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New Jersey mill's retail outlet has a treasure trove of high end fabrics at fantastic prices

BY MARGARET MORGAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Tucked away in an industrial park in Lakewood, N.J. is a fabric mill, Jacquard, where many of the high end fabric houses fabrics are woven. Fabrics that are on every designers hot list and every homemakers "must have" list are custom designed and woven here: The mill weaves for the leading fabric houses — Schumacher, Stroheim & Roman, Brunschwig & Fils, Lee Jofa, Robert Allen, Duralee, Kravet, the list goes on and on.

It also does custom weaving and custom made fabrics for the Four Seasons and Marriott hotels and the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

The treasure is the mill's retail outlet called Michele's Fabrics. Here customers reap the rewards of the mill's close-outs and overruns from its fabric house clients. There are 800 rolls of high end and designer woven fabrics that are close-outs and overruns, all priced at $25 per yard, when the retail price runs anywhere from $80 t0 $300 per yard. There also shorts, seven yards or less, costing $10 per yard if you purchase the whole roll. Remnants are between one and three and a half yards and cost $5 per yard if you purchase the whole remnant. Custom orders are a minimum of 15 yards and cost $55 per yard. For fabrics like chenille, it is recommended that they be backed to prevent stretching. Teflon coating is also available.

Michele's has three blow-out sales a year — in February, May and October — all fabrics are priced at $18 per yard. The store also carries fringes and fabrics in books (other than woven). The outlet store has been open for eight years and is named after mill owner, Leonard (Len) Gliner's daughter. The two women who run the store, Constance Ollendorf and Joan Dear are extremely knowledgeable about the fabrics and are very helpful in guiding customers in choosing the right selections. Constance, who has a background in commercial arts and as a designer of window treatments, grew up around fabrics as her mother is an interior designer. Joan is currently studying interior design at Brookdale Community College.

"Learning about the mill, though, is a hands-on experience," explains Constance. "When it comes to sample blankets and custom coloring, one has to acquire a discerning eye."

She adds, "The process from inception, when a designer from a fabric house meets with mill representatives, making the sample blanket to hit the right colors and tweaking the colors can take as long as a year to complete the finished product."

The history of the mill is absolutely fascinating. In an interview with Len, he reveals that Jacquard was founded in Paterson in 1937 as an upscale silk tie manufacturer and, before World War II, moved on to making upholstery fabrics for the automobile industry. Once the war started, it started making uniforms for the troops. After the war, Jacquard diversified into the high end home furnishings industry.

Gliner bought the mill in 1980 and moved the mill from Paterson to Lakewood in 1987, building a 30,000 square foot mill that housed ten old looms. The current mill is now 65,000 square feet and houses 60 computerized looms costing about $300,000 a piece. The fabric design is scanned onto a disk, and then programmed into the loom. However, due to the economy and the cost of operating a mill, the industry has suffered tremendously. "Where there used to be about 100 mills around the country, there are only four mills remaining in operation. Jacquard is the only mill in New Jersey," Gliner says. "The dye houses are disappearing as well. Sourcing has become very difficult. And, as far as I know, we are the only mill that has a retail store."

He adds, "We are a well kept secret. Our customers are those who appreciate the quality of the fabrics and realize what a bargain they are getting. And, we sell to many decorators to whom we look for insight that the store is selling the right product to the right market."

Len says his daughter Michele will continue the mill once he is ready to retire, which by all indications won't be for a long time. Michele's Fabrics is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is the best kept and highly coveted secret for all DIY home decorators and for professional interior designers. With fall around the corner, it's the perfect time to think about refreshing your home before the holidays. Make sure you visit Michele's and keep it a secret.