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local couple ets kids be kids without
super-stylish parents sacrificin
BY KHRISTI
44►
Ouse inhabited by six kids takes
a lot of abuse. That's why when
ABC-TV's hit show Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition remod-
eled Maryann Gilliam's Armada
Township home last August, it turned to
Bloomfield Hills residents Craig and Randy
Rubin for help.
The Rubins, founders and owners of West
Bloomfield's Crypton Super Fabrics, provided
the show with upholstered furniture featuring
their revolutionary stain-, moisture-, bacteria
and odor-resistant fabrics.
"We were truly honored to lend a helping
hand to this awe-inspiring family," says Randy
of the Gilliam family, who lost their 41-year-old
father unexpectedly while he was renovating their
120-year-old house. "It meant even more to us
because it was a family in our own back yard."
20 •
OCTOBER 200i
•
JNPLATINUM
Awe-inspiring is a phrase that could describe
Crypton as well. Inspired by disposable diapers
and founded in the Rubins' basement, the com-
pany has supplied more than 50 million yards of
mess-free, stress-free fabric to hotelvih
and restaurants (including MclAi
and Holiday Inn) since 1993. Thirteen years of
stain-free success has prompted the company's
recent expansion into the residential market.
"We want to change the way people live,"
says Randy. "The last thing peopliAllruld worry
Crypton,
about is stains on their
g
to
worry
we provide families with one les
about. "
sures strong
The company's patented desi
everything,"
yet soft fabrics that "resist practi i
says Randy. Our fabrics are incredtly easy to
r, fluids can't
clean. Because of the moisture b
ld and mil-
penetrate the fabricsNtid germs,
dew can't grow. We say it's the only fabric that
resists whatever life, kids or pets can throw at it."
The most stain-resistant and durable fabrics
on the market today, Crypton's textiles are both
pretty and practical and come in hundreds of dif-
ferent styles, from contemporary prints to subtle
stripes and supple suedes. Maryann Gilliam and
her six children, aged 8 months through 12 years,
will be the first American family to live with
the soon-to-be released line of Crypton Super 41P.'
Furniture, says Randy. Future plans also include a
Crypton livallcovering.
Extreme Makeover heard about Crypton
through a field producer based in Michigan. Like
many first-time customers, the show's stars were
surprised at the rypton fabrics' inherent tough-
- ichael Moloney
ness. "Ty Penn' on and M
ndy store at first," Randy
were like kids i
ing, they actually took
remembers. "D