Award of Excellence | Watkins Custom Sewing Inc. | Wanchese, N.C. This project won a 2011 MFA Award of Excellence in the complete interior upholstery category. It called for fabric-covered walls and headliner throughout a newly constructed 56-foot sportfishing yacht. Project data Designer: Lorna Polatty Fabricators: Davis Pierce, Jason Blackwell Project manager: Lorna Polatty Installers: [...]

Outstanding Achievement Award | Nautilux Custom Canvas LLC | Hazlet, N.J. This project won a 2011 MFA Outstanding Achievement Award in the complete interior upholstery category. Full pilot house cockpit was redone on this 40-foot Hinkley picnic boat. Project data Designer: Darren Arthur, MFC Fabricator: Darren Arthur, MFC Project manager: Darren Arthur, MFC Installer: Darren [...]

Award of Excellence | CYA Canvas | Helena, Mont. This project won a 2011 MFA Award of Excellence in the miscellaneous category. The dogsled bag was designed and fabricated for use in wilderness distance dogsled racing. The bag must carry a specified amount of food, water, supplies and survival gear for the musher and dogs. [...]

Outstanding Achievement Award | The Nautical Needle | Holland, Mich. This project won a 2011 MFA Outstanding Achievement Award in the miscellaneous category. It involved a gazebo that has been in the making for five years, and this was the year for completion. The gazebo has air and heat, a fireplace, sink, stove, marble counter [...]

Outstanding Achievement Award | Signature CanvasMakers | Hampton, Va. This project won a 2011 MFA Outstanding Achievement Award in the miscellaneous category. It called for a full enclosure for a high-end, street-legal H2 Hummer golf cart. This golf cart is one of only six currently in use in the United States. Project data Designer: Chandler [...]

A 13-foot-long Hood bimini installed on a Trawler in Marblehead, Mass. Bimini top: Start to finish At Hood Canvas, we start the process of fabricating our “Flat Liner” biminis by setting up the frame with stanchion bars at each end. Then we run a strap from the aft bow to the forward bow, [...]

New foam is good insurance that the upholstery looks its best and the customer is comfortable. The first rule in selling a product or service is to listen to the customer’s wants and needs. Then try to figure out a way to satisfy those wants and needs. This seemed to be a much [...]

By Naseem Mauddi Developing and executing a well-planned marketing strategy for your fabrication and upholstery shop can help increase profits and propel it to new levels of success. With so many proven methods available, including fliers, commercials, sponsorships and special promotions, the possibilities are endless. However, none of these marketing tools will make a difference [...]

After Project: All canvas eventually wears, and my customer badly needed a mooring cover for the spring season. We decided on Top Notch fabric to replace the existing cover, which had stretched over the years. The two-piece design simplifies installation and offers coverage to the bow forward of the windshield and the cockpit. [...]

Use rain gutters as storage for ends of tables and next to sewing machines. Problem Small tools and marking pens are often hard to find and can get misplaced around the shop or under projects on the work table. Solution Build a simple storage compartment with lengths of vinyl gutter and end caps for holding [...]