TEXTILES.ORG
Tips for navigating social media madness
September 28th, 2017
“Post with a purpose,” says Sam Armijos of Fabric Architect LLC. “Understand that you’ll be wasting someone else’s time if you don’t have a purpose for posting.” Armijos presented a campfire session on “Social Media Madness” during IFAI Expo 2017 in New Orleans, La. Armijos shared some tips and tricks to help navigate social media […]
2017 Student Design Challenge Winners: Awnings and Canopies
September 28th, 2017
The Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA), a division of IFAI, announced the winners of the 2017 Awning and Canopy Student Design Challenge at IFAI Expo in New Orleans on Sept. 28. First Place: Gabriel Ramon Galeano Carcamo, from Anhalt University in Germany, won the top prize for his project “Eternal Sailboat,” a retractable shading structure. […]
Understanding ITAR and export controls
September 28th, 2017
IFAI’s Advanced Textiles Conference in New Orleans began Tuesday in New Orleans with presentations organized into four tracks: Medical, Military, Testing and Smart Fabrics. The Military track covered a range of topics from protective materials to the DoD budget. It also addressed a critical topic for any company that exports beyond U.S. borders, or is […]
E-textiles experts field questions at IFAI Expo
September 28th, 2017
A group of trainblazers in the world of e-textiles offered ideas and fielded questions in a casual setting on IFAI’s EXPO show floor yesterday. Many of the audience were experts themselves, so the discussion was, one might say, among colleagues in this segment. Standards for smart textiles was on the minds of many. One audience […]
2017 Student Design Challenge Winners: Advanced Textiles
September 28th, 2017
Advanced Textile Products (ATP) and the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI), both divisions of IFAI, announced the winners of the 2017 Advanced Textiles Student Design Challenge during the IFAI Expo Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 28. This year’s challenge was to use textiles as a major component to design aerospace, medical, military, safety/protective or other wearable […]
Advanced Textiles Division membership growing
September 28th, 2017
The Advanced Textiles Division of the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) held an open meeting Tuesday at IFAI Expo. The division leadership announced that it is the fastest growing division at IFAI and has increased to 219 members – a significant jump in just the last year, said incoming chairman, Amit Kapoor. He credited the […]
2017 International Achievement Award winners announced at IFAI Expo
September 28th, 2017
This year’s winners in IFAI’s global International Achievement Awards (IAA) competition, recognizing design excellence in specialty fabrics applications, were announced on Sept. 28 at the organization’s annual meeting at IFAI Expo 2017 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. For more than 70 years, IAA has acknowledged innovation and excellence in design […]
Keeping employees engaged
September 28th, 2017
According to Barry Adams, President of Peach Tree Awnings in Norcross, Ga., “The reason people separate from their company is because they feel their contribution is not valued and they feel what they do isn’t making a difference.” Adams’ session, “How to Keep Talented Employees Engaged,” presented at IFAI Expo 2017, focused on ways to […]
Ooblecks and smart textiles
September 27th, 2017
What is an “oobleck”—and what does it have to do with smart textiles? According to children’s author Dr. Seuss, an oobleck is a mysterious sticky substance which threatened the kingdom in his 1949 book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. But as smart textile engineer, Connie Huffa of Fabdesigns told her audience at IFAI’s Advanced Textiles Conference […]
Biomimicry inspires medical textiles
September 27th, 2017
With much of the discussion of smart textiles focusing on e-textiles at present, it is good to be reminded that there are innovative developments emerging in non-digital yarns also. MedTextra is a filtration and health-giving yarn that uses a unique moisturizing process to deliver active ingredients to the body based on biomimicry principles. The brainchild […]