ABOUT
OUR EXPERTISE & DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF FABRICS
BRINGS YOUR IDEAS TO LIFE
At Fabricon we work with and explore one of the most overlooked construction materials available: fabric. It has provided solutions to most of our basic needs since the dawn of antiquity. Fabricon specializes in the construction and use of a myriad of fabric offerings, including but not limited to: consulting, designing, engineering, contracting, construction and/or installation of fabric items and structures.
Our goal is to look for and select the most appropriate fabrics for each project undertaken, choosing from natural or synthetic fibers to provide the desired outcomes. We also integrate fabric with other materials such as; metals, lumber, composites or a combination of elements.
Our palette consists predominantly of; acrylics, cotton, glass, nylon, polyester, vinyl’s, PTFE and HDPE. Though we focus on and use a few choice fabrics, these resources are virtually endless and growing! “Smart Fabrics” are playing an increasingly important role in improving our lives. Structurally engineered fabrics are being developed that can traverse incredible expanses and achieve life spans never before attained.
Whether it be a lifesaving fuse in a collar for tracking bears or a free spanning structure, we look for the correct material to accomplish the job intended. Fabricon is here to help put together your next specialty fabric project!
MARK WELANDER MFC
Fabricon’s founder and principle, Mark Welander has been a part of the fabric revolution for decades. His interest in fabrics as a practical and viable medium began in the early 1970’s when he lived in a tipi while attending the University of Montana in Missoula. He founded Blue Star Tipis in 1975 where he began making various styles of tribal tipis. Many of these have been on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.; the Buffalo Bill Center of the West – Plains Indian Museum in Cody, Wyoming; the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Toronto, Canada and the Little World Museum of Man just outside Inuyama, Japan.
In the following years, as Mark added to his skill set, Blue Star Tipis transitioned into Blue Star Canvas Products. At Blue Star Canvas Products, Mark began to expand his offerings to include the designing and manufacturing horse packing gear and deployable backcountry tents for professional outfitters and the public. He then began awning production, adding the elements of steel and aluminum into his designs. This enabled his work to be shown internationally with an excellent reputation for quality, service and value. Since 1983 Mark has won numerous international achievement awards from the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) now know as the Advanced Textile Association (ATA). These awards are presented annually for outstanding projects in the
world of specialty fabrics. A favorite project of Mark’s was supplying the tents featured in the Oscar award winning film Dances with Wolves in 1990.
In the early 1990’s he sold Blue Star Canvas Products and went on to start Fabricon. Fabricon has since done and continues to do many local and international projects ranging in scale from: commercial and residential awning manufacturing, seen throughout Montana; to deployable and frame supported tensile architectural projects used throughout the world.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Over the years Mark has achieved a number of International Achievement Awards, both at Blue Star and Fabricon. A few of the most current are:
2014 – Award of Excellence for a Freestanding Structure for the Rosebud Tribal Veteran’s Cemetery Committal Shelter, a Frame Supported Tensile Structure located in Mission, South Dakota.
2013 – Outstanding Achievement Award for a Tensile Canopy used as a building entranceway at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska.
2014, Lifetime Certified Master Fabric Craftsman (IFAI)
2012 – 2014, Board of Directors for the Fabric Structures Association – Chair (FSA)
2008 – present, serving on the Board of Directors for the Fabric Structures Association (FSA)
1983, Certified Master Fabric Craftsman by the Industrial Fabric Association International (IFAI)