Vets Rosenfeld, Lee create new fabric mill

By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 12/2/2002 12:00:00 AM

JIN JIANG, CHINA —

Joe Rosenfeld and Shannon Lee have formed Claridge Textiles International, a fabric mill offering a full range of products, including a variety of widths for specific end uses.

The company also is offering a line of decorative trimmings, including beadings and cut-and-sew capability, to accommodate a number of different product needs.

The fabric line will include a wide range of fabrics — top-of-bed widths, silks, luxurious chenilles and tapestries, as well as "body cloths" for furniture, said Rosenfeld.

Rosenfeld, a veteran decorative fabrics executive, most recently was president of American Decorative Fabrics Corp., which he joined in October 1998. He earlier was with Lanscot-Arlen and prior to that was president of Ametex, part of the Robert Allen Group, which he left in February 1996.

Lee, a 10-year veteran of the Chinese textiles industry, is the former director of design at American Decorative Fabrics and the sister of David Li, president and ceo of ADF. Li had been ceo of ADF and assumed the position of president in October "when it was mutually agreed that Joe would leave the company," he said.

Said Lee, "We're family. We're still very close. I consult with ADF on the print line. But the family business has grown so much over the years. We didn't do trimmings, and my fabrics for Claridge are higher-end." Price points begin at under $4 and up, said Rosenfeld.

Lee will oversee the management of the production of fabrics and trims in China and will share corporate responsibilities with Rosenfeld, who will concentrate on product marketing and customer relations.

Claridge is located on a 60-acre site and is in full production with 40 looms, including wide widths. It will stock its products in High Point, NC. There will be no New York showroom, Rosenfeld said, but the company will show at Showtime in January in the Suites at Market Square, space #936.

The company is headquartered in San Diego, and Rosenfeld will relocate there.