TZAIMS LUKSUS INCORPORATED: ?WHAT WENT WRONG IN BENNINGTON, VERMONT?

 TZAIMS LUKSUS 

INCORPORATED

●

THE HISTORY

of

What Went Wrong 

●WWW●

in

Bennington, Vermont

USA

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Everything went wrong, caused by the 

Wealthy Investors 

in 

Vermont

& 

Nothing went wrong by Tzaims doings.

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NOW

THE REAL STORY

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Suppressed by the Benningto

Board of Directors

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Originally when I arrived in Bennington, Vermont, Labor Day weekend in 1963, and found the Bradford Mill empty and available through the Attorney Franklin Peens Jones, I was connected to Philadelphia's major fashion and art patrons.  I arranged to lease pruchase the Bradford Mill for $60,000.00 with a lease purchase of $1,000.00 per month with a fixed purchase price for one year.

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i had a Philadelphia corporate attorney that had the  Embassay of Poland as a client, a top accountant, the president of Nan Duskin Fashion Emporium as fund raiser promising an invesrment of $100,000.00 from very wealthy art patrons: Bonny Winterstien and Heny Mc Il'Henny, and John F. Kennedy fresh in the White House, promising a new age for artist/designer corporate opportunuty.

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I also had 

Lawrence Vanderbilt Morris, 

son of 

Alice Vanderbilt 

and

 grandson of 

Corneleus Vanderbilt 

as well as 

William (Bill) Hollenbeck, 

owner of 

Pennsylvania's Anthrocite Coal mines, already investing. 

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Several wealthy personal friends, 

Ann Stokes, of the Moorestown, New Jersey Stokes.

Builder of

 The Children's Hospital 

in Philadelphia, 

Philip Collins, Princeton architect, who designed Williams College Library, 

& 

his sister 

Lucinda Collins

●

Claire Van Vliet,  

Canadian Graphic Printer,

Ann Furness, 

Grand daughter 

of Philadelphia Architect 

Frank Furness, 

Bernard Bless, of Philadelphia's 

Bless Publishing Company,

Investing up to $15,000.00 for initial leases, mill until $100,000.00 was raised in two weeks..

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Additionally when inspecting the Bradford Mill, my Mercedes parked in front, Howard Feist, of Massachusetts visited and offered me a second mill, a wool weaving mill fully staffed and fully equipped as a vertical woolen mill for exactly the same lease/purchase agreement for 

The Bennington Weavers Mill.?

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The brick building is the dye house, the small center building the offices, the large wing to the right was the huge Weaving shed ground floor and Dressing, Carding, and Mule Spinning on second floor.

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I leased it and on 1 October 1963 moved into Hill House, renaming it 

Buckthorne Hall

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I had $40,000.00 accounts receivable from silk prints for Burke Amey, 

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Everything was set up in perfect order waiting for an additional $100,000.00 investment from Philadelphia.

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Disaster

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Two untimely events happened.

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On 22 November 1963

John Fitzpatrick Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

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Milton Snidman, 

President of Nan Duskin 

died suddenly of cardiac arrest a few days after the death of JFK.

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This financial fund raising plan ended with his death, ending the 

Tzaims Luksus 

Corporation

in

 Vermont

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 The new president of Nan Duskin, former head buyer, Sarah Mansfield, wouldn't support Tzaims in Vermont, insisting he find a mill back in Philadelphia.

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On the evening of the news of the end of funding Tzaims and Miriam had invited David and Gloria Gil, owners of 

Bennington Potters 

for 

dinner.

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David was thrilled Tzaims had come to Bennington claiming his textile mill would boost the economy of both Bennington and the State of Vermont.

.●

Unfortunated Tzaims had to tell David Gil that his plan failed financially explaining how these two deaths effected his staying in Vermont and telling David he was leaving Bennington at the end of November.

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David Gil was shocked but quickly said:

 "Wait at least another month.  I know people here that might be interested in backing you."

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That same week Gil brought 

John G. McCullough, 

Witney Dickey, 

president of 

National Bank of North Bennington,

 Hamilton Shields, 

Ferdinand Meyer 

of 

Meyers" Rum in Jamaica 

and himself making 5 investors, that again asked Tzaims to wait another two weeks giving them time to consider investing.

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These delays were costing Tzaims 

$2,000 for rent plus payroll each week costing several thousands of dollars with everything halted.  He kept the mill workers weaving wool rugs from left over fiber stock.

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Finally after running ouf of cash on hand the 5 met at Franklin P, Jone office to discuss terms.

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Not such good ones for Tzaims but perfect for the 5 investors.

They wouldn't include the initial investors claiming Tzaims had to share his non par stock with them once he received it aftwe breaking even.  

The original investors ended up hating the Bennington investors.  

Tzaims couldn't share non-par stock since he didn't have any nor did he actually have any percentage of his company.  The Bennington investors owned 100% for $5,000.00.

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Since John G. McCullough owned the Bank in North Bennington, it would guarantee weekly payroll and supplies as needed.

They each would invest $1,000.00 to set up a corporation costing $5,000.00.  

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No budget would be offered.

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Tzaims was offered a weekly salaey, as summed up from his monthlt bills, rent for Buckthorne Hall @ $200.00 A month, Car monthly payment of $150.00 for Mercedes, plus utilities clearing $150.00 a week and Miriam offered $110.00 A week, who would cover food, entertainment and miscelneous needs.  

Tzaims would get so much for gasoline to drive round trip to NYC to sell fabrics with a small amount for dining and staying with Lawrence Vanderbilt Morris on Beekman Place, that he had the key, or in cheap hotels over night.

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Tzaims would get 49% of non par value stock if and when the company broke even, with 1% controlled by investors from his 50%.

 They would hold 100 % of par value stock plus 100% non par value stock until some future success.  

The 5 would sign IOUs for the bank but not puut in any cash.  

Tzaims wouldn't sign IOUs but this was left as a gentleman's agreement with out it being signed by them.  

They took over the woolen mill lease but wouldn't keep the Bradford Mill for silk printing.  

There wasn't any print space in the woolen mill at that time. Tzaims would turn over his $40,000.00 accounts receivable to them.

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Everything Tzaims earned outside the company was the property of the investors.

This crippled anything Tzaims could to to earn more than his weekly salary. for his personal use.

They then left and would be in touch in another two weeks for Tzaims to agree.

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After they left and Tzaims and Franklin stared at one another 

blankly in shock.

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No way was this going to work with out a budget and investment in cash.

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Finally Franklin said.  If you agree to this then you will have to jump in with all four feet and hope it works.  

Tzaims had to make it work and knew he could.  What else could he do?

It all depended on the 5 investors realizing what was involved in this high fashion ebterprise, but of course they knew nothing and in fact felt embarrassed investing since doing so effected their practical credibility to the Bennington Community, which gave them a disgrace investing in a high fashion lucury goods company, but of course their image was a fake stance they claimed they represented, and couldn't care less about the community, since they took the principles of political gain.

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For Tzaims, he was happy keeping the mill employees paid but no one would get any raise from minimum wage, and Tzaims felt they needed one.  

He then agreed, signed with the investing dictators and met with the workers to tell them he was proposing a profit sharing agreement with them and therefore boosting their moral support to do their best under the circumstances, until break even when he could have full control.  

Ham Shields attended and didn't like This propksal Tzaims made to the employees but remained silent.

●

David Gil and his Pottery was going bankrupt and couldn't afford to pitch in his $1,000.00 investment, so McCullough paid it for him.

●

Witney Dickey was treasurer and Gil was co-#igner on all checks together with Tzaims so without Gil signing no checks were valid.

¤

David Gil knew nothing of fabric manufacturing or anything of high fashion but took an upper hand often stalling, delaying payment for needed supplies.  This often delayed delivery causing cancellations.  He became a stupid arrogant dictator.

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Witney Dickey with drew claiming being Treasurer conflicted with him being president of the bank so the directors made David Gil treasurer.

creating and making the situation worse.

●

Ferdinand Meyer removed himself when he felt his position made him appear as a Nazi sympathiser from rumours Gil was Jewish and believed he couldn't tolerating having a Jew as treasurer.

●

John McCullought brought in his unfashionable wife, Jane Fiske making her hononary Chair person.  Sbe, in high fashion was though a cow, like a bull in a China Shop

●.

Tzaims kept things going smoothly working all hours into the night.

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A print collection had to be made so Tzaims located a space in a weaving room not being used and had a few non working looms removed but kept for spare parts.  He had a 15 foot, 5 yard printing sample table made to print 60 inch wide silk and created his first own printed silks also making the printing screens by hand.

The first silks printed were Sarmi's tropical jungle prints 

●

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and then the 

Geoffry Beene 

Art Nouveau panel silks

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The prints went viral bringing 2 thousand yards of fabric sales but the board refused to build production tables to produce it.  They said if the sales were for 4 thousand yards they would consider it.

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2 thousand yards were for samples and everyone on Seventh Avenue in high fashion made their final committment so Tzaims orderd his factory workers to clear the entire unused weaving shed of old looms, build a 20 foot section connecting a storage shed and creating 2 tables to print 60 yard lengths for printing production tables costing only $10,000.00 complete.

Hamilton Shields came one day seeing the construction.  He said:

"I see you went over the board of directors and built the production room."  

That was it, but he smiled and was silently and secretely in approval.

●

When finished, dust free, all painted pristine white,  the board took credit claiming it was the finest production printing plant in Vermont.

●

C'est mignifique et  

c'est parfait!

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One day David Gil visited a few months later telling Tzaims that the board wanted hin to sign bank notes, claiming he wasn't obligated to pay but as a gesture of good will.  Unless he agreed to sign, the payroll for employees would not be forthcoming.  That was the first gentleman's agreement they broke with Tzaims.

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One problem, the tables had to be leveled and smooth for printing but the board wouldn't add $1,200.00 to level them so the printing ink pooled and ruined 2,000 yards of printed silk, that Ben Shaw returned to be replaced in two weeks, so the board released the money and the tables were leveled and produced perfectly printed silks.

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Tzaims knew what signing meant and how they could use and abuse him with it but he signed to keep the employees paid and the mill operating.

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When the one year lease/purchase for the woolen mill, that Tzaims signed, andbthe directors took over, ended but the directors wouldn't renew the lease but operated the company on a monthly basis.

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Howard Feist came to Tzaims claiming it was John Williams III advising the McCulloughs not to renew even though Howard Feist offered to install a new boiler steam system that could operate at low steam since the old one only operated at full steam twenty four hours and could not be shut off at night saving crude oil.

●

The oil bill was astronomical even at $0.03 a gallon but the investors had controlmof selling oil to themselves and charging others so shutting down they lost sales in oil.

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Howard Shields explained to Tzaims that a lease renewal wasn't signed because the directors were not certain the company would be o0erating in a month.

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Not very encouraging considering how Tzaims was so successful curbingbthe New Your High Fashion Industry.

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By 1965 Tzaims had conquered and both 

The Coty Award

&

The Neiman Marcus Award

in

High Fashion 

Becoming famous

World Wide!

●

This was bigger than Bennington.

This was bigger than Vermont.

This was bigger than

New Yotk City.

bigger than

The United States of America!

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This was now 

Paris, London, Rome, Tokyo, Madrid, Zurich, Como, Italy. Lyon, France, Switzerland, Germany.

●

Japan 

was the first to be inspired ny 

Tzaims Luksus.

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 So now what was the wealthy directors in Bennington going to do since this was now bigger than them!

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First they insured Tzaims for $100,000.00 making him more valuable to them dead than alive making themselves beneficiaries in case he was killed or died.

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Then they forced him to sign notes up to $250,000.00

payable on demand.

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Yet giving him only $150,00 a week and claiming any private designing he was paid went to them.

●

They they began bringing political and outside businessmen advising 

them about taking control of the company 

from 

Tzaims.

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Neiman Marcus wanted him to design Clothes from his own fabrics for them

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The board often met without Tzaims, as acting president, making their decisions illegal acoording to Vermont corporate law.

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They wanted no part in creating a high fashion clothing company claiming they would loan him $10,000.00 and no more to create a clothing collection to increase fabric production but he was

 to find his own backers in NYC for it.

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NOW.

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How else would the board screw up and mess up the production, ruining both, now the fabric mill and the sensationally successful haute couture collection!

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Well they found a way.

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They took over the clothing operation claiming any investors would have to be approved by them.

NO NEW INVESTORS CAME FORWARD SO THEY CREATED A NEW CORPORATION WITH NO OWNERSHIP BY TZAIMS.

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In December 1966 they  wanted to reorganize thevtwo corporation bringing in their own head managers and breaking alk previous agreements for Tzaims to receive his 50%.

Unless he agreed they demanded payment from him for signed notes payable on demand.

He had only one choice.

●

Tzaims and Miriam 

withdrew

giving over both companies but being free of all corporate debt and then not allowing them to trade under his name or logo, and to change the name of their new companies.

They agreed but prevented him from discussing his reason for withdrawing giving them in charge of press releases.

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No Vernont lawyer would represent him, but Franklin stayed loyal to him until Franklin's death in 1975.

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The state of confusion and lack of legal advice left Tzaims bewildered about his options.  He wanted no further association with these financial backers.

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It didn't occurr to him that he could through Howard Feist renew the lease purchase of the mill for 5 years at $1,000.00 a month, replace the boiler and tripple the rent charging 3

$3,000.00 a year on a monthly basis for the McCollough"# new operation and therby after six months having gone bankrupt, Tzaims could recover the wollen and printing mill and continue without these miscreant financial clowns, yes but not very funnt clowns.

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The board was selling stock to their friends including

Douglass and Lilly Auchencloss

owner of 

●

Time and Life Magazines 

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who staged a fashion show of Tzaims in their private Park Avenue apartment selling stock to a wealthy invited guest list.

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The Wall Street Journal got wind of this and published an artical pointing out the Auchencloss illegal selling stock from their private residence.  Tzaims wasvforced into this but as President was also accused by the WSJ.

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What a mess people people were!

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At the time Jane Fiske McCullough was practjcing adultery with 

Ben Thompson 

of 

Design Research 

in Boston and on 57th Street, NYC, an architect that designed the men's dormatory at Williams College and the new 

Bennington, Vermont

Mount Anthony High School.

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She was also supporting and investing in

Marimekko, 

A competitor of Tzaims Luksus, but was a low end fashion operation selling to lower fashion manufacturers dealing in mass production.

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a cotton prining opeation in 

Stockholm, Sweden 

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and providing secret high fashion print desjgns that Tzaims was creating, thereby Jane was a traitor to Tzains.

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When Tzaims withdrew, she divorced John and Married Ben Thompson, moving to Boston.

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Now jump to 2025

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NOW FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE TO TAKE THIS ALL IN COVERING ONLY THREE YEARS OF CORPORATE HELL WITH THE DEVIL FINANCIAL INVESTORS!

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Now let us go back to 

John Fitzpatrick Kennedy

 in his inaugural address to Americans

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So before the USA murdered 

John F. Kennedy 

he said:

"Think not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country."

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Well, I thought a lot about this.  What did he actually mean in saying that?  Well, it could mean if you did something for your country then in someway you would be rewarded.  But that wasn't true since the country wouldn't do anything for you even if you did everything for it.

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So, it was clear, 

examining every possibility, 

that there was nothing one could do for your country, 

since they took everything away from you by creating laws that made it legal for them to over tax you so the country could rob you legally.

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Over taxation, on everything, most on property you owned. If you can't pay, the country makes it easier for you not to pay by adding interest, fines for being late and penalties, then says:

"It will make delinquent tax payer's difficulty in paying one year's back taxes easier by them have a tax sale and selling your property for taxes due."

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Great help that is.  

Now you can be homeless and bankrupt.  So this comes to mean 

"What you can do for your country."  

Nothing, but your country certainly can destroy your life whether you do or don't

One option, only after the other option,

 of 

dropping dead!"

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That is what my country did for me, 

well it, 

the USA, 

was my country, 

but it made me homeless there.

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So I left it for a better country.

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Is this funny?  

In a way yes.  

Just as funny as tragedy is funny.

😇

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What they robbed me of.

Some background of these characters of Bennington

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FFranklin Peens Jones, attorney, came from New Rochelle, New York, and formed a partner with Elizabeth Dollard of Sutton Place, New Youk City, in Bennington.

They ha three clerks from Williams College Law,

Harvey Carter

John Williams III

R. Marshall Wittin

●

Franklin was an Estate and Corporate Lawyer, 

but similar to a British Solicitor, a gentleman's legal advisor and a King's Counsel

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John Griffiths McCullough was the grandson of the Governor of Vermont and builder of the Holland railway tubes in New york City

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Jane Fiske McCoullough was John's second wife, heiress of the Fiske Tire Company.

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Ferdinand Meyer 

was owner of Meyers's Rum in Kingston, Jamaica, BWI

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Witney Dicky 

was heir to the Pierpont Morgan and Witney zmuseum of Art Family.

●

Hamilton (Ham) Shields

was the grandson of 

Captain Hamilton LeRoy Shields

of Richmond, Virginia,

Hero of American & Mexican War

&

Aid 

to

 General Wool

of 

Newport, Rhode Island

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David Gil 

renamed from Gilmore

was a Jewish potter

from

Brooklyn, New York

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Howard Fiest

of

Welfleet, Massachusetts

Owner of 

The Bennington Weavers Mill

●

Well

The 

Bennington, Vermont 

Operation and life there is finally over.

●

Tzaims Luksus

proved his point

leaving the town and village fighting over his property.

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Tzaims has moved on, beyond their trival minds of Vermont and Bennington, that could never grasp what this Chicago born decendent of the Royal Famjly of Great Britain

&

The Imperial family of Russia

offered them.

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CARPE DIEM

😇

C'EST LA VIE!

😇

ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS

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AMOR VINCIT OMNIA

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ARS GRATIS ARTIS

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Polymachaeroplagades

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VIRTUE SIBI IPSI 

PRAEMIUM EST

●

OMNIA ADHUC CREANDA SUNT

●

QUOD FINIS VIDITUR INITIUM EST

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ITA SIT

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SERAPHAEL

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LCFR

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LKIV

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AUM

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