The Comforts of Carpet

We are exploring the comforts of carpet through conversations with three industry leaders. Shannon Figaro, designer and owner of Fig Interiors, shares her journey, emphasizing the comfort, nostalgia, and sustainability of modern carpets, as well as future trends like wellness-focused and bold design choices. 

Trey Thames, Vice President of Sales at Stanton Carpet, dives into the innovation and customization driving Stanton’s designs, touching on emerging trends in patterns, colors, and outdoor rugs. Lastly, Jared Coffin, Senior Vice President of Product and Marketing at DH Floors, discusses the growing demand for pet-friendly carpets, custom rugs, and the latest trends in design and technology. Don't miss this insightful episode on the evolving role of carpet in home design!

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Hi.

Welcome back to The ProSource Podcast.

My name is Mollie and on today's episode

we are discussing the comforts of carpet.

We are all familiar with carpet,

but today we are going to dive deep into

why people are still holding onto carpet,

even as the hard surface

categories continue to innovate and grow.

We'll also learn

from one of our trade pros

and a couple of industry experts.

First up will be Shannon Figaro.

She is a designer and trade

pro member from Prosource of Madison.

She has over a decade of experience

and being a designer.

After starting her company,

Figg Interiors.

Then we will invite on Tray Times Vice

President of sales at Stanton

and then to finish up the episode.

Jared Coffin, senior vice

president of product

and marketing at offers, will hop on.

Let's explore the comforts of carpet.

Today we have a special guest on.

We have one of our trade pro members

from ProSource of Madison,

Shannon Figaro.

She is the owner

and principal designer

at Fig Interiors,

an interior design firm

located in Madison, Wisconsin

that specializes in residential

remodeling and new construction.

Thank you so much for coming on today

and sharing

some of your thoughts

and, just talking about carpet with us.

Thank you for having me.

First, I want to ask you,

before we dive into the questions,

I want to ask you

what made you want

to open up your own firm,

and what was that decision like?

What led you to to do that?

Well, my background is,

I started my career

in commercial design, so,

loved that world.

And I still do some commercial

design projects, but

I really, I bought my first home,

and as a personal homeowner,

I just started becoming more interested

in residential design.

So, I moved by use my experience

with the commercial world

to translate

that to the residential world.

And, you know,

the more and more kind of referrals

I started getting word of mouth,

really was how I started.

I decided to open my own firm

to be able to service,

you know, as many individuals

as possible in the residential world.

So that's awesome.

How long has it been going on?

It's been 11 years now.

I and you asked

what the decision was like.

I mean, the decision was was easy

because I really wanted to do it, but

the process was, you know, not easy.

It's.

Yeah, it's it's really challenging

being an entrepreneur.

But I have enjoyed it and,

you know,

loved, loved doing it so much

so that I've been doing it for 11 years

just on my own.

Yeah, I'm

sure like

those first few years

are really hard getting it started up.

But hopefully it's gotten easier

the longer you've been doing it.

And I think working for yourself

is also just very beneficial

in the long run to rescue your own boss.

Yeah, it's really rewarding.

And I mean, to your point,

though, design is very different

each day,

you know, really brings a new challenge,

which is awesome.

You know, it's why I love

I love challenges and

and problem

solving for people

and kind of finding the best fit

for my clients.

So, you know,

there are some consistent things.

Obviously

I have processes that I use, but

each day is different,

which makes it fun and interesting.

This episode is all about carpet,

and with so many homes

across the country,

there's some level of assumption

that there's

at least one room in the house

that has carpet.

Why do you think carpet

such a staple in the home?

Carpet is comfortable.

I mean, that's really

the most important thing about it.

And that's what people ask for.

If they want carpet

beyond the features of,

you know, things

like good sound of absorption

and durability.

So really holding up well in a home,

I think it's comfortable

and that's why people ask for it.

Would you say that,

like in recent years,

it's become

a little bit less

trendy or like

people are moving away from carpet

maybe in the last like ten years

than previously?

Yes.

Because of the introduction of LVP,

LVP competes

with carpet in spaces where, you know,

someone might have allergies.

You know, that's,

carpet holds

the most allergens in the home.

So someone who might be super sensitive

to to things like dust,

or they might have a lot of pets

in the home,

we might go in a different direction

and recommend a different product.

I wouldn't say

people are moving away from carpet,

but there are other products

that take its place.

In some cases,

there's nothing more comfortable

than carpet

like waking up in the morning,

even if it's like a for a rug.

So we just kind of touched it.

How about this a little bit,

but can you think of anything else

that might,

build that association

between carpeting and comfort?

You know,

I came up with the word nostalgia.

It really like.

Yeah,

like like you said that that feeling that

when you are getting out of bed

in the morning

and your feet

hit the soft carpet,

I feel like people

think of their childhood bedroom,

a closet

that they have when their feet

hit the floor in the morning,

or when they,

you know, snuggle up with their dog

in front of a fireplace or the TV.

Sometimes people just

they just want that feeling of carpet.

So it's nostalgia.

It was the word I came up with

for that question.

No, I love that

because it really is nostalgic.

And we were just talking about

how maybe like 20 years ago, carpet was,

much more popular

to see in a home than it is now.

So that goes back to,

yeah, when I was a kid,

I feel like almost

every room in our house,

you know, besides, like the kitchen,

and the bathroom had carpet and now it's

maybe just,

like the bedrooms have carpet,

and then our living room has hardwood.

So, yeah,

it is very nostalgic

to think about how it used to be,

whereas now it's more

maybe not so much popular.

From your experience,

what goes into the carpeting

selection process for homeowners

and how has transfers

helped make that process easier?

Yeah, so definitely

the style of the home comes into play.

I would say that's

the very first thing I would consider

when selecting carpet.

Obviously color.

So color palette

that we're going with

on the interior, is a huge factor.

And then pattern and texture,

you know, carpet

has come a long way

from just plaster cut tile.

So,

seeing the different selections

now that are it's

just fun for me as a designer

to see how people are playing around

more with pet, with pattern and texture,

rather than just having a neutral.

But, Prosource is

is has been a great partner

for me

over the past,

you know, my entire 11 years

being a business owner.

And they have

a great selection of materials

and really a knowledgeable staff.

So I rely a lot on my sales person

to help me kind of see

the new things that are out there.

Sometimes I might not even know

something is new to the market.

So I really rely on them to,

to help me with that process.

Yeah, absolutely.

There's so many options for carpet,

like when I go into the showroom here

in Saint Louis,

sometimes I'll like look at all

the different samples there are from,

any of them.

To be honest,

there are so many different styles

that I'm like,

are people actually buying that?

Because this is so like niche.

It's like a, like a space theme

or there's like a leopard print, print.

But I'm like,

I'm sure somebody out there is,

pushing the boundaries

and being bold with their choosing

of what they want.

Carpet replacement

doesn't always need to be part

of a full room remodel.

How often have you seen that happen,

and why do you think it stands on its own

as a separate project?

So I think,

carpet can be really neutral

and timeless.

So, and because it's so durable,

you know,

it may not

need to be replaced

if we're remodeling the rest of the room.

I've had a lot of clients say, you know,

the carpet is in good shape.

I don't need to replace

that at this time.

And it really can last

longer and work

with a

with a myriad of different

phases of the home and styles.

So if you choose something

more timeless and classic,

that's where when you know,

when you make a little bit

of a bolder choice,

like the leopard print, that might not,

I mean,

not that it wouldn't

survive the test of time,

but it would

probably want to crave replacement

a little sooner.

Yeah, something a little bolder.

But,

yeah, those are the reasons

why it doesn't

always need to be part

of a full room remodel.

What patterns and colors

have you seen thrive in 2024?

Well, you mentioned animal prints,

so that's one I've seen. Yeah.

Which is super fun.

I have,

I have like an antelope behind me on my,

one of my inspiration

boards in my office.

I also have seen

a huge resurgence of plaids,

because I think plaids

are really appealing

to a lot of different

demographic picks and,

you know,

gender neutral, really classic, but also

feels fun. So,

I've seen a lot of plaids

kind of coming out,

and they're really fun and easier

to use without,

you know,

being too far,

too far in one direction or another.

And then also just,

pattern.

So monochromatic neutrals.

So a lot of carpet companies

will have like a cotton

loop combo that is,

you know, the same color,

but it might have a cool pattern

or texture that isn't necessarily color.

Those are really fun to use.

Which ones

have you seen maybe

decline over the last year?

While grays cool color

tones are going away,

they are kind of nostalgic though.

I'm going back to the nostalgic.

I feel like we

we grew up with so many

like neutral colors,

and now I feel like the new generation

is pushing the colors and the textures

and like the leopard print and like you

said, being a little more bold

with color and

and definitely warm neutrals.

Why do you think the style

of mixing textures

and thicker carpets

are trending right now?

I just think

just what we had just

said, like

people are being a little bit

more bold in their design choices.

You know, mixed

mixing textures

is one of my favorite things

to do in a project.

I just think it adds

so much layer and dimension to a space,

even if you're not changing colors.

I love to mix

textures, thicker carpets.

I think thicker carpets are cozy.

Use the word shag loosely, but yeah.

No, I know what you mean.

Now they are more comfortable,

they can feel more cozy

and just kind of be

a little bit more fun.

So that's

probably why they're trending right now.

Have you seen more people lean into,

maybe you're

not having all carpet in a bedroom

or a living room, let's say,

but having hardwood

or laminate or whatever it is

and then have like a big area rug,

instead, that way

they can change it out

a little bit more easily

since we are moving towards

like the more trendy.

Yeah. Of styles. Yeah.

So mainly the clients that I work with,

we'll do hard

surface

some, some kind of a

flooring in their main spaces.

So whether it's hardwood

engineered hardwood or LVP

and we just do a big cozy

area rug over that.

And yeah, I would say,

you know,

that's what my clients do more often

I think about, yeah,

we were going back to the trendiness

of some of these styles,

and that seems like

the more safe way to do that,

because that and,

you know,

a couple of years,

once that trend goes out of style,

they can replace that

a little bit more easily.

It also helps the space

be feel more cohesive.

You know,

when you're

when you're seeing carpet

that is just defined in one,

you know, living room space

and then you switch to hardwood

in a hallway, for example.

It just it just can

the space can feel a little bit,

disconnected sometimes.

What innovative features are homeowners

looking for a new carpeting?

Sustainability is great

because I remember,

don't know if we're allowed

to talk about manufacturers,

but people who use, you

know, the companies

who use, corn byproducts and,

and sugar, you know, those

those things are interesting to clients.

I feel like they love to hear that

that sustainable materials are being used

when they manufacture the carpet.

And then also stain resistance.

That's always a huge one for people,

you know, with carpet,

they want the stain resistant

without the harsh chemicals.

So I think it's a challenge

for carpet companies

to find that happy medium

and then comfort.

I mean, carpet

carpet is more comfortable

than it's ever been.

I feel like it's softer.

It's not that,

like, hard,

you know, kind of nylon

that we've been used to in the past. So.

Yeah. Yeah.

And you mentioned

like, toxins being, in carpets.

I know that's been like

a big topic of discussion

in the last ten years,

just with the general public

being concerned about like what is

and what's in their food

that they're eating,

what's in the detergent

that they're using with their clothes.

So yeah,

I imagine that carpet is also a

discussion to of

I want to make sure

the carpet is made out

of sustainable, products,

and they're not using any harsh chemicals

that will hurt me in the long run.

And whether that be scatter,

you know, inside my body.

So I don't even think about that

until you just just mention that.

That's probably

why it's,

also a trending topic with carpet

and I think, you know, Covid

really brought that to light for everyone

because we

we thought about our interior

Hvac systems in our homes

and how we could make those safer

for our for ourselves,

in our environment.

So I think all of those things

go hand in hand

with the whole conversation

when you're talking about what materials

we're putting into their home,

how can trade professionals

stay on top of the patterns,

colors, and features of what's happening

in carpeting? Visit your local ProSource.

Yeah, that's a great answer.

I do a lot of continuing

ed as a designer.

I feel like I'm always looking to learn

more about what's out there,

and so I do a lot of that on my own.

As an entrepreneur,

I carve out,

you know, a few hours a

month for that for sure.

But I think attending trainings,

new product launches,

and then visiting showrooms often.

So I know showrooms have reps

that come in and introduce new products.

And I think just staying on top of what's

what's current, it's

those are ways

we can stay on top

of all of the new things

that are happening.

And installers,

general contractors,

can collaborate

with designers

like you to learn more about that,

because I know

for those other trade pro categories,

that's not always top of mind, right?

They have a lot of jobs to get to.

And so they're not always

thinking about what's trending.

They're just kind of doing the motions.

Right? Right.

So I think contacting a professional

is the safest way

to make sure you're like staying trendy,

but also, doing everything correctly.

That's what I say.

I mean, we are here to save you time and

and money.

Yeah.

For because we are experts

in these product categories,

you know,

rather than you kind of

spending your wheels

or a homeowner

spinning their wheels,

not sure what they're

what they're looking for,

going to your local,

you know, your trade

professional for sure to,

save you

time and money really on

any remodeling project

or even new construction too.

We talked about this

a little bit already, but,

with sustainability

being a feature for many carpet brands,

how have you found homeowners

embracing AI when selecting carpets?

So they love knowing when it's made

from sustainable materials,

and I feel like

they feel better about it.

Having about having it in their homes

when they're down on the floor

playing with their kids.

Yeah.

Or even just,

you know, any

anything that feels like

it's a little more thoughtful.

And in the process, by the manufacturer

and then by the designer

to deliver

that, that news to them,

like, oh, by the way,

this isn't only soft and beautiful,

but it's also made

from a sustainable material.

I mean,

it makes people really feel better

putting it in their home,

especially like,

I'd say the newer generation coming up.

That is always something

that's top of mind.

And luckily I've seen a lot of,

the brands that are making these carpets.

That's been top of mind for them too,

because they've seen that

that is top of mind for people.

So they're staying on top

of their sustainability efforts.

As a trade professional

who's partners with Prosource,

how do you rely on Prosource

to meet

clients expectations

when it comes to product

quality and variety?

I rely on Prosource

this is an entrepreneur

and I'm a solo entrepreneur.

Their prosource is a partner of mine.

You know,

I rely on them for a lot of information,

you know, being timely in their delivery

and accurate

in what they tell the clients.

Also kind of their logistics

of getting things,

and when they

when they say they're going to arrive,

and then also when the product arrives

that it's free of damage or,

you know, anything like that.

So they're just a very good partner

for me

for kind of all

touch points of the project

from start to finish heading into 2025,

what carpet trends are you predicting

or honestly what like overall home trends

are you thinking

is going to happen in 2025?

Well, there's a theme

I'm hearing over and over again,

which is, you know,

coming to light in all aspects,

which is wellness.

It's just

you know,

incorporating wellness into the home

when we kind of,

you know, again,

not to mention Covid,

but during Covid, people

wanted professional experiences at home.

So they wanted commercial

grade appliances and

spas like steam showers

and really kind of beefed up their,

interiors

for those professional experiences.

And I feel like now,

you know, we're

going out again to do things.

And then when we come

back into our homes,

we want them to be the retreats,

for us to really recharge

our batteries at the end of the day.

And, wellness is a huge factor of that,

just kind of that,

you know, mental, physical

and holistic health,

kind of incorporated

in all aspects of the home.

Those are the trends that I'm noticing

as far as color trends.

So that that would be like the overall,

you know, aspect of the home.

I know

we already talked about

color trends

going a little bit more warm.

People making bolder

color and pattern decisions

just on a whole,

just because, again,

we're getting more adventurous again

after the pandemic.

We're like,

okay, we can

we can really

go a little bit bolder again.

So, just having a little bit more fun

and not not taking everything

so seriously now,

which I think is it's a nice change.

And I still think

even though we are going back out

and doing things outside of our home,

we still have that sitting

in the back of our head.

It's when we go home

we want to enjoy it

and really take in our space.

So I totally agree with you.

See you there with what you just said.

I appreciate you

coming on today, Shannon, and sharing

all of your expertise.

Anything else you want to share

before we have off now?

This has been lovely.

Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Well, thank you so much.

Have a great rest of your day.

Thank you.

You too.

I am welcoming

Trey Thames on to The ProSource Podcast.

He is the Vice President of Sales

over at Stanton Carpet.

Thank you so much for coming on

today, Trey. Sure glad to be here.

And before I do

dive into the questions

that we have here,

we are going to be focusing on carpet,

of course.

How long have you been with Stanton

and how did you get started

in this industry?

So I've been with Stanton now

for just over

five and a half months,

but I've been in the industry

for 31 years.

So I was at Shaw for 25 years,

Mohawk for, six years.

And then just,

just recently at Stanton and the Shaw,

sales training program in 1993.

Oh. That's awesome. So quite a while.

You know, the ins and outs

of the industry,

what made you,

when you were getting out of college?

What made you want to go in this path?

Well, I was

I was somewhat familiar with it.

My dad was in the industry.

So I was familiar with,

somewhat familiar with the

industry, but honestly,

Shaw offered me a job at the time,

so, I knew the industry,

and I was very impressed

with the Shaw trading program.

And those two things, led me into it.

Absolutely. Yeah, I know how that is.

When you're getting out of college,

sometimes it's as simple as

where can I get a job?

And then it kind of

just takes off from there, right?

Yeah. For sure.

There was a sense of urgency to,

start making money.

So it worked out well.

Exactly.

So, yeah,

we are talking about

the comforts of carpet today.

And, having you on representing Stanton

as perfect for this episode

as someone who is in the carpet industry,

what do you think makes carpet

so comforting in your words?

Well,

I think first and foremost,

just the feel, I mean, soft,

and that certainly helps.

So the, the tactile nature of it,

it's warm,

it helps with sound, and it's beautiful.

Especially, the Stanton products.

So it adds not just

warmth and softness to the home,

but also beauty,

and a design aspect in the home.

So I think all those things

add up to, to comfort.

Absolutely. Yeah.

You talked about the style

of Stanton Carpets,

and I know

whenever I walk

into the press or showroom

in Saint Louis,

there's always so many options

with Stanton.

And there's options

from like neutral colors

that are a little bit more comfortable,

to view.

But then there's also some of those,

like luxury type of looks and maybe looks

that are a little bit

more niche to someone.

So there's definitely

a wide variety of those options there.

How does Stanton continue

to elevate that level of comfort?

As you know, years

go on as technology evolves.

What are some ways that,

Stanton is always improving?

I think the biggest thing is we're a

we are a product driven company,

and focus on style,

design, and beauty and not just,

a functional thing that goes,

you know, that covers a floor,

but but really focused on the style

and design and quality of it

and doing so at a value.

So,

those are things that we're doing

every single day,

and experimenting with,

with new looks, partnering

with our,

our, our manufacturing partners,

and really trying to innovate

and stay in front of,

style and design

and continue to, to make,

you know, carpet

as a decorative aspect in the home.

And again, not just,

you know, a functional,

thing that you cover, a cover,

you know, wood or plywood up with

and you talked a little bit

about the style again.

How does that

balance luxury

and creativity so seamlessly?

Well, I it's,

we have a great design team

that have been doing it for a long time.

And we've got great partners

that we work with, but,

but really, it starts with our team.

And, we've got a diverse team.

We have people in Europe,

we have, people in Long Island,

and we have people in, in Calhoun. So.

But anyway, that's, it starts there.

I mean, they're

they're really talented at what they do.

We design are patterns.

Obviously, we make,

lots of trips overseas

to work with our partners,

and also our domestic partners as well.

So, all those things add up to,

you know, to making the products.

Beautiful.

Absolutely.

And just diving a little bit

into that design, sector of the company.

How do you guys determine

which areas of the world you want to,

I guess, recruit designers for your team?

That's a good question.

I mean, we have

we have a designer overseas

that does all of our patterns.

So part of it is just expertise.

And what they're familiar with with,

the machines.

But then we also,

you know, have a lot of stuff

in India with handloom, goods.

So we really have partners

all over the world, and,

we have a, you know, team in, in Calhoun

that works a lot

with our domestic manufacturing.

And so it's,

and then the team up in Long Island,

I think touches it all, to an extent.

So, pretty broad,

base of expertise

across the organization.

That's awesome.

So what do you think inspires the passion

within the carpeting designs

that Stanton produces?

I think it,

it starts with our chairman,

and founder, Cy,

who's started in 1980.

Really the first to do

do these things

and has been, passionate about it

ever since and still leads our,

our product development team

and like I said, is our chairman.

And then,

his son

Jonathan, who's who's been with them,

I think almost,

quite the entire time, but,

a big piece of it. So,

they love product.

I mean, we love

I mean, it's all about product, and it's,

it is fun.

Like you mentioned,

in our new Calhoun office.

But every time I go in the showroom

there, I'm just, you know, I'm

still learning and seeing new product.

And when I travel,

and there is a lot of passion around it,

about making nice product

and quality product and,

but certainly

if you've ever met side eye he loves,

I would say he loves carpet

as much as anyone I've been around.

So he loves making,

and trying new things and,

and looking at things differently

so that that kind of permeates

throughout the culture.

Now that's great to it.

You're getting that family business

type of feel to.

So I'm sure that feels very welcoming.

You're not just getting that

like kind of cookie

cutter corporation type of feel.

Same person that started

the company is still making decisions.

Yeah. That's awesome to hear.

Yeah it is.

And we don't have to make,

you know, millions of yards of something.

You know, we have the

we we have the ability

to have a lot of nice products

and we don't have to,

it doesn't have to be tonnage.

So it does enable us to take more risk

and do things differently

and continue to innovate

and push the push the boundaries.

I think with sound design.

So as the years go by,

I touched about this

a little bit earlier.

Installation technology

is always evolving.

What have you learned from trade pros

that has inspired innovation

within carpet installation

technology at sound?

Yeah, I think that's that's something

that continues to be an industry

challenge is, you know, installations,

not just carpet, but

other categories as well.

But I think one thing

that we that we have,

which helps is, you know, wide widths,

we have a lot of our

products are 13 to 13, six,

15, 16ft wide, which

in many cases eliminates

the need for a seam,

which certainly helps

from a speed of installation.

And also,

probably the type of installer

you can use.

So that that certainly helps.

I think the other thing

that's a big opportunity

that, is a big part of our business,

is the, custom rugs, room size rugs.

So,

you know, if you can,

if you can use a room sized rug,

that might be six, eight inches,

you know, from the wall.

There's no installation.

There are other than just, you know,

rolling it out and getting it,

you know, aligned perfectly.

So,

again, it's just another avenue

to sell more flooring,

and not tie up your,

you know, your carpet installation.

Absolutely.

And with,

custom area rugs, do you see that more

people are moving towards

getting those large area rugs

rather than doing like an all carpet

in one space?

I know with trends lately

people have been moving towards

like laminate and just hard flooring.

But a lot of people still want

that comfort of carpets,

so they're getting the big area rugs.

Are you seeing that's the case?

Yeah we are,

we're especially with,

hard surface

being so dominant in new homes today.

We're carpet might just be in bedrooms,

in some cases not even in bedrooms.

So but people still want the warmth

and the comfort

and the sound and the esthetics

and the beauty of, of, of carpet.

And I think it's just,

it's an awareness that you don't just,

you know,

you don't have to settle on a standard

nine by 12 or 8 by ten rug.

You can get,

the perfect size rug for your room,

and whatever pattern you want,

you know, no

problem is a great option,

a great opportunity to sell more carpet.

And to get it perfect,

and get what you want

and not just settle and get high

quality to, not just settle for,

an expensive online,

you know, standard size rug

that may not, you know,

be the quality you're looking for.

Absolutely.

And while we're on the

topic of customization at Stanton,

you also have the ability to select,

a custom pattern as well, right?

Correct.

Okay. Perfect.

So really any anything we make,

we make into rugs.

That's awesome. Yeah. I think yeah.

Like, you guys probably

think customization is so important.

And especially in today's world where

everybody wants exactly what they want.

Like if they're going

to spend the money on something

they want it to be

exactly what they want. Yeah.

So it's definitely important

for stand to offer

that I would say stairwells as well,

stair runners and custom stairs.

I mean, it's, it's gorgeous.

Some of the visuals I see,

that are sent in unfinished

jobs from our customers,

and I think the,

I think it's

an awareness issue, a lot of,

a lot of consumers don't even

just don't know

it's an option until they see it.

Then they see it.

They want it.

Absolutely. Yeah.

I didn't even think about

the stair runners.

That's definitely overlooked.

And people probably don't think about it.

Maybe until

they have their remodel done

and they're like,

you know,

oh gosh,

my stairs are hard

and I'm going to slip and fall. Yeah.

Because that's usually the concern

with that.

How have features like the Stanton

Shield and waterproofing

been received by homeowners

that are looking

to make their new carpets last?

And how did the

how do those features work?

Yeah, those are more hard

surface oriented, on that.

But I would say the big

the big new thing

I would not it's somewhat

new in

the last few years

has just been kind of pet,

pet performance.

And soft, and carpet.

And that's really,

you know, solution that polyester.

And so this year, we,

we're launching a new pet, guard.

Display program with,

24, actually, 31

styles will be part of that,

that program.

And that's

all it's

all focus

in the higher end

part of the, of that market.

In the polyester market,

all heavy ounce weights,

some really, unique fiber systems,

in solution, dyed very soft,

and trying to do some things

that are just unique,

and different

than what's out there today.

There's a lot of different pet,

programs out there.

And so we're trying to differentiate

and make it, Stanton ask

and so that will be something

we're launching IT services.

But some of the products

are already out today

and we're having a lot of success

with those.

But, they all carry the pet,

pet warranties, you know,

all pet issues, all pet related issues.

Yes. Absolutely.

I, I've talked about it

before on this podcast,

but yeah, having,

like a dog

or really like any kind of pet.

That's the main concern

and probably why a lot of people do

move away from carpet

and into the hardwood or the laminate.

Or specifically is because of pets.

But if they can get carpet

and have the best of both worlds,

that's definitely more ideal.

Yeah.

What patterns and colors

have you seen trend for Staunton in 2024

pattern wise?

Seen a lot of, stripes and variation of,

stripes.

So that's that's a big category for us.

But really,

I mean, geometric still herringbone

a lot of animal, prints.

So I think all those things

and color wise, green,

seems to be extremely popular.

Everywhere I go, people are

especially the design

community is talking about green.

So we have fortunately, we we have some,

a lot of neurotoxins

that have green in there,

but also some reds.

You know, Burgundy.

So combination,

those are probably the two biggest

that we're hearing out there.

Yeah.

I feel like color,

especially those rich,

like, Burgundy colors.

Maybe the of community.

Yeah. Yeah.

Those are obviously huge right now.

Not even doing this podcast.

Not even just in flooring.

But,

when we're talking about cabinets too,

those have been the topic of discussion.

I feel like,

and I would say very balanced.

I mean, not

overwhelming green or Burgundy,

but very, you know, very tasteful, very,

you know. Yes.

Not overwhelming.

Yes.

And with,

custom rugs that makes people feel the,

comfort of, like,

not necessarily

having to stick with a neutral

to be their permanent flooring,

but with the rugs, you can get, like,

kind of, like you said, animal rug.

Yeah.

And then in a couple of years,

switch it out when it's

maybe not in trend anymore.

So that's definitely a bonus

with doing that.

What has inspired

the move toward

outdoor rugs

and what's trending for sounds,

outdoor rugs?

I think, you know,

I think the, the whole outdoor living,

which has been going on for for

a while now where people are,

you know,

spending a lot of money

on their outside areas with,

you know, kitchens and,

you know, just, just an extension

of, of the house outside.

And they want nice things and,

no different than their inside rugs.

They want high quality

design and fashion outside or products

that can work outside as well.

So I think it's just it's

just it just,

addressing a void in a market

where traditionally indoor or outdoor

I think was

considered, you know, inexpensive

or in a lot of cases was inexpensive.

So, addressing a need

that's out there,

which is, you know,

like I said, higher quality,

for nicer spaces.

And we have products that can work

and we have some products

that are can go outside,

but people use them inside.

So we have a lot of products

that can work in both,

both areas inside or outside.

Is there any specific trends

that you're seeing or that you know

about for Sam's outdoor rugs?

No, I think, you know,

I think it's trying to,

you know, still pretty new.

Yeah.

But I think

it's it's,

again, focused on

some of the things

that are working inside

and just

making them

and fibers

and constructions that will work outside.

So people will,

you know, they,

they pretty much

want the same type of thing,

but they want to build

you know, withstand the elements

if needed. Outside.

Absolutely.

So carpet thickness and blended materials

have been on the rise lately.

How have you seen that trend evolve

for Stanton lines?

You know, it's interesting with us,

we we have,

I would say the best of both worlds

as far as we have a ton of flat weaves

that are very popular

that are very, very low pile,

and Wilton's,

but then we have some really thick,

you know, handloom,

wool products that are just stunning.

So we,

I would say we've got a spectrum

and then we have some of our new,

Pet Guard products, really soft,

thick polyester, gorgeous products.

So it's really

customer preference, a love is

can be driven by where

it's going, like upstairs.

Obviously people want something that's,

you know, it's flatter and lower pile.

And then they might want a thick,

you know, wool rug, you know,

in their living room in

front of a fireplace. But,

we've got, we have,

a lot of,

you know, I guess from, from A

to Z as far as that goes.

And then fibers, same thing.

I mean, a lot of different

blended fibers.

And we'll blend fibers

for a number of different reasons.

Some of them might be performance

driven, some of them could be esthetics.

It could be a luster,

combination

that we're trying to achieve or a color.

So there's just a lot of,

a lot of different reasons

why we would use different

fibers and even,

you know, we've had products

now with, with leather,

woven into them, which is,

really, really cool looking.

So something we can take to to, yeah, to,

to to innovate with.

Yeah.

Are you seeing, like,

different regions

of the United States, for example,

they have

maybe like people

in California are trending.

Are you using

carpet trends a little bit

more differently

than someone in Michigan, for example?

Like,

are you seeing that

this type of carpet sells

more here versus there?

Like you have some of that.

But it's interesting to me that,

there's a

lot of consistencies

with some of our products, too.

You know, I mentioned grain earlier.

And I've heard that from the West Coast.

I've heard that in the East Coast,

and it's a very similar thing.

So, but certainly some of the patterns,

luster levels are different

in different areas, parts of the country

than, than other parts of the country

and colors, for sure.

You know,

you always have the West Coast

and the coastal colors,

which are slightly different

than some of the things

you might see

in the Midwest or Northeast.

Okay, cool.

We're moving towards 2025,

which is insane to think about,

but what can we look forward to

in 2025 from Stanton?

A lot a lot of really cool,

gorgeous products coming out.

And, we've got a lot of product

that's coming out January, surfaces.

We have another,

you know, incredible launch coming out.

Submitted of

we do have some, some new fiber,

that will be coming out with this year

that, that we'll, we'll show it surfaces.

And outside of that, just,

some, merchandizing and rebranding,

things that you'll see,

it surfaces as well.

And then,

I know this is a soft surface,

segment, but hard surface.

We have some amazing new products

coming out, and,

WPC and hardwood

and some updates with laminate and SBC.

So there's

there's a broad range of really,

high style,

good looking product

coming out, this coming year.

Now, that's that's exciting.

And even with the hard surface

part of that,

I mean,

we just talked about rugs

going on top of hard surfaces.

So those do come into play too

in this episode a little bit.

Yeah. For sure.

Ideally we get

the hard surface down

and then we put a nice,

custom rug on top of it.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

Well, we're definitely looking forward

to everything.

That comes from Stanton in 2025.

And I appreciate you coming on today

and sharing a little bit about that.

And just about the comforts

of carpet in general.

So thank you so much, tri,

for coming on today. Thanks.

Thanks for having me.

Appreciate it.

We are welcoming Jared Coffin

from the Dixie Group.

He is their senior vice

president of product and marketing

and the Dixie Group

does have a few different subbrands.

But today we're going

to focus mainly on the floor

side of the group.

So thank you so much again,

Jared, for joining us today.

Of course.

Thank you, Mollie,

thanks for having having me. Yeah.

How long have you been with

the Dixie Group

and what made you interested

and going into this industry?

So I've been with the Dixie Group.

It's pushing 17 years, which is amazing

and hard to believe it's been that long

and kind of two stints.

So I started with the company,

with the Amazon brand

as a sales

rep up in the Boston,

Massachusetts market

and kind of covered New England.

I was up there for about seven years.

And then I've been working,

an adult and corporate lead

for about about ten years

and have had a number of different roles.

So I kind of moved through things.

What got me

interested in joining flooring?

You know, I have no idea.

I guess

graduating college,

going through the career fair

and got hooked up with the Shaw

Industries Group.

They recruited out a lot of college

to put people into the training program.

So I went through

Shaw's training program,

and started in the industry

as a tough tech sales rep

and then found my way over to my house

and in the Dixie group.

So, over 20 years in the industry,

like I said, I can't

I can't believe it's been this long.

But I just kind of fell into it.

I went into it and it's been good.

You know, it's one of those, you know,

everybody does a joke

like you can't leave the industry.

And, it's

been a happy home for the last bit.

And,

I mean, do a deep enough

that I think this is my,

this is my career for life.

So here we go.

So as someone

who is in the carpet industry,

what do you think makes carpet

so comforting?

I mean, it's soft, right?

Like,

and you think about,

especially today

where carpeting goes like

it's going in the bedroom.

It may go in some play areas,

or it's, you know, an accent

piece going in,

you know, a rug

going in the foyer upstairs.

But when you see more comfort,

you think about a master bedroom.

It is that is like that is our sanctuary.

When we think about going home,

that's the place where we want to relax.

And that's what we want.

Kind of a comfortable, inviting space.

And that's,

you know, white carpet

still dominates that room.

It is clearly the,

the comfortable floor, product.

And that,

you know, just just really does

kind of go hand in hand.

So, yeah, I mean,

I think

comfort simultaneous

with soft floor

comfort is why it's called soft.

No, absolutely.

I think,

when you wake up in the morning,

you don't want to step on

something like hard and core.

You want it to be soft and,

you want it to be a nice way to wake

up, right?

You don't want to be jolted into the day.

Exactly right.

Exactly right.

And then,

you know, finish

your day is you're exhausted

and tired and work is beat

up, and the kids would beat you up

like it's a nice, smooth,

comfortable, casual way to kind of,

you know, end the night as well.

So yeah, absolutely.

So how does

age Flores continue to elevate

that level of comfort and a

that, you know, I think it's one of those

like very basic elements

that's just ingrained

with the product in general.

So we talk about comfort.

But we also try to,

you know,

I think our spin on this is about

like the style and fashion elements

that go along with comfort as well.

So I think understanding that

comfort is foundational to this,

and that's

kind of one of those like 1 to 1,

you know, you know, you know, human

draws is to something that's comfortable,

but then you want it to look good

and, and perform and, you know,

be visually appealing as well.

I think that's our spin on it as well,

not only for the physical aspects

of softness or comfort,

but also like the psychological,

like you just feel good

when you kind of enter that space.

So the Dixie group

as a whole, in dollars,

you know,

our brand messages are all about fashion.

So, you know, our,

you know, our next step

beyond comfort is about,

you know,

colors and having unique

and different colors that will appeal,

whether it's patterns or design elements

that,

you know, set us apart from,

from the rest of the industry as well.

So yes, comfort is there.

And we certainly speak to that,

but that's just foundation

with soft flooring as well.

So, you know,

the specific messages we get with

the floors are more about kind of that,

that fashion side.

In addition to the comfort elements.

Yeah, I totally agree.

I go into the Saint Louis,

presser showroom a lot. Yeah.

Just to film content.

And I'm always amazed at

how many different selections,

different textures, different styles.

There are,

for your guys's carpet choices.

There's, I mean, anything

you can think of, like leopard print,

anything that you do.

You didn't think

that would be on a carpet?

It's it's available

in case there's someone that needs it.

And I think that that

that's the whole point.

So we're trying to provide selection.

You know, we've got an industry

that in sort in soft

foreign is going to a sea of sameness.

It's beige,

it's gray, it's solution dyed.

And a lot of its solution

that polyester or

so we're

trying to do something

a little different.

Yes. We have not polyester.

Yes we have beige and gray.

And those are instrumental colors

to the industry.

But having those blue accents,

those trendy

and green and terracotta accents,

it's really important in it.

And it's part of what sets us apart

and hopefully also sets apart the,

you know, the prosource showrooms

where they have something that not every,

you know, other store,

you know, in the neighborhood of,

you know, may have.

So, you know,

we're trying to create differentiation,

which helps our brand

but also helps our customers

create something different for

and for the end consumers

coming in as well.

So hopefully it's a nice, you know,

you know,

set up that

that really does work for,

for the whole value chain.

No, it it does.

We put together,

a space themed design

board a few weeks ago or a few months ago

now for our TikTok page.

And I was looking for something

that was space themed

and I can't remember exactly which card.

I think it was Naslund carpet,

but there was a like

there was like a space

kind of to have like stars

pattern on a carpet.

And we were able to use that immediately.

And I couldn't believe

that I read into that.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, to your point, like we've got

we've got couple's, we've got loops,

we've got striated products.

I mean any,

you know, pattern you want

when you talk about

the whole corporation,

we go from 35 ounce cut power polyester

in VH up through Pam tufted.

You know, one of a kind,

wool rugs for fabric.

There's a wide breadth of product

content between the three brands.

Awesome.

So moving

into the Envision Nylon side of it

for us has been able to create ultra

soft products

without compromising that style.

We were talking about

how does the edge force balance

that level of innovation

and creativity within a selection?

So it's all about

innovation and creativity,

and I think there's

a technical aspect to innovation.

And there's also like

the style design side of it,

we're always trying to push

that style of design and do feel like,

you know,

one of the leaders in the market

doing that.

We do a lot of mixing and matching

yarns and fiber types, where we get

little luster

yarns and high lace to yarns

put together and combined.

So you'll just get different textures

and esthetics out of the product.

And on one hand, like

it is innovation,

but it's also just kind of

like our development process,

like we're always

trying different things.

And weekly

there are samples in our product

development group,

you know, is putting out on the table

for us to look at.

And, you know,

that development process,

sometimes some of the mistakes

end up being some of the great products.

And it's not like,

you know,

you're trying to drive innovation per se,

but it's just like

a continual development process,

to speak specifically to the

to the Envision fiber.

So,

the story all ties together.

Right?

So the industry is driving

towards polyester.

We're still while

we have a good chunk of polyester,

we're still really,

you know, primarily a nylon, house.

We made a large investment

into nylon extrusion,

which is up and running this year.

And it drives white, durable

nylon, which is kind of the foundation

of the envision my, platform.

So you've got a piece de nylon process.

It's nylon. It's not polyester.

So you do have an embedded

higher quality,

story as a result of that.

It's piece dyed

rather than solution dyed.

So you have color flexibility.

So you're,

you're driving a quality product

with a color story.

It's the antithesis of what

the rest of the industry is doing.

And it just fits so well.

To kind of our, our spot on the market.

We do more style, we do more color.

So a dark horse is known for what

it's what mouse made

fabric are known for.

And frankly, it's

what our dealers seem to be asking for.

It's like there's

a little bit

bubbling up where we're it's like

enough of the Bayesian gray.

We're looking for some color.

So it's just like I said, it's

just this full circle thing

that's kind of come in quite recently.

That's been a nice,

you know,

just kind of nice convergence of events

and the lines up really well with what,

what we try to reach

for sure.

That was actually

going to be my next question

was, what inspires that passion

within the carpeting designs

that for us produces it.

It seems like

your product development group

or your team in general,

they are looking at trade pros

and partners to get feedback

on kind of what move they should do next.

Yeah, all of the above. Right.

So our product development team

I'll say is frankly quite small.

We've got a couple

of really good experts.

But they're always looking for unique

and different constructions and fabrics.

And we're always taking products out.

I'll do it.

Others in the product group,

our president team will do it.

Our sales

managers will do it

where they'll be out in a market

and they'll be bouncing products off of,

you know, dealers and retail sales

professionals that kind of said,

do you like this one? What do you think?

How's the color line?

So we'll get that feedback

from our customers.

Our designers go to

go to trade shows like High Point.

They subscribe to,

some of the trends, organizations,

color marketing.

There's both some,

some trade groups that we'll do

and some professional things.

But then it's also just kind of

that organic feedback

you're getting from customers,

showing them new development,

and then also talking about things

that are in the line,

you know, that work or don't work.

There's things to learn from both sides.

But so it's like all the above,

it's a continual learning process

and taking any feedback.

Good or bad,

you end up getting better as a result.

How have lives inspired by innovation

like and vision?

As the pet solutions

have been received by homeowners

looking to make their carpets last,

and how do they work?

Yeah, really, really well.

So the whole like animal performance

marketing has really connected

with the consumer.

And, you know,

one of our former suppliers

in Vista had their Pet Protect brand,

which probably was

one of the first and leaders in it,

and it resonated.

We've since then seen every

you know, manufacturer or company entity

come up with their version of,

you know, at proof or animal.

You know, focus marketing

from a marketing concept

really resonates with the consumer.

And there's,

we all most of us, not

most of us really do like animals

and have pets, cats and dogs

and even some exotic animals out there.

So there's a

there is a good connection there.

So from a marketing perspective

that works,

then you back it up with

a quality product.

So something that is solution

dyed, frankly,

whether it's polyester or nylon,

it's going to perform

really well from a stain perspective.

We like both.

There's places for both

the pet solutions.

The envision

as the Pet solutions

brand has been a really good one

to carry a quality story,

both from,

you know,

the durability of the nylon fiber,

which is going to outlast

anything outside of wool.

And then from a solution

type perspective,

clean ability

with stains and things like that.

It is just a

it's a great technical story

that matches with the marketing content.

And consumers

have really taken off

with us a very successful,

fiber, product for us.

So what patterns and colors have you seen

be trending for floors in 2024?

We're seeing like dramatic,

large scale, high contrast patterns.

Step back a little bit.

And so small scale,

and then almost more texture than pattern

seems to be growing.

So some of these blue clays

and sisal looks and,

you know,

just where

there's real texture to the product,

it seems to be growing where

we're patterns

almost seem to be stepping back

a little bit.

I will say from a pattern perspective,

it was that tree bark look for years

and then it was that crosshatch.

Now we're seeing these

kind of overall linen

or fabric type patterns

that again,

just have that nice little overall effect

or not a real strong pattern.

Seem to be growing a little bit

from a color perspective.

Things are warming up,

so, you know, grays or go and topia

and even seeing some gold accents

come in, in the neutral field,

on the high end, we all we

we really white

colors and off

whites are really, really strong.

So on our higher end brands, you know,

we do sell our white,

and then from an accent color,

we see in the trends,

greens, sages

and then kind of the terracotta

and you know, that that evolution of red.

It's in trends.

I wouldn't say that we're necessarily

seeing that in sales yet.

But we're seeing it in trends

and you start seeing those greens

and terracotta is infiltrating

some of our newest color lines.

It'll be there

from an accent perspective.

But it's foreign.

So we certainly do sell a lot of neutral.

But you got to have those pops

of, of color in there

to keep everybody excited and cover

some of those area rugs as well.

Yeah, I feel like this

the last couple of years,

the trend of bold colors

has really been at the forefront.

And I feel like with every brand,

every trade pro I've talked to

that's been top of

discussion is to the point, the bold.

And it's even exiting just the industry.

So the Wall Street

Journal had an article about color

room carpeting.

Vogue had an article.

Wow.

It's starting to hit like like,

you know, outside of the industry,

which is neat to see.

I mean, they weren't to your point,

it was really bold,

strong colors that they were,

that they were commenting on. Yes.

So yeah, totally.

There does seem to be something here

bubbling a little bit.

That's awesome.

So with the or carpets,

having the ability to select

a pattern as a rug

has added to their versatility.

So why is it so important for Gage

for us to offer that feature?

Yeah, I mean that,

rugs is an important

part of the business.

So the carpeting over the last

whatever is 25

years has just lost so much

market share of a hard surface.

And you think about today's home.

You got a hard surface

on the first floor.

Likely you have it on the second floor,

basements for the parts of the country

that have basements,

they'll have it,

you know, in

LVP product likely down there.

There's just so much more hard

surface in the home.

That wall to wall

carpet is not as dominant

as it used to be.

There's still soft covering

going down and on top of those,

those hard surface.

So having rug fabrication,

an important part of the,

the business

we have a more fashionable product line.

So a lot of our products

to lend themselves,

to some beautiful rugs.

So there's a nice little fit there.

And then what we found

is the consumer that's upgrading from,

like, the $99 Wayfair or Lowes rug.

They want some customization to it.

So they don't want an eight by ten.

They want an eight six by 12

because that's what actually fits

the dining room.

So working off a brand name

is the perfect fit for that.

And then just having

a a product line

that orients itself towards,

towards, you know, pretty

esthetics and pretty colors,

that's where it works.

Yeah.

It's an important part of dollars

as well as mouse and

and fabric

is having a rug fabrication business.

We do it.

We've had

multiple fabrication operations.

We make the rugs

right there

and try to have an easy process,

you know, for our customers

to, to facilitate that rug purchase

with carpet thickness

and blended materials

that have been on the rise lately

and loop carpet

being such a prominent line,

how have you seen that

trend evolve for the for us as a whole?

We've had actually two products

launched last year

that were solution

while they were nylon solution

and polyester blend products.

And we view it as a little bit

of the best of both worlds.

So you get the general performance

characteristics of nylon.

So you get a nice,

durable, long lasting product

because of the nylon,

the the accent of a polyester in there.

That's a solution to polyester.

When we put the nylon

through the dye process,

you get some good variations

in in color esthetics

because of that accent yarn.

So it allows us to do a really long

nylon color line

with these accents of high contrast,

color fleck because of the polyester.

So we used it as much for, esthetic,

you know, design esthetic perspective

as for anything else.

And again, kind of viewed

as the best of both worlds.

You get by one color line now durability

but some some design versatility

because of that polyester in there.

So two launches.

It was the first couple of blends

we did last year.

We've got a couple more

in the works for 2025.

So it's a different way to look at it

that that we view

as being successful going forward.

And that was my next

question was

what can we look forward to

in 2025 from Ditch Flaws?

What a good question decides that.

Exactly.

Yeah.

So so a couple bland products.

We're going to do another kind

of super heavyweight, polyester cut pile.

So, you know, again,

as we've been growing

our polyester business on a couple side,

a couple of things

that we've learned is one is these

these are multi-color low contrast

color combinations and compile

that give you those real natural, colors.

So whether it's, you know,

a stone or granite,

or wood type of

look where you get

really kind of

low contrast mottled colors, almost,

is a good color visual

and then go on heavier and face weight.

So basically we have a 90 ounce

polyester cut pile that was launched

big, huge, comfortable

as we started our conversation.

Big comfortable product.

Great for a bedroom.

So so that will just highest

and highest weight product we've put out.

We're going to do a couple other loops

that are blends,

some more patterned content,

continue to try to push

on that fashion side,

for the eight floors.

And again, it's a mix of some nylon

content

under the envision branding

and then some some Durso

polyester products.

So good, a little good,

a little assortment of things

across the board.

That's very exciting.

It seems like there's floors,

and the Dixie group as a whole

just continues to keep growing.

Yeah.

So there'll be a lot of growth in 2020.

So there is I mean, you know,

our carpet

business is probably

our most stable business.

We view the decorative side.

So the wall of decorative products

and the masking fabric brand

a lot of growth opportunity.

There are hard surface

business again

being a little bit of a younger business

growth growing

where you know, on our carpet

side, our core carpet business,

we're certainly growing,

but we're following the market

a little bit more closely

then then those other two categories

for serving.

Yeah.

Always looking to grow our business.

And, you know, one of the ways we see

that is through very good partners

like ProSource it's a good fit

with our product content

and what all the stores represent.

And so kind of we see some of that growth

just kind of riding with our

partners out there as well.

That's great.

Thank you so

much for coming on today, Chad.

Yes.

The Dixie Group has been

a great partner of ProSource

and we look forward

to continuing to partner with you all.

We really enjoyed

having you on today

to share your expertise

and insights with the force.

Awesome, I enjoyed it.

Thank you for having me

and I'm look forward to seeing everybody

at shows and things this, this winter.

Thank you for joining us today

on The ProSource Podcast.

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