80/20 hobbs update

[francine]

I called Hobbs yesterday. They got back with me this a.m.

They want me to send 12" samples. Nice , wonder if they will reimburse me HAH HAH. The wool and silk are still ok.

I have contacted the Warm Company and they are sending me samples of thier line.

I will let you all know what happens with the Hobbs issue.

Love you all!!

[Lyn Heilman]

I just want to put an end to the rumors about Hobbs. I know everyone has heard all kinds of stories about H.D. Wilbanks and Harriet Hargrave. H.D. was an independent Sales Rep/ Manager for Hobbs not the owner or inventor. He and Harriet did work together to help develop some of the batting line. The actually inventing was done by the staff at Hobbs and they still hold the patent. The technology is still at Hobbs as can be seen by the Legacy 80/20 blend that is thermal bonded with no loft or definition with your quilting. Hobbs 80/20 blend is resin bonded( hence the rough feel before washing) which maintains the 20% poly loft that so many of us( and our customers) like to see in the quilting while maintaining the light and soft feel after washing.

I did work with H.D. as a distributor before he left Hobbs and found him to be a very nice man. But, I do wonder where all these stories came from in the recent months.

The present Sales Manager is an employee of Hobbs and is awesome! His name is Joseph Hensley. They stand behind their products 110%! Everytime, which has been few, that the product was not top notch Joseph has taken care of it immediately. In this day and age I don't know of any other company that is that customer/ quality oriented.

If you feel you have a bad roll of any Hobbs product you should contact who you purchased it from or contact Joseph at Hobbs. Often, when customers are unhappy it is because they don't understand the product development or proper use of the batting. The only way they can tell if you have bad product is for you to send a sample for analysis. When it is found to be slightly off they will take care of you, I promise.

Hobbs manufactures the 80/20 Heirloom blend, a wonderful 100% cotton batting as well as a 100 % cotton W/ scrim that is soft and drapeable but much less stretch. These cottons do not get stiff with dense quilting. The cotton w/ scrim is used by many of the award winning quilters as it blocks and hangs beautifully! Hobbs also makes washable wool, washable silk, polydown(very soft, sliconized, small denier fiber poly), and resin bonded poly by the yard. Many more products are available but these are the ones quilters use most.

I encourage each of you that has questions or concerns about your Hobbs batting to talk to your distributor, call me (913-492-8877) or call Joseph at Hobbs ( 254-741-0040). Even though we get a lot of support from the forum we can't resolve questions about products unless you go the source.

[francine]

As I stated i will let the forum know what the outcome is after i send in the samples.

Thank you for input, Lyn.

[Bonnie]

Thank you Lyn.....its nice to now know the true story and have the knowledge to put to rest these rumors and such. Everything I heard was third party and now we all know the whole story.

[Stagecl]

Thank you for straightening out the story.

I have never had a problem with Hobbs batting and will continue to use it.

The experience I have had with companies I have bought from have been excellent. I even had a bad batt from Mountain Mist (a customer had given it to me). I call them and they replaced it.

Lyn,

You are right when there is a problem...go to the source. The companies want satisfied customers because it is a tough business world to survive in.

[JustSewSimple]

Well, Hobbs 80/20 is still my favorite. This last batch I bought is more scratchy than what I have been getting but a toss in the dryer softens it up. Now this scratch is BEFORE quilting. AFter quilting with the Hobbs, the quilt drapes beautifully, as I said in an earlier post.

[Sparkle]

Thanks Lynn for letting us know the whole story about Hobbs batting. You explained the chain of command and the process.....However, I won't be buying any of the scratchy (very rough) Hobbs that is presently sitting on the sales floor of my local Beverly's store here in Santa Rosa, CA.

Quote>If you feel you have a bad roll of any Hobbs product you should contact who you purchased it from or contact Joseph at Hobbs. Often, when customers are unhappy it is because they don't understand the product development or proper use of the batting. The only way they can tell if you have bad product is for you to send a sample for analysis. When it is found to be slightly off they will take care of you, I promise.<Quote

I am lucky to have been able to touch and feel the Hobbs 80/20 locally, and not ordered a whole roll online which I have done in the past, then I would need to return it or deal with it as you suggest.

Quality Control has evidentially changed if they let this batting be shipped out to suppliers , and as a consumer I'm not going to buy this particular batting at Beverly's as it sits there now..... and then go through the process of letting Hobbs know their is a problem with it. I did let the manager in that dept. of the store know....but, it's still there 'for sale'. Hobbs quality control has a responsibility, and any inferior batting should not leave the factory in the hopes that as long time loyal Hobbs 80/20 buyer, I or other quilters would overlook the change, and report back to Hobbs as we contemplate purchase or open the plastic and discover it has changed.