Textile Insight

TEXTILE TALK | EMILY WALZER ou know how couples that have been together for many years start to dress alike and even sound alike? And how dog owners often share qualities – either in looks or personality – with their pets? You can almost always differentiate between a bulldog owner and someone who prefers to spend her company with a toy poodle, for example. Perhaps the same can be said of a person and their occupation – it has occurred to me lately that I am beginning to take on the traits of the textile industry! Recently I retired my Lexus. A 1998 ES 300 beauty queen that was originally my Mom's car, it has been in my possession from the 12,000-mile mark until the odometer rolled over 257,839 miles last November. Driving "Lexi Girl" still felt like gliding along the smoothest surface, but I knew it was time for an update; when it rained, every icon on the dashboard flashed wildly, among many other mechanical and aesthetic issues. Reluctantly I went car shopping. While I don't share a history with my new Honda, it has some spiffy features that make life better behind the wheel. I find that I'm now planning road trips and volunteering to drive to places I may not have ventured with the Lexus. Accepting change and trying a new model has proved positive. Next, I laid my flip phone aside last month and got myself a honey of an iPhone. My ancient flip phone earned me cred with the hipster crowd for its vintage appeal, yet trying to keep pace with social media was nearly impossible. And while I valued the fact that owning a flip phone curtailed any tech addiction, the "idiotic device" as my daughter referred to my flip phone, wasn't allowing me to do my job as well as I needed and wanted. Now texting, tweeting and taking great photos is a cinch. I've discovered a roster of great podcasts and stay up to the minute on news. Being nimble and responsive to what's going on in my professional life, I am far more productive. Most recently I've become adept at using voice activation on my computer and have become much more open-minded to current on-trend clothing styles like capes and bell sleeves, and loungewear as streetwear as I recover from surgery for a badly broken wrist and have a very bulky cast. The point: Adapting to unforeseen circumstances can be painful, but necessary. Keeping pace with emerging technologies, welcoming change to advance productivity and enhance relevancy and striving for a well balanced approach are traits that define the textile business in 2019. Stories on the following pages explore these and other issues. I like to think when reading about what it takes to be in textile manufacturing these days you may see a little of yourself reflected in the industry's quest to stay relevant – just as I do these days. l Emily Mirror Images Adapting to unforeseen circumstances can be painful, but necessary. Adapting to unforeseen circumstances can be painful, but necessary. Y 4 • Textile Insight ~ March/April 2019 textileinsight.com INNOVATING GLOBALLY. CONSERVING LOCALLY. As a US-based company, Concept III is focused on promoting the needs of the American outdoor industry. While we look globally to source and engineer new textile innovations, we also look locally to protect the land we love. That's why we're proud partners of The Conservation Alliance. www.conceptiii.com CIII_TI_MA19_ad.pdf 1 3/14/19 5:39 PM

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