May 2013

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    Larry Schneider's Milwaukee-based Homestyle Custom Upholstery shop, which began in his parents basement, now features 1,000 square feet of office space alone. Steve Jobs started Apple in his parents’ garage. Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Mattel and Microsoft also began in garages. Dell and Facebook began in dorm rooms. And Virgin Group’s humble beginnings trace [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    Sailrite’s unique new SnapRite System Complete Kit snap-fastener system features a set of four dies that work with any standard rivet gun to install button, socket, stud and eyelet snap fastener components with improved ease, speed and precision. The Complete Kit comes with all needed tools (except snap fasteners). The color-coded dies work in pairs [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    Forbid, recently developed by Mira Loma, Calif.-based Enduratex, delivers a topcoat for enduring beauty and performance for vinyl products. Forbid dramatically increases stain resistance, while preserving the integrity of the fabric luster and softness. Although it will be the featured topcoat on many Enduratex lines, Forbid does not replace the Enduratex product Produratex, which increases [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    DuroAir Technologies of Burlington, Ontario, has developed portable air-containment and -filtration technology that fully filters and recycles industrial contaminated indoor air and returns it safely to the indoor air environment. The development has significant environmental and cost-saving implications for several industries including automotive and industrial coatings; clean rooms; swine and poultry barns; as well as [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    Guildford, Conn.-based STA-LOK Terminals, manufacturer of stainless-steel rigging hardware, has introduced new stemball self-fit terminals for terminating yacht shrouds. Using standard stemball cups (ordered separately), the head size of the reusable stemball self-fit terminal can be increased to fit any mast and spreader attachment. Additionally, it can be hand fitted instead of machine swaged and [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    How big is your shop? I work entirely out of my home. The area used in my basement is 400 square feet, taken up mostly by my 6- by 16-foot table and sewing machines. I also have another room in the house with a serger and a portable sewing machine that I can take to [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    The right—and quick—response can salvage your digital reputation. By Rebecca Kennedy Imagine this: You’re surfing the web some morning, and a flurry of negative posts about your business or product line pops up. The criticism could come from a consumer website, a blog, a social-media discussion or from any one of many other web sources. [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    Photo 1 In our first how-to article, we demonstrated Trevor’s method for fabricating cushions from scratch by making new patterns. We discussed how this strategy gives the fabricator total control over the quality of the finished product; however, it is labor intensive and also requires all new materials, which can make it cost-prohibitive [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    At Hood Canvas, as with any marine canvas shop, we like our tops to be tight and wrinkle-free. To accomplish this, certain rules must be followed in order to get consistent results, regardless of fabrication style. Fabric terminology Getting tops to fit correctly with the proper tension requires an even pull of the fabric fore [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2013

    Like all things, marketing products and services have changed over the past decade. A typical marketing campaign of yesteryear for a small business involved direct mail, print ads, radio and billboard advertising, flyers, posters and listings in the Yellow Pages. Today, 98 percent of consumers search online for products, services and businesses. The term Search Engine [...]