• Managing difficult clients

    Published On: May 1, 2021Categories: Features

    Marine fabricators discuss their best forms of defense By Michelle Miron Most businesses have encountered these people at least once: impossible-to-please customers who make life miserable for everyone who has to work with them. Maybe they are disrespectful to you and your employees. Maybe they demand price breaks where none are due. Or perhaps they [...]

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  • 2021 Premier Product Showcase

    Published On: May 1, 2021Categories: Features

    High-quality products to help you create durable, attractive and successful projects. For this feature, we asked our contributors to send us information about their high-performing products. The product information was submitted by the participating manufacturers and suppliers by the established deadline. The products are organized into three categories: Fabric, Film, & Foam; Equipment, Tools & [...]

  • Does co-entrepreneurship lead to more divorce?

    Published On: April 1, 2021Categories: Features, Industry News

    By Michelle Miron   Are divorce rates higher among couples that co-own a business?   Consider the 24/7 togetherness, the disagreements over business decisions, the juggling of work and family, and the worries over the bottom line. How could that not translate into marital strife?   Chandler and Charlene Clark, co-owners of Signature CanvasMakers [...]

  • 2021 MFA Fabrication Excellence Awards

    Published On: March 1, 2021Categories: Features, MFA Excellence Awards

    Sponsored by the Marine Fabricators Association (MFA), the Fabrication Excellence Awards contest is designed to recognize excellence in marine fabrication. The entries are judged by a panel of certified marine professionals. Awards of Excellence and Outstanding Achievement Awards are given in each category. The MFA recognizes two Awards of Distinction, chosen from the Award of [...]

  • Husband and wife teams

    Published On: March 1, 2021Categories: Features

    Charlene Clark says she “took a leap of faith” and left her job in the hospitality industry to help Chandler Clark run Signature CanvasMakers. “We didn’t realize back then that working together and having a common focus to build a successful business would ultimately bring us closer as a couple,” says Chandler. A Juggling Act [...]

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  • Finishing Touches

    Published On: January 1, 2021Categories: Features

    Finished seam options such as piping and topstitching increase durability and add decorative details as seen in this aft double seat fabricated by Terri Madden, Sand Sea & Air Interiors. Photo: Sand Sea & Air Interiors Inc. Materials and techniques for marine trimmings that improve form and function.  by Sigrid Tornquist It all matters. Fabric. [...]

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  • Company values that increase a company’s value

    Published On: September 1, 2020Categories: Features

    Your shop can be loaded with employees having outstanding skills, but without a supportive, positive environment, low morale and turmoil can thwart all efforts to succeed.  by Pamela Mills-Senn Pre-pandemic, SewLong Custom Covers in Salt Lake City, Utah, focused on interior and exterior marine textiles and boat covers. But when the pandemic hit and the [...]

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  • Shade Solution Evolution

    Published On: September 1, 2020Categories: Features

    Design tips for removable shade structures that bring value to clients and profit to fabricators. by Sigrid Tornquist Boat enthusiasts have always sought shade solutions. It’s a matter of survival and comfort. And it’s also a matter of aesthetics. It’s been 30 years since Mike Erickson, CEO and owner of Canvas Designers® Inc. in Riviera [...]

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  • Imagining new ways to create shade

    Published On: August 31, 2020Categories: Exterior, Features, Industry News, Shop Techniques

    Whitney Carman chose WeatherMAX® 3D for this Viking 80’s 15-by-15-foot temporary shade structure. Panels were individually cut into triangles to create a symmetrical design aesthetic. Photo: Even Keel Canvas LLC. Whitney Carman relies on lateral thinking and relationship building to create innovative shade solutions. By Sigrid Tornquist “I think one of the reasons my projects [...]

  • Digital determination

    Published On: July 1, 2020Categories: Features

    Adding automation can prove challenging, with costs to consider, processes to change and nervous employees to reckon with. Still, fabricators who have taken the leapsay there’s no other way to go.  By Pamela Mills-Senn When Darren Arthur, owner of Nautilux Custom Canvas LLC in Hazlet, N.J., purchased a single-fly Aeronaut cutter eight years ago—his first [...]

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