After a career in musical performance, it was time to get a little more serious about my future. In 1973 I began work at a Milwaukee, WI based chain of menswear stores. In 1979 I interviewed and took the position of regional salesman for Yves St. Laurent Men's Sportswear (a division of Bidermann Industries) based in Chicago. It was my first job in wholesale and began what would become a wonderful career in the men's apparel industry. I stayed with YSL for 2 years before transferring to Bidermann's Jean Paul Germain division. In 1981 I accepted the regional managers position based in Los Angeles. After JPG, I accepted a position at the IBA division of Hart Schaffner Marx, thus giving me a much more detailed education in tailored clothing. 6 years later I was recruited by the fledgling Oscar de la Renta tailored clothing division (part of Lanier Clothes) of Oxford Industries. I spent 15 years with Oxford in various positions. I began as their West coast sales rep, then relocating back to the Midwest. In 1996 I was made VP of sales for Oscar. In 2005 I left Oscar and began my own firm, JF Consulting, LLC. My first contract was with the Indian conglomerate, Raymond International based out of Mumbai, India. My primary responsibility with Raymond was to represent their Bangalore production facility, SILVER SPARK APPAREL. Great inroads were made between Silver Spark and American retailers such as Kohls, Macy's, and JCP. I then was recruited by Sinoer Apparel based in Shaghai. The position was similar to my post at Raymond. For the past 7+ years I have been working as a tailored clothing specialist on the selling floor of a local department store (The Boston Store, a division of the Bon Ton corporation). This job allows me to keep my "fingers" in men's apparel with special attention to the tailored clothing side of the industry.