Robert Kaufman, born in 1899 in Russia, emigrated to New York and successfully ran a menswear business before losing it in the 1929 stock market crash. He rebounded by founding a new business in 1942 as a men’s suit jobber. In 1944, due to his son Alvin’s asthma, the family relocated to Los Angeles, where Robert rebuilt the company from scratch.

By the 1950s, his sons Saul and Alvin joined the business, transitioning it from jobbing to fabric converting, with successful fabric lines like “Windjammer.” The youngest son, Harvey, joined in 1963 and helped establish a nationwide sales force. The company expanded its offerings throughout the ’60s and ’70s, introducing 100% cotton prints.

In the 1980s, as retail fabric stores declined, the company pivoted to the growing quilting market, launching iconic lines like Kona® Cotton Solids and collaborating with artists like Debra Lunn and Jennifer Sampou. Today, Robert Kaufman Co. serves both manufacturing and quilting markets, offering thousands of SKUs annually and working with notable designers and in-house brands.

Now run by the third generation of Kaufmans, the company remains family-oriented, with many long-time employees, and continues to thrive as a respected name in the textile industry.