Specialty Fabrics Review interviews Chandler Clark, owner of Signature CanvasMakers

Interview by Sigrid Tornquist

How have the increased gas prices affected your business?

If it costs a client too much to take the boat out, they’re not going to do it as often, which means they won’t need as much work done. Gas prices also impact the cost of materials. But because we’ve oriented ourselves to the higher end of the market the impact is reduced somewhat.

Did you ever question your decision to start a business during a recession?

When I had just moved to Hampton, Va., and was working as a contractor, I came across a pile of Marine Fabricator magazines. I read them cover to cover. But in one of them there was a story featuring two shops in the Hampton Roads area where I was about to open my shop. I thought: What have I done? That’s my competition and they’re in a magazine!

Sigrid Tornquist is a freelance author and editor based in St. Paul, Minn. She is also the associate editor of InTents magazine, a publication of the Industrial Fabrics Association International.