Barry Friedman - Ralph Lauren's Blanket Dealer

Once a comedy writer, Barry Friedman is one of the those collectors turned dealers stories that we love to hear about. What’s more fascinating, is that he’s really the only person dealing strictly in one category, which is antique Indian trade and camp blankets. This is one of those things where you have definitely seen them in passing, but you may not have known exactly what you were looking at. One of the original makers, Pendleton, has even recreated some of them to this day. Barry has found a healthy balance between collecting these for himself and making it his business. In fact, he's Ralph Lauren’s go-to when it comes to supplying these for his personal ranch in Colorado as well as his Double RL stores around the world. If you’ve ever had the chance to go into a Double RL store and seen these blankets, well, that’s Barry’s doing. Barry also was contacted recently to supply all the blankets for a huge Hollywood movie starring some of the biggest names in the industry. He’s truly an expert in this stuff, so much so that he’s a consultant for Pendleton, whose the only surviving manufacturer for these products. He knows more about this stuff than you would think is even possible. Here it is, this is Barry Friedman, for Collectors Gene Radio.

Barry's Website - https://barryfriedmanblankets.com/

Barry's Books - https://barryfriedmanblankets.com/book-chasing-rainbows/