TEXTILES.ORG
Catching up to technology
December 11th, 2023
The first motor vehicles hit the road in the 1880s, but according to healinglaw.com, the first laws to regulate them, enacted by Connecticut almost 20 years later in 1901, set speed limits of 12 MPH on city streets and 15 MPH on country roads. That’s it. The sum total of traffic laws for “motors.” I’m […]
Nobody said this would be easy
November 13th, 2023
You might think that after several years of attending the Advanced Textiles Association’s Expo, it would be pretty repetitious, but I can assure you, it’s really not. Since I work in a market area (emerging technologies) that’s always changing (and expanding, I might add), there are always new technologies, new people, new products and new […]
Think small
October 9th, 2023
My dad had a fascination with things that are small: a compass the size of your thumbnail, six doors opening into one tiny hallway in his house—anything that could be made smaller and still be functional delighted him. Maybe that’s why a story I read recently caught my attention, and I had to track it […]
The fun of being a researcher
September 11th, 2023
Scientists are often hesitant to speculate (publicly, at least) about future innovations that could impact our industry when the ability to accomplish that is little more than a fantasy. They are more than willing, however, to share information on known-but-very-new technologies or materials that could offer a better solution to a difficult existing problem. In […]
Everybody is a consumer
August 28th, 2023
Price counts, but it isn’t the only thing. Quality, in the long run, is often more economical, even if it costs more upfront. Can I get what I want when I need to get it? What if something isn’t right? Will the vendor make it right? How long will that take? How will this impact […]
Provocative books
August 14th, 2023
My sister, who is an author, ran across a book that she thought would interest me. That turned out to be quite an understatement. The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel may sound a bit bombastic, but Postrel has done such thorough research, and she lays out her argument with such clarity […]
Timing a great idea
June 26th, 2023
I have a confession to make. My editorial calendar is prepared at least six months before it kicks in, and it sometimes happens that I have a great idea for a feature, but before we hit the month designated for articles covering this great idea, it’s apparent that I’ve already covered it. My explanation for […]
Idea generating
May 22nd, 2023
My son asked me recently how I thought of all the ideas for stories in this publication. He thought it would be hard to keep coming up with something new to say. (After all, I’ve been doing this for quite a few years.) Well Joe, it would, if I had to come up with all the […]
Predictive thoughts
January 23rd, 2023
In the first feature of 2023, addressing “where we’ve been and where we’re going,” our writer Marie O’Mahony pointed to supply chain issues, the increased use of automation and robotics in manufacturing, the growth of 3D printing technologies, and biotechnology advances. For our next feature, I asked the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) board chair Amy […]
Sustainability: too much of a good thing?
December 12th, 2022
For many of us who live in the U.S., the Thanksgiving holiday in November is a reason to bring folks together around the table and eat a ridiculous amount of food. Because we do this so seldom (maybe only on Thanksgiving), we enjoy it. The analogy may be a bit of a stretch, but you […]