Glass Ceiling?
By Donna Boyle Schwartz

WOMEN HOME FURNISHINGS EXECUTIVES PROVE THEY'VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE IN THE CORNER OFFICE

The road to success in home fashions is circuitous at best, but ultimately rewarding for those who pursue their dreams.

The home furnishings industry, with its emphasis on entrepreneurial spirit and creativity, has rewarded women executives who have set their sights high and remained true to their inner visions.

Some of our leading women executives were born into the business, but few were lucky enough to have textiles in their blood. Many started out in so-called traditional roles-store sales associates, secretaries, or executive assistants. Several originally pursued careers in the field of apparel before being seduced by the allure of home fashions.

Still, no matter what route they took to the industry, these stellar decision-makers share one thing in common-they all have risen to positions of power and authority, and are shaping the future of the home furnishings business.

In this special report, LDB Interior Textiles gives credit where it's due, recognizing the enormous impact these 12 women have had on the business, and revealing the paths they took to get here.

Making it a baker's dozen, LDB Interior Textiles has done a bit of forecasting and is spotlighting a 'rising star'-Jennifer Castoldi.

Helen Marcus Hits 60 and Keeps on Going

Name: Helen Marcus Years in Industry: 60 Present Position: Owner, Zenith International Business: Hospitality/Contract Rugs

When Helen Marcus went to work for Aldon Rug Mills in 1945, she got a lot more than she bargained for-a 60-year career in the home furnishings business, and a 41-year marriage. "My husband, Jim Marcus, was a major carpet manufacturer on the East Coast," she recalls. "I started to work for him in 1945, and went to the Fashion Institute of Technology at night to study color."

She stayed at Aldon for two years. "A big joke in the industry was that Jim Marcus wouldn't give me any more raises. So I left, and I paid him back these 41 years that we're married by spending his money," she laughs.

Marcus worked with other leading home furnishing executives, including Joe Corrado and Al Fruchtman, before starting a decorator supply house with her sister in New York in 1962.

"I called on all the real estate companies and design offices with my good friend Tom Durkan who then worked for Jim at Commercial Carpet Corp.," she says.

"In 1978, Jim and I moved to Los Angeles and started a company called Contract Hospitality, Inc., and we concentrated almost exclusively on the hotel community.

"Dealing with hotels is so totally different than corporate or residential-but it's exciting," Marcus asserts. "It's all about relationships, and you have to earn the respect of your client."

Marcus has been instrumental in the Network of Executive Women in Hospitality for 20 years, holding virtually every post in the organization.

Marcus started Zenith seven years ago, manufacturing handmade rugs in China for hotels. "It has been a joy," she says. "We are all-my 19 agents and I-in love with the quality and it's fun to sell. When we put an agent on, we insist that they be as passionate about our line as we are."

Dallas Wouldn't Be Dallas Without Doris Sanders

Name: Doris Sanders Years in Industry: 42 Present Position: Principal, Doris Sanders Ltd. Business: Home Fashions Sales Agency

Doris Sanders always had a personal interest in home textiles, but it is her professional interest that has made a mark on the Dallas selling scene.

"From a professional standpoint, I had always been in ladies couture fashion until my first job at the Dallas Market Center in the late '60s with Gloria Bayreuther & Associates, selling high-end decorative accessories."

The Oklahoma native got her 'dream job' working for Stanley Marcus at Neiman Marcus in 1939. She specialized in ladies handbags and fashion jewelry, and also was a millenary model for the store. On weekends, she took photographs at a Dallas 'hot spot,' LouAnne's.

After taking time out to raise children, Sanders got into wholesale with Jan Leslie Hat Co. She helped open Dallas's first Lord & Taylor in the early '70s, and then started working with the Sybil Wilkins showroom, selling fine linens and Herend china.

In 1981 she co-founded Doris Sanders Ltd. with Mrs. Tommy McClung. The showroom was dedicated to "customer service, product knowledge, and consistency."

The biggest highlight of her career "was when my daughter, Sue Wyll, quit her career as a surgical RN and joined me in 1983," Sanders says.

Mother and daughter have had some disagreements, most notably over a new line.

"Neiman Marcus sent these two charming young people to see me right before a major show. My daughter said, 'Mom we do not have time to look at a new line.' But she was very new, so I apologized to the couple and sat with them.

"Now this line, Sweet Dreams, is not only my number one manufacturer, but the leading company in luxury bedding and decorative pillows. So my advice is: always make the time to look at a new line."

Jennifer Castoldi Is an American Networking Queen in Paris

Name: Jennifer Castoldi Years in Industry: 8 Present Position: Founder, President, Creative Director, Trendease Business: Trend forecasting

In an industry sometimes distracted by bottom line concerns, Jennifer Castoldi has made it her aim to inspire. She built the business model for her company, Trendease, while studying for her masters at the International School of Management in Paris, not knowing that within a year she would be running the real-world version.

Trendease is an on-line style magazine covering home fashion and design. Launched in May 2004, its digital database currently boasts 10,000 images from 1,500 companies, plus a library of 350 articles.

Castoldi and her team report on trade fairs, retail stores, showrooms, and exhibits throughout Europe with an eye to up-and-coming trends, breakthrough technologies, and undiscovered talent. Castoldi says, "We want to inspire people to create new product and buy new product."

Before leaving for Paris, Castoldi was working as a design assistant at Revman. She observed that even as the industry was becoming more globally oriented, vendors were losing funding in their budgets to travel to the European shows.

"A lot of what I do is getting information to people as quickly as possible so they can make decisions; the Internet is key to that. I think that five or ten years from now technology is going to play an even greater role in our industry. But personal connections are going to remain just as important.

"One of my strengths as a businesswoman is I know how to network people," she continues. "So once I found the IT team I wanted to work with that was it. Today there are people from 43 countries reading Trendease, much more than the US clients I originally envisioned."

There are also 14 full-time Trendease employees, as well as a pool of contributors who work on special projects and custom presentations. "People from my MBA program call me the network queen. And not just because I was the only American."

Trained as a Musician, Kathy Burdick Makes Beautiful Music at Hunter-Douglas

Name: Kathy Burdick Years in Industry: 19 Present Position: Senior Director, Brand Product Services, Corporate Marketing Group, Hunter Douglas Inc. Business: Window Treatments & Accessories

Home fashions were far from Kathy Burdick's mind in 1977 when she earned her bachelor's degree in piano from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO. Her first job was as an executive secretary for the president of the agricultural economics department at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. Her next two jobs-a customer service representative for Graybar Electric and an executive secretary for Coronado Construction-didn't bring her any closer to home.

When she joined window coverings giant Hunter Douglas in 1986 as a switchboard operator/receptionist, then home fashions became important.

"After I had worked for Hunter Douglas for about two years, I was promoted to marketing coordinator," she recalls.

Burdick has held a variety of management positions at Hunter Douglas, including manager of marketing communications, director of brand advertising, and her current role as senior director of product brand services. Her career highlights include: creating award-winning consumer and trade advertising campaigns, developing industry-leading dealer programs and publications, creating new branding initiatives, and having the opportunity to work with Marvin Hopkins, Hunter Douglas president and CEO.

"My most memorable moment at Hunter Douglas was being a part of the team that launched Silhouette window shadings to the US market in September of 1991," she notes.

Burdick says she has a simple business philosophy-to preserve brand image above all else.

"Today, my greatest challenge is twofold: continuing to look for new and innovative ways to attract consumers to the Hunter Douglas brand and the innovative window covering solutions we offer; and continuing to create informative and educational programs and services to help our dealers sell our products to consumers."

A Lust for Printed Sheets Led Merle Johnson to Home Textiles

Name: Merle Johnson Years in Industry: 30 Present Position: Vice President National Accounts, Oriental Weavers of America Business: Rugs

What has turned out to be a lifelong career in home fashions for Merle Johnson was spawned by a simple set of printed sheets at Korvettes. "I would not stop bugging my mother until she bought them for me. She still laughs about that," Johnson jokes.

Majoring in home economics at Ohio Wesleyan, Johnson's first job was buying budget-store bath and table linens at Lazarus department store in Ohio. She transferred to Foley's and held several buying positions before moving to Newmark Rug in 1988 and becoming vice president of sales.

"After being there for almost ten years, I left to join American Weavers when it was in its fledgling stages, and stayed on after we were acquired by Mohawk Home as a vice president of national accounts," Johnson says.

She joined Oriental Weavers this March as vice president of national accounts.

Johnson says she has had many wonderful career experiences. "I am proud to be known as the founder of Executive Women in Home Textiles. Helping shape the strategy at American Weavers as the team grew the company from a rookie to a major player was exciting. Most recently, the creation of a dynamic marketing department at Mohawk Home was gratifying.

"I believe the greatest challenge for any woman in any business is the ability to balance family and work," she adds. "For many years, finding the right balance was a daily challenge, but I have never regretted my choices."

Johnson has a four-pronged business philosophy: "Maintain a solid reputation for being honest, fair, hard working, and a team player. Always respect those you work for and who work for you. Support and promote those who are deserving, but do not hesitate to rid your workplace of those who are negative influences on the rest of the team. Always be a lady, but learn how to be one of the boys at the same time."

Jane Bognacki: From Holiday Temp to President of Sunham Home Fashions

Name: Jane Bognacki Years in Industry: 26 Present Position: President, Sunham Home Fashions Business: Home Fashions & Accessories

A temporary job as holiday fill-in help at Bloomingdale's led Jane Bognacki into a lifetime in the home fashion business.

"I have always had a passion for art, color, textiles, and fashion," she comments. "This exposure, although meant as temporary on Bloomingdale's part, was unmistakably my life's calling. I was very fortunate to land in the bed and bath department when I took that position; I worked for Lois Keiner. She has been and continues to be an inspiration to my work."

Bognacki held various positions at Bloomingdale's over 11 years before trying the supply side, joining Sunham as a sales manager and rising to president. Bognacki has been instrumental in diversifying Sunham's product mix from table linens into bedding and other home fashions.

"My business philosophy is to surround myself with the best talent out there," Bognacki points out. "You need people with a passion for what they do, whether it is designing, shipping, selling, or the like. Cooperation and communication are vital.

"Sunham has had great success due to a tremendous work force and talented management staff. It is also quite beneficial to have Howard Yung leading our firm. His exuberance for producing quality products and service, along with his meritorious cultivation of our staff, keeps the sum of our parts in constant working order."

Bognacki notes that doing business in China has been both challenging and rewarding. "It's literally a long road from start to finish for our products, and throughout the trip there can be unforeseen detours. Delays can be costly and action needs to be taken quickly, yet reasonably. One of my mainstays, which I reiterate to my staff, is that the 'sky is the limit.' Any and all accomplishments can be achieved through hard work, ingenuity, and thinking outside the box."

Importing Came Naturally to Noreen Greene with Geography and International Business Degrees

Name: Noreen Greene Years in Industry: 19 Present Position: Principal, Greenhorn Trading Company Business: Luxury Linens

Growing up as one of six children, Noreen Greene didn't pay much attention to home furnishings. "No one cared how it looked. We were more into comfort and tactile pleasures."

This changed when Greene became a professional set dresser and lighting designer for theater. "The focus was on setting the mood and background," she explains. "The set also had to be workable and moveable, not unlike a home."

She also managed a health food store, and worked as the public relations and advertising manager for a cruise line before founding Greenhorn Trading in 1986. "I decided self-employment was for me," she says.

With a degree in geography and, 20 years later, an MBA in international business, she naturally became an importer.

"I was into comfort and luxury. Our first products were Irish-goose-down comforters, Irish-linen duvet covers, sheets, and pillowcases. We quickly spread into linen-terry friction towels, followed by tabletop.

"My philosophy has been to work only with the best," she declares. "Our products have to be superb. I believe in partnering with our customers to please the end consumer. With this philosophy in mind, I have approached the industry with genuine respect and admiration."

Founding the company was not without its trials, especially traveling to war-torn Northern Ireland in order to form relationships with the weavers. "It was well worth the risk," she asserts.

Another challenge was working side-by-side with her husband. "The challenge was to not let working together become our whole life," Greene remarks. "We had to learn to leave business after business hours and have personal time together. We've done it."

Joan Karron Went from Apparel Fashion to Home with High Style

Name: Joan Karron Years in Industry: 24 Present Position: Executive Vice President, Strategic Market Development, CHF Industries Business: Home Fashions & Accessories

It's not surprising that Joan Karron is "nuts about clothing and fabrics."

This dressed-for-success executive maintains the impeccable sense of style and fashion that she developed working as assistant to Doris Skutch, the fashion coordinator in the Klopman Mills division of Burlington Industries.

Karron studied English literature before trying her hand at several 'first' jobs. She worked for the New York City public school system, an advertising agency, and an employment agency before joining Burlington.

She seemed destined for a career in apparel, serving as senior editor for fashion fabrics at Clothes Magazine, and as a fashion coordinator for Forstman Woolen Mills before joining JP Stevens as corporate fashion director in apparel. Fate-and industry legend Bob Burger-intervened. "The immensely talented Bob Burger was leading the home division; he asked me to help him and I got hooked," Karron reminisces. "It certainly had something to do with being responsible for the whole product-plus it was a much bigger canvas than fabrics for blouses."

Karron held increasingly responsible positions with various mills, including Stevens, WestPoint Pepperell, Alamac Mills, and Springs Industries before joining CHF Industries seven years ago.

Highlights in her career include working with industry legends such as David Tracy: at JP Stevens; designer Bill Blass; designers Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell, "who taught me to free my imagination"; collaborating with Mary Belle on Liz Claiborne home; and helping launch Martha Stewart Home.

Another highlight is "working with Frank Foley: my best boss, friend, leader, visionary, and thankfully, my husband; working with the amazing colleagues at CHF who proved that we could be the 'little engine that could'; and of course, getting the HomeTex Design Award-twice."

Kea Capel Meacham Grew Up in the Family Business and Now Has Her Own

Name: Kea Capel Meacham Years in Industry: 23 Present Position: Principal, Kea Inc. Business: Product Development & Marketing Consultant

Kea Capel Meacham grew up in the textile business as a scion of Capel Rugs: "I remember the day my father borrowed some felt-tip pens from my sister's art kit and started combining colors on paper using these bright, happy inks," she says. "The following week, there was a braided chenille rug colored in exactly the same way, and it was going on my bedroom floor."

Meacham started working in her father's mill when she was 14, taking time out to major in radio, television, and motion pictures at the University of North Carolina. She rejoined the family business before becoming creative services manager for Springs Industries. "This remains the best career training of my life; Tom O'Connor knew how to inspire a young team," she notes.

In 1991, she returned to Capel as the director of marketing. She founded her own firm, Kea Inc., three years ago, manufacturing branded merchandise, consulting on home textile design, developing new business opportunities for floor covering and retail partners, and acting as on-air spokeswoman for Home Shopping Network.

Starting her own business has been challenging and rewarding, Meacham says. "Balancing the demands of family and career is the greatest challenge. Only occasionally do I ever feel we get it right. I concluded a conference call about half an hour before delivering my fourth child. The nurses were quite impressed; my husband was not!

"Recently I was stopped in the airport by a young woman who had been watching our shows on HSN, and she thanked me for giving her the courage to bring her own personality in to her home."

Meacham adds, "Home fashions are a very intimidating prospect-I love having given her a bit of courage. I hope that I have made home a better place for consumers: easier to maintain, more comfortable, more beautiful."

Judi Alexander Punches Up the Industry with Verve and Professionalism

Name: Judi Alexander Years in Industry: 18 Present Position: Vice President, Charisma Home, WestPoint Stevens Business: Bed & Bath Fashions

As a sophomore at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Judi Alexander learned that home is truly where her heart is.

"I was more interested in reading Metropolitan Home and House Beautiful than Vogue or Harper's Bazaar," she recalls. "So when Professor George Leib came to our class to recruit for a home products specialization, I knew a home furnishings specialty was perfect for me."

After graduation, Alexander became an international marketing representative for North Carolina yarn spinner Pharr Yarns. "It was a great starting point, but I found the raw materials side of the business was more removed from the product and the consumer than where I ultimately wanted to be," she notes.

Alexander worked for designer Louis Nichole before joining Home Innovations and helping launch the Calvin Klein Home collection. That experience served Alexander well when she moved to her current company, WestPoint Stevens, where her positions have included consumer market research manager. "To this day I am passionate about trying to understand the consumer who is buying our product, how she uses it, and how to make her want to buy mine instead of some other brand."

Alexander left WestPoint Stevens and joined Bardwil Linens for an eight-month stint, working on the company's Royal Velvet, Fieldcrest, Charisma, and Lenox licenses. She rejoined WestPoint Stevens as vice president in the basic bedding division, and became vice president of Charisma Home in December 2004.

"It has been a fascinating journey for the last few months," she remarks. "It sounds trite, but I really feel that every position I have held to date taught me something valuable that made me qualified for this amazing position-to know that we have done justice to this brand in both product and marketing is the most satisfying accomplishment of my career."

Born in the Terry Business, Michelle Sinai Has Made Her Mark Worldwide

Name: Michele Sinai Years in Industry: 35 Present Position: Owner & President, Michele Sinai Inc. Business: Bath & Beach

Michele Sinai could never refuse her father anything-and that has turned out to be a good quality, both for her and for the industry.

Sinai studied literature and language at the University of Oxford, and then got a job as a secretary for a commodity training company, Continental Grain.

"I was very unhappy for six months," she remarks. "I was fresh out of school, and my father had a towel factory. I had to figure out how to make a difference to him, so I started a company in the US, Terrimondo, to commercialize my dad's production capacity."

Sinai has always been an entrepreneur, starting Andrea Sinai Designs after Terrimondo, and founding Michele Sinai Inc. four years ago. "I always worked for myself and have never known anything else except to whirl around doing my thing as best as I can," she comments.

Sinai points out that the people she has worked with, and the products they have created together are the highlights of her career. "The greatest challenges and the greatest rewards for me have always been about people-figuring out what people want versus what one personally wants and how to mitigate the two.

"Strong people have strong ideas and strong disagreements, and this takes a great deal out of one's person. There are those times when one reconciles everything and it feels magical.

"My philosophy is that business and life are not really much different," she adds. "It's all about what we believe in and what we are willing to stand for-with patience, tenacity, and kindness to oneself and the world at large. I think I've loved every bit of the 35 years I've done this. I find every moment of it extraordinary. I'm amazed I've endured and that I'm still around to tell the story. I think the best is still to come."

Claire Murray Pursues Her Goals with Passion and Clarity

Name: Claire Murray Years in Industry: 25 Present Position: Owner, CEO, President Business: Product Design, Marketing & Licensing

Designer Claire Murray entered the home furnishings industry almost by accident. "When I purchased an old sea captain's home on Nantucket and turned it into a inn, I had 14 bedrooms and bathrooms to decorate, plus common rooms, so I started creating products to fill those rooms," she remarks.

Murray was well suited to the challenge, having studied painting, printmaking, and sculpture at the State University in Washington, and National Academy in New York City. "My first job was as a store and window decorator, and my first job in home textiles was holding seminars in quilting, knitting, and the needle arts, including rug hooking," she says.

An even bigger challenge was creating 'art for the floor,' she recalls. "Everything was wall-to-wall carpeting at that time. Needing to minimize costs, I packed up my designs, yarns, hooks, and jute and went to China to teach a village how to make rugs."

Murray was in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square uprising. "The US embassy called me and suggested I remain inside the hotel, so my wonderful Chinese workers piled their hooking projects on their bikes and brought everything to me so that we could continue working."

Worldwide acclaim has attended Murray's efforts. "When I launched my Egyptian machine-made line in Cairo, they had my name up in neon lights on the Sheraton hotel," she says. "There were over 400 people for dinner there, including Egyptian movie stars, the prime minister, and many of his cabinet." Closer to home Murray also received the industry's HomeTex Design Award in 1998.

Murray has the same philosophy for her business and personal life: "To have the courage to follow your inner compass, your true north, and to build your life around your passions, surrounded by people, settings, and objects that infuse daily life with positive energy and peace."

Rae Ellen Blum's Global Ambitions Keep Her Reaching for the Horizon

Name: Rae Ellen Blum Years in Industry: 29 Present Position: Vice President of Sales, Espalma/Cobra Trading Business: Bath & Beach Fashions

To Rae Ellen Blum, 'goal-oriented' is a major understatement. As a child, she decided she wanted to work in the global marketplace, and today is a leading executive in the international arena. "I am a passionate seeker of new horizons," she declares, adding that her philosophy is to "be assertive, maintain discipline, do not deviate from your model, create, and inspire others."

Blum got her taste for creating and buying merchandise in her hometown of Rochester, NY, where her parents ran a special occasion retail store. This early on-the-job training led her to Boston University, where she was one of four women in the business school. She majored in marketing, but set her sights on the South American marketplace, with a minor in Spanish.

Following a stint with accounting giant Coopers & Lybrand, Blum worked as daywear buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue. She temporarily joined a home textiles manufacturer while working on a marketing proposal for the Brazilian government's trade bureau. "I was the bridge at the Brazilian trade bureau, introducing American importers and retailers to Brazil and traveling extensively with Neiman Marcus, Associated Dry Goods, and fashion magazines."

Launching trade shows here and in Brazil, Blum met many industry executives, including Kurt Hamburger of Cobra Trading/Lintex Linens. She joined Hamburger's firm, and 20 years later, has mastered all aspects of the import business. "Being impulsive and not following the path of others, I challenged the mundane domestic mills by 'marching to my own tune,'" she recalls. "Launching and selling unique and well-accepted towel ensembles was uncharted territory at the time.

"To maintain a top position is most difficult and requires consistent innovation, 24/7 working schedule, courage, belief in yourself, and the ability to inspire others," she points out. "My marketing plan has always been to broaden the horizon of opportunities."