Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: Blog Block
I am severely suffering from blogger’s block. As such, I have resorted to asking some of our Studioe facebook friends for suggestions. So here are some short comments and answers to things that our Studioe friends were asking about.
What is my absolute favorite color combination? In my humble opinion grey continues to be super popular in quilting. It could be the new white or black and I am betting it stays around for awhile. I think we will see some new twists on grey with other colors this year. That is a bet that we continue to make at the Jaftex Companies. As it relates to Studioe, Winter Memories and Winter Essentials 3 both fit the bill.
What do you think will be the most popular colors for 2015? For my prediction for the top color for 2015, I am not even going to venture a guess because it is probably some color that I never heard of or probably can’t pronounce. So I am keeping out of that debate. I leave that up to the pros.
How long does it take to produce a line from start to finish? That varies greatly, but I will give you an idea with a simplified example. The design phase could last anywhere from one to four months and sometimes more. You also have to keep in mind that the designers don’t just work on one line at a time. Thereafter, we have to determine when we will drop (or release) a line in the market place. Our companies come up with new lines to be released in January, March, May, July and October. The most important releases being the quilt market releases in May and October. So let’s say we determine the line will be shown at this quilt market later in October. That line had to have been completed no later than the end of August. That way, we have enough time to produce a proper swatchcard to be sent to reps and distributors around the beginning of October. So let’s say that adds another one to two months. Then from the time we start showing in October, we probably don’t actually ship the fabric for about 5-7 months after. So in reality, it could be about 7 months to a year and some times longer. Who would have thunk (sic) it?
What do I see as the next big technique in quilting? OMG, seriously? Not touching that one with a ten foot pole. I am a 41 year old guy from Long Island, need I say more.
What do Madame Samm and I have up our sleeves for next year? This Madame Samm is like no other I have met in this industry and we have a secret fabric love affair (figuratively speaking) going on from across the Canadian border. I am so glad that she got me on the phone one day and convinced me to work with her. Her crew does some really amazing work and there is no reason why I don’t expect to be working a lot more with her in the future. As far as next year, I have nothing up my sleeves except to fulfill all of the Madame’s wishes….that is, get her fat quarter bundles of all the lines she likes. Since she already said it was a Halloween line and we only have one Halloween line, you know that we are going to do something with Cheeky Pumpkins by D-TK Signature. The other is one of the four Studioe Christmas lines. I will give you a hint, if she liked Rush Hour, she will like this one too. I look forward to see what the next challenge brings.
Thanks for all the questions and sorry for the late post. It is still Monday though, so better late than never.
Please check out all of the new October releases under the fabric portion of the website. 10 great lines that I am proud to be showing. Also, don’t forget to be in touch with me about setting up an appointment for market. Email me at scott@jaftex.com.
Have a great day!
Scott