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…
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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, …
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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.…
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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 …
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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…
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The failsafe questions

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

John Conroy ensures project success by asking the right questions. “We design projects by thinking about how they could fail,” says John Conroy, owner of House of Canvas, Ottawa, Ont., Canada. “By considering all the things that could possibly go wrong, before even starting the project, we min…
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Sew, stop, drop and rock-and-roll

January 1, 2014  |  Awnings & Canopies, Projects

The music builds as Jay-Z, Mötley Crüe, Alice in Chains or OneRepublic open a concert with the backlit band playing behind a Kabuki drape—which suddenly drops to reveal the band in sharp detail. “The Kabuki effect is great,” says Zito, production manager for OneRepublic. …
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