The relationship did start as a professional one. But it evolved to
the point where Trull spent Christmases from 1975 to 1985 with
the Ludvigsons at their home in Gothenburg, Sweden. “Then we’d
go somewhere we’d never been before — Cape Town, South Africa,
China, Brazil. Last year we went to L.A., then the Coronado Hotel
in San Diego, the Getty Museum for New Year’s,” Trull says.
“Uncle Randy” and Ludvigson travel the world together.
“He’s extremely outgoing, very social,” Ludvigson says. “He has
a very, very high EQ, and gets involved with absolutely everybody.
He’s a great storyteller, lots of fun.”
Not everyone he does business with becomes a life-long friend or
an honorary family member. But 60-plus years of over-the-top tal-ent
and innovation that have made Randy Trull a household name
in the world of fabric design combined with his engaging personal-ity
make him someone that is impossible to forget.
“When Randy grabs on to something, he takes it full-bore,” says
John Miller, Trull’s business partner for his newest venture, decora-tive
jobber fabric company MFANO and its manufacturing and
sewing subsidiary, Pender Creek Design Workshop, located near
Wilmington International Airport, where they create their own fab-ric
line and finish goods from
their own fabrics. “He applies a
lot of intensity because he takes it
seriously.”
Trull, now a well-seasoned 87, can’t
remember a time when he didn’t have that
intensity. Early in his life he began to look
at everything as a challenge to be overcome.
“I would conquer it,” he says.
As a preeminent fabric, clothing and home furnishings designer,
he still brings that passion, enthusiasm and inspiration to his
work. His face lights up with a smile while talking about plans for
MFANO.
“My mind never stops spinning away at some way that I can do
something that’s just a little bit different,” Trull says.
During an interview at his patio home near Wrightsville Beach,
his bichon frise, Queeni-Bee, watches patiently in a room decorated
with colorful furniture upholstered in Trull’s fabric designs, such as
a monkey and red flower-patterned chair.
“I have this idea,” Trull says, pausing to laugh. “Here we go again.”
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Left: Randy Trull at his Pender Creek Design Workshop in July 2017. Behind him is his cheetah pattern in blue. Above: A palette of MFANO
fabric displays different design families in complementary colors.
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