About Jack

What do you do at Lion Brand?
My title is Senior Vice President. I’m involved in the marketing and sales for the company.

When did you start working for Lion Brand?
March 1, 1983 full time, but I spent my summer vacations from school working for the family business. My father, George Blumenthal, was head of sales for the company from the late 1940s to the late 1980s.

What’s your favorite thing about working for Lion Brand?
Having an idea, then seeing it implemented in a store months later.

What do you do when you are not working?
I collect sports memorabilia and autographs. When traveling, I can spot a professional athlete a mile away; I’ve gotten a lot of my autographs that way. I attend my son’s little league games and I also coach his youth basketball team.

What is your work area like?
My work area is fun! I have a 1954 working Coke machine and a bubble gum machine from the ’50s, and a collection of Norman Rockwell plates of people knitting. I also have a lot of photos, including my father with Henry Kissinger, a picture of me with Muhammad Ali, one of Michael Jordan knitting with Lion Brand yarn, an original 1928 French poster of a girl knitting, and a copy of a LIFE magazine from 1941 featuring a cover story on knitting for the soldiers during WWII. I also have a display of over 40 different types of lions, an assortment of Lion Brand memorabilia, including a collection of Lion Brand color card books used throughout the years.