Business hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Katie Bradford of Custom Marine Canvas in Noank, Conn. Back in 1990, five years after starting her business, she lost out on a substantial sail-building order because the customer believed she’d be giving up her business to focus on her new marriage.  In another instance, a male customer [...]

Diversification is a familiar concept to business owners—and for good reason. Expanding into market segments outside the core has saved many businesses during economic ups and downs, as well as shifts in market demands. But entering crossover markets that are closely connected to the “bread and butter” of a business comes with its own set [...]

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 [...]

This pre-folder installed on a sewing machine folds the zipper strips used on enclosure curtains. The strips are sewn as they exit the folder, and it gives a uniform part for the side of glass curtains or the edge of fabric curtains where zippers will be sewn. The Boatswain’s Locker in Jacksonville, Fla., was founded [...]

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 [...]

Are you dogged by missteps? Do you perceive your mistakes as creative opportunities or simply as failures? Are the challenges of custom work creating stress in the rest of your life? And finally, where do you as a fabricator find purpose in your life? I can’t speak for everyone, but I discover mine in every [...]