Talking Textiles

She's got her Peloton; he's got his mountain bike and for the past 15 years they've been making a marine canvas business together. Hear how a husband-and-wife team embarked on the canvas business and makes a conscious effort at work-life balance. The couple shares on learning from mistakes, incorporating flexibility, expanding to different markets, and networking with the Marine Fabricators Association. Enjoy this episode that offers both entrepreneurial and marital advice!

Today's Talking Textiles panel discussion brings together the great minds involved with the Manufacturing Solutions Center (MSC), a center designed to support and sustain the textile industry. MSC's Jeff Neuville, Tanya Wade and Frank Henderson of Henderson Sewing talk to us about the cooperation, collaboration and partnerships created in the new facility. Learn how MSC is helping manufacturers test the limitations of all different types of textiles along with meeting the standards necessary to bring products to market. Tour MSC while attending the Fabricators Conference April 24-25, 2023. To learn more visit https://www.textiles.org/fabricatorsconference/.

From fashion designer to trend forecaster to opportunity maker, Dr. Andre West does it all. Dr. West speaks to Talking Textiles about his latest venture, the Flex Factory, a rapid prototyping, flexible space for textile manufacturing, housed within the North Carolina State University. Learn how students and entrepreneurs alike are using the innovation and ideation hands-on space to experiment and advance the textile industry. All attendees to the Smart Fabric Summit can tour and experience the new Flex Factory. Join us April 11-12, 2023. Visit smartfabricsummit.com to learn more.

Our inaugural live episode of Talking Textiles is a panel discussion including an all-star cast of past Canadian guests talking about the fabric structures industry. Francophone and Anglophones alike will love the advice on how to get new projects and customers, as well as the quote process and how to respond to different markets. Hear their thoughts on networking versus advertising and developing with the end in mind. Grab a Timbit and double double and settle in for an informative épisode de "Parlants Textiles."

On today's Talking Textiles we get down to the business of ESOPs, the Employee Stock Ownership Program. Attorney Doug Neville sheds light and answers questions from the legal perspective while Dave Bess, who was strategically involved in an ESOP for his company, discusses the change in mind shift and culture that occurred as a result.

Supply chain delays and challenges are one of the top issues facing the textiles industry today. Listen in on this special panel discussion of Talking Textiles, where we'll talk to industry leaders about the causes of these problems, the outlook for the coming year and how companies can best prepare themselves to deal with shortages and longer production times.

It's time to nerd out on material sciences. This episode of Talking Textiles interviews George Sun, founder of Nextiles, a company merging electronics with textiles to measure range of motion, micromovements and more. We learn how George walked a path from creating shoes to conductive fabrics and hear his advice for job seekers to get involved, connect and just show up.

Hear from two textile product business owners, their history, challenges, and involvement with the Advanced Textiles Association and the Demo Area at Expo. Jonathan Sweet interviews Tom Auer, Bearse USA, a third-generation business owner and Bob Rosania, CEO Ehmke Manufacturing, a company that was started by a baseball player. Discover what's happening in the ATA Expo Demo area, get their take on networking, opportunities to learn, and unique ways of attracting employees.

Jamie Gallagher has over 50 years of experience in the fabric engineering business and the relationships to prove it. Working along the way with his 4 brothers, Jamie explains why a bit of healthy family competition can fuel innovation. Born into a family with an already successful textile-based business, the brothers were not content to simply work within that company and instead each struck off in their own directions within the industry, while maintaining cooperation among themselves. Listen to our latest Talking Textiles podcast to learn how cooperation can lead to big wins in business.

About ATA

Dan Walczyk and Glenn Saunders have always enjoyed tinkering and taking things apart. This passion eventually led them to work as engineers and professors in the study of industrial robots, textile automation, fusing and composites. Today, as professors at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, they strive to produce the best engineering students and thus restore the manufacturing businesses globally. Listen in and learn more on our latest episode of Talking Textiles.