Growing your small shop

July 1, 2023  |  Interiors & Upholstery, Projects

Every shop is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for growing your business. Yet you can facilitate positive change at any stage by following some basic principles and taking some simple steps. There are lots of impressive tools and programs available to help your business grow, but ma…
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Choosing the right fabrics

May 1, 2023  |  Interiors & Upholstery, Projects

There are many suppliers of fabrics in the marine industry. Upon researching just one of our suppliers, I discovered more than 4,000 fabrics, spanning 11 application categories, and each fabric was uniquely created for both the marine and other crossover industries. To cover even a portion of them w…
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The wonderful (confusing) world of foam

March 1, 2023  |  Interiors & Upholstery, Projects

The marine industry needs foam, and a lot of it, as do a hundred other industries that provide comfort and support. From exercise equipment to airplanes, cars and furniture in our homes, there is foam available for nearly every use.
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Tricky client design challenges

January 1, 2023  |  Interiors & Upholstery, Projects

For most fabricators, long-term success doesn’t come from the easy jobs, but from the challenging projects. Using two case studies, I’ll present a few design challenges I’ve encountered in the hope that my experiences will help you work more smoothly with clients and shorten your learning curv…
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Tools and tips for better cushions

September 1, 2022  |  Interiors & Upholstery, Projects

At Custom Marine Canvas, we are always looking for ways to improve our work. After 38 years, we’re still finding new ways to do things. In this article, we share some of our favorite tools and tips for improving your cushions.
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Adjusting to a bigger shop

July 1, 2022  |  Interiors & Upholstery, Projects

In 2019, I moved Chicago Marine Canvas into a new 2,500-square-foot space, and by the summer of 2021, customer projects were piling up on top of one another. An additional sewing table had been made under a low storage loft, we were constantly moving projects in the middle of production to complete …
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Ultimate cushion design

May 1, 2022  |  Interiors & Upholstery, Projects

At Interiors by Dawn, the ultimate cushion design—which provides increased drainage and airflow, reduced mold and mildew growth and longevity—is always evolving. This is not for every customer or project; we tailor and customize our cushions to fit each individual project. However, we make sure …
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New marine fabric selection techniques

March 1, 2022  |  Interiors & Upholstery, Projects

We marine fabricators love fabrics. In fact, most of the conversations I have with customers start like this, “We love fabric. We have fabrics in every color under the rainbow. But our fabrics are special because they are marine grade.” And let’s be honest, fabric is the fun part of our job, r…
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