Bob Collins & Sons Inc.

Bob Collins began his career in the fabric business in 1920, at the age of 20.  However his new career was sidelined with his draft into the army a year later.  During World War II he served as a drill instructor and a sergeant, commanding two half tracks in Europe during the war.  He was one of the few to battle in, and survive, the Battle of the Bulge.

Returning to the States, Bob once again resumed his career in the fabric industry. He studied at the Philadelphia Textile School and worked at S.W. Heim & Co. as well as Stapler Fabrics.  After opening three showrooms on Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Bob eventually moved his office to the new Marketplace Design Center.   Later he opened a second showroom in Miami on Biscayne Boulevard in an old Spanish Stucco residence. Then he moved to 40th Street, then 39th street which is now known as “Decorator’s Row.”

Bob Collins created Bob Collins, Inc. in the 1950s and has represented a wide spectrum of fabric and wallpaper houses well know throughout the industry.  Such companies as Scancelli , Maria Kipp, Franciscan Fabrics, Henry Calvin, Elsie McNeil, Fortuny, Woodson,  Louis W. Bowen, and Kent - Bragaline .

Mr. Collin’s experience in the trade and with the textile industry led to the formation of a new company in 1986, Bob Collins & Sons, which became the umbrella company for Bob’s own signature line of fabrics and wallpapers.  The Bob Collins & Sons exclusive designs were designed from conception to coloration by Mr. Collins. Bob Collins & Sons operates as a wholesale showroom to the trade.

In 1996, when Mr. Edward Bragaline became ill and decided to close his company, Kent-Bragaline, Mr. Bragaline offered his representatives the opportunity to purchase his designs. Bob Collins & Sons purchased several of the fabric designs and all of the Kent - Bragaline wallpapers.  To honor Mr. Bragaline, Bob decided to maintain each of the designs with their original names, colors and ground cloths as first designed by Mr. Bragaline. These fabrics as well as the Bob Collins & Sons fabrics and wallpapers can be seen at a number of showrooms in the U.S. and Canada.

In 2001 Bob Collins & Sons, Inc moved to West Palm Beach, where they are currently located.