The Textile Nerd Podcast

Logistics is the lifeblood of textiles. As with so many corners of the industry we love, the journey leading professionals to choose logistics is not linear. Lori and Dan will introduce you to TVF Global Trade and Logistics Manager Laura Martin – who once worked on a season of The Real World – to talk about challenges and opportunities she and the textile universe face.

Which methods come to mind when joining fabric pieces? Sewing? Adhesives? How about fabric WELDING? Miller Weldmaster is a global fabric welding powerhouse based in rural Ohio that has been on the forefront of welding technology for decades. Lori and Dan will explore the depths and future of this process with Jason Damis, North American sales manager at Miller Weldmaster.

At the intersection of textile nerdery, industry-tested information, and accessible learning lies a free tool we're proud to be part of: the TVF Resource Center. On this edition of The Textile Nerd Podcast, Lori and Dan talk about how the Resource Center was born, how Lori helped build it, and how it provides a solid, easy-to-digest foundation for learning more about fabric in all forms.

Timothy Mitchell has a gift. The Practical Printer, as he's known, is renowned for making complex printing processes and terminology more easy to understand. On this edition of The Textile Nerd Podcast, Lori and Dan will discuss the skill and learning abilities necessary to bring clarity to printing.

More than four decades working with textiles coupled with even more time adventuring on trails, skies, tracks, and slopes helps Robert Hinsch understand high-performance fabrics on a deeper level than almost anyone. Lori and Dan will comprehensively examine the durable and adversity-tested characteristics built into the fabrics relied upon by the fierce, fit, and fearless.

In a world full of influential fashion figures, be more like Zoë Hong. That's one impression Lori and Dan came away with during this wide-ranging discussion with one of YouTube's most engaging fashion educators and innovators. Zoë Hong has dedicated her career to all facets of fashion, instructing, and learning, and she'll share her journey, wit, and wisdom.

What is a gray back fabric in the print media world? The answer lies in the intersection between printability and sustainability, and the result is a European-borne innovation. Lori and Dan sit down with Georg+Otto Friedrich Digital Printing Business Unit Director Hendrik Igler to discuss the market demands and the development story of these fabrics that are crisply-printable and recyclable after their first life.

The pantheon of memorable holiday commercials is extensive, and one car company's ad campaign still stands out year-after-year: Lexus bows. But what's the story behind the elegant accoutrement? Turns out, an innovative print services provider in Los Angeles has been bringing the bows to life for years. Lori and Dan will take you behind the scenes with A3 Visual Director of Operations Mario Soto.

In a companion to our "Why Do Trade Shows Matter?" episode, we welcome Erica Roudabush and Blake Theademan to Podcast Row of Advanced Textiles Expo 2025 to talk about their impressions based on their varying years of attendence at the industrial fabrics industry's flagship show. Blake and Erica are colleagues of Lori and Dan, and they'll also relay their textile industry origin stories.

What better place to answer the question "why do trade shows matter" than the floor of one of the most well-known textile trade shows around? Lori and Dan talk with Robert Hinsch from podcast row at Advanced Textiles Expo 2025 in Indianapolis. Robert is an esteemed colleague and vice president of business development at TVF with more than 40 years of industry experience and he weighs in on the evolution of attending and showcasing fabrics at tradeshows.

Sometimes a job or project doesn't quite go as we drew it up, and we escape to tell the tale. Fashion professor and influencer Zoe Hong (of ZoeHong.com fame) and two veterans of the TVF Print Media Sales Team, Danny Jimenez and Leif Kristensen, join Lori and Dan on the Textile Nerd Podcast to discuss their fabric horror stories. Join in the conversation and let us know about your own hair-raising tales.

Some 5 million tons of medical fabric waste is created globally every year. That number sounds daunting, but brilliant minds in health care and textiles are focusing every day on solutions. Lori and Dan will welcome back Dr. Holly Morris to the Textile Nerd Podcast, a surgeon, educator, and medical textile waste researcher who will discuss the helpers, the hinderers, and the hope to curb this growing issue.

Some people have a knack for building industry connections, and in textiles, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone working harder to bring the community together more than Devin Steele. On this edition of the Textile Nerd Podcast, Lori and Dan talk with Devin, whose eTextileCommunications.com publication is billed as "The Voice of the U.S. Textile Industry."

Fabric is all around us in both the physical sense and in pop culture and the entertainment we consume. This edition of the Textile Nerd Podcast will go off the beaten path and cover a few of Lori and Dan's favorite moments in TV and movies (Seinfeld, anyone?) where fabric is the focus. Did we miss any of your favorites?

Tradeshow season is whipping into a frenzy, and we're in the middle of all the action. On this edition of the Textile Nerd Podcast, Lori and Dan will talk with two stars of the TVF Print Media Sales Team, Danny Jimenez and Leif Kristensen, about what they're looking forward to on the show floors and what's hot among the printshops and manufacturers making booths sparkle. Join us for a live broadcast of the podcast from the show floor of the Advanced Textiles Association Expo 2025 in Indianapolis.