A Family Legacy

“Flor-i-an-i”-- This Italian name has become well known among home embroiderers nationwide in only three years! It has been accomplished thanks to the unique marketing prowess of RNK, Inc., as well as the colorful and prominent history that the Floriani name has in the world of commercial embroidery. Moving from Italy to the U.S. in the 1800s, the Floriani family brought with them the art of mechanized embroidery. The late Walter Floriani Sr. was dedicated to producing unsurpassed methods of digitizing and machine embroidery, and his influence will long be an integral part of the commercial embroidery industry.

Fast forward to today’s home embroidery market, and the Floriani family legacy. Walter Floriani Jr. carries on the well-established family tradition with a different twist. Now teaching digitizing and embroidery to not only thousands of commercial embroiderers, Walter now is considered the “Guru of Digitizing” among home embroiderers. By the time Walter was old enough to walk, he was surrounded by the machine embroidery industry. He literally grew up as did his father immersed in the methods of digitizing and embroidery. In 2002, the commercial embroidery industry honored Walter Floriani Sr. with a lifetime achievement award, recognizing his positive influence in the industry. The coveted award was presented to Walter Floriani Jr., and aptly named the “Floriani Award,” after his father.

Producing the product line that carries the Floriani namesake was the genius of Ricky and Kay Brooks, also known as RNK, Inc. They intended to offer a line of machine embroidery products destined to make embroidery more beautiful. The Floriani name has stood for beautiful embroidery for decades, and Ricky and Kay had years of experience in selling some of the first embroidery machines that were introduced to the home market.

“We dealt with so many problems that were caused by consumers using the wrong type of stabilizers. That’s all we had available at the time, and by the time we sold our dealership in 2001, the lines of stabilizers were still manufactured primarily for the commercial embroiderers and just packaged in smaller quantities for the home market. We put together a team of embroidery experts at RNK, Inc., including Walter Floriani Jr. and Fred Lebow to address the needs of the home embroiderer. Fred had been involved with stabilizer manufacturing for over 20 years and could work with mills that manufactured the product before enhancement,” they explained.

By spring 2004, RNK, Inc. had its own exclusive Floriani stabilizer, sold exclusively under the Floriani brand name.

RNK, Inc. now has one of the most extensive lines of stabilizers under one brand name: “Floriani.” Ricky and Kay set about marketing the stabilizer line that took the product not only coast to coast, but international in less than three years. In addition, they supported the independent dealers carrying the line with a very talented educational staff, including Patsy Shields, Jewell Hulitt, Sheila McNeeley, Kathi Quinn, Karen Baker, Darlene Pollard, Mary Jane Whitlin and others. In addition to the educational support RNK, Inc. gives the independent dealers, they promise to give the dealer something no other company offered; a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) policy that is strictly enforced. They also made a commitment that Floriani products would not be sold to mass merchants, discount chains, or fabric store chains.

Ricky said, “The Floriani Phenomenon was no accident, but it was not due to brilliance either! It was a combination of two things: realizing a need for the product and realizing the independent dealer’s need for products sold only to them.”

Watch the “Floriani Phenomenon” continue as they introduce more exclusive products for Floriani dealers. They introduced a host of new products in 2006, and 2007 promises to be even more exciting for Floriani dealers.

We caught up with the “Guru of Digitizing” to find out firsthand how Walter Floriani got his start in the business, and where RNK, Inc. will work to enhance the family legacy.

SDTA: The Floriani name has been connected to embroidery for many years. Can you tell us a bit about the Floriani embroidery legacy?
Walter: My family has been involved in the embroidery process since the inception of mechanized embroidery. Migrating from the Swiss Alps in the early 1900s my grandfather and great grandfather relocated to Northern New Jersey -- at one time “The Embroidery Capital of The World.” My grandfather was an amazing artist of design, technique and mechanics. My father and his brother Ray were equally as talented and my father has the distinction of being the gentleman who transcended the history of embroidery and moved the family and company forward with an immense desire to embrace new technology, techniques, and always and above most, benefit the industry that had given to us for so long with his knowledge. RNK Inc. has enabled me to carry on my father’s dream of benefiting the industry we so passionately love. That is our legacy.

SDTA: You have been given the distinction of being called the “Guru of Digitizing.” How long have you been a professional digitizer?
Walter:  I have been a professional digitizer since the 1970s but my career actually started from birth in the 1950s. I was brought up in the embroidery factory. It was Neil MacPherson of  the MacPherson Monogramming Company who told me in the 1970s that I should stay involved in my family’s industry and that someday I would achieve something in their honor. I will always be grateful.

SDTA: Why machine embroidery? 
Walter: It has been our passion since inception.

SDTA: What is unique about Floriani products?
Walter: They are specifically developed for the machine embroidery, sewing, and quilting process. Combined with an amazing educational process developed by RNK, no one has approached the stabilizer product line like this before.
SDTA: You do seminars all over the country on digitizing. What are some of the main points you make in these seminars for the home embroiderer?
Walter: Simplifying is the key to amplifying everyone’s embroidery experience. I teach the engineering side of the process which has changed minimally since machine embroidery began. These tools and techniques are the foundation of an enjoyable embroidery experience.

SDTA: How do you see the home embroidery market changing?
Walter: The creativity and passion for the process has never been at a higher level, in my opinion. Embroidery has come full circle. This will only serve to benefit embroidery for years to come.

SDTA: What will the Floriani brand do to ensure a bright future for the dealers?
Walter: RNK has designed the market strategy of the Floriani products strictly for the independent retailer. Because of Ricky and Kay’s background as dealers they saw a need for an exclusive line of products that were not available to the mass merchants. The dealers have responded in a remarkable way to this concept. Dealers can carry the Floriani brand knowing, no matter what product is branded with the Floriani name, it belongs exclusively to them. Only the future will tell how extensive the line of “Floriani Products” will become, but the things they can count on are:
1. Floriani products will always be top of the line.
2. Floriani products will be priced competitively.
3. Floriani products will be price protected to guarantee maximum profit margin.
4. And Floriani products will always be sold only by independent retailers.

You can reach RNK Inc./Floriani Products by phone at 1-865-330-0034, e-mail at info@rnkdistributing.com , or you can visit them online at www.rnkdistributing.com .

Reprinted from SQE Professional, February 2007