CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- It is the apparel world's version of the big guy and the small fry.
The small quilting cooperative, Cabin Creek Quilts, has been here before, defending its turf in successful fights with Wal-Mart and the Smithsonian Institution.Now the Appalachian group is battling Orvis Co. Inc., contending the company based in Manchester, Vt., improperly marketed a foreign-made quilt as a "Cabin Creek Quilt" and "an Orvis exclusive."
"We're tired of this David-and-Goliath stuff," co-op manager and founder David Thibeault said this week. "They are playing fast and loose with our name, and we're not going to let them get away with it."
The cooperative has about 25 people actively working and earns about $350,000 a year. A productive quilter can complete about one quilt a month.
While Orvis was selling its quilt for $239 for a twin-bed size, handmade Cabin Creek Quilts made by West Virginians working out of their homes often run in the thousand-dollar range.
Orvis shipped out an estimated 20 million summer 1999 gift and clothing catalogs advertising its quilt, and Thibeault said the cooperative wants Orvis to print a half-page clarification in its next catalog.
An Orvis spokesman said the company made "an honest mistake" and has removed the offending article from its Internet order site.
The co-op has fought repeatedly to protect its name since its founding in 1970. Its aggressive approach persuaded Wal-Mart to stop using the "Cobble Creek Quilts" name on machine-made quilts from China.
The Smithsonian later made a deal with Cabin Creek to reproduce a Smithsonian design and sell it through Lands' End after a fight over quilting patterns.