Valdese, NC--- Blake Millinor will has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Valdese Weavers, after having served as President of the Valdese Weavers Contract division.

Laura Levinson has also been named Senior Vice President Merchandising and Design of Valdese. She was previously Senior Vice President of product development and design. 

Both report to Michael Shelton, President & CEO of Valdese Weavers, considered the largest upholstery fabrics weaver in the USA today and one of the largest mills in the world.

Millinor joined Valdese Weavers in 2001 to direct the company’s efforts to identify and develop opportunities with both manufacturers and distributors in the hospitality, office furnishings, healthcare, and textile wallcovering markets. “Blake’s transition, to include under his direction the company’s residential sales and marketing efforts, has been enhanced through the interaction he has experienced for the past five years working closely with Laura Levinson and Zack Taylor (former company VP/ Residential, and now president of Wesley Hall Inc.) to fashion the overall product, sales, and marketing strategies across all markets that have resulted in the substantial growth that Valdese Weavers has experienced, Shelton said. 

Millinor is an alumnus of The Citadel. He began his textile career at Milliken, and held a variety of responsibilities in the contract units of Mastercraft and Tietex prior to joining Valdese Weavers. He resides in Hickory, NC with his wife Laura, and their children Nick, Jack, and Sarah.

In her new post, Laura Levinson will now direct all of the creative aspects of the business, Shelton said. “Laura has for many years provided the creative impulse for the design and development of our products,” Shelton explained. Her vision and leadership has inspired the individual design and development directors and staff at each of our brands: Valdese Weavers, Circa 1801, Home Fabrics, Valdese International Products (VIP), and Valdese Weavers Contract. Beyond this responsibility, Laura has a unique skill set that has established her also as a great business leader inside our company and in our industry. Her broader role within our executive team will give us the benefit of her vision across a broader range of disciplines inside Valdese Weavers”, according to Shelton.

Levinson graduated from North Carolina State University/ College of Design and began her career at Valdese Weavers as a design associate in 1990. She received a Masters of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1995. She relocated to New York and established a design studio for Valdese Weavers to enable enhanced design integration with key customers’ creative teams. Laura was named the first female Vice President in Valdese Weavers history, and relocated to North Carolina in 2001.  

Laura is a member of the Philadelphia University Textile Board, as well as the NC State School of Design’s Leadership Council. She resides in Newton, NC with her husband Jon, and their children Benjamin and Sarah.