Blanket statements
Business weaves personal photos into covers, pillowcases
BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer

Above: Blankets Plus owners Todd Berman and Steve Barnett make blankets, pillows and pillowcases with personal photos woven into them, including the blanket they are holding. Below: One of the blankets on display at the company office in Matawan.

MATAWAN - As the textile industry continues to move overseas, Steve Barnett has used innovation to turn a blanket into a gold mine.

As the owner of Blankets Plus, 123 Main St., Barnett and longtime business partner Todd Berman have resurrected old weaving mills and, using modern technology, have created a product that weaves personal photographs into blankets and pillowcases. Their personalized product uses 100 percent cotton yarn and weaves true-to-life photographs into the blanket, creating a unique new use for the timeless covering.

Barnett and Berman saw the technology used to make the blankets being used with synthetic polyester material. Barnett said that he thought he could use this technology to make a better product, so the pair purchased a former sweater mill in North Carolina and set out to make a better blanket.

PHOTOSBYSCOTT PILLING staff

"The mills couldn't survive making sweaters anymore," Barnett said, citing factories in the Pacific and elsewhere making sweaters more cheaply than in the states.

That was six months ago.

Barnett said that in the six months they have been running Blankets Plus, they have done over $400,000 in business and fully expect the company to gross over $1 million by their one-year mark.

"This is really taking off," Barnett said. "The list is endless of who is buying it."

The product's personalized nature, and the ability to inexpensively make one as well as many units at a time, has broadened the product's appeal.

Barnett said they have made blankets for individuals looking for gifts and unique versions of family photos. They have sold to sports teams who want their logos or team portraits on a blanket. They sell to school sports programs such as Marlboro, which have ordered scarves woven with the team's name and mascot.

Barnett said that their product is displayed in veterinary offices because the market for memorializing deceased pets is booming.

"When it comes to pets and children, money doesn't mean anything," Barnett said of projects in which pictures of grandchildren are woven into a blanket for the grandparents.

Barnett said that with so much business going abroad, domestic companies were selling off textile mills left and right. Using their collective years of experience, Barnett feels he and Berman have stumbled on an innovative way to resurrect those old mills and remain in the states.

"This can't be done overseas," Barnett said. "It will sit on the water for three months."

Berman said that the company is expanding to include generic blankets that can be embroidered with personal messages.

"We're taking existing products and expanding different aspects of it," Berman said.

He said he is astounded at how well the company has done so quickly.

"I'm still amazed at this," Berman said. "Six months in and I'm still in awe."