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Although any project can come with head-scratching moments, some test a fabricator’s moxie more than others. While a difficult job can have no small number of challenges, more complex requests often result in outcomes that can inspire a shop to elevate its artistry.
The following five projects — all recipients of 2025 Advanced Textiles Association International Achievement Awards — illustrate the value and growth that comes with saying “yes” to challenging opportunities.
Unexpected revisions
When the Catch Miami Beach restaurant wanted to cover its large third-floor rooftop dining area, the team reached out to Smart Shade Structures. Located in Miami, Fla., the company is known for its expertise in retractable roof systems, says Caitlin Suarez, sales and marketing manager.
“This was a new restaurant that had not yet opened,” she recalls. “The space was approximately 4,000 square feet. In addition to this, we also had the task of designing our systems in such a way where there would not have to be additional columns that would affect the rest of the restaurant.”
The solution was 15 custom-made retractable systems with Smart Shade’s own independent integrated gutters and motors, a configuration allowing the restaurant to retract some shades while keeping others closed as needed.
“We integrated the systems into openings where there were existing structural beams in the center of the dining area, also wrapping these in a wood finish to keep the look consistent throughout,” Suarez explains. “The units at the perimeter on the east and west sides of the rooftop were installed with columns attached to the wall.”
The Smart Shade team initially planned an aluminum retractable louver system. The city didn’t permit this, so the company created a retractable fabric system instead, selecting a Mehler Texnologies PC211 blackout cream fabric for the 15 rooftop systems. Three sails in front of the rooftop provide additional shade that use Serge Ferrari 502 Proof in Vanilla. To protect diners from wind and rain and enable year-round use, the team created 11 guillotine-style three-panel windows, placing these along the east side perimeter.
Suarez says the company decided on this window style because of the greater flexibility the design afforded — additional protection in the face of inclement weather and better airflow when conditions are calmer. The ability to adjust the windows as needed was important.
“Because this rooftop is located in a naturally windy area, the windows were a better long-term solution compared to fabric screens,” she explains. “The additional benefit of the window[s] is they provide protection without sacrificing the view.”
Installing the rooftop space took about four weeks; the windows comprised the project’s second phase, which required the company to “field-verify” the windows’ fit when the pergola posts were installed. Windows and pergolas have their own motors and operate independently, Suarez says. Both were completed before the restaurant’s September 2024 opening.
“The biggest change was going from an all-aluminum to a retractable fabric shade,” Suarez says, “which I think turned out even better than the original plan.”
Exacting requirements
Designed to serve as a luxury guest transport tender for a private owner in the British Virgin Islands, the 45-foot Catalyst GT vessel presented Greg Hills, director and owner of New Zealand-based Interiors & Coverings, with several interesting challenges. Among these was creating a sumptuous interior for the long-standing client that delivered a high-end look and feel without compromising functionality and durability.
“While the Catalyst GT platform is built from established molds, each vessel is highly customized, making this effectively a one-off build tailored to the owner’s requirements,” Hills explains. “Given the operating environment, the materials and construction needed to perform reliably under intense UV exposure and constant use while maintaining a premium experience over time.”
Specifications were precise. The modular seating had to incorporate cup holders, provide room for storage underneath and include base squabs, which served as backrests for seats in the lower areas of the tender. There were four helm seats, a forward sunbed seating area, wraparound cockpit seating and saloon dinette seating. Additionally, the owner wanted a beige color scheme throughout, with diamond stitching on the upholstery.
Collaborating with the owner and skipper, Hills created a double-diamond pattern on its twin-needle machine. For the primary upholstery material, he opted for Sunbrella® Horizon®, pairing this with SolarFix® PTFE thread.
Hills describes maintaining consistency across the twin-needle diamond stitching as one of the “key challenges,” due to the multiple adjoining panels and large surfaces. The company addressed this by using 3D scanning and digital templates to accurately capture the vessel’s geometry. This also enabled the team to identify areas that needed refining, such as adjusting knee roll angles and reworking certain seating sections where space was tight. The project took about nine months to complete.
He says his key takeaway from this project was “the value of integrating digital processes early in the design phase, allowing potential challenges to be resolved before fabrication [as well as] improving both efficiency and final quality.”
Achieving the seemingly impossible
New Zealand-based Tasman Canvas’ client had a private outdoor dining area that was spacious enough to accommodate a 15-meter (49-foot) table with a 22-by-5-meter (72-by-16-foot) pergola frame entirely draped in Boston ivy to provide shade. The customer wanted to cover the pergola frame with a waterproof solution without disturbing the foliage. Because Tasman Canvas had fabricated the original structure, the company was the logical choice for this new project, says company director Rowan Boot.
Tasman Canvas fashioned an independent powder-coated steel frame for the membrane, which was constructed with Sattler translucent PVC material at 700 grams per square meter (20.6 ounces per square yard). Hardware included 316 stainless-steel wire and terminal turnbuckles for tensioning the wire terminals, end frames, shackles and more.
“The total area is 110 square meters [1,184 square feet], so consideration was necessary in regard to maximum unsupported areas,” Boot explains, adding the team decided to break the structure into five gables and internal gutters.
This required Tasman Canvas to create custom box gutters that stood on short legs, mounted to the existing greenery-covered crossbeams. The PVC membrane was tensioned between each bay by fabricating taller frames outfitted with internal height adjusters for the gable ridges.
“Initially, the design was one piece, with the valleys draining off naturally on each side,” Boot says. “However, we found the membrane tended to raise slightly between the bays along the edge, with a potential to pool water, so we redesigned the valley framework to incorporate a channel drain.
“Each of the five individual bays has independent wire perimeters with stud swage adjustments,” he continues. “Each bay drains into a gutter section. The peak of each bay is tensioned via custom-made threaded legs, which raise the ridge beam.”
Project discussions and planning began in late October 2024, with the installation completed by late December. Crews returned mid-January for a check and re-tensioning.
Untraditional choices
When the owner of a Grady-White boat wanted a complete refresh of the vessel, he turned to Paul Gibson, owner of Coastal Coverings in Queensland, Australia.
The remodel included a complete reworking of 26 lineal meters (85 feet) of seating. This involved removing some of the cushions that affected fit and comfort as well as using Topfab’s marine-grade Tannery vinyl in Provencal. The darker shade was an unusual choice, says Gibson, since white cushions typically are favored for vessels of this age.
The company also incorporated a diamond stitch pattern into the upholstery, using black thread for contrast. Customized embroidery was added to the three helm seats.
Coastal made several prototypes of the diamond stitching to determine what would work for all the different-sized vinyl panels. Choosing the right embroidery size and which panels were going to have this particular stitching were among the challenges the project presented.
Another was ensuring all the upholstery pieces were in their correct fixed position, Gibson adds.
“There were a few panels we had to reposition, mark up alignment and then remove them from the vessel,” he says. “The Grady-Whites have small eyelets on the underside of most of the panels for a secret screw that holds them in place after a Z section of stainless plate they slot over. So finding the screws buried in the foam was at times challenging, as was working upside down.”
Planning began in July 2024 and work wrapped up that December.
Photo + film (left), Interiors & Coverings
Going the distance … literally
Imagine being asked to complete an install on a remote island, roughly a five-hour flight away, with no access to your tools or workshop and under extremely hot conditions. These were among the challenges facing Greg Hills, director and owner of Interiors & Coverings in New Zealand.
Initiated by JP Marine Ltd. — a boat builder the company had previously worked with — Hills was asked to create a 180-square-meter (1,938-square-foot) roof for a high-end Vaka, a traditional Polynesian-style vessel. JP was managing part of the build, which took place in the Cook Islands, on behalf of Air Rarotonga.
“The project included the design and installation of a canopy system over a large steel structure,” Hills explains. “This was the largest canopy structure we have undertaken, which presented challenges in both scale and execution. A key focus was maintaining consistency and control across large spans of material while delivering a clean, refined finish.”
Deciding on a Serge Ferrari Soltis 502 Proof satin vinyl-coated composite fabric for the canopy, the company tensioned it using a lashing system composed of durable polyester cord and stainless-steel eyelets. This strategy allows the canopy to be quickly cut free of the boat in case of a cyclone or other extreme weather conditions.
Because of the location, test fits were impossible. At the same time, there was no room for mistakes. 3D scanning and digital templating technology allowed them to overcome these constraints, says Hills.
“This allowed us to develop precise patterns, improve material efficiency and ensure consistency across the entire canopy,” he explains, adding that the project took around 18 months from concept to install, which occurred in October 2023.
“What stands out is the balance achieved in the final design,” he says. “The canopy has a clean, modern aesthetic while still paying homage to the traditional and unique cultural context of the vessel.”
Pamela Mills-Senn is a Seal Beach, Calif.-based freelance writer.