The next steps

June 1, 2014  |  Features, Management, Marine, Perspective

Carol Racine takes on one challenge after another as she and her husband build a business and make plans for a sewing school. “I know my limitations—but I’m always challenging those limits,” says Carol Racine, president of Racine Design in Jacksonville, Fla. “I don’t let the fact tha…
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Carnegie becomes Certified B Corporation

June 1, 2014  |  Industry News

Carnegie, Rockville Centre, N.Y., has passed a rigorous third party assessment performed by the nonprofit organization B Lab to become the first textile and wall covering company to become a Certified B Corporation. The designation means the company meets rigorous standards of social and environment…
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Stealth shelters colonize “legally ambiguous” space

June 1, 2014  |  Projects

The graffiti-laden wall of a train station in Marseilles, France, may be the next frontier in both fabric architecture and homelessness. Architect Stéphane Malka, of Malka Architecture in Paris, installed 23 shelter pods vertically on the three-story wall, creating a barnacle-like colony called A…
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Milco Industries joins with Fablok Mills

June 1, 2014  |  Industry News

Milco Industries of Bloomsburg, Pa., a leading supplier of knitted fabrics, is combining with Fablock Mills, a Murray Hill, N.J. supplier of raschel and tricot fabrics to a variety of markets in North America. The new relationship will enable Milco to offer a more diversified product line targeted t…
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New rules for repair

June 1, 2014  |  Management

The IRS has issued final regulations: Is it a deductible repair or a capital expenditure? By Mark E. Battersby Since the inception of the Internal Revenue Code, the IRS and specialty fabric professionals have often been at odds over whether expenditures made are currently deductible as repair costs,…
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Inventive aesthetic, lightweight chair

June 1, 2014  |  Projects

Marcel Wanders, a prolific product and interior designer headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has developed more than 1,700 products or projects for premium brands such as Alessi, Bisazza, KLM, Flos, Swarovski and Puma, among others. Wanders challenged fellow designers—and himself&mdas…
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Glen Raven, Sunbury celebrate 20-year partnership

June 1, 2014  |  Industry News

Two decades ago, Glen Raven Custom Fabrics, Glen Raven, N.C., was looking to expand its upholstery fabrics business. The company looked to Sunbury Textile Mills of Sunbury, Pa., for its access to decorative jobber markets. Today, the partnership, which combined the performance heritage of the Sunbre…
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Outlook: Guarded optimism

June 1, 2014  |  Industry News

IFAI’s 2014 Outlook Conference speakers review current economic and industry trends. By Mary Hennessy When members of the United States Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) and the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI), both divisions of the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI), gather…
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“Tanked” on wheels: it’s a wrap

June 1, 2014  |  Projects

Each year, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) aftermarket auto parts trade show brings together as many as 60,000 vendors and buyers to make connections and do business. Toyota wanted an attention-grabber for this year’s show, and partnered with Identity Brand (a Las Vegas graph…
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Bloomer Plastics expands capacity

June 1, 2014  |  Industry News

Bloomer Plastics, producer of custom-engineered cast embossed films for the industrial, medical and packaging markets, has completed a multi-million dollar capacity expansion program that will help the company meet the demand for its polyolefin-based products. Based in Bloomer, Wis., the company als…
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