Fashionable space wear

April 1, 2020  |  Swatches

When Virgin Galactic launches an anticipated test spaceflight this year, the mission specialists on board will be decked out in specially designed space apparel. The world’s first commercial spaceline, developed by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, named the performance apparel company Under A…
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Russia is working to expand exports of tent fabrics

April 1, 2020  |  Industry News

by Eugene Gerden Ivanovoiskozh, one of Russia’s producers of technical fabrics in the Ivanovo region, is working to become a leading player in the domestic market of tent cloth and to start foreign expansion this year, thanks to the commissioning of new production of multilayer tent cloth with pol…
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Mood art at the Microsoft Research Center

April 1, 2020  |  Swatches

An art installation that smiles back Walk into the atrium of Building 99, a Microsoft Research center in Redmond, Wash., and you can’t miss the two-story architectural installation. Depending on your mood, it greets you with different levels of color and light. The structure is named Ada in honor …
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Working the airline runway

April 1, 2020  |  Swatches

Remember Tim Gunn’s advice to Project Runway designers to “Make it work”? That phrase takes on a whole new meaning when designing uniforms for United Airlines personnel who literally work the runway. The airline’s 28,000 technical operations, ramp service and catering operations employees ne…
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Disaster shelter design competition tests engineering students

April 1, 2020  |  Markets

John Brown University’s disaster shelter contest challenges students to develop and demonstrate solutions for emergency scenarios. By Holly Eamon Global economic losses from natural disasters topped $232 billion last year, rounding out a decade that cost the world nearly $3 trillion, according to …
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IFAI Expo: 1940-1949

April 1, 2020  |  Expo News

THIS AWNING INDUSTRY —YOURS AND MINE by R. M. Schofield, Sales Manager, Cotton Goods Division, Glen Raven Cotton Mills, New York About 12 years ago I recall a survey which was conducted along certain sections of the East coast. The survey consisted of picking certain residential areas and asking e…
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Outdoor lifestyles of the rich and famous

April 1, 2020  |  Industry News

Villa Sarbonne, a Bel Air mega mansion, was designed with no detail left unattended. The 25,000-square-foot home boasts nine bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a movie theater, hair salon, spa and even a car elevator that rises seamlessly from underground to deliver the auto of choice for the day.  Builder Ar…
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A happy and productive workforce

April 1, 2020  |  Editorial

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 as…
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Sustainable synthetics

April 1, 2020  |  Advanced Textiles, Markets

Sustainability issues leap to the forefront in creating new synthetic fibers. by Ericka Ford, Ph.D. Philosopher scientist Robert Hooke’s 17th-century belief that plants eaten by the silkworm could spin into a silk alternative was an oversimplification of the biological processes that ultimately al…
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Revitalizing area culture with a cozy NOOK

April 1, 2020  |  Swatches

In the city of Taitung in Taiwan, there is a lot of history around an old train station, abandoned for more than a decade. At one time, it was central to the region’s growth. Recently, city leaders wanted to revitalize the area by creating an inviting cultural space.  They commissioned Portuguese…
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