What are the qualities that can make a person successful in the fabric industry? Most of the people would agree that love for creating products, expertise in manufacturing processes, experience in sales, and proficiency at public relations would sum up to lead a victorious journey in this industry. Deborah Herman, owner and president of Fabric Innovations, along with the above qualities, has something more, which is ‘a passion for creating beautiful products’.
Deborah graduated from Brigham Young’s a university with a degree in Public Relations. As Deborah was instinctively good at connecting people; her professors affectionately called the degree of “Public Relations” as a degree in her own personality. After that, Deborah worked for her father at Bedspreads of California. While working for her father, she developed a great affection towards manufacturing. Referring to her first heart felt passion, Deborah says, “I loved everything about manufacturing; Employing people, making a physical product, solving incredibly different problems every time in the manufacturing process.” Deborah worked as National Sales Manager at her father’s company while creating Textiles of California dedicated to developing fabrics for the hospitality and hotel industry.
The love for creating a product and the feeling of seeing the final product at the end of the day inspired Deborah to initiate the company Fabric Innovations.
A Design-Driven Fabric Company
Fabric Innovations is a design-driven fabric company providing bedding, drapery, and upholstery fabrics to the hospitality industry. Since 1997, the company has been recognized as a leading supplier of linens, bedding, and custom fabrics to some of the industry’s most prestigious hotels.
Being the President of Fabric Innovations, Deborah has applied over 37 years of experience in product design and development within the hospitality industry. This experience has been extremely beneficial while enhancing both the quality of Fabric Innovations products and customer service.
The team at Fabric Innovations specializes in global procurement programs for companies worldwide. Whether the goal is to revitalize an existing brand or create a new one, Deborah and her team strives to develop patterns authentic to the brand by defining the company’s brand strategy, developing visual concepts, and translating such elements into a recognizable and consistent product. Referring to the quality they provide, Deborah asserts, “We pride ourselves on quality and have a seven-stage process of inspection, which takes place at each production facility across the globe to ensure that every seam leaving our manufacturing facilities is flawless.”
Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs around the Globe
The current International Ambassador for NEWH–the Network of Women in Hospitality–Deborah faced various typical challenges that every woman entrepreneur has to face. When Deborah was starting her business, she experienced that women were not taken seriously in the industry and nor were they making any money. Overcoming all the hurdles, she has achieved a respected name in the industry and also inspires young women around the globe to break all the status-quos.
The qualities of this inspiring personality also reflect through her company. Fabric Innovations is certified as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Considered the gold standard, this certification is nationally accepted by thousands of major corporations as well as government entities seeking to do business with women-owned businesses.
Addressing the current challenges for the aspiring business women, Deborah says, “Don’t be afraid. There is “NO” rule book on how to start your own business. The best I can help you with is what not to do. And most of all, know you can have it all, just not every day. Also, know that it is a little lonely at the top and that is OK. It is your choice to make every day.
The other complication women face is keeping equilibrium between personal and professional life. Deborah perfectly balances both vertices of the life perfectly. She shares that she has good friends in the industry and has a huge family that she adores. Every day this business idol makes choices to keep everyone happy and fulfilled.
Future Challenges for Fabric Innovations
Globalization and advancements in technology are enabling companies in the fabric industry to do business with the global customers. Fabric Innovations is already dealing with international business and Deborah plans to increase the company’s positioning within the global international hospitality market and enter the healthcare market as well as the cruise line industry.
Furthermore, technology is moving so fast it is daunting to Incorporate into Company procedures. Deborah believes that from this technology employee expectations have changed and there is always a moving target of how the new generation perceives their job responsibilities. The team at Fabric Innovations plans on continuing to overcome the technology challenges by hiring millennial consultants and listening to their ideas and implementing the ones that make the most sense. “We also look to continuously putting the proper new data systems into place to make our work procedure faster and more efficiently,” shares Deborah.
