I continue the story about my career at Wesco Fabrics and the world of Decorative Fabrics and window coverings with a detour or two. Click on this link for a post about the beginning of the company and my earliest days on the job. The photo above shows the look of our window covering fabrics, upholstery fabrics, stock bedspreads and alternative sampling in the mid 1970’s. Except for some direct imports from Brazil, Italy, and Finland, the majority of our fabrics were sourced from open-line domestic convertors at that time.

Travel to source more “exclusive” fabrics around the world became necessary in the 70’s to have a design niche different from our many competitors. This was a financial risk as we had to stock 300 to 500 meters per color for direct imports, but it was worth to have a “national exclusive.”. We continued with “open-line” fabrics which we could order by the “piece” (about 50 yards). At the time we had over 40+ competitors around the country and needed our own “look.” The place to find exclusives was the Heimtextil, the world’s largest textile fair, in Frankfurt, Germany. In 2020 they had 2918 exhibitors from 64 countries exhibiting in 8 buildings, with 63,000 visitors from 136 countries.

Marla and I with Muller Zell, one of our long time suppliers from Germany at the 1989 Heimtextil. We imported directly from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the U.S.

Wesco Fabrics produced two fabric lines a year. The first showing was to our sales representatives and showrooms, then to our designer clients around the country. Sample books were distributed by 23 sales pros and 22 showrooms carrying our line. The image above is a fabric line showing in our Denver warehouse showroom for sales personnel and invited trade quests.

We placed our line with a few international agents in 2000. Marla is shown with Beauty Furnishings in Singapore in 2001. I will always remember dinner out with the owner. He took us to a health food restaurant and ordered “deer penis” wine for us which he highly recommended for jet-lag. I’m not making this up and obviously something may have been lost in the translation, but it did happen. Where was “Google Translate” when I needed it!

Wesco Fabrics celebrated 60 years in the business with a fabulous party in the lobby of the Denver Design District in 2006. Joline, Marla’s Mom and company co-founder, is watching a video presentation of our early days. The image on the screen is Joline at a fabric presentation in New York City in the 1950’s.

I’m telling Wesco stories at the 60th in 2006.

Marla and I with our daughters, Stacy and Lisa.

Every celebration needs a conga line and Marla is leader-in-chief.

Our “Designer” line was a collection of primarily exclusive patterns and separate from our lower priced regular sample collection. We sourced this unusual metallic fabric from a very unique fashion fabric supplier from India.

We named this fabric “Flapper.”

I’m jived about this metallic printed panne velvet at the 2007 Heimtextil show. I loved the vibrant raspberry colored shirt and tie I found at Nodus in Cannes!

Brussels Belgium became an important fabric destination for us every September at a fabric show called “Decosit.” Our first purchases of fabrics from China began at a small show called “TIP Expo” which took place nearby at the same time. When TIP Expo ended some fabulous suppliers of silks from India set up showrooms in the Sheraton Hotel while the main show was going on at the fairgrounds. Marla and I are placing an order for silk fabrics in 2008 with a supplier at the Hotel.

Marla works with Vikram Tantia, director of Globe India, a high-end silk supplier at the 2008 Decosit show. We purchased the silk jacquard she is holding.

At the 2008 Decosit show we began buying from “D’Decor”, the world’s largest maker of soft furnishing fabrics from India. Our imports of Indian fabrics in both silk and synthetics really took off!

A 2010 image of me putting a fabric line together in what we called “the museum.” It looks a bit chaotic!

In 2010 I broke my leg skiing and told Marla we would have to cancel our annual trip to Heimtextil which was three weeks later. She said “Don’t be silly,…of course you are going!” I reserved one of three available electric scooters. I will always remember how almost no-one would look at me while on it. I had an epiphany about what many differently-abled people must go through. I really wanted to turn the knob to “5”, the very fastest speed, just to raise a little hell around the show!

You can tell what our favorite 2010 color was!

I just loved our 2011 “Exception to the Rule” color Kiwi, a fabulous silk blend jacquard.

Marla always wanted to visit China. The 2011 November trip was supposed to be a total pleasure trip with no business that we paid for ourselves. Well…you know what happened to that idea! We contacted a few of our fabric resources and took the train from Shanghai to Hangzhou. Marla is with our contact at Kentex Mills. They showed Marla something they were really proud about in their showroom,…an elaborate marble sink and vanity. They didn’t mention that it wasn’t connected to water!

Our salesperson asked us, “Do you like KFC?” I’m thinking, “finally some food I can understand”! Well, he didn’t take us to a KFC but to this place in a nearby town. Everyone was so excited about us being there! They took Marla to the kitchen. People from the town gathered at the front door and in front of the window to watch us!

Notice that the food is NOT refrigerated! The look of the eyes on the fish in the foreground almost haunts me to this day! Marla has the amazing talent of holding her smile. She should have worked at the United Nations!

We spent the afternoon working on new fabrics at Shaoxing XiaoXuanChuang Household Fabric Co., a large supplier for us in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province.

Their gigantic headquarters had a least 10 to 15 large, fully decorated showrooms filled with furniture and fabrics. Their specialization was embroideries.

Marla taught special education (as well as having her own interior design business) before returning to work for her family business. In 2011 she jumped at the chance to work with sewing students from Denver’s Morey Junior High School, the same school her dad attended. The students brought patterns with them then chose fabrics from the inventory. All of our seamstresses helped them pin the patterns to the fabric, then cut them out. After lunch in our lunchroom, they returned to school to sew their projects. They later had a fashion show wearing whatever they made. We sponsored this project for years and everyone had a marvelous time participating.

Many representatives from foreign mills came to Denver to work with us. Pramod Shah from Universal Overseas in New Delhi, India, was a great resource for exotic silks and other wovens for us. Marla is still “Fitbit” friends with him.

I’m working on our Spring 2012 fabric line in the “Museum.”

I also took over part of the accounting office to coordinate fabrics for the Spring 2012 color sample books!

Ed Parent, a premier Boulder interior designer and good friend works with Joanne Adair, his favorite warehouse showroom window covering specialist.

I’m looking at an embroidery with Rodney Carr, one of the owners of Softline Home Fashions, at the Showtime Fabric Show in High Point, North Carolina in 2012.

Our grandsons often visited our Denver Design District showroom or the warehouse. I always hoped one of them might go to work for us, but in retrospect family businesses aren’t for everyone! Paxton and Logan, the two oldest, worked at our semi-annual warehouse sales for years! Clients loved watching them grow up. The two youngest missed that experience living in Dallas, but visited when in town.

Our new spring 2012 sample books in the sampling department of the Denver warehouse.

One of our very favorite 2012 fabrics, “Intoxicating”, color Reggae, an incredible velvet applique on a lustrous silk satin.

It begins again for the Fall 2012 fabric line!

Marla, on the right, talks to designers at a Hunter Douglas trend seminar we held in our showroom.

I’m getting ready for an appointment with a supplier at the Showtime Fabric show in High Point, North Carolina.

Marla in front of our Frankfurt hotel, Alexander Am Zoo which was a block from the entrance to the “U-Bahn” subway system with a stop right at the Messe Fairgrounds. For more than 20 years we had frozen walking to the fair from a hotel or driving from a hotel out of town. We were so happy to find this hotel when the subway to the Fair opened in 1999,…and even more importantly,…it was only a block away from a fabulous Italian restaurant!

We always spent time in the trend section of the Heimtextil show before our appointments with suppliers.

Mar checks out the 2013 trend exhibits.

“Hmmm,…a textile covered giraffe!”

A film crew at the trend exhibit.

One never really knows what a potential resource has unless you enter their booth and ask questions. This Chinese resource looked like only a pillow supplier, but actually had a few great fabrics which we ended up buying.

Most restaurants were completely booked during the Heimtextil 2013 show. We promised the owner of Apfelwein Klaus we would finish in an hour or less so he let us have a seat on the bench in the underground cellar. We loved this place on the Kaiserhofstrasse just off the Zeil. Marla really doesn’t drink beer….but this is Frankfurt!!! “Ich möchte einen Toast auf Marla ausbringen!“

Next, week Part 2.

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.