Art House Mark Ham

Whether you’re rooting on your team at the Super Bowl or cheering for your kids at their little league game, team spirit always makes games more fun and interesting. And while we can hoot and holler until we’re hoarse, showing our spirit is much easier than saying it, and foam products are one of the best ways to let your allegiance be known.

A cornerstone of the cheering world is the foam finger. These have come a long way since their original papier mache versions, and it’s difficult to attend a game at any level without seeing the foamy affirmation that your team is number one. These decorative foam accessories are bulk-cut from soft foam blocks and are often used in fundraisers or contests because of their affordability. Today, there are various novelty designs used, many tailored to individual teams. Hammers, talons, claws, and pitchforks are just a few of the newer patterns fans enjoy cheering with.

Cheering all day at the game can become uncomfortable though, whether you’re subjected to hard molded seats or cold metal bleachers. This is where foam steps in once again, to make showing your fandom that much comfier. In stadiums that allow them, cushioning bench pads soften hard seats, relieve pressure, and make it much easier to comfortably sit through a whole game. It cushions, pads and softens, but can also be used to show spirit as well. Cushions come in multitudes of colors so you can keep your team look consistent, and some even feature logos to go further in showing pride for your team. Before you head out to the ballpark, make sure you’re equipped to let your favorite team know that you’re on their side.

When an individual needs reduced noise or improved sound, the first areas that receive acoustic treatment are often the walls. However, in large rooms, open-space offices, and multi-story homes, more can be accomplished if you also address the space above you with acoustical treatment for your ceilings.

Ceilings are often neglected when a space is being treated for sound reduction with acoustical treatment. But in multiple-story structures, sound travels upward and downward just as easily as it moves outward. Ceilings are like noise lids, containing sounds and allowing echoes and reverberation. In large areas, like offices with multiple departments sectioned by dividers or cubicles under a shared ceiling, single departments are subjected to the whole floor’s noise. In an expansive classroom or auditorium, just a few voices can create sound reflections distracting enough to make hearing difficult for others. For these reasons, insulating sound in ceilings is vital for the acoustical treatment of a room. Fortunately, products exist for this very task, with foam mat sound barriers being affordable and fairly easy to implement.

In basements, acoustical drop ceiling tiles are great for clarifying sound and reducing noise sent to the floor above. Drop ceiling tiles are also very beneficial in offices or classrooms for cutting down on sound reflections, resulting in increased productivity and focus. Foam can be also factored into the acoustic construction of rooms. Closed-cell foam material sheets added between floors act as a sound deadening layer that can reduce noise, and some varieties also provide the added benefit of thermal insulation.

If you encounter noise issues and have looked all around for a solution, perhaps the problem isn’t all around you, but rather, above you.

No matter how attentive and protective a parent is, it’s unavoidable that a child will take a tumble at some point in their life. And as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So for parents who realize they can’t hold their child’s hand around the clock, there are things that can be done to help reduce the chances of an accident happening as a child learns to walk or play.

One of the best ways to protect a child is with a foam play mat. Using closed-cell foam, these mats are firm enough to provide a stable and comfortable surface for play and walking, while having enough give and cushion to protect a child in a fall. Floor cover foam is incredibly versatile by nature of its size, made in very thin sheets that can be rolled and stored away when not in use, or implemented in seconds. And with children’s tendencies to make the biggest messes possible with whatever they are eating or playing with, a durable material is necessary. Foam floor mats are just this, as cushion cleaning is a breeze since closed-cell foams are water-resistant and most water-based inks can be washed off with soap and water. Being able to clean and sanitize a play area is invaluable for parents, especially after a child drops an ice cream cone or some juice.

For people in residences dominated by hardwood flooring, foam pads are an excellent way to keep younger children safe against the firm surface, without permanently changing the look of a room. When placed back in storage foam mats leave a room the way it was before. If you’re looking to outfit a child’s play area or trying to prevent bumps and bruises while learning how to walk, a firm and cushioning closed-cell foam floor mat is a versatile, practical product.

Memory foam products becoming more popular for mattresses, and the internet shopping slowly replacing traditional store shopping has led many people to ask how foam products get to where they need to go. Because of the hefty dimensions of large products like mattresses, people may cringe at what they imagine the cost of shipping such a large item may be. Fortunately, foam manufacturers have perfected ways of packaging foam as economically as possible. One style, typically used for bulk orders by major manufacturers, is tightly rolling with heavy machinery. The other method, and the one used more often on individual purchases like mattresses or pillows, is vacuum packing.

Vacuum packing is one of those rare things that is as simple as it sounds. The item to be shipped is attached to a vacuum that sucks air from the sealed package, drastically reducing its size. The reason this works so well is because the majority of foam filling is air. And with all the cells in open-cell foam being interconnected, in a vacuum sealed bag, you can quickly shrink a product down in size.

While it may seem like it would take quite a powerful machine to attain the compression foam needs to economically ship, many companies don’t need a vacuum any more complicated or powerful than a simple shop vacuum. Once the form is reduced by as much as 75 percent, it is sealed, wrapped, packaged, and sent on its way in the most cost-effective way possible.

The uses for protected and secure foam-filled briefcases go far beyond what we’re typically shown in movies. Few people need to keep an easily assembled, silenced pistol in a briefcase for their job as an international secret agent, and not many of us are transporting gems and jewels for a gig as a mining tycoon. Polyethylene foam packaging cases have plenty of real-world applications though, that can apply to people in nearly any walk of life.

A specialized case, packed with custom-cut shipping foam, isolates an item from impact, and prevents its movement within the case, whether alone or sharing the case with other components. One of the most popular uses for foam insert cases is in photography, as costly camera equipment and spare lenses need to be kept safe while getting to where you plan to shoot. The hard shells of these cases do a good job protecting against the elements and external dangers, and the interior foam design stabilizes and absorbs shock.

And while you may not be an agent, you may still be a hunter or a marksman who wants to ensure the safety of your firearms. These cases are made to be locked, keeping their contents secure. Padded security cases are important items in the scientific community as well. Many experiments and tests require on-site measurements and calculations, which requires delicate and expensive instruments having to be transported to the location. Custom shapes carved into the foam will hold every part and component in place, preventing damage and making it easy to get all the necessary data back to the lab.

Even on a smaller scale, students and professionals can use this kind of casing to protect their computers and electronics. For these situations, as well as for the previously mentioned testing equipment, foam inserts are also made in anti-static formulations to help prevent the invisible buildup and damaging transfer of electro-static energy into components.