Robert Kaufman

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Born in Russia in 1899, Robert Kaufman emigrated and settled in New York and like so many immigrants who came to America at this time, he was eager to create a prosperous future for himself and his family. His menswear company, Meadowpark Clothes, was the culmination of his goal to be a successful proprietor of a thriving business. All this was done by the time he reached his early twenties. Yet he was not immune to the stock market crash of 1929 which, like so many around him, caused the demise of his once thriving business. Flash forward to 1942, and from a showroom on Fifth Avenue in New York City, he regained his business foothold and set in motion the foundation of the multi-million dollar company that exists today. The company, a wholesale supplier for men's suits, would struggle through a difficult wartime economy and emerge as a successful fixture in the burgeoning New York garment business. For the next few years, life was challenging, but rewarding.

But, all was not well within the personal side of the Kaufman family. Robert's middle son, Alvin, was diagnosed with a severe case of asthma in 1944. Without hesitation, Robert followed the family doctor's orders. With his wife Edna, their three sons Saul, Alvin, and Harvey, and daughter Gladys, the family relocated to the West Coast and the Los Angeles area was their new home.

Given that Robert was required to rebuild his business from scratch, it still was no surprise to many that the company prospered. Over the next ten years, he continued as a Los Angeles jobber while creating a solid reputation in the textile industry. It was during this time when Edna and Gladys ambitiously turned their Seventh Street office space into a thriving retail fabric store by adding a few well dressed mannequins to the office window. What they had accomplished was to successfully merchandise Robert's inventory to the public.

Health issues began to take their toll on Robert in the mid 1950’s and, unfortunately, he was unable to continue running the company alone. So in 1955, his sons, Saul and Alvin, joined the company with the intentions of taking the company to the next level. Alongside the advent of a fabric named "Windjammer," Saul and Alvin began to move the company away from being a jobber to becoming more focused on being a premier fabric converter.

Their collective ideas and goals were rewarded as "Windjammer," a rayon/cotton linen, became a hit with major department stores throughout the country. Following in the footsteps of "Windjammer," Saul and Alvin then launched a new line of velvets, plaids, and seersuckers. Just as ambitious was their new program of printed chiffons and satins, all of which were imported from Japan. The youngest of the brothers, Harvey, joined the company in 1963. Alvin, Harvey and Saul teamed together to run the expanding company and act as the national sales team. Looking to expand the company even more, Harvey took it upon himself to recruit and establish a nationwide sales force. Over the next years, they continued to expand their line of fabrics. During the mid 1970's, the popular 100% cotton prints were introduced to the line and garnered immediate success.

From the late 70’s and into the 1980s, sales increased to manufacturing clients which in turn helped the company grow significantly. It was during this time when the existence of fashion fabric retailers began to dwindle. A shift in the retail fabric had now occurred in the market which pushed Robert Kaufman to focus its resources on the quickly emerging quilting industry. Within this new and highly lucrative market, it was clear the transition was effectively a massive success due to the expansion of Kona® Cotton Solids and the unique talents of their very first signature artists: Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka. Armed with additional talent like Jennifer Sampou, Robert Kaufman was catapulted into the quilting mainstream and has risen to become one of the premier wholesale converters of quality fabrics for retail and manufacturing.

It’s no secret that from this point to the present day the Robert Kaufman Company would continue to brand itself as a dual focused company. They are committed to both the Manufacturing and Quilting Retail customer. Today, the company operates two separate design studios focused on delivering the finest products. Each one generates fabrics specific to either the quilting or the manufacturing customer. Run by Evie Ashworth and Debbie Call respectively, the in-house quilting and manufacturing studios employ a large family of talented signature artists. Their collective efforts continue to supply innovative and exclusive collections to the line. In total, Robert Kaufman Company currently employs over one hundred ninety people. The growth of the company and its lasting impact on the industry it serves is due in large part to its loyal employees who have played an integral part in the company with some being with the company for over thirty years.

In early 2008, Saul Kaufman officially retired from the company he had helped run for more than fifty years. Alvin and Harvey are all still lovingly involved in the day-to-day operations of the business their father began more than sixty years ago. Robert Kaufman Company continues with the third generation of family members who have risen to lead the company into the future. Robert’s Grandsons Joe, Steve, Ken, Ron, son-in-law Eric and Cousin Arnold now direct company in management roles.^[1]