Where Would We Be Without Them & What Will The Future Bring Blog Revisited?

I am revisiting my Father’s Day blog from 2019 and updating it.

As another Father’s Day is upon us, it makes me start to think, where would we be without Jacob A. Fortunoff? Jacob A. Fortunoff is the JAF in Jaftex and he is the one that got the ball rolling for our family in the textile industry. I am sure great-grandpa Jack would be pretty amazed to know that we are deep into the fourth generation with the fifth generation on deck and our business remains healthy and vibrant. He would also be pretty amazed at how the business has changed over the years.

I think about great-grandpa Jack traveling through the streets of New York City jobbing fabrics. In other words, he would be selling other people’s leftovers and made a nice business of this. I could only imagine what that was like. Over time, the family business went from jobbing fabrics to manufacturing ladies’ sleepwear and many of its components. Now, we sell quilting fabrics to the over-the-counter trade as you all know.

Each generation changed based on whatever was going on in the fabric industry at the time. I can’t say for sure when we went from jobbing to ladies’ sleepwear, but I do know that we went from manufacturing sleepwear to our current business mainly on my grandfather’s and father’s watches in and around the 1980s-1990s. At that time, most of the sleepwear business moved to China and that really hurt the US textile industry. We were fortunate to have avoided the aftermath of that thanks to shrewd decisions by my ancestors.

At present, we are making big bets on the quilt shop-only business, but who knows what will be next for our industry and my family business in particular? In 2025, we will be celebrating 95 years. My dad is in his mid-70’s and my brother and I are in our early 50s. My kids and my nieces and nephews range in age from 10-18.

Will the kids come into the business? If so, which of them will be in it? What will their roles be? Will we sell the company? Will the business totally change focus to some other aspect of fabric? Where will I be in 10 or 15 or 20 years? The questions are endless and the answers are impossible to predict. If my crystal ball could tell me, I would welcome the opportunity to see what the future will bring and where my mark will be left.

In any case, I am proud that great-grandpa Jack started the business when he did. I am glad that we are able to keep his legacy alive. I am glad to be a part of the family business as it is a very special and unique opportunity. It is also a pretty nice gig, but it requires a lot of hard work. What I imagine will be even cooler is if I get to work with my kids one day. To me, that would be the ultimate Father’s Day dream come true. Until then……Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there.