Features Archives

Egnew combines business and community

October 1, 2008 | Features, Management, Marketing, Perspective, Tents

J.C. Egnew builds a business where the community and company support each other. By Sigrid Tornquist Success? “It’s about assessing risk. One of the things I spend a lot of time doing is looking for opportunities and assessing risk,” says J.C. Egnew, founder and owner of Outdoor Venture Corp.,…

Digital printing offers diverse opportunities for awning makers

September 1, 2008 | Awnings & Canopies, Business, Features, Graphics

Awning makers use digital printers to adapt to changing industry By Janice Kleinschmidt In the natural world, the strength of a species lies in its diversity. In the business world, the strength of a company lies in its ability to serve customers. Like living organisms, diverse companies adapt to a …

Textiles benefit medical industry

September 1, 2008 | Advanced Textiles, Features

Flexibility, strength and adaptability are bringing textiles to the forefront of patient care, and concerns about safety are inspiring use beyond the hospital By Holly O’Dell Medical textiles present a wide variety of opportunities for manufacturers and applications for end users. As its name …

Skoldeberg values people-driven business

September 1, 2008 | Awnings & Canopies, Features, Management, Perspective

Ben Skoldeberg employs people skills and skilled people to bring solar protection to central Texas. By Sigrid Tornquist “This business is really about people. The rest is just aluminum and fabric,” says Ben Skoldeberg, co-founder and co-owner of Texas Sun & Shade. Well … high-quality, high…

Museums and fine art provide unique graphics application

September 1, 2008 | Features, Graphics

Museums are fast discovering the benefits of fabric use in their facilities. Although these institutions often use fabric for signage or wayfinding, designers are also finding innovative ways to incorporate textiles into their exhibits. The same applies to those who are reproducing works of fine art…

Transitioning to welded seams

September 1, 2008 | Features, Graphics

In recent years, fabric welding has replaced many traditional sewing methods. Not only do welded seams have a better aesthetic appearance than sewn seams, but they also have a longer service life in the field. Currently, it is still more cost effective to sew many applications, but many manufacturer…

Bringing outdoor fabrics indoors for interior design

August 1, 2008 | Awnings & Canopies, Features, Upholstery

Gina Wicker scoffs at the notion that her mother called the place in their house with the sofa the “living” room. “We were never allowed to go in there,” she says. “It was off-limits to the kids.” Today’s living rooms justify the name, thanks to the transition of outdoor fabrics to int…

Modern technology helps small fabricator shops

August 1, 2008 | Business, Features

When you walk the aisles of a trade show, it’s hard not to be dazzled by all the newest high-end equipment. There are systems available with truly remarkable capabilities: high-ply CAD-driven cutters with vacuum compression tables; room-sized fabric welders; vision-guided robotic sewing machines. …

Thompson uses creativity to drive business

August 1, 2008 | Fabric Structures, Features, Management, Perspective

Cynthia Thompson leverages her creative instincts to build a flourishing tension fabric structures business. “Business owners need to be inventive and fast moving and I think we’ve gotten sluggish,” says Cynthia Thompson, founder and owner of Transformit in Gorham, Maine. “I think we’re lo…

Molecular manipulation to change the textile industry

July 1, 2008 | Advanced Textiles, Business, Features

Would you like to have shirts that don’t get dirty? What if the milk that spilled in your minivan never smelled? Wouldn’t it be convenient if the seats in your boat couldn’t mildew? And imagine the value of a surgical mask that actually kills germs, rather than simply preventing them from bein…

Category: Features