Fabric makers depend doubly on oil, for fuel and for raw materials. By Marc Hequet How are you managing in this slalom economy? Staying flexible? Not signing long-term, fixed-price contracts? Scouring your shop for efficiencies? Sourcing globally? Those are top industry pros’ suggestions—that, and holding on for dear life as you zigzag your way through [...]

The new Moss Groove fabric framing system uses a unique, smooth-surface aluminum extrusion system to showcase richly printed fabric graphics with minimal emphasis on the frame itself. Constructed with strong, lightweight anodized aluminum, the system features a unique Solid Lock mitered corner connection that fastens firmly into place with one turn of a torx wrench; [...]

South Carolina’s textile industry is changing but still dynamic, according to three studies released at an industry summit last week. New Carolina (South Carolina’s Council on Competitiveness) held “The Future of Textiles in South Carolina” in Spartanburg recently; it attracted 100 business and economic development leaders from across the state. Industry leaders discussed the future [...]

Building on the success of the first Advanced Textiles conference in June 2008, and the endorsement of the international audience, the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) has announced that a second conference will be held April 2–3, 2009, in Brussels, Belgium. Advanced Textiles ’08 took place in the cultural hub of Berlin, Germany, and gathered a [...]

The future is high-tech if you’re planning to stay ahead of the game. By Jamie Swedberg There’s nothing particularly predator-like about narrow fabrics designers and manufacturers. By and large, they’re helpful folks, always working with their clients to create webbings and ropes with the perfect color, thickness, width and performance characteristics. But they’re still a [...]

As the world shrinks, businesses can capitalize on widening their pool of customers. By Janice Kleinschmidt If we needed proof that we’re in an economic environment where lines on a map lose significance, September and October delivered. Though perhaps first to the trough, the United States held no monopoly on failed financial institutions and crashing [...]

Compiled by Juli Case We’re looking for sources that stock olive drab cotton duck that’s been treated for water and mildew resistance. Can you give us any sources? There’s been a run on olive drab cotton duck recently, although we’re not exactly sure why. We had three different fabricators, all in different parts of the [...]

Compiled by Juli Case A client is requesting a fabric called Silent Gliss Colorama 2. Who supplies it? Silent Gliss is a manufacturer of window and curtain systems; they also hold the trade name on Colorama fabrics. Most likely it is being produced for them on a private label basis, and they may be uninterested [...]

Compiled by Juli Case I’ve been contacted by the owners of a historic mansion who are looking to replace the limit switch on the motor of a very old retractable awning. The original awning was installed sometime between the 1940s and the 1960s; and at 45 inches, the awning is pretty large. I’ve already contacted [...]

Compiled by Juli Case We’ve had an architect specify a Favorini awning system. Where can we get one? Favorini is a retractable awning manufacturer located in Italy. We contacted them and were told that they do not have a distributor in the United States, so if your client truly has his heart set on a [...]