Welcome Fabric Fans!

Dear Quilt Shop Owners, Since the FreeSpirit acquisition, I have made an enormous effort to be more accessible, and maybe too accessible, to just about everyone involved in my fabric world (customers, consumers, suppliers, bloggers, designers, competitors, podcasters and so forth).  As the “face of Jaftex” so to speak, this is a part of my job that is crucial to help my companies flourish and keep everyone in my fabric world happy.  Happy customers are loyal customers! To me, in order to perform better and be a better business owner, I need to hear what people have to say.  Ignoring customers is not a good business plan. Whether I like…

My dad used to belong to this organization called YPO.  This was Young President’s Organization and it helped to unite presidents of companies in the New York area.  It was a sounding board of presidential peers. Anyway, my dad always has great business ideas, concepts and thoughts that he learned from the members of this organization.  One in particular that I want to discuss here is this:   Let someone else do the things you don’t like to do.  In other words, delegate. I first want to focus on the word “like.”   If you take away the things you DON’T like from your daily chores, that means you are…

As promised, I wanted to discuss some of the subjects that came up during quilt market.  The subject that I want to focus on today is that a lot of my fabric convertor competitors don’t use contracts when working with licensed designers.  Where do I even begin? First things first, let me say how bad an idea I think this is.  Yeah, maybe this has been going on for a long time and no issues have arisen between licensor and licensee.  The thing is that it is all good…until it isn’t and that is what contracts are for.  In law school we used to say, CYA or cover your ass….ets. …

Today is the perfect day for my first official blog post on the new www.scottfortunoff.com website where all my blogs will be posted forever.  (Please save to your favorites or sign up on the top right of this page to get regular notices about new posts.)  I just got back from the Portland Quilt market and had the chance to observe and enjoy, in awe, the debut of the new FreeSpirit.  In a word, it was amazing to watch and be a part of!  I now have a message that I want to share with anyone and everyone associated with any or all of the Jaftex Companies.  Are you ready?…

The last 365 days have proven to be transformative for me and my family business.  Last summer I started the free sewing machine giveaway which has been life changing for me….for the better of course.  Any day now, I will reach the 100 machine mark and there is no stopping there.  I am very proud and, quite frankly, surprised at how far I have gotten in such a short timeframe.  I plan to continue this effort indefinitely so please keep submitting requests and supporting this great cause.  I just ask for patience as it isn’t always easy to find the time to contact people submitting requests. The free sewing machine…

Dearest Quilt Shop Owners, Are you excited for the International Quilt Market in Portland?  I can’t hear you!  ARE YOU EXCITED OR WHAT?  Okay, that’s a little better, but you are going to have to work on that energy level prior to getting to Portland.  Before I delve into the abundance of entertainment and eye candy that you could expect from the Jaftex Companies in Portland, I wanted to direct you to a previous blog I wrote with some sage advice that still stands true.  The post suggests ideas on how to navigate through quilt market, how to make it work for you and how to make it work for…