Two days after escaping the corporate world, Marshall Crisman,
owner of Tomkat Fabric and Carpet Protection, found himself joining
his wife, Sally, an interior decorator, at an international
furniture show.
Two days after escaping the corporate world, Marshall Crisman, owner of Tomkat Fabric and Carpet Protection, found himself joining his wife, Sally, an interior decorator, at an international furniture show.
“I remembered when we were living in Riverside going to a similar show with Sally,” Crisman said. “I saw a guy doing fabric protection and it really intrigued me. I thought it looked like fun.”
While looking around at the show, Crisman ran across a company that did fabric protection. Two days later he was in California and became a distributor for the company, traveling 70,000 miles a year.
Most of Crisman’s business revolved around selling fabric protection materials to furniture stores, which would then spray it on furniture customers had ordered. But thanks to Sally’s business, Crisman knew that many people buy furniture through decorators, so he started offering fabric protection to clients in their own homes.
“A lot of people will buy their furniture through their designers,” Sally said. “I had a couple of designers working for me and I sold a lot of furniture. Also, there are times it’s better to have furniture reupholstered – especially older furniture because the frames were often built better years ago. Once a piece is reupholstered, it can be sprayed with fabric protector.”
The business quickly grew and Crisman hired representatives to handle the furniture stores while he personally treated the individual customers’ homes.
“What I do is treat items right in the home,” Crisman said. “This way I get to talk with my customers, teach them how to properly take care of their furniture or carpeting once it’s sprayed and how to remove spills. I really enjoy people and interacting with them, plus I wanted to make sure every job was done right.”
At the time, the couple lived in Virginia, and Crisman became a household name in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. One of his most exotic projects was on a rug in the Dolly Madison House worth $300,000.
“Imagine what would happen if someone spilled red wine on that,” he said.
Crisman said the product he uses protects everything from the finest natural silk fabric to man-made carpeting.
“Most fabric protectors put a coat on top of the fabric,” he said. “After a while, this protective coating breaks down. The product I use seals each and every fiber spun into the fabric. These fibers move independently. When you seal the fibers and something is spilled, all you have to do is blot it out.”
Crisman has treated everything from delicate wedding gowns to furniture, bedding, draperies and rugs. The product he uses is non-toxic and non-allergenic to humans and pets, and has an ultraviolet light inhibitor.
“It’s like putting a 30 sun block on the furniture. It helps keep it from fading,” Crisman said.
Last May, after selling his business in Virginia, the couple moved to Hollister.
“Our daughter and her husband live in Prunedale,” Crisman said. “Four years ago we saw Ridgemark and knew that was where we wanted to live. So every time we visited our daughter, we came to Ridgemark. The people in Hollister should be very proud of their community. The people are so friendly and the merchants treat you so well.”
But Crisman found that he didn’t really enjoy being retired, and last November he decided to go back into the furniture-protection business.
“I take the responsibility I have with people’s furniture very seriously,” he said. “My dad was a dry cleaner for 40 years; I ran his business for five years. It gave me all the understanding about fabric and carpet I’ve needed for this business.”
As for the name Tomkat Fabric and Carpet Protection, Crisman smiled and asked what tomcats are known for – spraying furniture. If that furniture is protected by Tomkat Fabric and Carpet Protection, with some proper cleaning it’ll be as good as new.
For more information or to make an appointment with Tomkat Fabric and Carpet Protection, call 630-5872 or (800) 974-4006.
