April 1, 2020
The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers. –Sybil F. Stershic Back in my salad days at Lakewood Publications, when I was in my mid-30s I was working with a lot of people in their mid-20s, who liked to ask me …
March 26, 2020
Phifer Incorporated, Tuscaloosa, Ala., has recently added a new shopping portal to promote its GeoBella® line of indoor/outdoor performance fabrics. GeoBella is an eco-friendly material woven from 100 percent recyclable olefin yarns recommended for affordable, designer quality cushions, pillows or outdoor curtains. Swatch samples or cut yardage may be ordered from more than 100 designer …
March 1, 2020
By Galynn Nordstrom Doing some recent reading on entrepreneurship, I came across an article in Forbes magazine, in which the author, Dr. Steven Berglas, gives some tips to budding businesspeople, beginning with: 1. Marry a June Bride (or Be One). He explains that the concept of, or preference for, a “June bride” isn’t that most …
February 1, 2020
January always brings two things forcibly to mind: first, the NFL playoffs, and second, an almost viral need to find lists of reasons to make business or economic predictions for the coming year. (This is the February issue, I know, but it’s January 14 as I write this.) The Minnesota Vikings … washed out of …
January 22, 2020
Seam Seal International, a leading producer of bedding protection products, has introduced a patented, environmentally conscious mattress protector that provides an alternative to PVC vinyl products. Called NexGen™, the innovative new product is now available at major retail stores, with online sales set to launch in spring 2020. Besides providing a full range of hypoallergenic …
January 1, 2020
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were Temperance organizations in nearly every state. In 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol, was ratified and went into effect on Jan. 16, 1920, beginning the era known as Prohibition. Almost immediately after it was ratified, organizations …
December 1, 2019
On Sept. 12, 1912, 14 manufacturers of canvas and awnings from the central part of the U.S. met at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver to form a new trade association: the National Tent & Awning Manufacturers Association. By 1915, membership had grown sufficiently that the group decided to form a central executive office to …
November 1, 2019
As we wrap up our 99th IFAI Expo with the show coverage on page 43 (and the cover story on page 22, and The Greater Good on page 68), I’m getting ready to jump backwards in history through decades of the Review, as I did before IFAI’s 100th anniversary in 2012 and Review’s 100th anniversary …
October 1, 2019
A few weeks ago, many members of IFAI’s board of directors and division managers converged here in Roseville for severals days of meetings and presentations. I always enjoy these visits, as it gives me the opportunity to ask questions about when we’ll have awnings that can communicate, change color on demand, wrap themselves around intruders while …
September 1, 2019
Since IFAI’s editorial department moved back to the third floor a month or two ago, I’ve had a pile of pennies sitting on my work surface, just waiting for a co-worker (or a visitor, or even an intruder) to ask about it, so I could smile modestly and say “It’s to remind me that change …