Louis Moiselle and Gerard Cremins founded their company in 1983 with one purpose: to distribute beautiful, decorative fabrics.
Although both had gained retail experience before this, neither had come from a background in fabrics. Both relied solely on their love of the trade to make their name and grow their business.
“We made our name at the beginning because we bought and sold a lot of fabrics. We were very lucky to have stocked big winners and big sellers, which catapulted our name and gave us a good name abroad,” Moiselle says.
In 1994, their company’s direction shifted from a retailer to a distributor of fabrics, with most of their clients being retail outlets, interior designers, interior architects and specifiers.
To mark the company's 21st anniversary, Cremins Moiselle moved to a custom-designed showroom and building in Bray, Co Wicklow, which became its national showroom, as well as its administrative and logistical base. It also won the coveted Robert Allen Showroom of the Year Award 2006.
“Our whole business is based on quality, design and dependability, plus the traditional ethos of providing great fabrics, backed up with great service. We sell decorative fabrics; it’s a very old trade, going all the way back to Marco Polo and the Silk Road. But we’re also a discretionary spend,” Moiselle says.
Smart saving
He also insists quality of produce grew year on year and there was no dip during the recession. Wages dropped, but they retained their employees. Demand fell, but their core clientele remained.
Smart saving in the good times ensured their business survived through the bad times.
“We maintained true to historic economic values, despite the advice we were given in the good times, and that’s what saved us when the storm hit. We kept our focus on what we love – the fabrics – and that saw us through. We were blessed with fidelity from our customers; they supported us, and we in turn stuck by them,” he says.
Moiselle puts the success and survival of the business down to traditional values and an industry that is “rooted in family, rooted in community, rooted in people and shows a love for colour, for design, and for fabrics”.
Latest designs
During the recession, Cremins Moiselle decided to keep their Spring Road Show – a tour around 14 venues on the island of Ireland, showcasing new designs and new fabrics – on the road. Although the industry was seeing a decrease in sales, the two felt these shows were necessary to maintain their presence.
“We brought – and still bring – the latest designs in fabrics around Ireland, much like a fashion house might do, to present the in-vogue collections to our clients. We also invite the designers to talk about the inspiration for their designs, such as Vern Yip’s collection for Trend,” Moiselle says.
Yearly trips to the London and Paris fabric design shows are also part of this tour.
“We have a very good name in the decorative fabrics industry, and in many ways we are better known abroad than at home, which has been achieved through a lifetime’s experience.”
They also started the Tell the Story, Share the Vision, Create Something Beautiful presentations, where they invited their customer base and members of the trade to come together and discuss ideas.
"Over the years we've had pioneers in the industry like Christian Fischbacher, David Finer and David Klaristenfeld, who give wonderful presentations: talking about the history of the business, where we are now and the future of the fabric industry," Moiselle says.
Focus
Today, the company is a partner of Fabricut, the second-largest decorative fabric house in the US. Cremins Moiselle distributes Fabricut and Trend products in Ireland and the United Kingdom and has high hopes for the possibilities this might bring.
“We’re very excited about the prospect of the United Kingdom, and are looking at staff increases in the near future, hopefully.”
All in all, Moiselle puts the success of the business down to a hardworking team and their focus on the product and the customer.
“The fabric business is like a jazz band: the audience knows all the members of the band, and the members of the band know the individual members of their audience,” he says.
