Revelry
Sperry Sailcloth
Often Imitated, Never Duplicated
It began with Steve Sperry, a talented sailmaker who started his career during the ’60s working at Hood Sailmakers under the legendary Ted Hood. In the mid-’70s, Steve struck out on his own, starting Sperry Sails in Marion, Mass.
One weekend, he was heading to a party and decided to try his hand at making a party tent. He had everything he needed on hand: sailcloth, sewing machines, grommets, nautical line. He even crafted the wooden support poles at his own personal sawmill, where he also milled the lumber to build his house. For an extra flourish, he sewed in a huge version of the Sperry Sails logo, loaded it into his truck, and was off, not knowing that he was unwittingly starting a revolution in the world of event tents.
Fast-forward to 1996, when Steve’s sons, Tim and Matt Sperry, returned from circumnavigating the globe on a 41-foot sailboat with three other friends. Tim joined his father’s company and established Sperry Tents as a separate rental entity, while Matt stayed on the Sperry Sails side, working on sails, tents, and directing and enhancing the family’s signature fabric designs.
The History
A hand-crafted creation stands apart from the mass-produced crowd with superior quality, detailing, and originality.
And this is why a Sperry Sailcloth Tent is more than just your average rental tent. Each one of our canopies is first designed and manufactured at Sperry Fabric Architecture, located in coastal Massachusetts. While some of the construction techniques involve modern technologies like CAD and a mechanized cloth cutter, most of the work, from sewing to grommet pressing, is still done by hand by local craftsmen. Which is exactly the way we like it.
The Craft
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then we are certainly blushing! There are many imposter “sailcloth tents” in the market but odds are, if it’s not called a Sperry, it’s just a vinyl tent.
While some of the imposters are better than others, none truly capture the magic that a Sperry Tent captures. The genuine sailcloth material is a soft off white, that filters the natural light beautifully during the day, and projects the festive event lighting into the night. The handstitching brings a certain grace to the shape that just can’t be replicated with machine welded plastic.
The wood center poles, and perimeter poles are a labor of love. It would be easier to use metal, like you’ll find in most of the “other” tents, but metal just doesn’t give the same feeling, so we forge ahead with maintaining our beautiful hand-hewn poles. (Don’t worry, for those looking for the type of look that metal brings to the party, check out our Hybrid Frame Tents for YOUR event)
The Difference
