Fabricators take a dim view of extending credit to customers... sort of. On the surface, it sure seems like a slam-dunk decision for a marine fabrication shop to not extend credit. “Let’s see, when you write off thousands and thousands of dollars—maybe even $100,000 over the 30-year life of the company—you start to think about [...]

Indoor work, alternative income streams help fabricators get through the off-season. Boating in many locations is seasonal, but the need for income is constant. How do marine fabricators handle that conundrum? A variety of strategies offer ways that canvas shops can use to get ready for seasonal slow-downs in business. ‘The Great Shrink-wrap Race’ “We [...]

How did you get started? My mother put me in every art class imaginable. In high school I learned correspondence pattern design on my own, which led to a degree in fashion design. I worked for a costume designer and also did custom clothing sewing jobs from home. After six months on a 30-foot live-aboard [...]

On this lazy, hazy summer day in August, it seems like a good time to “clear off the spike,” as we used to say in the newspaper biz, and check back on a couple of items we mentioned in the not-too-distant past. In May, Alayna Wool de Tecu, daughter of longtime Marine Fabricators Association member [...]

Faith Roberts' Banner Canvas is a virtual museum of the history of industrial canvas sewing. By Jim Tarbox A first-time visitor to Faith Roberts’ Banner Canvas shop in Ham Lake, Minn. (just north of Minneapolis), might be excused for taking an initial look around and being amazed at the array of equipment and supplies. But [...]

Shop operators should consider these items: Automated external defibrillator Proper workspace ventilation for paints, solvents and other chemicals Respiratory protection Eye protection Gloves Operating fire extinguishers Shop evacuation plan and procedures Find more on shop safety with "Better safe than sorry" in our July 2015 issue of Marine Fabricator. More shop-safety information is available online [...]

OSHA standard 1910.151 (b) mandates an employer have “adequate first aid supplies...readily available,” although specific first-aid supplies are not listed. OSHA does not have a minimum requirement, but references ANSI Z308.1-2003 Minimum Requirements for Workplace First Aid Kits. According to the ANSI document, a basic workplace first-aid kit should include*: At least one absorbent compress, [...]

Contact: Brad Schmeets Location: Colorado Springs, Colo. Year established: 2011 Number of employees: 2 Shop size: 3,200 sq. ft. How did your shop get started? This is my third shop. I learned to sew in the Air Force, and opened my first shop in 1980 in Alaska, doing furniture. Then someone asked me to do [...]

By William J. Lynott If you’re like many busy business owners, you don’t pay much attention to income taxes until the filing deadline looms. “That can be a costly mistake,” says public accountant Jay Blumenthal of Abington, Pa. “One of the most effective ways to pare your business as well as personal income taxes to [...]

Faith Roberts of Banner Canvas shares tips for keeping sewing machines in tip-top shape. Whenever one of Faith Roberts’ many machines needs fixing, who does she call? Usually herself. “Oftentimes, I can make the repairs myself,” she says. “We’ve just learned to do it over the years.” That’s not to say that occasionally she doesn’t [...]