Valley Forge Fabrics
“We were founded by two hippies with a work ethic that would make the puritans seem lazy,” Diana Dobin says of her parents Dan and Judy Dobin, who founded the company in 1977 near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania with a mission to supply the theater industry with velvet fire-retardant stage curtains. They struggled in those early days to make ends meet until 1980 when a massive fire at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas “changed the path of the business,” with fire codes then implemented as U.S. law. As one of the only companies making those types of fabrics, they shifted their focus to hospitality.
Their first big orders were for Caesars Palace and the MGM (now Bally’s Las Vegas), and today, their reach expands globally, supplying fabrics, bedding, and drapery for Marriott, Disney, and everyone in between.
With three of their five children now in the business, Valley Forge has leaned into its family-first ethos. After college and a brief stint managing a temp agency in Boulder, Colorado, Diana started fulltime as regional director in Hong Kong, as the company looked to expand its reach in Asia. Mikey Dobin, for his part, had planned on going into the Peace Corps before Diana convinced him to join her in Asia, where, together, they helped grow Valley Forge into the 300-person company it is today. “I work with my best friend,” Mikey says. “She’s my business partner, and it’s awesome.”
In 2011, Judy and Dan stepped away from the day-to-day duties, handing the reigns to Diana and Mikey, now co-presidents and CEOs. (Allie Dobin joined the business five years ago as a sales manager.) “They’re enormously competent and very bright,” says Judy of her children. “They are there for one another, but they have different talents and strengths.”
Indeed, Judy equates their success to one core value: “People know they can count on Valley Forge; they can count on the Dobin family.”
Samuelson Furniture
Lawrence Chalfin came into the family business in 1974, nearly four decades after his grandfather and father founded the Paterson, New Jersey-based Invincible Parlor Frame Company (now Samuelson Furniture) in 1935, where they manufactured and imported hand-carved reproduction furniture.
Lawrence would often spend Saturdays with his father in the factory, and though he studied music in college, he gravitated toward the business. Surrounded by creative people, “I had the same feeling [here] that I did when studying music,” he says. Like his father, Michael Chalfin also found himself at the factory on weekends during his childhood, assisting with the furniture—and persuading employees to help him build skate ramps. After stints working in sales and construction, he eventually landed at Samuelson in the early 2000s.
Though family dinners are often consumed by business, “the fact that we can connect on that level is enjoyable,” says Michael, who now serves as executive vice president. “We love what we do,” adds Lawrence. “It’s not work; it’s an extension of us.” Whether they’re crafting custom products for the likes of the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport in New York or boutique properties such as the Hotel Julian in Chicago, it helps that the design- and quality-driven products exemplify Samuelson’s nearly 85-year-old mission of cultivating an “environment where everyone here is family,” Michael says.
Lawrence and Michael live a mile apart and spend most days together, and yet they are always learning from each other. “I was very fortunate,” says Lawrence. “My father encouraged me and needed me as I need Michael. He allowed me to explore and learn, and I try to do the same with [my own son].
“Our goal is not to be the biggest, but to be the best,” he continues. “We’re nice, we’re kind, and we hope to continue those values going forward.”
Michael and Lawrence Chalfin
Custom headboards and bar carts add to the mid-century charm of the guestrooms at the TWA Hotel
JACLO
The fifth-generation Durst Corporation, JACLO’s parent company, has been around since 1901. In that century-plus time, the company has been crucial in changing the plumbing and bath industry, with business and design-savvy to spare. Credit can be given to Larry Brodey, who had the vision to capitalize and innovate early on, starting out tinkering with boxes of plumbing products in his garage. “I looked at this as a potential art form,” he says. In fact, JACLO was among the first to bring handshowers to the U.S., and their catalog has expanded from four to 400 pages.
“The design process is [my dad’s] forte,” says his daughter, Morgan Brodey, who serves as JACLO’s vice president of hospitality under her father, who is president and CEO. “He views it as a blank canvas and is always ahead of the game.” After carving a niche in decorative traps and tank levers, the Cranford, New Jersey-based company expanded its product portfolio by acquiring the intellectual property of Concinnity and Barand. “[In the ’90s], I looked at it as David versus Goliath,” Larry says. “I enjoyed the challenge of going against the big companies and being a thorn in their side.”
Morgan joined him in 2014 after working as a management consultant at Accenture. Her years outside the company allowed her to imbue JACLO with a fresh perspective, adding value to the hospitality side of the business, which counts the Meyer Davis-designed Dream Nashville and the Candler Hotel in Atlanta from San Francisco firm NICOLEHOLLIS as clients.
Together, the duo has managed to position JACLO as a formidable competitor in the industry. “The joke is that when my father comes to hospitality shows, he’s Morgan’s dad, and when I go to plumbing shows, I’m Larry’s daughter,” Morgan says. “That’s how we balance each other out.”
Morgan and Larry Brodey
JACLO collaborated with Meyer Davis on the bespoke brass fixtures that outfit the Dream Nashville’s bathrooms
