Dawson Home Fashions

I guess it's true that when you start a new job, you never really know what you are walking into. That was the case when I started at Dawson Home Fashions. There were multiple company sites, but I worked at one of the shower manufacturing plants in New Jersey. What an experience.

During my first week on the job, I was walking into work and ahead of me was one of the secretaries. I don't know how else to describe her, but she dressed like a hooker. Lined up, hanging out the factory windows were the workers gawking at her and saying things in Spanish. I'm pretty sure they weren't wishing her a nice day or quoting Bible verses. This was 1993, and sexual harassment was in the news. I had to tell the GM to tell his guys to cancel their morning ritual. When I spoke to the secretary, she didn't seem to mind the attention.

Within a month of my arrival, we had a surprise OSHA inspection and were fined $20,000. The place was a health and fire hazard: chemicals were everywhere and not stored properly, and workers did not use protective gear; they told me later - through a translator - that the gear was too hot. I guess a slow death was a better option. We also had an office in New York City: 666 5th Avenue. I should have known this job would be hell. Anyway, I had to take the train once a week into NY. Talk about culture shock. I went from non-English-speaking factory workers in a chemical deathtrap to the beautiful people in the fashion district. I preferred the deathtrap.

Before I arrived, Dawson had been named Hygiene Industries; not sure what comes to your mind, but that name sucked if you were trying to sell shower curtains and accessories. The company decided to rebrand itself to Dawson Home Fashions and hired a bunch of (expensive) executives from the cosmetics industry. They wanted to become the leader in high-end bathroom décor. I remember attending fashion week to show our wares; my only thought was, "What the hell am I doing here?"

My boss was the VP of HR. I didn't like him. We got along ok, but he made me nervous and he was full of himself. Did you ever have a job where you sat in your car in the morning staring at the entrance, debating whether to go in or just turn around a go home? This was that for me.

I lasted a year and two months. The rebranding wasn't working and I knew that the company wouldn't last. I had gone through a plant shutdown at Samsung. I didn't want to go through that again. I was right. Six months after I left, the company was sold and a year later the plant in NJ was closed.