Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 27, 1994 TAG: 9401280004
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
When Ric McClure, owner and vice president of Shenandoah Robe, is not putting in his 60 or 70 hours a week at his plant in a converted bowling alley on Loudon Avenue, he works part-time as director of music at his church, Cave Spring United Methodist.
``I think that helps us a lot,'' McClure said of his choir experience. Because of his background, he knows how choirs function, how they buy the robes, and what their needs are. ``I understand the mob mentality,'' he laughed.
Shenandoah, which opened in 1981, has supplied robes for choirs not only in the United States, but also in Puerto Rico and England, said McClure. That's because most sales of choir robes are done through direct mail or by word-of-mouth. A choir robe manufacturer could be anywhere in the country and still attract a national market.
Besides choir robes, McClure's company also makes academic and judicial robes. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is one of his clients.
But the choir robe industry is ``a pretty big market,'' he said, especially with black churches, where music is an important part of the worship service.
``The calendar revolves around the choir, and they take the music very seriously.'' Often, new robes are ordered for special occasions.
Although music is important to other churches, he said, black gospel choirs are often featured on television, and choir directors who see them ``tend to keep up-to-date in robe styles.''
Shenandoah also is one of at least a half-dozen of the nation's 11 largest robe manufacturers offering choir and pastoral robes trimmed with traditional African Kente cloth. Oak Hall Choir Robe Co., which has operated in the Roanoke Valley since 1889, also makes robes trimmed in Kente cloth.
McClure first saw Kente cloth robes about two years ago. It was first used for choir robes in bigger churches on the East and West coasts in the late 1980s. It spilled into the consumer market, so that now it's easy find all kinds of Kente cloth items, including sneakers and duffel bags.
``In some places, it's over-saturated,'' he said.
Kente cloth has an ancient history in Africa, McClure said. At one time, each pattern represented various symbols to different tribes. But as time went on, people kept adding to the patterns, so that today the meaning has been lost.
There are hundreds of patterns, he said, and his company offers 10 different styles, some printed and some hand-woven, and all imported from Ivory Coast in Africa.
The hand-woven cloth is about one-third more expensive than the prints, he said, but a high-quality choir robe can be expected to last 20 years. Even the more inexpensive designs can last 10 years, he said.
Shenandoah Robe also offers Kente cloth accessories, such as ties, cummerbunds, stoles and the brimless Kufis hats. Some choirs have ordered matching stoles and hats to wear with the robes, but the accessories are really ``a sideline,'' he said. The consumer clothing market can generally meet the demand for these items.
McClure, who has worked with churches for more than 25 years, said he has seen fads in choir robes come and go, but he doesn't think this is just another one. The demand for Kente cloth has peaked, he said, but ``it will cycle and come back.''
McClure, who has a master's degree in music education, worked for another robe company before opening his own business. His move from music to manufacturing was ``sort of an evolution.''
At first he managed the company all by himself. During rush periods, his wife, Nighta Leigh, daughter Sarah, and members of his church would pitch in to help his sewers get the orders out.
A few years later, however, he took on two partners, Jim Paxton and J.E. Saliba, whom he met in college.
They operate a formal wear company in Alabama, and handle the management and administrative end of the business. The relationship has benefited both companies, McClure said, because they also share business contacts.
The company has done so well that last year, began hiring telemarketers.
McClure employs 18 to 22 people in what he refers to as the ``production area.'' He won't call it a factory, he said, and tries to keep the large, well-lit workroom from looking like one.
In running his business, McClure tries to maintain a family atmosphere. Every Christmas, he said, he prepares dinner for the employees, which is served in a dining area he plans to improve with lighting and other amenities.
When McClure noticed that many of his workers were eating lunch from vending machines, he said, he started an in-house ``potato project.''
Employees come in in the morning, choose a potato and put it on to cook until noon. This way, McClure said, everyone gets ``a good, hot lunch.''
Most of his seamstresses have more than 20 years of experience, and his supervisor has been in the business for more than 30 years. For those employees new to the trade, McClure provides training, and as a result, he said, ``there is almost no turnover.''
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