Oh, the places you’ll go!
July 1st, 2021
For the last year, I’ve been dreaming about the places where I’ll go and the things I’ll do when the pandemic is over. So once I was fully vaccinated, where did I first brave the crowds? The Mall of America. Trust me, this was not on my bucket list—I was there so that my daughter […]
IAAs celebrate 75 years of awarding excellence
June 1st, 2021
What do Tupperware, bikinis and the International Achievement Awards (IAAs) have in common? They are all 75 years old this year. In addition to getting their start in 1946, these innovations seem to signal the dawn of a new era. The Great Depression and a terrible war were over, and a boom was about to […]
Persevering, innovating, and daring mighty things
May 1st, 2021
When NASA’s Perseverance rover was named in 2019—by a seventh grader in a “name the rover” contest—no one could have predicted what the word “perseverance” would mean for us in 2021. We’ve been persevering and flexing and pivoting for more than a year. The rover’s landing on Mars in February felt like a rare moment […]
Scott Sutherland: Ready for anything
April 1st, 2021
In the summer of 2020, Scott Sutherland was elated with record-shattering sales, but he was also in a situation he had never imagined: out of aluminum, out of fabric, out of nearly every component used to make tents. The pandemic roller coaster had sent the event tent industry from a bust to a boom, with […]
Learning to adapt
April 1st, 2021
When the Minnesota State Fair was forced to cancel last summer, food vendors set up trucks all over the Twin Cities to make up for lost income, which my kids quickly took note of. Much begging ensued, and eventually I capitulated to bringing home a deep-fried feast. Let me tell you—Buffalo cheese curds are delish, […]
COVID year 1: What just happened? And where are we headed?
March 1st, 2021
When I think back on the second week of March 2020, I laugh athow naïve I was. Or rather, I would laugh, if it wasn’t all so devastating. Even after major events started cancelling, and my kids’ school shifted to distance learning, and IFAI staff were directed to work from home, I could only imagine […]
But wait, there’s more!
February 1st, 2021
When Specialty Fabrics Review debuted the new look for the print edition in January, I asked you to stay tuned for more changes to Review’s e-newsletter and website. We’re rolling out those enhancements, first with the e-newsletter, so please take the time to open the latest edition to explore a revitalized presentation of the week’s […]
New year, new look for Specialty Fabrics Review
January 1st, 2021
Welcome to the refreshed Specialty Fabrics Review, your source for all the news, trends and technology of the industrial, specialty and advanced textiles industries. Review’s last major redesign happened in 2008, and what a redesign it was—new name, new cover design, new columns. This time around, the changes aren’t quite as extreme. So why did […]
An unprecedented Expo in an unprecedented year
December 1st, 2020
It’s the day after IFAI Virtual Expo 2020 as I write this editorial—and my feet are blister-free. That’s not to say that an in-person Expo wouldn’t have been preferable, but under the circumstances, the industry came together in the only way possible for the conversations, networking and education that are more essential than ever. The […]
The pop-up canvas camper pandemic theory
November 1st, 2020
Following the 2008 economic crash, lipstick was all over the news. According to the “lipstick recession theory,” consumers facing a recession stop making luxury purchases, like jewelry and high-end vehicles, while still allowing for small indulgences, like lipstick. But the theory doesn’t hold up to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Who needs lipstick […]