The attacks on 9-11 forever changed how we look at security. The 2008 economic collapse forever changed how we look at finances. And the 2020 pandemic will forever change how we look at hygiene. Amanda Schneider, founder of ThinkLab, the market research division of Interior Design and a SANDOW® brand, told attendees of IFAI Virtual [...]

In a presentation titled, “Amplifying Human Energy to Drive Performance and Recovery,” Hologenix LLC co-founder and CEO Seth Casden described the company’s Celliant® technology and explained how responsive textiles using infrared energy can increase tissue oxygen levels, which can improve athletic performance and recovery, sleep quality and general health and wellness.  All sentient beings emit [...]

During IFAI Virtual Expo 2020’s educational presentation “Shade Sail Design: How to Get It Right,” Timothy Akes, a software expert for MPanel Software Solutions, told participants that design is by far the most important, misunderstood and underestimated aspect of delivering a great and long-lasting shade sail project. “The shade sail shape and how you design [...]

A Trivantage-sponsored education session at IFAI Virtual Expo 2020 called “Making the Right Product Decisions” was filled with detailed information about product choices and installation tips to help fabricators successfully create shade projects in commercial, vertical, shade sail, upholstery and marine applications. The session gave participants an in-depth survey of the company’s shade products and [...]

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) offers lots of attractive benefits: studies have shown that ESOPs improve productivity, increase sales and improve return on assets, plus they offer great tax advantages. But more than any of these attributes, an ESOP offers the owner of a company peace of mind and an enduring legacy. “Many times, [...]

The Advanced Textiles Conference of IFAI’s Virtual Expo 2020 continued Nov. 4 with a detailed presentation by Justine Decaens on “Smart Textiles: From Lab Prototypes to Commercial Products.” Decaens is R&D director with CTT Group, a testing laboratory and R&D facility specialized in technical textiles, headquartered in Quebec, Canada.  Decaens first offered to define “smart [...]

The U.S. textile industry worked “swiftly and impressively” to pivot to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) this spring, leveraging existing manufacturing know-how and equipment and making new investments to shift production, according to Sara Beatty, president of White Haven Trade Advisors. “However, clearly the U.S. would have been in a much better position had we [...]

An afternoon session by Jing Liang, founder and president of Medical PPE Consulting LLC, walked participants through the regulatory process and testing for medical personnel protective equipment (PPE) In her session, “Understanding Testing Requirements of Medical PPE,” she noted the variety of PPE, which include gloves, shoe covers, goggles, gowns and masks. Her discussion centered on [...]

Even bottled water is marketed as “smart” these days, notes Andre Comitre, COO of Artisan Window Fashions, but that claim does not make it true. Similarly, “smart homes” are easy to tout, but the reality of fully-integrated systems is still in the process of being realized. Comitre, an architect by training, presented Oct. 3 at [...]

Wholesale Shade’s Robin DuBroy, director of training programs, and Gregg Burrows, sales manager, presented a session at IFAI Virtual Expo 2020 about shade sail design and installation. Using numerous case studies of various designs and difficulty levels, the speakers discussed each project in terms of client goals, site challenges and an evaluation of results. Shade [...]