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From the website:
In 1924, Rube Hoffman, a New York textile jobber, founded Hoffman California Fabrics, selling wool flannels to California department stores and clothing manufacturers. Soon, he was buying greige goods (undyed fabric) to imprint his own designs. Transitioning from a jobber to a converter, Rube played an important role in the growth of California's textile industry. His sons, Philip and Walter, both first class surfers, joined the firm in the 1950's and combined their passion for traveling to their favorite surfing spots with discovering unusual printing processes and different types of fabrics.
Soon, Hoffman Fabrics abounded with their original designs -- surfing scenes, beach life, and underwater settings. The 1970's found the Hoffman's enjoying great success in the apparel industry. Then, the Whitney Museum held a groundbreaking quilt exhibition, elevating quilt making to an art form. At the same time, the American Bicentennial and the TV program "Roots" piqued our interest in our country's history. Soon, everyone was searching for their roots. If it was homemade and connected to our past, we wanted it, and quilts headed our list. The quilt world exploded.
Today, three generations of Hoffman's are actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the company. More than eighty people work filling orders and shipping fabric to retail fabric stores, craft shops, quilt stores, apparel makers, wholesale distributors, and manufacturers throughout the world. Our Design Department creates two new lines each year, more than 800 designs of colorful prints and luscious Bali's.
The fabrics are sold by independent sales reps that call on customers throughout the U.S. Known internationally as Hoffman California-International Fabrics, the firm enjoys a special place in the global fabric industry for its superior fabric and innovative design. Currently, there are wholesale distributors in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Japan, selling Hoffman fabric to apparel makers, manufacturers, fabric and craft stores and quilt shops around the globe. This year, Hoffman celebrates their 82nd anniversary as permanent leaders in the busy world of textiles. So, whether you're buying fabric to produce a product for resale or purchasing stock for your fabric store, Hoffman is dedicated to bringing you the finest fabrics and the best customer service.
Hoffman Challenge
Each year, Hoffman selects one print to be the featured fabric in the "Hoffman Challenge", an international contest that challenges entrants to incorporate the chosen fabric into an original quilt, garment, or doll. When the contest began in 1987, there were only ninety-five entries in two categories. However, Hoffman has received so many submissions each year that today the contest includes four categories. Last year, more than 800 people entered what is now one of the most prestigious quilt challenges in the country. Once the judges have selected the winners and Hoffman Fabrics has awarded the prizes, the top 150 quilts, thirty garments, and thirty dolls are divided into five traveling exhibits. Then, they spend the next year traveling throughout the country, being displayed at quilt shops, national exhibits, and quilt shows.
Being included in one of the Hoffman Challenge traveling exhibits is a singular honor. Kelly Gallagher Abbott is the Challenge curator. You can reach Kelly at Kelly@hoffmanchallenge.com. |
