Good gossip

January 1, 2022  |  Markets

What’s the best way to market your small upholstery shop? It comes down to one simple concept, “word of mouth.” It doesn’t matter whether your shop is in Arizona, New Hampshire or New Zealand, the approach doesn’t change—reputation is the most significant factor in growing a successful b…
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Crowdsourcing funds a new modular tent system

December 1, 2021  |  Markets

Take an established business with a solid customer base, add a great idea for product expansion and what do you get? The need for capital. Product development takes cash—even when developing the product from the foundation of a thriving business. For Diamond Brand Gear in Fletcher, N.C., developin…
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Textiles that support energy conservation fill a growing need.

November 1, 2021  |  Advanced Textiles, Markets

Although many people are not aware of it, textile materials are important components of the energy and sustainability equation. Not long ago, the public, generally, knew little about the textile materials in products such as layered fabric face masks. That all changed as the entire world turned to w…
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No one way to break into the military market

November 1, 2021  |  Markets

There is a lot of competition out there—and if your products aren’t solving problems or saving the customer money, it can be very difficult, says Nate Smith, founder of Stratus Support Industries LLC.
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New solutions in solar shade

October 1, 2021  |  Markets

From the earliest tents to contemporary athletic stadiums, textiles have played a central role in offering protection from the elements and drawing energy from the sun. As locations worldwide struggle with record-shattering temperatures, researchers and architects are utilizing textiles in groundbre…
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For the win: Leopard 39 enclosure

September 1, 2021  |  Marine, Markets

This project by Charlton’s Marine Canvas of Yorktown, Va., involved designing, fabricating and installing a full upper and lower enclosure on a Leopard 39 boat to give its owner more living space when the weather is iffy.
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Flexible hybrid electronics and textiles create possibilities for warfighters

September 1, 2021  |  Advanced Textiles, Markets

Flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) technology combines the flexibility and low cost of printed electronics technology with the performance of semiconductor devices to create a new category of electronics. No longer constrained by rigid, bulky and nonconforming printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs)…
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How are industry codes and standards developed?

September 1, 2021  |  Awnings & Canopies, Fabric Structures, Inflatables, Markets, Tents

When tent, awning and fabric structure installers think of codes and standards, they often envision the building and fire departments of local and state jurisdictions that enforce such regulations on their projects. Enforcement is the very end of the process—the result of many years of code develo…
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Marine patterning tech, from beginning to end

August 1, 2021  |  Marine, Markets

For nearly 40 years, Marine Tops Unlimited Inc. has provided custom fabrication for Wisconsin boats. Kyle Van Damme, who runs the company’s operation in Omro, west of Oshkosh, has for most of those years done fabrication the old-fashioned way: designing and measuring by hand, not by computer.
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Industrial inflatable improves worker safety

August 1, 2021  |  Inflatables, Markets

When CS Energy, an Australian energy company based in Queensland, needed to create a safer work environment at a power station, it turned to Giant Inflatables Industrial of Melbourne to design and fabricate an inflatable solution.
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