Our story
From humble beginnings…
The year was 1988.
At that time, Stu Bloom, founder of RAVE FabriCARE and WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE, was working and living in New York City. And he’d just picked up his favorite navy pin striped suit from a neighborhood cleaner offering “fine dry cleaning for the discerning”.
Prior to dropping off the suit, the fabric had a butter soft texture one would have expected from a wool woven by one of England’s finest mills. And the collar, lapels, shoulders and silhouette had that distinctive Savile Row tailored look.
Only now it had been reduced to a rag.
The fabric felt as stiff as cardboard. The suit exhibited shine, flap, button and seam impressions, wrinkled linings, a rippled collar and hard pressed lapels. And smelled like gasoline.
So began his quest to find a true quality cleaner.
The search proved unsuccessful. And led to the realization that true quality at the vast majority of cleaners was non-existent. And that true quality at the so-called “better cleaners” and self-styled “couture care specialists” – the one’s that “dressed up” their product with logo-printed tissue and poly and with wood or chrome hangers – was still only slightly above average.
Stu’s failure to locate a true quality cleaner led him to pose the obvious question:
Why can’t cleaners produce a garment that’s cleaned, finished, inspected and packaged with extraordinary care?
We're not your ordinary dry cleaner
And so it was that an idea – and a company – was born.
When you start something, you dare to believe it can work. What you can’t understand or predict is just how it’s all going to happen, who’s going to help you, and the level of effort and perseverance that will be required.
As with most business endeavors the early years were characterized by trial and error.
It’s hard to be different. To buck the industry status quo.
We could have done the least possible. We could have played it safe. We could have ignored what’s best for our client’s fine garments, household textiles and accessories. We could have followed the “industry rules” and “industry standards” set by ordinary dry cleaners.
In other words, we could have opted for ordinary.
Nonetheless the vision inspired us, and, most importantly, attracted like minded artisans and craftspeople who saw something noble and rewarding in a simple, yet profound idea:
No compromises. No shortcuts.
Just extraordinary care for fine garments, household textiles and accessories.
And then the substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows started arriving...
As the business grew, our clients demanded a wider array of services, including care for their household textiles such as drapes, sofa slip covers, sofa cushions, throw pillows, comforters, bedspreads, bedskirts, blankets, coverlets, quilts, mattress covers, throws and the like.
Naturally, we received calls asking us about “washing” and/or “dry cleaning” substantially down and down/feather mix bed pillows.
After a cursory review of the topic, we quickly concluded that the way dry cleaners, linen stores and other "pillow refurbishment" services processed these bed pillows was not only technically inadequate, but potentially damaging to the most expensive and important component of their bed pillows – the interior fill.
After years of experimentation, we finally hit on the perfect combination of science-driven cleaning and refurbishment process and laboratory-tested pillow shells (aka tickings or casings).
This involved extensive:
- research of the scientific literature on matters relating to bed bugs, dust mites, allergens, down and feather
- the testing of different cleaning processes, including washing in water, dry cleaning in dry cleaning solvents, irradiation by hand-held wands, and, finally, cleaning of down amd down/feather mix fill – dry and green – without emersion in water and/or dry cleaning solvents
- research on and testing of alternative materials used to construct pillow shells (aka tickings or casings).
And the result?
WHITE KNIGHT PillowCARE's bed pillow cleaning and refurbishment service.
As with everything we do at RAVE FabriCARE, ordinary just didn't cut it.
After 35 years, that philosophy still guides everything we do.
Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, WHITE KNIGHT pillowCARE is a division of RAVE FabriCARE, nationally recognized as one of the nation’s premier dry cleaners by non-compensated, independent, authoritative third parties.