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Outdoor screens protect a home from the elements
January 1st, 1970
By Sigrid Tornquist High-end home owners demand high-end solutions. Michael König and his team from Douglas Auto & Marine Upholstery were called to a stately residence on a hill in Hawke’s Bay to design, manufacture and install outdoor screens to protect the home from the harsh New Zealand elements. “The size of the patio openings—nearly […]
Versatile marine fabrics
January 1st, 1970
By Dara Syrkin Ben Braun, operations manager of Canvas Craft Inc., Rogers, Minn., explains how snap-on covers are now easier to create because of changes in boat building. “Canvas Craft has been building custom boat covers since 1976. In the last three to five years we have noticed a trend related to versatility. With people […]
Stewards of our planet
January 1st, 1970
By Carla Waldemar As the world grows smaller, environmental sustainability and ethical business practices have become a linchpin of many a company’s mission statements—both because it’s the right thing to do and because end users, as well as others along the production channel, are insisting on good practices. “Coats strives to minimize our impact on […]
The lowdown on coatings
January 1st, 1970
By Holly O’Dell In many instances, printed fabrics used in exterior applications require a coating or laminate. Coatings often depend on the type of media and ink used. “If printing with solvent ink systems, a coating is required for the ink to sit on the surface of the coating and give better color,” notes James […]
Design and installation learning curves
January 1st, 1970
By Janice Kleinschmidt Vehicle wrap suppliers often provide free instructional demonstrations at trade shows. In March, Arlon Graphics and Mutoh America sponsored a vehicle wrap center at the Graphics of the Americas trade show in Miami, Fla. Mutoh additionally has partnered with film manufacturer Avery Dennison to offer two-day car wrap classes and certifications. For […]
Specialty Fabrics Review interviews Cindy Boersema, owner of The Nautical Needle
January 1st, 1970
Interview by Sigrid Tornquist  What is one way you create and maintain employee satisfaction? It’s very important to me that our employees feel secure, and a huge part of that is providing health insurance for them. We have an alternative supplement plan in place right now, but are looking into a plan that’s a […]
Designing for the elements
January 1st, 1970
By Sigrid Tornquist To keep out rain and spray from the ocean while keeping the interior of the vessel comfortable is a common request made of marine fabricators like Cindy Boersema—but every vessel is different, requiring a different approach to the design. Owners of “The Midwestern” vessel requested an upper bridge enclosure that eliminates all […]
Rethinking the use of existing materials for space exploration
January 1st, 1970
By Janice Kleinschmidt Jeffery Hall, a staff engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., has been testing fabrics to be used as far as 750+ million miles from Earth: on balloons for exploring Venus and Saturn’s moon, Titan. “Both of those balloons have involved the use of high-strength fabric materials,” he says. “We […]
SuperFabric targets transportation
January 1st, 1970
By Holly O’Dell The mass transit industry has a list of requirements for seat covers, and a high-performance technology called SuperFabric is trying to hit the mark. SuperFabric, based in Oakdale, Minn., starts with a fabric base, such as polyester, nylon or cotton, on top of which millions of tiny, densely populated resin guard plates […]
Finding help, from outside the family
January 1st, 1970
By Jamie Swedberg How do you find good people to work at your company, assuming you haven’t brought them into the world yourself? “The short answer of what we’re using is Craigslist,” admits Chandler Clark, owner of Signature CanvasMakers LLC, Hampton, Va. “Because, I mean, the money required to run an ad is crazy money, […]