Craft Focus - Jun/Jul (Issue 67)

Tell us a little about the history of Visage Textiles to date. The business that we now know as Visage Textiles and The Craft Cotton Company was founded in 1948 by Tony Levy, grandfather of the current owner, Aaran Levy. For years, it was one of many fabric merchants in Manchester, supplying manufacturers and stores with material for clothing. As production moved offshore, the company concentrated on fabrics for dressmakers, dance troupes, theatre groups and event organisers. In the past 12 years, Visage has expanded into the exciting and creative world of design, manufacture, supply and distribution of printed cottons for home craft and quilting. The Craft Cotton Co brand is known for its beautiful and commercial designs, which are high quality and affordable for all. Now in its 70 th year and with suppliers and customers on every continent, the firm has a truly global presence. How did you come to start working for the company? My background has been broad and varied, and I have worked in management and finance for a variety of manufacturing and distribution companies. Amongst these were a number of clothing businesses – I have long held a really keen interest in both fashion and design. My experience as a qualified management accountment led to me being brought into the business by Aarran, 11 years ago. I initially worked on a part-time basis to help develop a strategy for growth, and my role developed until I became full-time MD four years ago. My days are spent visiting customers, helping choose ranges and travelling to meet with suppliers – which is all a lot more rewarding and fun than profit and loss accounts and balance sheets! Talk us through the company’s product range and key collections Our product range runs into the thousands. We have significant collections of pre-cut fabrics, quilt supplies and licensed character prints including Disney, Peter Rabbit and the Natural History Museum. Our collections also feature collaborations with Debbie Shore – a Cottage Garden and Kimono by Stuart Hillard. We carry lots of basics too, such as satin, organza, polycotton and fun fur. Alongside our own range of premium acrylic yarns, we also distribute for Lion Brand. Where and how can retailers get to see your products? Our websites craftcotton.com and visagetextiles.com are a good place to start. Just like our company, these are moving forward and we will be relaunching new sites this autumn. We have a very busy presence on social media, with thousands of followers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Our blog, to which we add an average of three to five projects each week, has had tens of thousands of hits. Our sales people and agents are always very happy to visit potential and current Visage Textiles is celebrating its 70 th birthday this year. We spoke to Managing Director, Dani Phillips, to find out how the historic brand is marking its milestone anniversary prints charming 34 craft focus