Marcy Graham Joins Chella, Major Expansion Planned
March 22, 2006
SANTA BARBARA, California — Chella Textiles expects to generate sales of $10 million in its high end collections of fabrics and trims, much of it geared to the hospitality industry, according to Lee Menichella, founder of this high-end converter.
"We're looking to build Chella Textiles to $10 million with the theme for all environmental textiles which demand wearability and high aesthetics. We make beautiful, high end fabric from solution dyed acrylic yarns from the USA, Italy and Germany," he said.
As part of its growth strategy, Chella has named Marcy Graham vice president of sales and marketing, a new position. Graham is a 17 year veteran of F. Schumacher & Co. and her most recent position was head of the hospitality group. She will start in her new position at Chella in April.
The expected growth at Chella will lead to the creation of two collections a year, including an expansion of sheers, new yarns, and trims for hospitality, Menichella explains.
Hospitality Trading, a sister company, specializes in high end lines of hospitality fabrics.
"We have 16 employees in the company today but with our expansion plans in place, we're thinking we will grow 50 percent this year alone. Our growth will be equal in hospitality and residential. We're also going to expand our business into New Zealand and Australia. We're going to proactively manage our showrooms because we've had a great product that has taken off. We've been stocking product and shipping it out the same day. Hospitality people give you three weeks for delivery and sometimes we ship the same day."
Graham will be based in New York and Las Vegas and says she initially expects to spend quite a bit of time in Santa Barbara orienting herself to the company culture.
She plans to hire a national sales manager for Chella Textiles showrooms, expanding the European operations where Chella has showrooms in London and Italy and others are planned. "All of our showrooms are high end textile showrooms as opposed to furniture showrooms or multi product showrooms. Chella as a brand will focus on hospitality and high end residential. Chella is a high end residential brand but the five star hotels and spas want to use it also," Menichella said.
"We weave our fabrics to withstand 30,000 double rubs and above. Chella metallic sheers pass the 701 vertical codes used in hospitality. At least half of the business today is hospitality," he notes.
He started his business in 1997 as an agent for Cowtan & Tout (the U.S. arm of Colefax & Fowler in the UK) based in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for hospitality sales. That's where he learned the high end fabric business. "Cowtan & Tout taught me the fabric industry. They owned Canovas and Larsen."
Prior to that, he was a founding partner of Giati, an outdoor teak furniture line from Indonesia. Menichella was instrumental in putting together an outdoor fabric collection for that line. He sold out his share in Giati in 1998. Menichella also was the agent for Osborne & Little, Nina Campbell, Designers Guild and Lorca. "We ended up doing big numbers in Las Vegas with the hospitality industry.
In 2000, when Italian woolens and silks started production in China, Menichella began using solution dyed acrylic yarn and wove it into high end hospitality fabrics for Hyatt in Hawaii. "I went to Italian and U.S. domestic mills in order to weave fine fabrics with the special Italian touch. This was really the birth of Chella Textiles."
Hospitality Trading is still the agent for the Osborne & Little and Zimmer Rhode lines but Cowtan & Tout went in-house with sales in 2005, Menichella explained.
"Every fabric brand has jumped into the outdoor fabric business. It's all done by furniture people—not fabric people. My first ten years in the outdoor business developed my penchant for high end aesthetics and unbeatable wear characteristics; this means that our fabrics are easy care and easy clean with bleach if necessary.
Chella produces outdoor fabrics in damasks, luxury chenilles, small geometrics and large floral constructions.
Chella will share a stand with Cortina Leather at HD 2006. Hospitality Trading also represents Cortina in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
"We're looking to build Chella Textiles to $10 million with the theme for all environmental textiles which demand wearability and high aesthetics. We make beautiful, high end fabric from solution dyed acrylic yarns from the USA, Italy and Germany," he said.
As part of its growth strategy, Chella has named Marcy Graham vice president of sales and marketing, a new position. Graham is a 17 year veteran of F. Schumacher & Co. and her most recent position was head of the hospitality group. She will start in her new position at Chella in April.
The expected growth at Chella will lead to the creation of two collections a year, including an expansion of sheers, new yarns, and trims for hospitality, Menichella explains.
Hospitality Trading, a sister company, specializes in high end lines of hospitality fabrics.
"We have 16 employees in the company today but with our expansion plans in place, we're thinking we will grow 50 percent this year alone. Our growth will be equal in hospitality and residential. We're also going to expand our business into New Zealand and Australia. We're going to proactively manage our showrooms because we've had a great product that has taken off. We've been stocking product and shipping it out the same day. Hospitality people give you three weeks for delivery and sometimes we ship the same day."
Graham will be based in New York and Las Vegas and says she initially expects to spend quite a bit of time in Santa Barbara orienting herself to the company culture.
She plans to hire a national sales manager for Chella Textiles showrooms, expanding the European operations where Chella has showrooms in London and Italy and others are planned. "All of our showrooms are high end textile showrooms as opposed to furniture showrooms or multi product showrooms. Chella as a brand will focus on hospitality and high end residential. Chella is a high end residential brand but the five star hotels and spas want to use it also," Menichella said.
"We weave our fabrics to withstand 30,000 double rubs and above. Chella metallic sheers pass the 701 vertical codes used in hospitality. At least half of the business today is hospitality," he notes.
He started his business in 1997 as an agent for Cowtan & Tout (the U.S. arm of Colefax & Fowler in the UK) based in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for hospitality sales. That's where he learned the high end fabric business. "Cowtan & Tout taught me the fabric industry. They owned Canovas and Larsen."
Prior to that, he was a founding partner of Giati, an outdoor teak furniture line from Indonesia. Menichella was instrumental in putting together an outdoor fabric collection for that line. He sold out his share in Giati in 1998. Menichella also was the agent for Osborne & Little, Nina Campbell, Designers Guild and Lorca. "We ended up doing big numbers in Las Vegas with the hospitality industry.
In 2000, when Italian woolens and silks started production in China, Menichella began using solution dyed acrylic yarn and wove it into high end hospitality fabrics for Hyatt in Hawaii. "I went to Italian and U.S. domestic mills in order to weave fine fabrics with the special Italian touch. This was really the birth of Chella Textiles."
Hospitality Trading is still the agent for the Osborne & Little and Zimmer Rhode lines but Cowtan & Tout went in-house with sales in 2005, Menichella explained.
"Every fabric brand has jumped into the outdoor fabric business. It's all done by furniture people—not fabric people. My first ten years in the outdoor business developed my penchant for high end aesthetics and unbeatable wear characteristics; this means that our fabrics are easy care and easy clean with bleach if necessary.
Chella produces outdoor fabrics in damasks, luxury chenilles, small geometrics and large floral constructions.
Chella will share a stand with Cortina Leather at HD 2006. Hospitality Trading also represents Cortina in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
