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A wall displaying nearly 30 years of industry awards marks the entrance to Mike’s Marine Custom Canvas in Virginia Beach, Va.—a testament to the shop’s history of quality and craftsmanship.
For Dan Johnson—who succeeded his father, Mike, as owner two years ago—these awards are a quiet source of pride. They represent his family’s long-standing commitment to the craft and the privilege of working alongside each other to create products customers value. And they serve as a daily reminder to not take anything for granted.
“To carry forward a second-generation mom-and-pop shop is surreal. I’m raising my kids in the house I grew up in, where my dad first started this business and I discovered the joy of working with my hands,” Johnson reflects. “Not everybody gets to do what they love as a career for even a day, and we do it here every day. We’re truly blessed.”
Johnson is also the first to admit healthy conflict has contributed to the company’s success. “We even have a sign in the garage that says, ‘Family-owned business: Shut up. No, you shut up.’ It’s all in good fun, of course, because my dad and I can both be stubborn, but we recognize that combining our different ideas over the years helped make the company better.”
Built with heart, honed by hand
Mike learned to sew in the U.S. Marine Corps as a parachute inspector and rigger. In 1996, he channeled the rigorous work ethic from that experience into starting Mike’s Marine Custom Canvas. Johnson was 12 years old at the time, and he and his brother, Brian, helped their father before and after school, making roll-up straps, setting grommets and doing any odd job that needed to be done. Johnson’s mother, Kathy, managed the company finances.
“My friends would occasionally help out as well, but they all came to the same conclusion: ‘Your dad is a hard worker—and I don’t want to work that hard,’” Johnson recalls. For him, it felt different. Johnson attended the local community college to study business administration and graphic design but continued to be drawn to hands-on work. “The satisfaction that comes from being able to see something in your head and then make it with your hands never gets old,” he says.
After working for a sign shop specializing in airbrushing, lettering and vinyl graphics, Johnson went back to the family business in 2006. Brian left a few years later to pursue a business career. “He thrived at school, which is where he found his passion, and we’re really proud of him,” Johnson says.
When Kathy passed away in 2017, Johnson’s wife, Michaux, left her job at a local nonprofit to take over the payroll and finances. She also digitized more than 20 years of paper company records. “We still use paperwork for customer orders, but Michaux went through years of notebooks and files to streamline all of our finances and customer records. I’d be lost without her.”
People-centered decision-making
Johnson’s focus is ensuring employee and customer happiness. In addition to Michaux, Mike’s Marine Custom Canvas employs two sewers, who have both been with the company for 20 years, and a friend (and bandmate) of Johnson’s who joined as a fabricator in the fall of 2024. Although Mike is technically retired, he routinely steps in when extra hands are needed.
In appreciation of his team, Johnson offers flexible working hours and generous time off. He also incorporates team-building exercises and fun giveaways like scratch tickets on an occasional Friday.
When it comes to customers, Johnson invests time in building and maintaining personal connections—a value instilled by his father—while word-of-mouth testimonials go far to promote the business. “[Customers] spread the word for us: ‘You might have a long wait and it won’t be cheap, but it’ll be the best you can get.’”
During the summer, Mike’s Marine Custom Canvas prioritizes shades and windows, while winter sees the team tackling full boat covers and large restaurant patios. Johnson takes before-and-after photos of every project to share with customers who have similar needs. He also created a time-lapse video for an example project that demonstrates the cover installation process.
“These are easy to text to customers, and because communication is key for customer satisfaction, I’m constantly talking or texting with them,” he says.
Depending on a customer’s needs, sometimes these conversations end with Johnson directing them elsewhere, such as neighbors Signature CanvasMakers, where Johnson often sends sailboat projects, and Charlton’s Marine Canvas. “We’re all friends, not competitors,” Johnson says. “We look out for each other, and when we know someone else can do a better job or has more capacity, we send business their way, knowing it will be reciprocated.”
Innovation starts with collaboration
Johnson’s perspective on peers extends beyond Chesapeake Bay. He thrives at industry events, where he can collaborate with professionals across different sectors.
“It’s like a family gathering every time,” Johnson says. “So many ideas have come through the MFA [Marine Fabricators Association conference] workshops alone, and I’ve really enjoyed connecting with the younger generation—they’re great with new technology and bring fresh ideas.”
As someone who doesn’t consider himself tech-savvy, Johnson hasn’t yet implemented newer technologies such as CAD software, but he is open to it if the right person with technical expertise comes along. Until then, he’s enjoying drawing inspiration from others’ approaches to add a twist to his traditional methods. For example, the quick-fit bow shade kit from Mike’s Marine Custom Canvas, which can be deployed without tools and quickly broken down for easy storage, was inspired by the portable SunFly™ Shade solution. “Being able to have a comfortable shade solution on the boat with no tools makes all the difference,” Johnson says.
“There’s still a lot out there to learn and try. It’s important for our industry to keep coming together and generating new ideas,” he says. “If you’re not informed enough to stay on the wave, you’re going to get wiped out. And it’s a fun ride to be on.”
Holly Eamon is a business writer and editor based in Minneapolis, Minn.
Project Snapshot: A zip above
An idea sparked during a conversation between Dan Johnson, owner of Mike’s Marine Custom Canvas, and an industry colleague at a Marine Fabricators Conference has paid dividends. It not only addressed one of his customer’s requests but also quickly became a highly sought-after solution.
The owner of a new 27-foot Cobia Center Console, featuring a glass windshield and a black powder-coated T-top, wanted an enclosure that would provide maximum comfort and protection from the weather as well as easy access to the bow.
Johnson and his team created a sleek look using black track on top of the enclosure and white track on the fiberglass, installing a cane-shaped coil zipper in the wings, allowing them to fold flat against the console. “We call it a candy-cane zipper. It’s a secondary zipper flap that runs from the floor to the ceiling and up and around to the front of the wing,” Johnson says. “The customer can literally use one finger to zip it—it doesn’t get much easier than that.” The rest of the enclosure rolls up to the hardtop with straps.
As with most of the shop’s projects, the team used Sunbrella® technical fabric, Strataglass® clear vinyl, YKK zippers and Costa Track.
SIDEBAR: Q&A
What surprised you most after assuming ownership of the business?
I didn’t realize how many things I would be thinking about—all the time. As an employee, I could finish a job, go home and eat dinner and go to sleep. Now I spend my nights thinking about what everyone needs to do tomorrow and the day after that, how to solve a challenge for one job and meet a deadline for another—and then the next thing I know, it’s 7 a.m.
Getting pricing right is what keeps me up most of all, especially as material costs continue to rise. I don’t feel good about passing that cost on to customers, but with overhead and payroll due, my hands are tied. We have standard cost guidelines for most projects, but if I’m over budget on one and already gave the customer a total, I need to honor that. And if a project comes in under budget, it’s important for us to be fair and give the customer a discount. I often joke that I have to “pay the cost to be the boss,” but as hard as it can be, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.