Starting out broke and single with two children isn’t the ideal way to begin a home-based business. At that low point, Randy Rubin could only go up. She and her current husband, Craig, began Crypton because they had a great idea: a stain, odor, and bacteria resistant fabric technology.
Randy’s background in marketing to women and for retail companies helped her develop the skills for capturing the women’s market. What mom and homemaker wouldn’t embrace a high-tech fabric that looks new longer? Though it began in the basement, Crypton has developed into a company that invents, patents, and sells a whole line of performance fabrics for apparel and home decor uses.
The couple promotes the business through maintaining public relations, social media, in-store events, direct sales, various consumer design events, in-store promotional materials, and videos. Specialty items also drive business. “When the retailer gives us a need, we create it,” Randy said.
Randy considers going global with Crypton Super Fabrics as their highest achievement. She hopes Crypton will become a household name in the fabric industry, and feels that the company is definitely on its way. “We created something that never existed—a fabric that would work like vinyl, intended for the contract [commercial] market,” Randy said. “Today we have a 92 percent awareness in the contract market and dedicated sections in design libraries that are for Crypton…We have created the standard for upholstery performance textiles.”
The company has expanded the brand to Crypton Wall, Crypton Vinyl, Crypton Care (upholstery cleaning products), Crypton Mattress, and the Rubins have other products in the works. The Rubins plan to sell through a major national retail chain by the end of 2015. For more information, visit www.crypton.com. HBM
Deborah Jeanne Sergeant has been writing from home since 2000. In addition to writing for Home Business Magazine and other periodicals, she is also the author of The Big, Fat Answer: Lifelong Weight Management for Good Health based upon hundreds of interviews with health care professionals. Visit her online at www.skilledquill.net.
