Andrew Major, 83, Upholstery Maker
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Andrew Major, who died October 15 at age 83 at his New York home, was the former owner of Mastercraft, the leading manufacturer of jacquard, a robust type of fabric used in upholstery. Among his sobriquets within the industry were “The Upholstery King,” and “The King of the Mills.”
Major was born in Hungary in 1921 and relocated to Canada while still in his teens. After serving in the South Pacific during World War II, he joined Mastercraft, his uncle’s firm, then located in Paterson, N.J. In 1960, he became president of the company, which had moved to North Carolina.
Under Major’s leadership, Mastercraft became an industry leader in jacquard, named for Joseph Marie Jacquard, an 18th-century inventor who received a pension from Napoleon for developing the largescale looms needed to produce it.
Major put a premium on innovative design, paying his top talent in the high six figures, according to “Home Textiles Today.” “Fabric companies were loath to pay design talent what they should have been paid,” he told the industry magazine.
Major sold Mastercraft to industry giant Collins & Aikman in 1976, but stayed on as president for nearly two decades. In 1994, Major went to work for Cone Mills, where he built up another large-scale manufacturer of decorative fabrics, including jacquard, chenille, damask, boucle, and tapestry.
“In fashion today the most important thing is texture,” Major told HFN magazine.
In 2002, Major was only the second fabric manufacturer inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame.
Major donated a large portion of his extensive primitive art collection to Isothermal Community College in Spindale, N.C.
Major is survived by his wife, Flora, children Katherine Major Firman and Nicholas Major, and a granddaughter.