Textile Fabric Consultants

What Textile Fabric Consultants does

Textile Fabric Consultants, Inc. (TFC) is a privately held, founder-owned specialty education supplier founded in 1981 by Nancy Oxford, a textiles instructor who created her own swatch kit when no suitable classroom resource existed. The company designs, assembles, and sells physical textile education materials — primarily swatch kits containing fabric samples mounted on sheets — to high schools, colleges, and universities globally. The flagship Basic Textiles Swatch Kit (2024 Edition) anchors the catalog, supported by the Interior Design Swatch Kit, Consumer Swatch Kit, and a range of supplemental items including Fiber and Yarn Samples Packets, Trim Kits, Lab Kits with textile testing equipment (glass beakers, test tubes, tweezers, goggles), LED Stitch Counters, and reference materials such as Textilepedia and the Fashion Designer's Textile Directory textbook.

The core technology is a physical educational product: pre-cut, mounted fabric swatches paired with instructor support materials (Instructor Manuals in digital and hard copy, PowerPoint presentations, Mounted Swatch Images, Textile Testing Lab Manuals, and a video playlist). Production takes place at an 8,000 sq ft facility in Smyrna, Tennessee, which has grown from Nancy Oxford's original garage operation. The product is differentiated by 43+ years of accumulated educational content and the ability to fully customize kits for specific course requirements, including hybrid fashion/interior design bundles and modifications such as pre-filled mounting sheets or master-list removal.

TFC operates a direct-to-consumer and direct-to-institution sales model. Individual students and instructors purchase through textilefabric.com; educational departments, bookstores, and custom kit orders are handled by Accounts Manager Susan Elliott via direct outreach. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Wholesale pricing is available for departmental and bookstore procurement, with discounted direct-to-student pricing also offered. Current leadership includes Amy Willbanks (Owner/President since 2019, with the company since 1991) along with a small team including Susan Elliott, Kamryn Elliott, and Corri Logan. The company reports a global footprint with named customers spanning Columbus College of Art & Design, Pasadena City College, Central Michigan University, Arizona State University, Oklahoma State University, and Mississippi State University, among others.

Name

Textile Fabric Consultants

Legal name

Textile Fabric Consultants, Inc.

Website

https://textilefabric.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Textile Fabric Consultants is a privately held Tennessee-based company founded in 1981 that designs, assembles, and sells physical textile swatch kits, lab materials, and instructor resources to fashion and interior design programs at high schools, colleges, and universities globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Textile Education Supplies

NAICS

Sewing, Needlework, and Piece Goods Retailers (459130)

SIC

Wholesale-Apparel, Piece Goods & Notions (5130)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRALADAH

Pattern & Sewing Instruction Retail (Patterns, Books, Classes)

Consumer Products & Retail/Specialty Retail (Hobby, Books, Office, Pet, Toys)/Fabric, Sewing & Needlecraft Retail

SECONDARYCRALADAG

Notions & Sewing Accessories Retail (Thread, Needles, Zippers, Buttons)

Consumer Products & Retail/Specialty Retail (Hobby, Books, Office, Pet, Toys)/Fabric, Sewing & Needlecraft Retail

SECONDARYCRALADAA

General Fabric & Textile Stores

Consumer Products & Retail/Specialty Retail (Hobby, Books, Office, Pet, Toys)/Fabric, Sewing & Needlecraft Retail

Keywords

• Textile education kits
• Fabric swatch kits
• Textile testing supplies
• Educational lab materials
• Fashion design resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Smyrna

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Swatch Kit Sales: One-time purchase of physical textile swatch kits containing fabric samples, mounting sheets, and instructional materials for educational courses. Includes various tiers (Basic, Interior Design, Consumer) and customization options.
2. Lab Kit Components: Separate sale of lab kit components including beakers, test tubes, stir rods, tweezers, goggles, and other textile testing equipment.
3. Supplemental Materials: Add-on items including Fiber Samples Packets, Yarn Samples Packets, Fiber to Yarn Activity Packets, Trim Kits, LED Stitch Counters, and reference textbooks like Fashion Designer's Textile Directory.
4. Wholesale/Institutional Sales: Bulk purchasing options for educational departments and bookstores at wholesale pricing, as well as discounted direct-to-student orders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Textile Fabric Consultants designs, produces, and sells physical textile swatch kits and accompanying educational materials for fashion design, interior design, and consumer textile courses. Core products include the Basic Textiles Swatch Kit, Interior Design Swatch Kit, Consumer Swatch Kit, and customizable hybrid bundles, supported by add-on lab kits, fiber/yarn sample packets, instructor manuals, PowerPoint presentations, and reference textbooks. Customers include high schools, colleges, and universities globally, with wholesale options for bookstores and departments.

Product overview

Textile Fabric Consultants provides physical textile education products centered around swatch kits for academic institutions. The core offerings include the Basic Textiles Swatch Kit (the original product established in 1981), the Interior Design Swatch Kit, and the Consumer Swatch Kit. These are complemented by add-on resources such as Fiber Samples Packets, Yarn Samples Packets, Trim Kits, Lab Kits with testing equipment, LED Stitch Counters, Textilepedia, and the Fashion Designer's Textile Directory textbook. Instructor materials include Manuals, PowerPoint presentations, Mounted Swatch Images, and Textile Testing Lab Manuals. The company offers Hybrid Swatch Kit Bundles combining fashion and interior design materials, as well as fully Customized Kits tailored to specific course requirements. All products serve educational purposes for high schools, colleges, and universities globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 43+ years serving educational institutions globally
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SDL Atlas: Established supplier of textile testing instruments and consumables serving both education and industry. Comparable as a broader-portfolio incumbent in the textile testing/education supply ecosystem that overlaps with TFC's lab-kit customers.
• JOANN: National specialty retailer of fabrics, sewing notions, and craft supplies serving hobbyist and educational customers. Comparable as a broad incumbent whose fabric/notion assortment overlaps with TFC's Consumer Swatch Kit use cases.
• Mood Fabrics: Large fashion-fabric retailer serving designers and design schools with a broad assortment. Comparable as a broader incumbent that also supplies fabric and notions to fashion education customers, though with a retail (not curriculum) focus.

Emerging players

• Textile Learner: Digital textile education resource that provides free reference content on fibers, yarns, and fabrics to fashion/textile students. Comparable as an emerging digital substitute that could pressure physical swatch demand at the introductory level.

Others

• AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists): Industry association that develops textile testing standards and produces educational materials and test methods used by the same fashion/textile program instructors TFC sells to. Comparable as an ecosystem player influencing curriculum decisions.
• Hohenstein: International textile testing and research organization offering educational content and OEKO-TEX-adjacent training. Comparable as an ecosystem/adjacent player serving the same textile-education buyer base.
• Cotton Incorporated: Provides free educational resources and fiber/fabric samples to fashion and textile educators. Comparable as an enabling/thematic peer that supplies complementary (and partly substitute) educational textile materials to instructors.

Direct peers

• Testfabrics Inc. Direct competitor supplying standardized textile test fabrics, swatches, and testing materials to educational and industrial labs. Closest peer because both companies serve textile testing/education customers with physical fabric specimens.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@textilefabricconsultants5281
• Xx.com/TextileFabricCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/textile-fabric-consultants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Textile Fabric Consultants