Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
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?
Thank you!
Let’s start at the most important spot….customers. I can’t begin to tell you how many new and existing partners came up to me to chat and congratulate me at market. The messages were very clear and pretty much the same…thank you to your family for buying FreeSpirit. You are very welcome and it is our pleasure indeed. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership for all. Your success is our success and we are rooting for you and the industry….but you know that already if you follow my blog posts regularly!
Many FreeSpirit dedicated business owners around the world were feeling extreme pressure and fear that their business might not have been able to survive without the FS products. That would have been a shame to see people go out of business out of nowhere. You could hear the collective sigh of relief when I sent the email out to the world that we were buying FreeSpirit. Now that these businesses and FS are thankfully not closing, and as much as I would love for you to be a FreeSpirit only shop forever, it is prudent to diversify and not put all your eggs in one basket. Just saying! That being said, FreeSpirit is proudly here to STAY!
I want to give a quick shout out to the most lovely woman that schlepped to the market all the way from Richmond, Virginia to meet me face to face. Seriously? She is the sweetest woman and it was awesome that she made the trip across the country….even though it wasn’t necessary. Don’t tell her, but she could have just visited me in New York. In any case, this fantastic woman is Pat Goldman from Chadwick Heirlooms. Coincidentally, she will be hosting Kaffe & Brandon this summer. Perhaps she will be hosting me too. In any case, thanks Pat! The pleasure was all mine.
Next, I want to thank all of the Jaftex licensed designers and business partners. We are thankful for you stepping up to put on schoolhouses for our collective benefit. The ones that I attended were very full, informative and enjoyable. In total, we put on nearly 20 schoolhouses because we want to help everyone in the industry however we can. Special shout out to AnnaMaria Horner for stepping up to present the Premier Schoolhouse. What a performance! And it is definitely paying off as we are getting lots of orders and interest in the conservatory. Nice work AnnaMaria!
Next, I must say thanks to all my co-workers. There is nothing easy about putting together a quilt market booth, but I must say that everyone did what they had to do without complaining. I hate to keep talking so much about the FreeSpirit people because I don’t want my New York and Greenville peeps (I love you guys too!) to feel neglected, but it’s just that FreeSpirit is the big deal of late. That will probably wear down in due time so I hope everyone can bear with me until then. With that being said, big shout out to the FreeSpirit team for whipping up a beautifully manicured booth in record time. It worked too because every time I walked by, I couldn’t find a chair.
For everyone’s edification, whether you realize it or not, this FreeSpirit acquisition is a beast and we are all working so freakin’ hard to get things stabilized and in order so we can get back to business as usual. No one wants that more than the Fortunoff family. So with that, I want to thank all of our customers for their continued patience through the transition. I promise that things will get better and better each and every day. As everything happened so quickly, there is a lot that needs to be done and some things just don’t happen overnight….like a website or moving millions of yards of fabric across the state. That is the reality and as I have said many times, I deal in reality and hope you can join me there. In any case, thanks to all of my employees for all that you do today and everyday! Your hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed.
I can’t forget the ultimate consumers. Those awesome quilters and sewists around the world who love all of our fabrics. Those awesome folks that support and buy their fabrics from our customers…the shops and online retailers. Those awesome folks who are so vocal and positive on social media about the FreeSpirit deal, our designers and all of our other brands too. Those awesome men and women that are our superfans and biggest supporters through thick and thin. You guys are really the crux of it all and we can’t thank you enough for your continued purchases and support of all of our companies…Studioe Fabrics, Blank Quilting, Henry Glass, FreeSpirit, A.E. Nathan, 3 Wishes & Fabric Editions.
I really hope that I didn’t forget to thank anyone. If I did, here is a blanket thank you to anyone I may have overlooked. It wasn’t intentional, it was just that I started this blog at about 4 PM this afternoon and wanted to get it posted on Monday which is my promise to my readers. In closing, let me say it once more…..thank you guys!
18 Comments
Scarlett Wells
Quilt Market was fantastic absolutely! It was a joy to have the honor of eating breakfast with you, ordering fabric for the next several months for the shop, and seeing all of the amazing plans the designers have! I think that, especially considering the circumstances, things are going so well. It is not easy to acquire another company to add to your already overflowing plate, yet here you are interacting still. Keep it up!
Scott Fortunoff
Oh Scarlett, you are too kind. I also enjoy working with you very much. I am lucky to have met you way back when on that day that I am sure we will both always remember. Thanks for your nice comments and positive words.
Vanessa
I was a little sad that I spent three days in Portland and only saw you once from across the room at my schoolhouse for Studioe Fabrics.
Scott Fortunoff
I was sad also. Next time you gotta stay the whole show. You did crush it in the schoolhouse that I saw…as per usual. I guess that is why you are the social media guru.
xxoo
Joanne Hubbard
What an exciting time to be involved in the sewing/quilting industry! From all the posts I saw on social media, e-mails I received, and blogs I read, it looks like Market was wonderful. Congratulations!
It’s been really interesting to witness the changes taking place for Jaftex, and I know that I’m not the only one who has appreciated getting an inside glimpse of your busy and crazy work world right now. You’ve made it feel personal for all of us and that makes us all feel special. I see great things for the sewing/quilting world and am excited to be a part of it. #sewrevolution
Scott Fortunoff
Joanne,
You have been with me from the start and we have certainly come a long way. We still have a lot to do, but I do appreciate your support so much. Thank you for that and of course your friendship.
Have a great week.
Scott
Ruth Griesemer
Thank you Scott for your dedication to Gree Spirit, especially the Kaffe, Brandon and Philips fabrics which are what brought me in to quilting 20years ago. I love their fabrics (looking forward to meeting Kaffe and Brandon inTampa fL in October at Happy Apple Quilts. I was lucky enough to get tickets to both the Trunk show and a workshop ( be still my beating heart!)
I have recently been buying a lot of Philip!S Snow Leopard fabrics: Roaring twenties- love every piece ands am looking forward to his new linevArcadia-thiose fish! I love them!
I have been enjoying you n FB and now hope to learn more from your blog.
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Ruth,
Thanks for your dedication to the FreeSpirit brand. I am sure your meeting with the guys will be excellent as was mine.
Perhaps you will see me at Happy Apple Quilts. What a great shop!.
Thanks for your comment!
Scott
Karen Montgomer
Thank YOU Scott for hearing what we retailers had to say and understanding how important keeping this industry healthy is to all of us. Thank you for exciting our customers with the new products and for promoting Sew Days!
Scott Fortunoff
Karen,
Thank you for stepping up to the plate to initiate the first #sewrevolution #sewdays event. You are the brains behind it all and everyone should know that. Other than that, I thank you for your continued support and sage advice. I am glad to know you and consider you a friend. Thanks for that especially!
Scott
Leslie
I am so proud to be a “Jaftex and Free Spirit’ shop!!
Thanks, Scott for leading such an incredible team!
Scott Fortunoff
Hi Leslie,
We love Jaftex & FreeSpirit dedicated shops. Thank you so much for that. It does mean a lot to us.
Regards,
Scott
Joanne Harris
I find your candor very refreshing. I can only wish you and your company the very best as the transition continues.
Scott Fortunoff
Joanne,
That is so nice to hear and I thank you for that. We will get through this…one day at a time. Please continue on this journey with me b/c, you know, we are just getting started here. Have a great week.
SCott
Kara Benavides
Hear! Hear!
Scott Fortunoff
Yes Kara Benavides! Thanks for being such a great supporter.
xxoo
scott
Quilting Jeannie
I am one of your sewists, a quilter. I love StudioE, Blank Quilting, Henry Glass, and Free Spirit fabrics. My husband says there is no ‘free fabric’. When I win some fabric, it always costs him over$40, sometimes double that! You are a savy business man. Keep great quality in your fabrics and this will be a long relationship. Thanks.
Scott Fortunoff
Quilting Jeannie,
I see you all around our social sites and stuff and just love your enthusiasm. The thing is, who is the quilting Jeannie? Email me scott@jaftex.com and tell me your real name please. I am so curious. Anyway, I hope to keep you and all the rest of our customers happy. Agreed, quality is key and that won’t be changing so don’t worry.
xxoo
scott