Specialty Fabrics Review June 2020 - 6

BRIEFINGS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Crisis, and hope

PUBLISHED SINCE 1915 BY THE
INDUSTRIAL FABRICS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL

wrote my first editorial for InTents magazine just over
ten years ago. The cover of that issue featured a structure
installed at the Vancouver Winter Olympics by Karl's Event
Rental (now Arena Americas). Also in that issue, the tent
industry was responding to the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti
with temporary structures and labor. And while the country
was pulling out of the Great Recession, the tent and event
industry had yet to realize a recovery.
Today, I'm writing my first editorial for Specialty Fabrics
Review. I'd say that the more things change, the more they
stay the same, but ... there will be no Olympics this year. The
entire specialty fabrics industry is responding to the COVID-19
crisis. And after years of growth, the market outlook for tents
and events-and many other corners of the economy-appears
worse than ever. It's devastating.
I've been measuring this crisis in weeks: The week that live
events started to be cancelled. The week that my coworkers
and I started working from home. The week that layoffs
and furloughs piled up across economic sectors. The week
that I wanted to pull my kids out of school because distance
"learning" was bringing me to my knees. The week that pivot
became the industry buzzword. The week that stories about
new textile innovations and products to fight the coronavirus
flew into IFAI email inboxes and through our social media news
feeds faster than we could keep up. (Several of these stories
are featured in the "Swatches" section of this issue-and if we
missed one, let us know! We want to share your story too.)
In that editorial I wrote 10 years ago, I shared that I'm a
glass-half-full kind of person. I still am! I don't know what's
going to happen in the weeks between the time we send this
issue to the printer and when it lands in your mailbox-or
in the weeks after that. But I do know that this industry will
continue to react with resilience, persistence, innovation and
cooperation. Marine fabricators will make face shields. Linen
suppliers will make hospital gowns. And the tent industry just
might save the day again, by creating temporary spaces that
help us get back to our lives and into our workplaces while
keeping us six feet from one another.
Stay safe and healthy!

Specialty Fabrics Review provides timely and accurate
industry intelligence to the members of the Industrial
Fabrics Association International and the global
specialty fabrics marketplace.

I
Jill C. Lafferty, Senior Editor

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IFAI PRESIDENT/CEO
Steve Schiffman * saschiffman@ifai.com

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES
Amy Collins

EDITORIAL | SpecialtyFabricsReview.com/contact
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Rebecca Post
SENIOR EDITOR Jill C. Lafferty
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Elisa Bernick

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sammi Jones

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Janet Preus
MEDIA AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Michelle Cook
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

James Chan, Maura Keller, Pamela Mills-Senn,
Jeff Moravec, Glenna B. Musante, Bruce Wright, FAIA

DESIGN
CREATIVE MANAGER Cathleen Rose
SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kari Pederson
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Megan Shircel

ADVERTISING | ifai.com/advertise/
INTEGRATED MEDIA SALES

Jean Brown, Brenda Olson, Melissa Reese,
Angie West, Kathy Wollum
SALES COORDINATOR Lisa Batdorf

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
ifai.com/specialty-fabrics-review-magazine-subscription/
CIRCULATION SPECIALIST Jill Poirier

IFAI MEMBERSHIP | ifai.com/membership
EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Elissa Decker, Moss Inc.; Cheryl Gomes, Innovative Textile
Solutions LLC; Clare King, Propel LLC; Jacob Matayev,
Textile Commission; Eddie Nohmura, Taiyo Kogyo Corp.;
Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Texas Tech University; Kathy
Schaefer, Glawe Awning and Tent Co.; Sandy Schumaker,
Roeming Industries; Jacob Schwartz, International Tension
Structures; Jeff Viehmeyer, Alameda Canvas & Coverings

Specialty Fabrics Review is the official publication
of the Industrial Fabrics Association International
and IFAI Expo 2020.

Industrial Fabrics
Association International
1801 County Road B W., Roseville, MN 55113 USA
+1 651 222 2508 | 800 225 4324 | www.ifai.com

Minnesota Media & Publishing Association

© 2020 Industrial Fabrics Association International.
All rights reserved.

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Specialty Fabrics Review June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Specialty Fabrics Review June 2020
