Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: Quilt Market In Review

November 9, 2015 /


BOO!  Everybody relax!  I am NOT going to continue on with my tirade and crusade against the Quilt Market monopoly as we know it and how it has become way too costly to participate. I am actually throwing in the towel right now for reasons mentioned below.  I am very proud that I was able to start the dialogue, but you are now on your own.  Sorry.

I will tell you that I received over 20 emails to my personal email account and every single one of those emails was in support of some Quilt Market change.  Some people were even harsher than I was.  (Another day, I will post a blog anonymously with all the comments I got so you can get an idea as to what was said.) It was rather unusual that none of these people that emailed me was willing to post their comments to the public…except one or two.  Under my breath, you can hear me muttering “wimps.”  This led me to believe that a public battle wouldn’t get me very far since I would most likely be battling alone and it would be an uphill battle all the way. I guess everyone is afraid of the repercussions, and the fear of the people at Quilts Inc. lives on…ROAR!  (I was warned about the wrath every step of the way). Unfortunately, without any support, I can’t worry about everyone else, I need to worry about my companies.

That being said, I believe the actions on behalf of Jaftex will speak louder than my blog words. In addition, your actions will speak louder than words.  The Jaftex Quilt Market footprint will shrink dramatically.  We will do whatever we need to do to get around all the exorbitant fees and make the quilt market losses more reasonable.  Unfortunately, profiting from quilt market is probably no longer in the cards.

Here are some actions that we will take: 

  • Forget sample spree.  
  • Fewer people attending market.  
  • Smaller booths.
  • Simple designs for the booth.
  • Reusable booth decorations.   
  • Doubling and tripling up in hotel rooms.
  • Staying in cheaper hotels.
  • Starving our employees.  (just kidding)
  • So on and so forth.

Enough of that!  Now let’s get back to the real business of fabric buying and selling. Now that the jury has spoken, I wanted to update you on the most successful and buzz-worthy Studioe items from this market.  

  • Double Gauze Fabric:  So we finally came out with a double gauze line called Baby Love. We decided to go with the real baby-baby prints.  We came up with 9 skus and we are printing these in Pakistan.  They ship in March 2016 in 15 yard cuts only.  I was shocked how much of this fabric we sold and I believe that is because the price and the recent popularity of this fabrication.  The one thing I did want to let you know about the gauze was that you have to wash it before using.  It does shrink, but in a really nice way….it gets so soft and yummy when washed.  Make sure to ask your sales rep to see this line. We are working on some great projects too. Stay tuned as they will be posted in the projects section on the website early next year.

  • Remember Cheeky Pumpkins By Dt-K Signature?  Well, Dt-K is back with the follow up line called, Cheeky Wee Pumpkins. This line is 15 skus and ships in April 2016.  It has been selling as well as the first line did and we sure hope it does better. You should make sure to check out the stripe pattern 3274-93, how awesome are the shoes?  


Remember these guys?

  • Got Colorful 108″s?  Yup, we finally are producing some colorful 108″ wide quilt backs in Spangle.  The customers have spoken and we are answering.  In the past most of our 108″ wide fabrics have been monotone, but we are changing it up and adding some pop of color.  Nothing too crazy and loud, but a fresh new look nonetheless.  These come in 18 yard bolts and ship in April of 2016.  Make sure to check out the red, white and blue version because that will be amazing for Quilts Of Valor and charity quilts.

There is a lot more to talk about related to this last market and Jaftex’s 85th anniversary.  I will however save that for my next blog.  Thanks for listening.  I hope to hear some comments.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words Scott 

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