NEWH - Fall 2011 - (Page 12)

awards icon of industry Master Weaver Fabricut’s Harvey Nudelman is this year’s icon of industry By Kelly Hushin ANYONE WHO HAS WALKED THE SHOW FLOOR of a hotel design fair in the last three decades has probably met Harvey Nudelman, president of Fabricut, Inc. If not met, seen. His gleaming smile and staple leather jacket make him a stand out in the crowd. His positive attitude and exceptional commitment to and love of the industry make him memorable. It’s those reasons and his commitment to giving back to the industry that have earned him this year’s NEWH Icon of Industry award. “I feel touched and honored,” he says of receiving the honor, given to manufacturer leaders who have served more than 30 years in the industry and have shown true passion and devotion to it through constant innovation and contributions to the hospitality community. “When you do something that you truly love and you’re happy at work and can’t think of anything else you really wanted to do, and you’re in an industry where you’re engrossed by the people and ever-changing possibilities…and then to be honored in it…it’s almost surreal. You just think you’re going along and the only reward or honor is to be there. That’s enough for me.” ”When you do something that you truly love...and you’re in an industry where you’re engrossed by the people and the ever-changing possibilities...you just think you’re going along and the only reward or honor is to be there. That’s enough for me.” Serendipitous Start With more than 40 years of textile experience, Nudelman is one of the hospitality design’s true originators. In 1969, he founded Fabricut Contract after taking a trip to Hawaii and landing a contract with the Hilton Hawaiian Village there. After looking around at the opportunities and calling on people at hotels, he met an interior designer at the Hilton who asked if he could make bedspreads, to which he said, “Yes,” knowing he could find someone who did. “I wrote my first order for $75,000, which was dramatic in those days,” he explains. “We delivered and did a good job and I thought, ‘God, I love this!’” After that, Fabricut started soliciting hospitality designers and producing hospitality grade fabrics. In 1980, Nudelman helped with the purchase of Lazarus Fabrics to bolster Fabricut Contract’s position in the hospitality arena. Today, the company is one of the largest suppliers of fabric to the residential and hospitality trades with collections like S. Harris, Vervain, and the newer Stroheim, an iconic fabric line which the company acquired last year. Always keen to find new ways to set the company apart, Nudelman helped Fabricut bring FR-One fabrics, which pass and exceed all fire-retardant and safety standards worldwide, to the U.S. market in 2007. > Above: Harvey Nudelman with his wife Laura and dog Carmine. 12 fall 2011 www.newh.org tel 800.593.NEWH http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - Fall 2011

NEWH - Fall 2011
Contents
News
Who’s Who
Conference: Roundup
Sustainability: Competition
Icon of Industry: Harvey Nudelman
Design 101
Q&A
Have you Seen?
Product Know-How
On the Scene
Cover Story: Nielsen/Hospitality Design
Project: Hotel Five
Project: Azur West
Partner Profiles
New Members
Save the Date

NEWH - Fall 2011