Lauren Faragasso
Young Textile
Professionals Texpert
Lauren’s career in the textile industry started in 1986 with F. Schumacher & Co in sales at the flagship showroom on 56th & Third Ave., New York, NY. This position was short lived as she was transferred to the Contract Department six months later. In this role she excelled to Contract Operations Supervisor. The experience and excitement of working on contract and hospitality quotes on wallpaper, drapery, bedspreads, dust ruffles or yardage with order management for clients such as: Ritz Carlton, Disney, Boston Park Plaza, Plaza Hotel, Saratoga, Radio City Music Hall, The White House plus many hotels in Las Vegas & Atlantic City and of course the Von Trapp Family Lodge.
When she was presented with an opportunity at Brunschwig & Fils to oversee Quality Control for all their fabrics, wallpapers, passementeries & furniture, she felt it couldn’t be passed up. In this roll she had the opportunity to meet with owners of mills worldwide, visit print, weaving, finishing, dying and wallpaper mills in the US and UK. She traveled to inspect installations, and met and consulted with the paper hanger for the White House. She consulted with the design studio and mills on quality issues and improvements, such as environment reaction to fiber reactive dyes, viscose velvets & silk velvets, block, warp and handprints, plus wallpaper hanging and installations. Quality Control extended to ensuring that document designs for collections with The White House in addition to many historic homes as well as museums were produced as designed. She stayed in this position for almost 17 years.
From Brunschwig & Fils she had a short run with Greystone Home collection in Operations before the company closed. However, she was offered a position as the Director of Purchasing for Donghia. At Donghia she built a purchasing team that again worked with mills worldwide. International shipping and coordination of consolidations for fabric, wallpaper, furniture and glass lighting and accessories was an orchestration and timing. The contract department relied on her expertise in pricing and delivery for commercial projects. She worked with design, sales and marketing, understanding the importance of timing of launches of new collections as well as managing inventory.
Her next roll was with a mill in India that she had known from her days at Brunschwig. In this roll she first went to India for a month to visit all all the locations where designs were created, such as embroidery, jacquards, Dobbie, dying, warp and block prints, finishing as well as having the opportunity to watch weavers work on hand looms. The hand work and creativity were amazing to see and witness. She proceeded to peddle designs to jobbers across the US.
Before joining Heritage Fabrics in November 2025, she was Customer Service and Operations Manager for Osborne & Little. She was able to use her experience in this position to train and guide the CS and Sales staff on the art of the design and quality concerns.
During the course of her career, she has developed many friendships and professional acquaintances from designers, sales, executives that have the same passion that she has for this industry. What led her into the textile industry was a teacher at the NY School of Interior Design who said to her on the last day of class, “I’m sorry I picked you first for each presentation, but I couldn’t wait to see what you put together. You need to be in the textile industry and work with fabric.” She has valued those words with each position she has had over the last 40 years!
Texpert Advice
1. What career opportunity, challenge, or decision had the biggest impact on your professional growth, and what did it teach you?
Stepping into new roles that required me to put a team together along with operating procedures. It taught me how to quickly organize, find peoples strengths, and create action
2. Looking back at the beginning of your career, what is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you, and how would it have changed your path?
My guidance counselor in high school suggested that I go to secretary school. No one around me at the time had the exposure of any creative career paths. I like both creative and business, and I would have enjoyed learning how to weave and print fabric and wallpaper. I learned about it through work. I may have chosen more of the design side or mill operations.
3. What personal quality or skill has contributed most to your success, and how can someone intentionally develop it early in their career?
Mentors that I experienced through my career have pointed out strengths that I didn't realize that I had. Once I acknowledged the skill it made sense. For example being deadline driven and organized. I did this naturally to make the tasks at hand easier in the future for me, but did not realize I made it easier for a larger group. Setting routines and procedures in place will set the motion.
4. What is the most valuable professional lesson you've learned through a setback or mistake, and how has it shaped the way you lead today?
During the financial breakdown that began in 2008 I had to lay my staff off and taken on many department rolls. I learned how to think and stream line to reduce costs. Eventually my position was eliminated and during that set back I took a break from the textile industry ( due to shortage of positions) and stepped into the luxury automotive industry. I utilized the same skills of organization to shape the position while waiting for an opportunity to rejoin this industry. It kept me fresh on skills, exposed me to other types of operations in the type of work, expectations, customer service, communication and over coming dificulties.
5. What changes or opportunities do you see shaping the future of the home furnishings and textile industry, and what skills should emerging professionals focus on to prepare?
Available resources through the internet has opened doors for creativity. I feel people look for and enjoy classes or educational series on how to discover creativity. Not everyone has a designer bone in them, and will rely on the guidance of a professional. A professional does have more resource library in locating and creating spaces for their clients to make them personal and unique.
6. What has been the most rewarding part of your career, and what keeps you passionate about this industry today?
The love of fabric, wallpaper and how a design or color can shape the atmosphere around you. Each room or space is the mood you create that makes you comfortable.