Welcome Fabric Fans!

Now that I have committed to writing consistent weekly blogs, that now means I am going to have to come up with subjects to talk about….a lot of them.    I will make all efforts to make sure this doesn’t become a blah blah blah-g.  I will be sure to keep it fresh and interesting and try to spare you the boring details of my life, but you are sure to get to know me a lot better.  So why am I calling this blog, “Oh, How Things Change?”  As you know from my last entry, I spent one night in Ann Arbor last week at my alma mater, University of…

Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive:  Consistency     It is 9 am Thursday morning and I am sitting at Amer’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan pondering the last two weeks of my work travails and travels, prior to heading to my appointment at Pink Castle Fabrics.  Last week I was in the Carolina’s, showing off the new Studioe and Henry Glass lines, videotaping a YouTube video previewing the Studioe May release and visiting all my fabric at the SNS warehouse.  After finishing the video, I sat down with my Studioe marketing, advertising and social media team.  That sounds very official and fancy, but in all honesty, it was…

Dear Studioe Fans and Especially Peppered Cotton Challenge Contestants, A big AMEN to the 31 contestants who took the time to participate in the Peppered Cotton Challenge.  Thank you!  I hope you enjoyed yourselves.  I was pleasantly surprised with the number of participants in the first big Studioe contest and I was especially happy with the quality of all the entries.  I was getting kind of nervous as we got closer to the deadline, but as I expected, I received over a dozen entries in the last 3 or 4 days….Procrastinators of the world did unite!    Of the 31 entries, 13 people bought their fabric at the Stitch N’…

Mother Nature has been a real….bit…bit….bitter cold lady this year. Her wrath has been fierce and the gravity of her weather patterns have been rainful (sic) and snowful. Not just for those of us in typically breezy and gusty areas, but this bit….bit….bitter ice lady has spread her turbulence and haze throughout the US. Polar Vortex, global warming, el nino, ozone depletion could be too blame, according to the flood of talking heads on TV, but who really cares about the root cause. It is what it is and all of us have to roll with the downdraft. We have no choice in the matter. Personally, the climate has affected…

Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive:  Time Is Running Out.    Can you hear that noise? It is getting louder! Tick, tock, tick, tock…that is the noise of time running out on your big chance.   Your big chance to win some great prizes, publicity and pride for winning the Peppered Cotton Challenge.  Chop chop, get a move on it and upload your project and fill out the entry form by March 31st at midnight.  As they say, time is money and fabric and these days we could all use some of both.   I can bear-ly contain myself.  Did you happen to see one of the most recent submissions…

Winners of this Week’s Facebook Giveaway!  Renee Ruddell Hooten — Plainview, Texas Hexagons Susan Kramer Blumenshein – Washington State Watermark quarter cuts Emily Callender – Pennsylvania Metropia Quarter cuts Elaine Mercer – Mr Roboto Quarter cuts          To claim your prize please send an e-mail to LWALKER@FABRICEDITIONS.COM with your NAME, ADDRESS, and PHONE NUMBER. The package will be put in the mail as soon as possible!   Thank you for your participation! Please keep an eye for more giveaways on our Facebook page!  

Dear Studioe Blog Reader, It is now early March and I anxiously await your submissions to the Peppered Cotton Challenge for which you have only had about 6 months to prepare.  Please stop procrastinating!  As I write this blog, there are only 6 submissions and I imagine there are many more to come at the 23rd hour.  Please don’t wait until the very last moment in case you run into any technical snafus….you don’t want to get excluded over a technicality.  That would be a shame. Do you like money?  How about free fabric?  How about fame for being a talented artisan?  If you answered yes to any or all…

The Genius Behind It All Part 3:  My Father Now that my dad survived this ordeal with the blood clots, I wanted to delve into more detail as to why he is the brains behind Jaftex.  In 1930, my great-grandfather, Jacob A. Fortunoff started Jaftex.  He mainly dealt in flannelette and cotton fabrics.   So of course he gets the credit for starting the business.  Jacob had 3 sons, but only two ended up in the business, Dan (my uncle) and Everett (my grandfather).  As time went on, the mainstay of the business became women’s lingerie and various types of sleepwear.  Uncle Dan’s son, Glenn, and my dad, Robert, each…

My Lucky Day….The Peppered Cotton Challenge In Full Effect. Happy New Year Studioe Fans, Today is my lucky day.  As I began my early morning workout, the light on my blackberry (yes, I still use a blackberry) lit up, signifying that I had a new message.  The fact that the light was blinking wasn’t a big deal since I get messages daily.  The big deal was the content of the message.  “Hallellujah!” I rejoiced.  What was the message?  Take a guess.  Come on.  I will give you a hint….it has to do with the Peppered Cottons (hopefully you are well aware of this fabric by now….if not I have a…