May 2009

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    There’s potential for illumination and interactivity in metal mesh fabrics, blending electronics, architecture, innovation and economy. By June Bisantz Imagine a future in which surfaces manifest themselves as translucent, receptive membranes, shimmering with light and movement. Our everyday lives will be transformed by walls, ceilings and floors that respond to movement and changes in the [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    Janice Christiansen rebuilds the family business one solution at a time. By Sigrid Tornquist “When you’re faced with a problem, you need to break it down and take one thing at a time—because it’s not the size of the challenge, it’s how you handle it,” says Janice Christiansen, president of J.C. Schultz Enterprises Inc. (Flagsource®) [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    How to get a business loan in today’s tight economy. By William J. Lynott Credit is the oil that lubricates the machinery of business. Whether it’s a loan to buy inventory or supplies, support renovation or expansion, a capital purchase, or just the need for a short-term boost to meet payroll or other operating expenses, [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    Making design trends and economic realities work together. By Gina Wicker It is difficult to focus exclusively on design trends when the economy is the overwhelming trend these days, but the truth is that colors and patterns and economic trends have an impact on each other. With grim economic news and changes in our political [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    For more than 25 years, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has taken the lead in reinterpreting the use of textiles in historic interiors from the 18th century. The symposium, “‘A Very Large Curious & Compleat Assortment’: Textiles for Interiors, 1730–1830,” gathers leading American and English scholars in the field to review the design and composition of [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    Cotton Incorporated, the association of America’s Cotton Producers and Importers, and LIM—The College of Business of Fashion, have joined together to open The Cottonworks Global Fabric Library in two LIM fashion merchandising studios at the college’s building on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Displaying fabrics from more than 350 mills, knitters and converters from [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 Certification gives manufacturers, retailers and consumers confidence that their textile products are safe for human use, ensuring that the products are tested for harmful levels of more than 100 potentially dangerous substances that could adversely affect human health. The certification also provides third-party validation that textiles comply with the Consumer Products Safety [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) recognized the world’s top textile scientists during its 2009 conference at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort, South Carolina, in March. The article “Describing Color Differences,” written by Carol Tomasino Revels, was selected as the best paper published in AATCC Review in 2007. A report on “Capillary [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    Compiled by Juli Case We’re going to be conducting some laundry tests to see how well our product holds up to home washing. What detergent should we use? You’re probably not going to want to buy a detergent from the grocery store, especially since most tests are intended to be both consistent and replicable. According [...]

  • Published On: May 1, 2009

    Compiled by Juli Case I usually do boat upholstery, but have the opportunity to reupholster the seats on two buses. I need help finding the fabric, though. It’s woven velvet with a very colorful pattern. Can you help me find it? Although both are upholstery applications, the materials used in buses and boats have a [...]