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. Photo 1. This clever jig clamps to the table edge to help get zipper [...]

Space was no longer a constraint in the new 7,500-square-foot building, but the larger shop presented other challenges. Now spread out across three floors, with the primary sewing area located on the third floor, employee communication challenges were immediately evident. In 2019, I moved Chicago Marine Canvas into a new 2,500-square-foot space, and by the [...]

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 to discuss these options with customers so they understand what’s [...]

Onboard Interiors LLC, located in Marblehead, Mass., has been cultivating its marine fabric library since 1984. Collecting fabrics from large mills and small boutique collections, the company updates its collection each year by going through all its fabric books and logging in each fabric. We marine fabricators love fabrics. In fact, most of the conversations [...]

The unique graphics fabricated by Fabric Tattoo add some decorative zing to the headrests of the custom bow cushions on this project by Mike Charpentier at Paul’s Custom Canvas. Photo: Paul’s Custom Canvas. By Terri Madden and Alayna Wool What do you do when a customer requests something that is outside your realm of experience? [...]

New 1-inch cordless Wood Tension System on a 650 Sea Ray in American Walnut color.Photo Credit: Poseidon Window Treatments Interest in window coverings for marine applications has experienced a rebirth of sorts and more consumers, fabricators and designers are using innovative window treatment designs. When Krisha Plauché, owner of Onboard Interiors in Marblehead, [...]

Aqua-hued fabrics comein many patterns andoffer customers creativeoptions freshen up dated upholstery and other interior fabrications. Most interior fabrication projects occur on fixer-uppers. The vessel might be vintage or it might be less than ten years old. While I always welcome the challenge of doing a better design than the original, there is [...]

Photo 1. The side view of the finished cylinder cushion and matching seating. Creating prototypes for cylinder-style cushions can help solve design challenges. Over the years I have been asked to fabricate several unusual items. I never know if that item will be a one-hit wonder or will become a customer favorite. In [...]

Photo 1: The horseshoe-shaped seating for an aft cockpit required an elaborate checklist to ensure that all the customer’s requests were fulfilled. Marine fabricators are a unique group of craftspeople and business owners. Many of us are familiar with the notion that creative pursuits are right-brain activities, while math and logic are left-brain [...]

Interior sleeping cabins on a vessel have always been my favorite projects. I enjoy researching options and ultimately providing customers with tidy solutions that offer easy accessibility. Cabin spaces and mattresses come in all shapes and sizes. One of my clients claims to sleep 14 people on his 54-foot Bertram with only three interior cabins, [...]