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.
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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