Tensile awnings, by design

March 16, 2015  |  Awnings & Canopies

Designing and fabricating tensile awnings calls for a special skill set. Craig Flanagan, long-time owner of Shade to Order P/L, Gateshead, NSW, Australia, knows a thing or two about producing tensile awnings and canopies. He has some recommendations for those interested in the market. “In a small …
Read More
The value of collaboration

March 1, 2015  |  Awnings & Canopies, Management

Turning today’s students into tomorrow’s engaged and educated industry professionals. While textile students are the future designers and manufacturers for the textile industry, students in areas such as architecture and product and graphic design are our future textile specifiers. Multi-discipl…
Read More
Habit forming

January 1, 2015  |  Awnings & Canopies, Business, Features

The secret to a sideline in cleaning and repair is convincing customers to do it regularly. Cleaning and repair of fabric products is a bit like pie-making: It’s an extremely useful skill, and there’s a sizable market for it, but it’s not everyone’s strong suit. Today’s high-performance fa…
Read More
IFAI Expo 2014 report: Add graphics, add value

November 18, 2014  |  Awnings & Canopies

Part of this year’s Awning Symposium at IFAI Specialty Fabrics Expo, hosted by the Fabric Graphics Association (FGA), was a panel presentation entitled: “Add Graphics: Increase Value and Customize Products.” Discussion focused on how to bring graphics into businesses of all sizes, …
Read More
Kinetic architecture

October 1, 2014  |  Awnings & Canopies, Markets

Retractable fabric systems are poised to transform outdoor spaces. So you thought retractable fabric structures were a late 20th century phenomenon sheltering sports stadia, outdoor shopping malls, and en plein air cafes? Think again. Forms of retractable fabric roof systems date to Roman times. The…
Read More
Preventing rain checks, castled

August 1, 2014  |  Awnings & Canopies

The courtyard of Weitra Castle, tucked into the Austrian-Czech border just north of Vienna, features a three-tiered arcade supported on granite columns, and its Renaissance style makes the courtyard a perfect setting for evening events—as long as it doesn’t rain. SEFAR® Architecture,…
Read More
Living easy

May 1, 2014  |  Awnings & Canopies, Features

Fabric solutions turn the outdoors into practical and pleasureable spaces with all the beauty and comfort of a room indoors. This was the winter that earned bragging rights for much of the U.S. and Canada. So at the first drip of a melting icicle, folks started thumbing through seed catalogs and sea…
Read More
Sharp focus, broad impact

April 1, 2014  |  Awnings & Canopies, Features, Management, Perspective

Hal Lapping tightens his company’s focus to make quality products affordable. We remain focused on our core products, and because we stay focused we offer the best quality products at the most competitive prices,” says Hal Lapping, president of Economy Tent Intl. (an Anchor company), Miami. Fla.…
Read More
Covering cricket in eye-catching style

April 1, 2014  |  Awnings & Canopies, Projects

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), owner of the 200-year-old Lords Cricket Ground in London, England, is the world’s oldest cricket club, arbiter of the laws of cricket and keeper of historical artifacts from the sport’s storied past. Lord Byron swung the bat in the first Harrow-versus-Eton …
Read More
Positively powerful

March 1, 2014  |  Awnings & Canopies, Features, Industry News, Management, Perspective

Kisha Moldovan builds relationships with sincerity and enthusiasm to boost business and advance the industry. “I don’t think about other awning companies as competition or in any way as a negative, because the more people who are spreading the word about awnings, the more we all have an opportun…
Read More