BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer
Above: Blankets Plus owners Todd Berman and Steve Barnett make blankets, pillows and pillowcases with personal photos woven into them, including the blanket they are holding. Below: One of the blankets on display at the company office in Matawan. MATAWAN – As the textile industry continues to move overseas, Steve Barnett has used innovation to turn a blanket into a gold mine.
As the owner of Blankets Plus, 123 Main St., Barnett and longtime business partner Todd Berman have resurrected old weaving mills and, using modern technology, have created a product that weaves personal photographs into blankets and pillowcases. Their personalized product uses 100 percent cotton yarn and weaves true-to-life photographs into the blanket, creating a unique new use for the timeless covering.
Barnett and Berman saw the technology used to make the blankets being used with synthetic polyester material. Barnett said that he thought he could use this technology to make a better product, so the pair purchased a former sweater mill in North Carolina and set out to make a better blanket.
PHOTOSBYSCOTT PILLING staff “The mills couldn’t survive making sweaters anymore,” Barnett said, citing factories in the Pacific and elsewhere making sweaters more cheaply than in the states.
That was six months ago.
Barnett said that in the six months they have been running Blankets Plus, they have done over $400,000 in business and fully expect the company to gross over $1 million by their one-year mark.
“This is really taking off,” Barnett said. “The list is endless of who is buying it.”
The product’s personalized nature, and the ability to inexpensively make one as well as many units at a time, has broadened the product’s appeal.
Barnett said they have made blankets for individuals looking for gifts and unique versions of family photos. They have sold to sports teams who want their logos or team portraits on a blanket. They sell to school sports programs such as Marlboro, which have ordered scarves woven with the team’s name and mascot.
Barnett said that their product is displayed in veterinary offices because the market for memorializing deceased pets is booming.
“When it comes to pets and children, money doesn’t mean anything,” Barnett said of projects in which pictures of grandchildren are woven into a blanket for the grandparents.
Barnett said that with so much business going abroad, domestic companies were selling off textile mills left and right. Using their collective years of experience, Barnett feels he and Berman have stumbled on an innovative way to resurrect those old mills and remain in the states.
“This can’t be done overseas,” Barnett said. “It will sit on the water for three months.”
Berman said that the company is expanding to include generic blankets that can be embroidered with personal messages. He said he is astounded at how well the company has done so quickly.
“I’m still amazed at this,” Berman said. “Six months in and I’m still in awe.”
Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks and Zarin has announced the consolidation of the law firm of Paul E. Newell, with Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks and Zarin. Lifelong Monmouth County resident and 24-year veteran of the Javerbaum firm, Robert Hicks, will serve as the resident partner.
“Over the years we have developed a growing client base in Monmouth and Ocean counties and by folding Paul’s practice into ours, we are gaining access to a seasoned legal veteran while strengthening our ability to deliver the best possible legal services to clients statewide,” said founding partner Kenneth S. Javerbaum.
Hicks, of West Long Branch, will be the resident partner at the Freehold office.
The new Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks and Zarin location will remain at the Newell firm site at 22 Center Street, Freehold.
Super Suppers of Marlboro recently opened to the public in the Mart Shopping Center, Marlboro. The store was launched by Shamoli Patel of Freehold.
Super Suppers is a studio kitchen where customers can make a month’s worth of family-sized entrées during a fun and lively two-hour session.
Super Suppers’ variety of cuisine is developed by Chef Judie Byrd and her staff of professional chefs headquartered at the Culinary School of Fort Worth.
The entrée assembly concept is one of the fastest growing segments of the food industry in the United States, and with approximately 200 locations sold in 40 states, Super Suppers is the leader in this innovative and exciting growth industry. Super Suppers has been featured in People Magazine, Newsweek, Better Homes and Gardens, Reader’s Digest, Family Circle and on The Food Network. It was recently recognized as the largest and fastest-growing company of its kind in the Aug. 28, 2005, and the March 26, 2006, edition of The New York Times.
CentraState Healthcare System of Freehold Township, led by The Diaper Duo maternity campaign, earned the most awards of any institution in New Jersey over the past year in a statewide competition by Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association.
At its annual recognition dinner on Sept. 15, JSPRAA presented one gold and two silver awards for CentraState’s trademarked baby characters as best commercial illustration, logo/trademark, and direct mailer, respectively.
CentraState also garnered gold awards for speechwriting for its 2006 annual meeting, and newspaper ads for a cancer treatment called image-guided radiation therapy (large ad) and computer-assisted hip replacement surgery (small ad).
The nonprofit health care system won other silver awards from JSPRAA for an integrated communications campaign for a national nursing excellence program called Magnet, a news conference for a record-setting donation and renaming of CentraState’s Medical Arts Building last fall, and an article on endovascular surgery in CentraState’s Healthy Directions magazine.
Marketing materials for The Diaper Duo were developed by Gianettino and Meredith, CentraState’s advertising agency of record.
SCORE Chapter 36 of Monmouth County, is presenting “Buying and Selling in Foreign Markets,” a breakfast seminar open to the public, Oct. 18 from 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the main office Executive Suites, Second Floor, 12 Christopher Way, Eaton-town.
Learn how to find foreign business opportunities; identify legitimate overseas associates; utilize federal, state, and private resources; and understand the role of using the Internet in international trade. Other topics will include how favorable exchange rates can improve profits and how to reduce the cost of goods through imports.
The cost of breakfast and the seminar is $20, payable at the door. Register online at www.SCORE36.org or call (732) 219-9119.
Young Chefs Academy of the Mor-ganville section of Marlboro, which offers cooking classes for children, is now offering adult culinary classes.
More than 30 classes are being offered now through January. These classes run the culinary gamut: Basic Knife Skills; Cooking Basics; Meals in Minutes; Chicken Five Ways; Cake Decorating; Flavors of Southern Italy; Vegetarian; Microwave Meals; and Easy as Pie to name a few.
Holiday classes such as: Everything But the Turkey! Great Side Dishes; Great Baked Desserts; and Christmas Cookie Workshop are also being offered.
A Kitchen Assistant Program for adult classes is also available. Kitchen Assis-tants help the instructor set up before class and help clean up afterward. In exchange for their time, they receive the recipes, observe the class, and have a tasting of what is prepared.
Young Chefs Academy is at 712 Ginesi Drive, Morganville section of Marlboro. For information or to request a brochure, call (732) 536-7777.
Chips Salon and Hair Spa of Marl-boro celebrates its eighth year of business. Chips, an acronym for “Curly Hair Profes-sionals,” employs a specialized staff who are each trained in all aspects of curly hair. The founder and owner operator of CHIPS, Onita Maison-Luisi, is a 22-year hair stylist veteran, who received her initial training in London, and is now a national educator with Paul Mitchell. Among the staff are hair cutter and block color specialist, Malinda Manieri; curly hair specialist, Jasmarie Rodriquez; and curly hair specialist, Wilmaris Gonzalez. Chips Salon and Hair Spa is at 8 S. Main St., Marlboro. Details: (732) 431-9070.
Chez Baliye Hair Spa, 87 S. Main St., Marlboro, will host a night of “Ladies Empowering Ladies” on Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m. to spread the message that early detection of breast cancer followed by prompt treatment helps save lives. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During October, for every salon and spa service purchased, 10 percent of the purchase price will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Research Fund on behalf of the client. Reservations are required by Oct. 18; call (732) 845-0707.
The Chelsea at Manalapan, an assisted living community at 445 Route 9 south, Manalapan, has been presented with a National Quality Assurance Award by the American Healthcare Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). The Chelsea at Manal-apan is one of only four long-term care communities in New Jersey and 97 nationwide to earn the award, according to a press release.