8 • www.FandFI.com • Summer 2022
other mills in Catalonia not far from Crevin in Terrassa. Crevin is also purchasing eight more Jacquard looms. “We double weave all our fabrics and there is no adhesive on the backing. The backside of our fabrics contains recycled yarn. All our upholstery contains recycled waste fiber,” he adds. The Crevin product line is priced 9.20€ to 20€ per meter in the upper middle price category in yarn dyed and piece dyed varieties. “It’s more costly to make recycled product but we are committed to it,” he says. “We don’t want to pollute. Our fabrics are easy to clean with soap and water. We reuse our water in our finishing plant and we have reduced water usage by 70 percent. Crevin even manages a national park in Terrassa called Sant Llorenc.” “We recapture the selvages of the fabric as it comes off the loom; over 100,000 kilos of waste is recycled annually,” he says. Crevin uses recycled PET from post-consumer waste and even cotton waste is used. That means all products contain at least 20-40 percent yarns and some products like
Uulco Baljet, Export Sales Manager, Crevin, Barcelona
Noah are 100% recycled material, he points out. F&FI
A word about Proposte 2022 Baljet was more than pleased with this year’s Proposte turnout. “It was an extremely good show. The first day was like old times with 15 of our top 20 customers showing up to see our collection. The other five customers came the second day. While we mainly had European customers, a Korean and a Peruvian customer was a surprise to us.”
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Valley Forge Develops Automated Management System, Streamlines Business Model for 2023 F&FI News Network
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ORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Valley Forge, the largest fabric supplier to the contract/hospitality sector has spent the last 21 months with 30 of its employees developing a state-of-the-art digital system to run all aspects of its business according to company CEO Michael Dobin. The new system will enable Valley Forge to ride the next wave of industry business expected for 2023, he says. He shares this role as CEO with his sister, Diana who took the pandemic as an opportunity to move from her Florida home back to her native NY area – closer to the makers, artists and fashion world that inspire Valley Forge’s focus on design and sustainability. We, like many businesses today, meet virtually all the time when we are not together, her brother explains. “Only seven percent of the world’s companies have digitized all operations like the system that Valley Forge is going live with,” says the second-generation owner of what is an $80 million business. The 40-year-old company is the leading specialist wholesaler of fabrics, bedding, draperies, and hard window coverings for the hospitality trade. “If we are missing a component, we will know about it six weeks before the project is due,” he explains. Vanesa Patino, COO of Valley Forge spearheaded the digital creation of the Valley Forge business. The Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Argentina MBA graduate/20-year business executive rejoined the company in 2020 after previously heading up finance and operations there.
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She has a Finance and M&A background with expertise in software. The new end-to-end digital system includes quote to cash processes and expands well beyond a traditional ERP system. This will enable Valley Forge to double or triple the business, accomplishing more with the similar count they have today. “Employee count is about the same as it was two years ago,” Dobin says. “It almost seemed crazy to make such an investment with a decline in industry sales of at least 50 percent,” while he acknowledges a drop in sales for Valley Forge of just 25%. “We feel we have dramatically increased market share of the hospitality business this past year.” “Business will come back in about a years-time,” he says and “we’ll be ahead of the industry in 2023 by 20 years with what we have accomplished by investing internally.” Microsoft and eight other companies participated in building the system which cost well more than $1 million to develop not including the cost of outside consultants, Dobin says. The system can even quote complicated print jobs with one million variations of cut/sew and various styles and products, he explains. “We can look at 1,100 jobs at a time. From the moment of opportunity to quote a new job through the order production process and through to collecting, we have automated the entire process,” he explains. “The system will go live by the third quarter of 2022”, he says. While acknowledging the decline of the overall hospitality business during the pandemic, Dobin says “we could never have streamlined our business by digitalizing all aspects of it during a time of growth. It took the decline created
Michael and Diana Dobin
by the pandemic to give us the time to focus on this and put us 20 years ahead of everyone else in this business.” “What took us 90 minutes before, now will take ten minutes. We can quickly review where we stand with any 2-3 star or 5-star hotel project. Since 2017, we have been more selective than previously about which jobs we go after - as our focus specifically on Window Treatments and the services that accompany them - added a different product category to the business. There are profitable jobs in every sector of Hospitality for Valley Forge.” “Vendors can access the system. We have the same number of suppliers as before, but the emphasis has been Turkish and American suppliers for about 60 percent of our business,” he confirms. Less than 10 percent of Valley Forge’s sourcing is done in China, he says. ”I love this business and after the last two years – when so many of us have felt isolated - there is no better time to be focused on the customer’s experience and our relationship with our clients. That’s really what the new system will give all the Valley Forge team more time to do.“ F&FI
Eurotex Looks to Expand Business in Post-Covid World; Will Show Secret Pearls at June’s Heimtextil F&FI News Network
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IELEFELD, GERMANY—Eurotex GmbH is finally able to show its new collections to customers in the post Covid world according to Hans Snelders and his wife Djamila Celina. He is the owner and founder of the 14-year-old converter with 60 employees. “The customers who bought our line three years ago, did well with it but we were not able to show it to as many customers as we would have liked due to Covid. Now, we’re finally showing that line to more accounts during Proposte,” Snelders says. Eurotex was showing outside the fairgrounds during Proposte.
After Proposte, the couple was planning to attend the Mrs. World beauty pageant in Palm Springs, California where Djamila will compete as Mrs. Europe. Djamila is also a leading-edge designer taking Eurotex to more colorful heights as Germans start to think about more than brown and gray; even prints. We’re offering lots of bearskins, cuorduroy velvet in our current collection. The ripped jeans look is entering upholstery fabrics,” she says, pointing to the company’s new baby ripped look in upholstery. “We’re self- taught. We do what we think is right in our taste level for the mass market,” she says. “We’re going to be showing some of our
Johannes Snelders, CEO of Eurotex and Djamila Celina Snelders his wife and design director
secret pearls to our customers at Heimtextil in June,” Hans says. Eurotex specializes in upholstery from 2.59€ to 7.80€. “Over five € is a new market for Eurotex. We took the opportunity to upgrade our collections. Our line is 100 percent made in China,” he explains. “We stock three million meters in our 10,000 square meter warehouse in Bielefeld. We can deliver immediately with a one roll minimum order—no cuts!” Snelders is now looking to further expand the business beyond the USA where he says he has tripled his business to South American customers. “We’re also looking for new sources beyond China,” he adds. F&FI This was the exhibition space for Eurotex on Via Regina in Como.
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PHOTO GALLERY PROPOSTE At Il Gatenero during Proposte: Eric Schneider, publisher of F&FI hosted a group dinner at Il Gatenero restaurant. (Not shown are Haley Gross, American journalist; Elaine Taylor Gordon (U.S. agent and Cornelius DeKort, owner of Reynaldo and Dekortex) Erica Wijbenga, Managing Director of Reynaldo, wholesaler, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, seen at Il Gatenero restaurant, Como with menu. Cynthia Nugent, principal of Rodolph, upper end wholesaler, New York (USA) and Celine DeKort, principal of Dekortex, Canadian distributor.
On the Via Regina: Christos Stamatopoulos, principal of The Fabulous Group with Antonis Stamatoulakis, agent, both from Athens, Greece
Neill & Bo De Kort of Coconut Projects, European wholesaler: Says Neil: We were to be married in the first wave! Now we are trying to go for the world’s longest engagement!
Maximillian Baumann, XABA principal from Kirchberg am Walde, Austria. “I saw so many beautiful fabrics at Proposte I could cry.”
Eric Schneider congratulates Rollie Attard, the newly named CEO of Panaz Ltd., the Lancashire, UK based contract mill specialist
In those few words he summed up the Fair. Grupo Lamadrid, textile editor from Barcelona: Alvaro L. deLamadrid; Luca Ferrari, CEO, Manifattura Tessile DiNole, Nole, Turin Italy with Borja L. De Lamadrid and Victor Godes, both with Group Lamadrid
Sanjay Arora, principal of D’Decor, Mumbai with Neil Paladino, President of P/Kaufmann, New York converter Luis and Ricardo Machado, brothers and principals of Laric wholesalers, Vizela, Portugal with supplier Allesandro Carillo & C, principal of Angelo Carillo SpA, Naples, Italy
Outside Villa Erba: Finn Sorensen, Managing Director, Soft Line, Maribo, Denmark with Stefano Morotti, Limonta Interiors General Manager. They are seated on Limonta’s new outdoor fabric line
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Standing: Parag Parekh, Bedding Manager and Amitabh Narvankar, Silvia Venturino, principal of LFF, Senior Marketing Manager, Dicitex manufacturer and distributor of contract Furnishings, Mumbai with U.S. agent fabrics in the USA with Benjamin Soper, John Kearns, Hamilton Fabrics, High Managing Director, Stead McAlpin, Point, NC and Jennifer McConnell, Cumbria, UK printer founded in 1835. Creative Director, Ambella Home Collection, Archdale, NC
Como at Night: GM Syntex Cocktails/Dinner at Villa Grumello
We found these two deep in the woods at Aydin! That’s Ali Aydin, CEO, Aydin Textiles, Istanbul with Shaleen Jain, Director, Axis wholesaler from Moscow an Indian fabric wholesaler living and working in Moscow, Russia
Shelby Miller, Director of Design, Lee Jofa with Addie Marsella, Design Director, Brtunschwig & Fils, New York
Saana Baker, San Francisco based Sourcing expert, with Uulco Ballet, Export Manager, Crevin, Barcelona, Spain
Levent Dogan, export sales manager for Tosonoglu Tekstil and Integro brand, Denizli, Turkey with Heinz Fleischman, CEO, Englisch Decor, Wien Austria. Integer launched its new to Sun Collection of our=tdoor fabrics in the $7-$11 price range.
Pinar Okal, Tessidea Consulting principal from Como with Veerle Van Houten. Lead designer for Vay S.p.A, Chieri , Italy based converter.
Suzanne Bamford, Buyer for TJ Maxx Europe, Watford, UK with Gurvinder Singh, principal of GM Fabrics, Mumbai
Seen at Sheraton Grand Hotel, home of International Observatory: Ann Grafton, Managing Director, GP&J Baker, UK with designer/colleague Shauna Dennison and Scott Kravet VP Design, Kravet Fabrics, Woodbury, NY (USA)
Ira Tavad and Julia Suleymanova of Luxury Life Interiors, Baku, Azerbaijan with PIF mill owner, Nabil Tazi, Casablanca
“Our major accounts attended Proposte this year,” says Neil P. Dawe, Managing Director of Peter Dawe Pty., Ltd, Sydney Australia
Piercarlo Viganò, Principal of Vigano Mills, Nibionno, Italy with his daughter Alessandra Vigano. Vigano is President of Proposte and deserves some of the credit for a successful Post Covid turnout at the Como exhibition. Bravo!
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(continued from Front Cover)
Warwick Targets $100 million Sales Mark; Joins Top Jobber Ranks Here are the highlights of that journey. Six years ago, Warwick established a warehouse in Delhi to begin its distribution plan for India. Today with 20 staff, Warwick has a network of 300 accounts throughout India. “It’s our fastest growing business with sales projections of $15-$20 million”, Cameron says. In addition, Warwick started a finished goods division five years ago focusing on
cushion and rug homewares sector. The division branded ‘Weave Home’ focuses on the Australian and New Zealand domestic markets, providing a wholesale and B to C online platform, leveraging from the existing Warwick infrastructure. The Weave Home division is now bearing very large fruit with sales projections of $10-$15 million, continuing to evolve into various home furnishing categories. Warwick also purchased a bedding business two years ago named ‘Endeavor Imports.’ Endeavor is a second-generation Melbourne based and operated bedding specialist. The newly acquired bedding division enabled the Warwick brand to extend into the multiple retail bed-
Warwick’s Picton
ding sector, which has provided significant sales growth. “Warwick branded bedding for the multi retail chain market within Australia, New Zealand and India is expected to generate $20-$30 million turnover within five years”, Cameron reports. F&FI
GM Syntex Dinner At Villa Grumello, Proposte
Nicolas Van Oost, Managing Director, Vano Home Interiors, Wavre, Belgium with Pieter JanDebusschere, Co-owner of Aristide Fabrics in Kontich, Belgium
All from Casamance in Lille, France: Florence Vermelle, Director of Design; Valerie Desry, wall covering manager and Marielle Thery, purchasing and development
Ilker Imisiker from Fabrimare/Aslan Tekstil, Istanbul with Sachin Yadav, Sales Manager, GM Syntex, Mumbai; Cam Arslznoglu of Fabrimare andEbru Ertin, US based textile agent representing GM Syntex and Penelope in Florham Park, NJ. 18 • www.FandFI.com • Summer 2022
Erin Finn, Design Director, Heritage Fabrics, LLC, Concord, NC with colleagues Annika Dark and Arpana Singh
Former Calico Chairman & Owner Roy B. Simpson Sr., 98 by Jan Jessup
Those who have been with Calico for more than eight years will remember Roy B. Simpson, Sr., the former Calico owner and Chairman of Everfast, Inc. Roy died on December 24, 2021, at age 98. He was in good health and good spirits until shortly before his death. Roy is survived by his wife, Edith; their two children, Roy B. Simpson, Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Simpson; and three grandchildren. Son Roy Jr. was president of Calico from 2003 to 2012. Roy Sr. attended the Calico sales meetings as recently as 2014 and always enjoyed being with the Store Managers, Regional Managers, and the Kennett Square employees. He loved the people who grew Calico from the small retail business he acquired 52 years ago and who made it a leading company in the decorative fabric industry. He knew that being a customer-centric company was critical to its success. But how did Roy come to acquire Calico? The year was 1970, and the founders of Calico Corners—the Funston and Woodruff families—had decided to retire and sell the company they started in 1948. Up stepped a businessman with broad corporate experience as a private investor, plus knowledge of the textile industry, At the time, there were just 15 Calico Corners: 12 franchise stores and three company-owned stores in Mt. Kisco,
East Hanover and Sarasota. The average Calico store had sales of $195,000/year, an inventory of $40,000 to $60,000 of fabrics by the bolt (mostly seconds), and a staff of four sales associates. The entire headquarters was just 3,200 square feet, the size of a retail store. There were eight employees in the office and two in the warehouse. Roy thought the Calico Corners stores would complement another company he had bought in 1968, Everfast, Inc., which operated Everfast Mill Store fabric outlets along the East coast. Roy was more of a hands-off owner—he hired others to run his companies, but always was informed and involved. Bert Kerstetter was recruited as VP of Finance in 1971, the start of an extraordinary 50-year relationship with Roy. “This was a long time for a business relationship,” noted Bert. “Roy was truly an exceptional human being and the source of much goodness,” he added. Roy’s profession enabled him to achieve many dreams on the principle of doing the most good. From the beginning of their marriage almost 80 years ago, Roy and Edith
Edith and Roy Simpson Sr. at a Calico management retreat in 1995.
At the Calico sales meeting in 2014, Roy stands with Bert Kerstetter, Calico CEO at the time.
At the Calico 50th Anniversary party in 1998, Roy is flanked by Larry Kravet, then Chairman of Kravet, and Calico CEO Bert Kerstetter.
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have been a true partnership with similar New York backgrounds and passions for knowledge, art and beauty. They both came from families where design and Roy B. Simpson Sr. fashion played a part, from millinery to handbags, clothing to interior decorating. It was no wonder that Roy’s career would lead him to the business of textiles; he could readily grasp the value and importance of this essential commodity. Together, Roy and Edith built a beautiful home life—truly a celebration of creativity and style. They shared a commitment to the arts and over their many married years, collected works that spoke to the two of them, together. Believing that creativity could bring joy to every life, in the 1970s the Simpsons became heavily involved with Studio in a School, a fledgling program that was started to bring in-person arts instruction to the New York City public school system. Their involvement continues to this day. Roy often said that it was one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. “Studio” certainly occupied a special niche for Roy, but there are many examples of his generosity in his personal, professional and philanthropic life. The situation might vary, but the guiding principle was always the same: unselfish giving. He was at heart a person who found his greatest joy in opening doors for others. A gentleman of great style, Roy was a dapper dresser, no matter the occasion—even when rollerblading in sports clothes. His aunt, Adele Simpson, must have been an influence, as she was a noted American fashion designer for 50+ years. Adele Simpson was often recognized for the innovative use of fabrics in her designs. Roy had a wonderful warmth and generosity of spirit reflected in all aspects of his life. He left Calico with a beautiful legacy in his life’s work and his passion for this business. All who knew him will remember him fondly. F&FI
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Crafts & Technology - The Future is Now By Jennifer Castoldi
Textiles as we know them are changing. Yes, the conventional notion of fabrics and furnishings will remain; however, a paradigm shift may make it seem like science fiction is coming to life. Innovative composites combined with traditional
craftsmanship are taking designs to new heights. Interiors form part of one’s cultural identity and such perceptions are widening with social change. The advancement of smart and integrated textiles is breeding new possibilities where soft furnishings can also become conductors of electricity incorporating light, sound, and Augmented Reality. The future is now.
Bold and Raw Refinement For the 2021 special edition of Milan Design Week, Hermès’ display did not disappoint. Five large, freestanding rooms, which looked to be molded from the earth and then elaborately painted with powerful graphics, housed the new collection of the French brand’s homewares. The most commanding piece was the ‘Sillage d’Hermès’, a chair by Studio Mumbai with a wooden frame covered in cellulose microfibers that were then hand-varnished and hand-painted with intricate detail.
Next Horizons The Heimtextil Trends “Deep Nature”, “Hyper Nature”, “Beyond Identity” and “Empowered Identity” fall under the umbrella theme of Next Horizons for 2022/23. Sustainable cultural connections are the essence of “Empower Identity”, revitalizing artisan influences in a cooperative way. Empowering Identity promotes forming new networks between heritage cultures and forthcoming generations. Recycled and legacy textiles blended with textile craft methods as such as tufting, embroidered appliqué, and cross-stitch are employed in Empower Identity.
“Beyond Identity” speaks to the future with encouraging ideas and soft yet strong rebelliousness towards prevailing standards, leaving identity in flux. For the universe of home interiors and textiles Beyond Identity embraces recycled synthetic fabric, vintage silk and satin, natural-colored textiles, and new cellulosebased textiles.
Credit: Beyond Identity: Digital assets are on the rise and a new market for interiors. They can be used in immersive online worlds and traded via Nonfungible tokens (NFT). CGI Animation by Simon Edelberg.) 22 • www.FandFI.com • Summer 2022
photo credit: Stuck-At-Home Masquerade by Santa Kupča
Candy for Grownups During the London Design Festival in the Shoreditch Triangle, Iona Thomas was discovered, the founder and CEO of a local creative agency, and now the founding mother of Styled by Night, a side-project she started to fuel her creativity. “With Styled by Night her mission is to encourage anyone who has the slightest creative inkling, to get crafting, no matter what they do for a day job, and how little experience they think they have; creativity is a muscle, the more you flex it, the more it grows.” Here you can see her inaugural collection, Zebrina, inspired by the Tradescantia Zebrina plant, which aims to be whimsical and ‘candy for grownups’.
Advancing Smart Textile Systems The intersection between craft and technology leads to interactive smart textile systems. Trendease delves into responsive fabric innovations from controlling lighting and speakers to glow in the dark fashions using embroidery and embedded electronics. This research investigates the role of physical materials in a digital world and suggests novel ways that smart textile developments integrate into contemporary lifestyles. LUMI & SANA by Lizzy Stuyfzand are embodied tactile interfaces to control your sound and light system.
photo credit Lizzy Stuyfzand
Ganit Goldstein’s large scale embroidered fabric, produced with glowin-the-dark yarns and an embedded electronics system, combines with a Virtual Reality application with interactive flower system that connects to physical hand movement.
both credit Ganit Goldstein
Jennifer Castoldi is the CEO and Chief Creative Director of Trendease International. Since 2004, Trendease has been providing cutting-edge and competitive design information to readers and clients spanning over 170 countries. Trendease is an influential resource reporting and consulting on global trends and key international design events. Hundreds of images and forward-thinking articles are presented on www. Trendease.com each month, additionally videos and podcasts are available on www.Trendease.TV. Summer 2022 • www.FandFI.com • 23
Guest Column:
“Turkey: The right place for strategic and sustainable sourcing” Columnist’s Note: One month ago, a trustworthy contact of mine from Turkey sent me the request of her ex-colleague from Hong-Kong who was searching for Turkish home textile producers. Their strategy is to supply and send the goods from Turkey to their clients in the USA. In Hometex, I will meet this sourcing companies’ Indian representative and we will visit the producers together (not only for home textiles, also for outdoor carpets..) by: Pinar Okal, Principal, Tessidea, Como, Italy
Covid-19 changed our lives, and is still changing. In the past two years, consumer behaviours have changed in all sectors as well as home textiles, and the search for health and well-being has become an important focus. People want significant changes to make the world a better place through social and
environmental responsibility. Besides, companies faced many challenges in sourcing that led them re-evaluate their sourcing practices to increase flexibility, to spread the risk of supply chain disruptions, and to reduce the environmental impact. Under these changing circumstances, Turkey, with its nearshoring advantage, is considered as a reliable partner that is able to provide faster, sustainable and quality production for European and US markets due to its well-organised services, manufacturing capabilities, vertical integration and wide raw material sources. Turkish manufacturers also have the ability to meet lower MOQ demands and the necessary certifications for green production and sustainability. The Home Textile industry in Turkey closed the year 2021 with a record increase in export to Europe and the USA. In order to keep this interest constant the Turkish companies are more focused on branding and green production. F&FI
Raymakers Sales, Sustainability Effort Increases F&FI News Network
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ELMOND, The Netherlands— J.A. Raymakers & Co. reports moderate growth in sales in 2022 over 2021 but it is making a major push into Back row: Richard Oussoren, recycled fibers and sus- Managing Director, Raymakers & tainability as a manufac- Co., Helmand, The Netherlands turer as it heads into its with Thibaut executives: Tim 250th anniversary year Sunden, Vice President, Global Product Manager, Thibaut and in 2023. Stacey Senior, Creative Marketing “We are steadily Officer; Patricia Hoffman Vice moving into recycled President Textile Innovation; fibers and a better cot- Jessica Newman, Associate ton initiative according Director, Wovens and Margaret Blum, textile agent from New York. to Richard Oussoren, Thibaut is based in New Jersey. Managing Director. “Our cotton velvets contain a minimum of 20 percent recycled fibers and all of Raymakers FR polyester velvets contain 2/3 recycled fibers,” he says. Raymakers now uses only unbranded polyester as of September 2021. “Virgin cotton or bci cotton is purchased from farmers who use drip irrigation only. Also, we buy cotton from farmers who spray efficiently only for certain insects—not all! Insecticide is designed for specific fields. “The balance of our production is modal, viscose (about 20 percent of production) and linen and wool.” In terms of price increases, Raymakers reports a 7 ½ percent price increase but there is now a variable surcharge every quarter to keep up with supply chain adjustments. F&FI
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Backhausen/Circular Economy He points to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union through 2024 as the champion of Circular Economy when she announced the ‘Green Deal’ as the number one goal of the future economy. “We must save our resources or there won’t be enough to go around,” Backhausen emphasizes. He points to the fact that the USA and the Chinese are starting to do something about saving resources. He mentions that JAB, the large fabric wholesaler in Bielefeld, Germany as an example of successful resource management in terms of its ‘Climatex’ product line. “We must con24 • www.FandFI.com • Summer 2022
vince more companies to follow JAB’s lead on Circular Economy. In fact, several of Backhausen’s clients are starting to produce quality products which last longer and use recycled material in their production. Backhausen himself is fighting to convince people to change to a new system where saving is paramount. “Every industry is the same. Reusing material is a transformation of thinking.” “I’m so angry when we talk about putting people on Mars when we have to invest in the Earth!” “If we don’t invest in our planet, we won’t be able to live here in
the future. Our real strength is the private economy. We must do this ourselves. Every product—not just a few—must be put into the reusable loop. Eco design in loops. It is too hard to make new fiber from too many mixtures of fibers. Pure poly or pure cotton is easier to produce again. It can be used as insulation material. “Cradle to Cradle is a certification program. We can help you qualify for it if you want to change the way you do business,” Backhausen points out. “Don’t just take from our planet because one day, there will be no resources left.” F&FI
MEN TO WATCH
Matthew Crew, Managing Director, Beaumont Textiles
Crew Builds Beaumont Business
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ANCASHIRE, UK—When Matthew Crew became Managing Director of Beaumont Textiles in December 2019, he didn’t know Covid would hit the world market within 12 weeks’ time. “But Covid ended up being my best friend,” he says. The UK went into lockdown in March 2020 and “this created the opportunity to reset the business.” Mohammed Al-Guthmi, the Saudi based wholesaler bought Beaumont in May, 2017 and hired Crew to take it forward. Crew is now applying what he learned during his 16 years at Crowson which grew from $3 million to $50 million during his time there. “We have created a design capability at Beaumont as an editeur and converter,” Crew says. “I’ve been through four economic crises so the Pandemic didn’t panic me. While Beaumont turns only $4 million currently, Crew sees it growing into a $20 million business wiyhin seven years with 50 percent of the volume in overseas sales. “We’re looking for global partners,” he explains. He recently signed a Japanese partner, Ionia in Tokyo, owned by Norbaru Saito. “Each territory has a different way of doing business in terms of merchandise and presentation,” he says. He’s working with Alan Carnevale in the USA who is placing the Beaumont collection with key showrooms. “We can deliver cuts to the States within 72 hours through DHL,” Crew says. His next step is o launch a made-ups business with a one-week delivery service. “We have pared down our suppliers to just five making us a more important customer,” he adds. “We want to turn our inventory four times and offer our suppliers a good repeat business.” Crew is selling his line through 150 outlets in the UK, and he says it’s growing. He does six lines a year with 50 sku’s in each geared to the interior designer market. F&FI
by Eric Schneider
Rick Kilmer, CEO, Thibaut
Gianmarco Zamaroni Managing Director with 15th Century jacquard design
Thibaut Rapidly Expands Business
Italette’s Gianmarco Zamaroni
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IAMI BEACH—Rick Kilmer, the current CEO of Thibaut has apparently been very successful in putting new wheels on his bus! Since he joined Thibaut in June 2019 and the former CEO Bob Senior retired, the business has quadrupled to about $16 million. Kilmer previously said that 2020 was a record year breaking year; but the best is yet to be! Kilmer expects to quadruple the business one more time by 2025 according to one industry source. That will put the company in the $50-$60 million range making it a major player in U.S. fabric wholesaling. Thibaut, a wallcovering design company founded in 1886, has changed hands several times in the past six years, first with Champlain Capital about six years ago and then with Norwest Equity Partners based in Minneapolis three years ago. Norwest also owns Arteriors, an online home furnishings retailer. Norwest hired Kilmer three years ago from Holly Hunt, a designer showroom operation where he was President. Prior to that, he was President of Flor, a modular flooring company. Kilmer reinvented Thibaut showroom distribution, leaving a distribution partnership with Robert Allen behind. A new ERP system followed which helped to streamline the business which now includes private label furniture produced in a High Point factory in addition to the wallcovering and coordinated fabrics. Kilmer also moved the warehouse near Charlotte, NC. Surface Print, a UK wallcovering producer is one of the Thibaut suppliers. F&FI
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OMO—If you’ve been in the industry for a while, you most certainly know Gianfranco Zamaroni from his 35 years at the head of Fiorete, a company which ceased business in 2019. Zamaroni, who is President and CEO took his experience and started up another company named Italette. He is the controlling partner and majority shareholder but Vigano and Pingipo, a private equity company are the other two partners. Italette concentrates on the high-end decoration market in the 20€ plus range, especially jacquard and velvet. If you want to drool, look at his 150€ per meter cashmere velvet. “The business is growing,” he says. He expects to hit five million € in sales in 2022 and hopes to reach 10 million € in sales within five years. Above, he is shown with a 15th century heavy woven jacquard from his personal design archive. He also has developed a line of fabric wallcoverings which is a growing part of the market for companies like Arte. Zamaroni likes to combine different technologies like 3D as seen in the tile wallcoverings shown here. F&FI
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Alonso Mercader Makes Synthetic Leather F&FI News Network
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OMO—Alonso Mercader is a contract specialist dedicated to the production of synthetic leather. It produces microfiber it still buys from Japan and Korea; pvc, polycarbonate and silicone. The price range is from 7.5€ -25€. The products are available with no stain and FR properties. Originally, the company purchased this product from other sources in Japan and Korea but for the past ten years, it has been producing its own product since it purchased a synthetic leather company based
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in Barcelona. “My father started this company 40 years ago,” says Javier Alonso Cortes, principal with his brother Luis Alonso. The company’s original business was curtain fabric, but the synthetic leather is so drapeable, you’d think it Javier Alonso Cortes, was curtain materiOwner, Alonso Mercader al. F&FI
Keyston Bros. Scores Best Sales Year; KB Contract Division Leads Growth F&FI News Network
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OSWELL, GA—Fabric wholesaler Keyston Bros. scored its best sales year in its history in 2021 and 2022 looks like it will beat it by at least 10 percent according to Dee Duncan, President of the 155- yearold company here in this suburb of Atlanta. “Hospitality came back in the last nine months for us and the six months of inventory we keep on the shelf, especially vinyl product in the tens of millions of dollars has made it possible for our KB Contract division’s growth,” he says. He also sees a resurgence of senior living facilities which translates to more fabric sales for KB. KB recently hired hospitality heavyweight Carlotta Tulloch, formerly of Hilton Hotels to lead its ten-year-old hospitality business which is now the fastest growing part of KB, about 30 percent of its business today. “Hotel brands must renew their properties. Restaurants are expanding with more outdoor seating which has been a plus for us,” he says. In addition, Duncan says “the marine, outdoor and RV business has been strong these last two years.” “It’s hard to find made in the USA fabrics but we have it on the shelf, plenty of vinyl, leather and fabric,” Duncan explains. Duncan is convinced his success rests on having the inventory to support his customers. KB has also moved aggressively in buying up regional jobber competitors in the last five years which has aided its distribution in what is now 20 locations around the USA. KB bought Erikson Fabrics in the South and DLT in the Midwest. KB also keeps a large upholstery fabric inventory in Raleigh, NC for the furniture industry. On another note, Duncan says he will reduce his involvement with the day to day running of the business this year, leaving that to his children, Tommy and Brook and his wife Ann. Duncan figures he’ll play more golf while still coming into the office a few days a Dee Duncan with wife Ann (left) and daughter Brook week. F&FI
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