1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,033 In each episode, we’ll be talking to industry 2 00:00:02,533 --> 00:00:03,200 Welcome back 3 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,200 to another episode of the Pro Source podcast. 4 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,534 Today we are talking all about the finishing touches of kitchen design. 5 00:00:09,901 --> 00:00:12,734 We also have some very special guests that will be able to talk about 6 00:00:12,734 --> 00:00:15,834 all aspects of finishing a kitchen remodel. 7 00:00:16,168 --> 00:00:19,935 First up, we have Prosource Trade Pro member Walter Miller. 8 00:00:19,968 --> 00:00:23,769 He is the owner of O'Bannon construction and he does a lot of home 9 00:00:23,769 --> 00:00:25,635 remodeling work down in Florida. 10 00:00:25,635 --> 00:00:31,569 We will also have on Matt Nicola from Top Knobs to chat all about kitchen hardware. 11 00:00:31,603 --> 00:00:34,036 And then Greg Payne from Engineered Floors. 12 00:00:34,036 --> 00:00:36,103 he chats all about flooring in the kitchen. 13 00:00:36,103 --> 00:00:40,137 So let's go ahead and dive in first, starting with our trade pro member Walter. 14 00:00:41,937 --> 00:00:42,271 Hi, I’m Kevin Devine, and this is the ProSource Podcast. 15 00:00:43,237 --> 00:00:44,971 Walter, how are you doing today? 16 00:00:44,971 --> 00:00:47,104 I'm doing well. And you? I'm doing great. 17 00:00:47,104 --> 00:00:48,205 Thank you. 18 00:00:48,205 --> 00:00:51,605 if you don't mind just starting off telling us a little bit about O'Bannon. 19 00:00:51,838 --> 00:00:55,272 what you do and your role within the business. 20 00:00:56,005 --> 00:00:58,872 so I'm that. I'm actually the owner. 21 00:00:58,872 --> 00:01:01,906 I, I actually have two, 22 00:01:03,006 --> 00:01:05,373 two businesses, one one here in Florida. 23 00:01:05,373 --> 00:01:08,107 And I also have a business in Pennsylvania. 24 00:01:08,107 --> 00:01:12,407 we do roofing windows, siding and also remodeling. 25 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,941 Not as much now that I'm down here in Florida, up north. 26 00:01:16,507 --> 00:01:21,841 we've been in business for roughly 32 years, I think since 1992. 27 00:01:22,475 --> 00:01:23,942 okay. 28 00:01:23,942 --> 00:01:25,442 It's a family owned business. 29 00:01:25,442 --> 00:01:26,942 I'm the last of the family. 30 00:01:26,942 --> 00:01:30,576 Except for the little bit of family that's running the business up north. 31 00:01:30,609 --> 00:01:33,609 I came to Florida about four and a half, five years ago. 32 00:01:34,143 --> 00:01:38,376 and started remodeling mainly kitchens and bathrooms here in Florida. 33 00:01:38,643 --> 00:01:40,677 What made you want to move to Florida? 34 00:01:40,677 --> 00:01:41,410 My father in law. 35 00:01:41,410 --> 00:01:44,244 I actually moved my father in law here during Covid. 36 00:01:44,244 --> 00:01:47,277 And, up north, it was a little slow. 37 00:01:47,344 --> 00:01:51,478 So I did a little few things down here and and actually, 38 00:01:51,478 --> 00:01:54,478 if Florida, Florida allows you, if you're been in business 39 00:01:54,811 --> 00:01:58,879 longer than ten years, Florida allows you to start a business here 40 00:01:59,079 --> 00:02:03,046 without all the crazy paperwork that you normally have to do to start a business. 41 00:02:03,046 --> 00:02:06,046 So I figured I'd give it a shot and do it. 42 00:02:06,079 --> 00:02:07,479 You know, occasionally. 43 00:02:07,479 --> 00:02:09,280 But it it's blown up. 44 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,847 I mean, it's, so busy. It's crazy, which is good. 45 00:02:11,847 --> 00:02:12,680 I'm not complaining. 46 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,014 Just explaining. It's it's been good. 47 00:02:15,014 --> 00:02:15,847 Good to hear. 48 00:02:15,847 --> 00:02:19,747 So today's episode is all about the finishing touches of kitchen design. 49 00:02:19,781 --> 00:02:23,981 I know you work with homeowners a lot, and I'm sure they come to you. 50 00:02:23,981 --> 00:02:26,981 They have either they have a huge vision for what they want 51 00:02:27,181 --> 00:02:30,015 or sometimes maybe they rely on your expertise. 52 00:02:30,015 --> 00:02:33,449 Yes, to help drive them on what direction they want to go, to say 53 00:02:33,449 --> 00:02:35,416 they do have this big vision. 54 00:02:35,416 --> 00:02:40,149 And if you're seeing some roadblocks or potential obstacles, or how do you balance 55 00:02:40,149 --> 00:02:44,050 maybe your ideas with their vision when you're working on the project? 56 00:02:44,150 --> 00:02:47,884 I always start off by listening to what they have to say and what they want, 57 00:02:47,884 --> 00:02:51,517 and normally, you know, depending on always their pocketbooks. 58 00:02:51,517 --> 00:02:54,618 you know, their visions are always bigger than their pocketbooks. 59 00:02:55,218 --> 00:02:59,385 so I try and balance that with their visions and what we can do. 60 00:02:59,385 --> 00:03:03,052 So I listen to what they have to say, what they're looking for, 61 00:03:03,452 --> 00:03:07,486 and then I take a look around and walk them through some things and, 62 00:03:08,019 --> 00:03:11,319 you know, some things that we could possibly change, move around 63 00:03:11,619 --> 00:03:15,153 because they're kind of fixated on what's there and the design that's there. 64 00:03:15,253 --> 00:03:19,554 So it's hard for them, for some of them to see what we can actually do. 65 00:03:20,054 --> 00:03:22,687 and that's good with 3D design 66 00:03:22,687 --> 00:03:26,188 where we can actually move things around, we can show them different designs. 67 00:03:27,754 --> 00:03:29,921 so I kind of take in what they want. 68 00:03:29,921 --> 00:03:33,088 Give them a little feedback on what we could do 69 00:03:33,555 --> 00:03:37,322 and try an upgrade because, a lot of folks that I deal 70 00:03:37,322 --> 00:03:41,789 with are older and they're a little tough to change. 71 00:03:43,089 --> 00:03:47,490 so once you start showing them things and you start showing them in, 72 00:03:47,490 --> 00:03:52,357 especially a 3D, configuration, they kind of like it. 73 00:03:52,357 --> 00:03:55,124 And you can kind of move them a little bit. 74 00:03:55,124 --> 00:03:58,824 And there's they're kind of they get unstuck on what they have now. 75 00:03:59,191 --> 00:04:01,291 And yeah, they're open to some change. 76 00:04:01,291 --> 00:04:05,258 Well yeah, I'm sure them seeing the 3D all the new technology that's coming out. 77 00:04:05,292 --> 00:04:07,359 Yes. People probably are blown away. 78 00:04:07,359 --> 00:04:08,259 Yeah it's great 79 00:04:08,259 --> 00:04:12,059 especially you can open doors and open doors and they love them. Yep. 80 00:04:12,159 --> 00:04:17,293 So with homeowners there may be elements to an existing kitchen they wish to keep. 81 00:04:17,393 --> 00:04:21,593 but may interfere with the new kitchen vision, that they're wanting 82 00:04:23,127 --> 00:04:24,527 besides just showing 83 00:04:24,527 --> 00:04:27,527 them, you know, the new technologies, the 3D renderings. 84 00:04:28,594 --> 00:04:30,694 how else have you navigated some of those issues, 85 00:04:30,694 --> 00:04:33,828 or do you have any specific stories that you could share with 86 00:04:33,828 --> 00:04:37,895 how you came to a closure with a specific decision of a design? 87 00:04:38,162 --> 00:04:40,629 So, yeah, it's funny because just last week I had 88 00:04:40,629 --> 00:04:43,662 I have a client, just last week we were walking through a design 89 00:04:43,862 --> 00:04:47,663 and they were fixated on this wall that was there and the refrigerator 90 00:04:47,663 --> 00:04:50,663 that was actually in a door in a walkway. 91 00:04:51,296 --> 00:04:54,430 they just had it stuck in their head that this refrigerator had to stay there. 92 00:04:54,430 --> 00:04:56,597 And I didn't really know why at the time. 93 00:04:56,597 --> 00:04:59,797 I figured I figured out that it was because of the water line 94 00:05:00,264 --> 00:05:03,631 and of course, water lines are. 95 00:05:03,998 --> 00:05:05,131 It's like electricity. 96 00:05:05,131 --> 00:05:05,865 We'll pull it out, 97 00:05:05,865 --> 00:05:08,998 we'll move it to the other side of the room, will take the wall out. 98 00:05:08,998 --> 00:05:10,098 And it was a, it was a 99 00:05:10,098 --> 00:05:14,199 I think it was about a 31 inch wall and it was a non bearing wall. 100 00:05:14,566 --> 00:05:17,633 And I listened to them listen to them and I said 101 00:05:17,633 --> 00:05:21,200 but we can move, we can move this, I can put your refrigerator over here. 102 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:24,200 We can do a nice building with pantry's around it and 103 00:05:25,133 --> 00:05:27,534 they just kept saying, no, I don't think we can do that. 104 00:05:27,534 --> 00:05:28,567 I don't think we can do that. 105 00:05:28,567 --> 00:05:31,267 So finally I just said, why? 106 00:05:31,267 --> 00:05:33,401 Why don't you think we can do that? 107 00:05:33,401 --> 00:05:34,801 And that's when it came out. 108 00:05:34,801 --> 00:05:37,801 Well the electric it's going to be too much to run the water. 109 00:05:37,801 --> 00:05:39,902 And I said, forget about all that. 110 00:05:39,902 --> 00:05:43,935 I said, we're not talking about a huge amount of money to reroute water, 111 00:05:44,102 --> 00:05:47,069 a water line, because all their water is in the ceiling. 112 00:05:47,069 --> 00:05:49,169 I said, we're not talking about a huge amount of money. 113 00:05:49,169 --> 00:05:51,103 Like, forget about the cost of the water. 114 00:05:51,103 --> 00:05:53,236 Forget about the cost of the electric. 115 00:05:53,236 --> 00:05:56,637 Let's talk about design first and then we'll go. 116 00:05:57,403 --> 00:05:58,537 Then we'll worry about the water. 117 00:05:58,537 --> 00:06:00,137 We'll worry about the electric. 118 00:06:00,137 --> 00:06:03,471 Let's get this thing designed the way it's it's going to function. 119 00:06:03,471 --> 00:06:04,037 Good. 120 00:06:04,037 --> 00:06:07,304 We'll take out that little piece of wall because it's not doing anything there. 121 00:06:07,638 --> 00:06:10,305 We can extend your kitchen a little bit into the dining room 122 00:06:10,305 --> 00:06:12,038 and imagine what this place is going to look like. 123 00:06:12,038 --> 00:06:13,438 Opened up. 124 00:06:13,438 --> 00:06:17,672 then their eyes lit up and then they're like, okay, that sounds really good. 125 00:06:18,205 --> 00:06:20,772 So that's kind of how I navigate that. 126 00:06:21,739 --> 00:06:22,573 I feel like it's good. 127 00:06:22,573 --> 00:06:25,240 communication is key, right? Yes. 128 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,473 You having the expertise and even just having the confidence 129 00:06:28,740 --> 00:06:30,873 because if you didn't have the confidence, they'd be like, 130 00:06:30,873 --> 00:06:33,240 oh, does this guy know what he's talking about? 131 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:34,274 but obviously you do. 132 00:06:34,274 --> 00:06:36,807 And so that really helped change their minds on that. 133 00:06:36,807 --> 00:06:39,808 Yes. And I hear from so many clients before, 134 00:06:39,808 --> 00:06:41,908 they're actually my clients when I go in to see them, 135 00:06:41,908 --> 00:06:44,608 and they've had other people in ahead of me 136 00:06:44,608 --> 00:06:47,542 how the contractors just don't talk to them. 137 00:06:47,542 --> 00:06:48,942 They don't give them any ideas. 138 00:06:48,942 --> 00:06:50,075 They hear what they want. 139 00:06:50,075 --> 00:06:52,776 They say, okay, then write it down on paper and they leave. 140 00:06:52,776 --> 00:06:55,976 I'll get an estimate like nobody wants to give any feedback. 141 00:06:56,276 --> 00:06:59,376 I've been doing that stuff forever, giving clients 142 00:07:00,343 --> 00:07:01,043 listening to 143 00:07:01,043 --> 00:07:05,944 them is really important, but giving them what they don't think they want 144 00:07:06,310 --> 00:07:11,178 is really important too, because yeah, and I want them to come in and say, 145 00:07:11,311 --> 00:07:15,678 wow, I'm glad that I spent all this money and did all of this work. 146 00:07:15,878 --> 00:07:20,412 It wasn't just for a new, updated kitchen, it functions better. 147 00:07:20,545 --> 00:07:24,246 I used to work with a lot of, older people up north. 148 00:07:24,246 --> 00:07:27,779 I had a, I used to work with a lot of disabled. 149 00:07:28,379 --> 00:07:30,580 so everything was about function. 150 00:07:30,580 --> 00:07:34,413 So even down here, like, folks are getting older, we want them to 151 00:07:34,413 --> 00:07:37,314 be able to stay in their home and, and grow old in their home. 152 00:07:37,314 --> 00:07:40,314 So functionality is a big thing, wasn't it? 153 00:07:40,514 --> 00:07:44,881 we want that's also kitchen to function for them for the rest of their life 154 00:07:45,081 --> 00:07:46,948 so they don't have to worry about, getting old. 155 00:07:46,948 --> 00:07:49,548 I'm going to have to move out because I can't get a wheelchair through. 156 00:07:49,548 --> 00:07:50,915 Take out a wall, move it. 157 00:07:50,915 --> 00:07:52,749 Refrigerator, move it. 158 00:07:52,749 --> 00:07:55,349 It's it's all it's water lines and electric. 159 00:07:55,349 --> 00:07:56,716 That's it's not a big deal. 160 00:07:56,716 --> 00:07:59,949 Functionality is definitely most important for sure. 161 00:08:00,283 --> 00:08:01,183 Absolutely. 162 00:08:01,183 --> 00:08:05,483 Speaking of functionality, when people are thinking about kitchen flooring, 163 00:08:05,750 --> 00:08:09,484 what are some recommendations that you automatically think 164 00:08:09,484 --> 00:08:12,617 of when discussing with clients what kind of kitchen flooring 165 00:08:12,617 --> 00:08:13,884 they should be looking at? 166 00:08:13,884 --> 00:08:17,018 So it really depends on what what they have in the rest of the house. 167 00:08:17,885 --> 00:08:19,918 if they're trying to match what they have in the rest of the house, 168 00:08:19,918 --> 00:08:22,285 if they have ceramic tile in the rest of the house, 169 00:08:22,285 --> 00:08:25,885 if we can split it and again, it goes back to functionality. 170 00:08:25,885 --> 00:08:29,953 I try to not have, tripping hazards ever. 171 00:08:30,253 --> 00:08:32,353 So if their kitchen is connected 172 00:08:32,353 --> 00:08:35,353 to the rest of the house, but they just want to change the kitchen. 173 00:08:35,986 --> 00:08:37,687 and they have tile in the rest of the house, 174 00:08:37,687 --> 00:08:40,387 but they don't want to tear up the tile that's in the house. 175 00:08:40,387 --> 00:08:44,254 So of course, or the and they don't want to tear up the tile in the kitchen 176 00:08:44,254 --> 00:08:45,654 because they don't want a mess. 177 00:08:45,654 --> 00:08:49,388 Of course, we take every precaution on wrapping people's homes up 178 00:08:49,388 --> 00:08:51,188 so that they don't get dust in the rest of their house, 179 00:08:51,188 --> 00:08:53,855 but still, people have this thing about, oh, great, 180 00:08:53,855 --> 00:08:56,722 my house is going to be full of dirt, dust. 181 00:08:56,722 --> 00:08:58,856 yeah. It's sometimes you can't change that. 182 00:08:58,856 --> 00:09:02,589 Vinyl flooring is, you know, LVP is the best 183 00:09:03,156 --> 00:09:06,156 I try and push them for, especially for kitchens. 184 00:09:06,490 --> 00:09:08,390 It's soft on the feet. 185 00:09:08,390 --> 00:09:11,390 If you drop something on the floor, it's not going to break. 186 00:09:11,390 --> 00:09:13,157 It's not going to shatter. 187 00:09:13,157 --> 00:09:15,791 it's just a good all around floor. 188 00:09:15,791 --> 00:09:19,591 and I tell them, depending on how we run it, if you then decide 189 00:09:19,591 --> 00:09:21,825 to do the rest of the house, we can connect 190 00:09:21,825 --> 00:09:25,725 and we can do the rest of the house, and it's all going to look cohesive 191 00:09:25,725 --> 00:09:26,958 to the rest of the house. 192 00:09:26,958 --> 00:09:30,826 So moving into cabinet hardware, kind of a thing that people overlook. 193 00:09:30,826 --> 00:09:32,326 They get the whole kitchen done, 194 00:09:32,326 --> 00:09:34,226 and then maybe they're looking at their cabinet 195 00:09:34,226 --> 00:09:38,260 hardware like a week later and things just don't seem as right for them. 196 00:09:38,260 --> 00:09:42,293 They didn't even think about, you know, the pools and the knobs on the cabinets. 197 00:09:42,627 --> 00:09:44,794 It's not always top of mind. 198 00:09:44,794 --> 00:09:48,461 why do you think cabinet hardware is an important topic for a kitchen? 199 00:09:48,461 --> 00:09:50,428 That's often overlooked? 200 00:09:50,428 --> 00:09:53,495 Well, and it's funny you say that because there's there's been occasions 201 00:09:53,495 --> 00:09:56,862 where I, I'm so fixated on Kat's 202 00:09:56,862 --> 00:10:00,229 design that I'll have to say, oh, wait, I have to go back and do cabinet hardware. 203 00:10:00,229 --> 00:10:02,295 I do it myself. Yeah. 204 00:10:02,295 --> 00:10:07,329 But then there's people that are so fixated on these big giant handles. 205 00:10:07,329 --> 00:10:09,396 And you, I'm like, snow. 206 00:10:09,396 --> 00:10:11,830 So it's like it's too much. 207 00:10:11,830 --> 00:10:14,763 You're going to be you're taking away from your whole kit kitchen. Yeah. 208 00:10:14,763 --> 00:10:18,530 With this huge like okay I know what you like. 209 00:10:18,697 --> 00:10:20,931 Let's size it down a little bit. 210 00:10:20,931 --> 00:10:21,864 Like your jaw. 211 00:10:21,864 --> 00:10:25,931 Your jaw is only 12in wide and you want a 14 inch handle on the jaw. 212 00:10:25,931 --> 00:10:28,165 It's like it doesn't make sense. 213 00:10:28,165 --> 00:10:32,399 So, yeah, depending on the cabinet, I mean, if shaker shaker style 214 00:10:32,399 --> 00:10:36,399 cabinets are huge right now, I mean, that seems to be probably 90% 215 00:10:36,399 --> 00:10:39,766 of what I'm putting in right now or shaker cabinets in my eyes. 216 00:10:39,766 --> 00:10:42,500 Simple looks best on shaker cabinets. 217 00:10:42,500 --> 00:10:45,167 Some people are going with stuff that's a little fancier. 218 00:10:45,167 --> 00:10:47,267 Then you get into something a little fancier. 219 00:10:47,267 --> 00:10:51,601 But hardware definitely finishes out the the cabinets 220 00:10:51,967 --> 00:10:58,301 and you don't want to overwhelm it with crazy oversize hardware. 221 00:10:58,801 --> 00:11:00,301 And I try to match. 222 00:11:00,301 --> 00:11:05,102 So if you have an appliance that has a simple, simple handle, you can. 223 00:11:05,102 --> 00:11:06,602 You can match all that stuff. 224 00:11:06,602 --> 00:11:10,269 So I have one client that she didn't want to see any hardware, 225 00:11:10,536 --> 00:11:15,270 so she had us put those metal tops where you just pull and she loves it. 226 00:11:15,270 --> 00:11:19,137 I had another client that wanted square knobs that hated them 227 00:11:19,137 --> 00:11:22,804 because they hurt her fingers, so we had to change them of Ram. 228 00:11:23,071 --> 00:11:26,138 So it's like they want what they want until they get it, 229 00:11:26,138 --> 00:11:29,505 and then it's like, well, maybe so it's hard. 230 00:11:29,505 --> 00:11:33,205 I cabinet hardware is one of the hardest things to deal with. 231 00:11:33,238 --> 00:11:35,005 It's so different for everyone. Yeah. 232 00:11:35,005 --> 00:11:38,172 Before and sometimes even after after they're installed. 233 00:11:38,605 --> 00:11:38,972 Gotcha. 234 00:11:38,972 --> 00:11:43,439 So I like when cabinet hardware comes in multiple sizes so that we can do. 235 00:11:43,939 --> 00:11:46,440 I have no problem doing the same hardware 236 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,107 in multiple handles in multiple multiple knobs here. 237 00:11:50,107 --> 00:11:52,807 Handles here, smaller handles here. 238 00:11:52,807 --> 00:11:54,207 So it's all the same. 239 00:11:54,207 --> 00:11:58,508 It all looks the same but it's not all big handles everywhere. 240 00:11:58,608 --> 00:12:01,375 And yeah so it all looks good in the end. 241 00:12:01,375 --> 00:12:03,108 And it all matches perfect. Yeah. 242 00:12:03,108 --> 00:12:05,208 You actually just answered another one of my questions. 243 00:12:05,208 --> 00:12:08,309 I was wondering if you thought it would be better for cabinet hardware 244 00:12:08,309 --> 00:12:09,742 to stand out or blend in. 245 00:12:09,742 --> 00:12:10,642 It seems like you're more 246 00:12:10,642 --> 00:12:14,543 of a fan of blending in and not being such a statement, right? 247 00:12:14,576 --> 00:12:17,710 Right. Not having such a Bam type of effect. 248 00:12:18,143 --> 00:12:21,443 Yeah, and that again depends on if you have a 249 00:12:21,477 --> 00:12:24,477 if you have a cabinet that is just so fancy. 250 00:12:24,910 --> 00:12:26,377 yeah. Depending on the colors. 251 00:12:26,377 --> 00:12:29,477 And I don't run across that a whole lot here in Florida anyway. 252 00:12:29,944 --> 00:12:33,878 but then you want something that's going to stand out then. 253 00:12:33,878 --> 00:12:37,312 Yeah, some people wanted to, some people wanted to stand out. 254 00:12:37,378 --> 00:12:40,479 So you just you don't want it to blend in with the cabinets so you can get 255 00:12:40,479 --> 00:12:44,012 a little bit of pop with the hardware, depending on what it is, hinges. 256 00:12:44,246 --> 00:12:46,513 People don't really want to see hinges anymore. 257 00:12:46,513 --> 00:12:48,513 It's really hit the hinges. 258 00:12:48,513 --> 00:12:50,013 It's the big thing right now. 259 00:12:50,013 --> 00:12:52,380 I'm sure that's going to change again at some point, 260 00:12:52,380 --> 00:12:54,347 and people are going to want to see hinges again. 261 00:12:54,347 --> 00:12:56,780 But it's a trend. 262 00:12:56,780 --> 00:12:57,714 Yeah. Luckily. 263 00:12:57,714 --> 00:13:01,281 Would you say that cabinet hardware is very easy to interchange? 264 00:13:01,547 --> 00:13:06,115 I've seen a lot of people DIY different, cabinet hardware options 265 00:13:06,115 --> 00:13:08,481 if they just want to like, touch up their kitchen, but 266 00:13:08,481 --> 00:13:11,482 maybe they don't want like an installer or contractor to come in. 267 00:13:11,648 --> 00:13:13,215 They'll just kind of go on Pinterest 268 00:13:13,215 --> 00:13:15,882 and look up different ways they can change out their hardware 269 00:13:15,882 --> 00:13:19,883 from a DIY perspective, are you seeing people do that a lot? Yes. 270 00:13:20,049 --> 00:13:22,316 Are you talking about hinges or are you talking about, 271 00:13:23,416 --> 00:13:26,517 like pools, just knobs, like little things like that. 272 00:13:26,550 --> 00:13:27,750 As long as you have the center, 273 00:13:27,750 --> 00:13:32,117 as long as you have it definitely pulls single hold pulls or you can change out. 274 00:13:32,451 --> 00:13:36,018 And handles are easy to change out as long as you have the center 275 00:13:36,018 --> 00:13:37,518 hole measurements. 276 00:13:37,518 --> 00:13:38,951 they come in standard sizes. 277 00:13:38,951 --> 00:13:42,752 So as long as you have that measurement you measure from the whole center 278 00:13:42,752 --> 00:13:46,852 to center, it's really easy to order handles and change them out yourself. 279 00:13:47,086 --> 00:13:49,419 It's not hard for a Phillips head screwdriver. 280 00:13:49,419 --> 00:13:51,319 And you're you're good to go. 281 00:13:51,319 --> 00:13:54,520 Yeah, maybe a YouTube video if you really need help, right? Yes. 282 00:13:54,586 --> 00:13:56,286 Absolutely. Yes. 283 00:13:56,286 --> 00:13:58,120 How can homeowners best compliment 284 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:01,120 their flooring choices when they're selecting cabinet hardware? 285 00:14:01,387 --> 00:14:04,787 Are you seeing people maybe match their flooring to their hardware? 286 00:14:04,921 --> 00:14:08,354 I don't see a whole lot of people worry about matching hardware to flooring. 287 00:14:08,621 --> 00:14:13,288 I'm seeing I'm seeing a lot of people are trying to bring in a lot of light 288 00:14:13,288 --> 00:14:17,255 flooring down here, and I'm trying to talk them out of the yeah, 289 00:14:17,589 --> 00:14:20,422 I just and it's funny because the same customer 290 00:14:20,422 --> 00:14:23,456 with the same client with the, with the refrigerator, 291 00:14:23,656 --> 00:14:26,656 they had these white this white Florida they wanted 292 00:14:26,890 --> 00:14:29,423 and they wanted white cabinets, white floor. 293 00:14:29,423 --> 00:14:33,357 And then they were going to pick a darker counter and I'm like, please 294 00:14:35,257 --> 00:14:36,257 go to a darker, 295 00:14:36,257 --> 00:14:39,258 go to a darker floor and. 296 00:14:41,291 --> 00:14:42,158 My thing is, 297 00:14:42,158 --> 00:14:46,425 is with hardware like look around at the bigger, bigger picture 298 00:14:46,625 --> 00:14:50,992 if you have your appliances are the biggest thing in your kitchen. 299 00:14:51,092 --> 00:14:54,159 So if your appliances are stainless steel, 300 00:14:54,793 --> 00:14:59,326 then you don't want to put black hardware or gold hardware. 301 00:14:59,393 --> 00:15:01,660 So if everything around you is stainless steel, 302 00:15:01,660 --> 00:15:04,760 then maybe you want to go with a brush nickel, 303 00:15:05,460 --> 00:15:08,361 something that's going to go with that. 304 00:15:08,361 --> 00:15:11,361 And then if you do that flooring 305 00:15:11,894 --> 00:15:15,261 it is tough with floor to try and match hardware to flooring 306 00:15:15,995 --> 00:15:20,062 because my thing is like I want the whole house to kind of tie together. 307 00:15:20,362 --> 00:15:23,829 I don't want the kitchen to be such a stand out away from the rest of the house. 308 00:15:23,829 --> 00:15:27,263 So I try and match it so that later on, 309 00:15:27,763 --> 00:15:29,563 hopefully they're going to do the rest of the house. 310 00:15:29,563 --> 00:15:31,496 If they're if they're just doing the kitchen, 311 00:15:31,496 --> 00:15:33,030 hopefully they're going to do the rest of the house 312 00:15:33,030 --> 00:15:34,597 and we can tie in the rest of the house. 313 00:15:34,597 --> 00:15:39,664 That's my thought, always is later on doing some more work in the house. 314 00:15:39,964 --> 00:15:42,964 So the biggest thing is like, let's make everything 315 00:15:42,964 --> 00:15:46,165 so that it's cohesive with the rest of the house 316 00:15:46,365 --> 00:15:49,465 so that later on, again, if we do the bathrooms, 317 00:15:49,465 --> 00:15:52,632 we're going to be able to tie in the hardware from the kitchen 318 00:15:52,632 --> 00:15:56,166 into the bathrooms with the floors into the rest of the house, 319 00:15:56,399 --> 00:15:58,299 into the bedrooms, into the bathroom. 320 00:15:58,299 --> 00:16:02,500 So I don't really see a lot of people worrying about trying to tie 321 00:16:02,500 --> 00:16:04,300 in the hardware to the floors. 322 00:16:05,667 --> 00:16:08,334 it's more the hardware with the 323 00:16:08,334 --> 00:16:13,101 my thing is the appliances, the lighting fixtures, that kind of stuff. 324 00:16:13,434 --> 00:16:16,968 Yeah, I've never, you know, even myself, I've never thought about, 325 00:16:17,001 --> 00:16:19,135 I guess, just all the appliances 326 00:16:19,135 --> 00:16:22,935 and how at the end you want those to go with the rest of the kitchen too, right. 327 00:16:22,968 --> 00:16:26,569 So I could definitely see how homeowners would overlook that. 328 00:16:26,869 --> 00:16:28,569 Right. because I didn't even think about that. 329 00:16:28,569 --> 00:16:28,836 Yeah. 330 00:16:28,836 --> 00:16:32,936 If you have all stainless steel, appliances and you have something 331 00:16:32,936 --> 00:16:35,936 that does not go with that, it's going to look a little funky. 332 00:16:36,170 --> 00:16:38,137 And if you think about don't think of that right now. 333 00:16:38,137 --> 00:16:41,637 If you think about it, that's the most metal in your kitchen or your life. Yep. 334 00:16:42,337 --> 00:16:45,337 Yeah. and you don't want to ignore that. 335 00:16:45,337 --> 00:16:49,238 I mean, some people, some people are still buying white appliances, which yeah, 336 00:16:49,238 --> 00:16:53,772 there's one I just want to get cuz I, I hate white appliances. 337 00:16:53,772 --> 00:16:58,205 But yeah, some people still want the, just be like childhood nostalgia. 338 00:16:58,339 --> 00:17:01,072 It's white appliances. The white fridge. 339 00:17:01,072 --> 00:17:02,639 Well, yeah. Well, I'm a little older than you. 340 00:17:02,639 --> 00:17:04,106 I'm sure, but I'm thinking 341 00:17:04,106 --> 00:17:08,306 back of the oh, wait, from the bring back the lime green and, whatever. 342 00:17:08,306 --> 00:17:10,707 Or avocado green they used to call it. 343 00:17:10,707 --> 00:17:11,940 Yeah. Yes. 344 00:17:11,940 --> 00:17:13,374 That would actually be kind of cool. 345 00:17:13,374 --> 00:17:15,207 I think I would like that for a day or so. 346 00:17:15,207 --> 00:17:18,207 And then I think, oh, maybe this wasn't a good decision. 347 00:17:18,507 --> 00:17:20,008 Exactly, exactly. 348 00:17:20,008 --> 00:17:23,675 How do you think designers can help their clients best 349 00:17:23,675 --> 00:17:26,175 when choosing have cabinet hardware in the kitchen? 350 00:17:26,175 --> 00:17:27,342 Are there any other? 351 00:17:27,342 --> 00:17:29,309 We've talked a lot about cabinet hardware. 352 00:17:29,309 --> 00:17:32,576 You've given a lot of good recommendations on what people should do. 353 00:17:32,976 --> 00:17:35,709 is there anything I guess we haven't touched base on that 354 00:17:35,709 --> 00:17:37,509 maybe homeowners should think about, 355 00:17:37,509 --> 00:17:40,776 or a designer should think about when they're giving recommendations. 356 00:17:41,277 --> 00:17:46,110 So I always so my thought is always whenever especially hardware, 357 00:17:46,477 --> 00:17:49,477 I try and find out what they like, what the homeowner likes. 358 00:17:49,911 --> 00:17:53,111 And I bring them a few choices. 359 00:17:53,444 --> 00:17:59,112 So I always think my thought is the less choices, the better, 360 00:17:59,645 --> 00:18:03,446 because the more choices you give them, the harder it's going to be. 361 00:18:04,079 --> 00:18:05,646 Yes. yeah. 362 00:18:05,646 --> 00:18:08,346 Just like bring you bringing them into the showroom. 363 00:18:08,346 --> 00:18:12,546 I bring them into the showroom and they get their eyes opened, her mouth 364 00:18:12,546 --> 00:18:16,147 dropped, their jaw drops, and it's like, oh my gosh. 365 00:18:16,447 --> 00:18:20,547 And then I forget I'm in for the long haul because it's going to be a long day 366 00:18:21,047 --> 00:18:23,381 and it's going to be many trips back, you know? 367 00:18:23,381 --> 00:18:26,381 So I always try and find out, okay, what do they like? 368 00:18:26,748 --> 00:18:31,448 And then okay, let's pick some samples and then let me bring it to you. 369 00:18:31,715 --> 00:18:33,315 Don't keep coming back to the showroom. 370 00:18:33,315 --> 00:18:35,049 Let me bring them to you. 371 00:18:35,049 --> 00:18:38,349 And then I have a small group of samplings. 372 00:18:38,682 --> 00:18:40,816 And then here's 3 or 4. 373 00:18:40,816 --> 00:18:42,850 What do you like out of these? 374 00:18:42,850 --> 00:18:44,950 And okay, you like this, but you don't like this style. 375 00:18:44,950 --> 00:18:47,150 Let me bring you 3 or 4 more. 376 00:18:47,150 --> 00:18:50,317 Because when you overwhelm them with a whole rack of hardware. 377 00:18:50,550 --> 00:18:52,517 Yeah, that's when you're going to run into trouble. 378 00:18:52,517 --> 00:18:54,918 In my eyes, less is more. 379 00:18:54,918 --> 00:18:57,918 The displays we have in the showroom, it's like, absolutely. Yep. 380 00:18:58,085 --> 00:18:59,151 A whole bunch of them. 381 00:18:59,151 --> 00:19:02,152 So like I said, when I first went, I was like, oh, that's a lot. 382 00:19:02,318 --> 00:19:02,452 Yeah. 383 00:19:02,452 --> 00:19:04,652 And they and they stay in there and they just spin them 384 00:19:04,652 --> 00:19:06,119 and they just spin them and spin around. 385 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:07,919 They're looking and looking and looking. 386 00:19:07,919 --> 00:19:10,853 And I was just like, this is going to take forever. 387 00:19:10,853 --> 00:19:13,619 It's going to be forever. So yeah. But yeah. 388 00:19:13,619 --> 00:19:15,620 So I always trying okay. You like that. 389 00:19:15,620 --> 00:19:18,287 You like that. Okay. I'll bring them to you. 390 00:19:18,287 --> 00:19:21,854 Let's let's move on to let's go get tile or 391 00:19:21,854 --> 00:19:25,087 let's go get cabinets or let's, let's take a couple samples. 392 00:19:25,754 --> 00:19:28,388 I'll bring everything to your house and then we'll go over everything. 393 00:19:28,388 --> 00:19:31,621 Let's get the design out of the way and that's that. 394 00:19:32,288 --> 00:19:33,788 Yeah, that that's a great idea. 395 00:19:33,788 --> 00:19:36,255 Yeah. That always seems to go the best. 396 00:19:36,255 --> 00:19:38,855 Well, thank you so much for your time today, Walter. 397 00:19:38,855 --> 00:19:41,722 We appreciate you taking some time out of your busy schedule. 398 00:19:41,722 --> 00:19:45,189 I know you're probably super busy with everything down in Florida. 399 00:19:45,289 --> 00:19:46,756 You have a great rest of your day. 400 00:19:46,756 --> 00:19:48,323 Thank you, thank you. Bye bye. Thanks. 401 00:19:50,090 --> 00:19:50,423 Hi, I’m Kevin Devine, and this is the ProSource Podcast. 402 00:19:50,423 --> 00:19:50,990 about a variety of topics within home and commercial projects. Enjoy! 403 00:19:50,990 --> 00:19:54,524 We're going to switch things over to Matt Vecchio from Top Knobs. 404 00:19:54,924 --> 00:19:57,624 thank you, Matt, for joining the podcast today. 405 00:19:57,624 --> 00:20:00,858 If you don't mind just introducing yourself and what you do 406 00:20:00,858 --> 00:20:01,724 for top knobs 407 00:20:01,724 --> 00:20:04,725 and a little bit of background on what top knobs is, that would be great. 408 00:20:04,725 --> 00:20:06,992 Well thank you Molly, I'm thrilled to be here today. 409 00:20:06,992 --> 00:20:09,592 I love the pro source, franchises. 410 00:20:09,592 --> 00:20:12,426 I love doing business with you guys. And will be invited. 411 00:20:12,426 --> 00:20:16,093 about me, I've worked at Top Knobs 17.5 412 00:20:16,093 --> 00:20:19,093 years on senior director of national sales. 413 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:22,960 spend the majority of my time out on the road traveling with sales reps, 414 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,860 visiting customers, especially pro sports franchises around the country. 415 00:20:27,260 --> 00:20:30,594 And, you know, doing everything I can to grow the top most business, 416 00:20:30,994 --> 00:20:32,861 around the U.S. accounts. 417 00:20:32,861 --> 00:20:33,628 So that's what I do. 418 00:20:34,695 --> 00:20:35,661 And I'm perfect. 419 00:20:35,661 --> 00:20:40,462 I am based, in Branchburg, new Jersey, which is where the top notch home offices. 420 00:20:40,929 --> 00:20:42,162 And that's where that's where 421 00:20:42,162 --> 00:20:45,762 I'm sitting right now is at Tottenham's HQ here in Branchburg, new Jersey. 422 00:20:46,196 --> 00:20:47,163 Awesome. 423 00:20:47,163 --> 00:20:50,263 well, today's episode is all about the finishing touches 424 00:20:50,263 --> 00:20:54,463 of kitchen design, and I think it's perfect for top knobs. Why? 425 00:20:54,463 --> 00:20:55,997 A lot of people, when they think about 426 00:20:55,997 --> 00:20:59,397 the finishing touches, they think of, you know, the door handles 427 00:20:59,397 --> 00:21:02,331 and just cabinet handles, hardware, things like that. 428 00:21:02,331 --> 00:21:04,931 When homeowners are remodeling their kitchen, 429 00:21:04,931 --> 00:21:07,931 and they turn their attention to cabinet hardware, 430 00:21:07,965 --> 00:21:09,898 what are they typically considering? 431 00:21:09,898 --> 00:21:10,898 Have you noticed? 432 00:21:10,898 --> 00:21:13,032 So when they're remodeling their kitchen, 433 00:21:13,032 --> 00:21:16,132 a lot of times people fall in love with like a centerpiece part of their kitchen, 434 00:21:16,132 --> 00:21:20,999 whether it be the faucets, the a lighting fixture, or something on the appliance 435 00:21:20,999 --> 00:21:23,433 or even something within the cabinets that they want to match. 436 00:21:23,433 --> 00:21:26,967 So usually they take inspiration from a centerpiece 437 00:21:27,333 --> 00:21:30,600 within the kitchen that they want to kind of model their cabinet hardware ever. 438 00:21:30,967 --> 00:21:35,768 So whether that be a textured faucet or, you know, gold light fixture 439 00:21:35,801 --> 00:21:41,001 or anything like that, that seems to be where the, designs 440 00:21:41,001 --> 00:21:42,035 that they select with on top, 441 00:21:42,035 --> 00:21:45,269 not for driven focus from plumbing, lighting, hardware, appliances. 442 00:21:45,469 --> 00:21:49,769 Do you ever see anyone just throwing in very random styles of cabinet 443 00:21:49,769 --> 00:21:52,969 hardware that doesn't necessarily go with anything else in the kitchen? 444 00:21:53,203 --> 00:21:53,803 Not really. 445 00:21:53,803 --> 00:21:56,670 I mean, people are pretty by the book when it comes to cabinet. 446 00:21:56,670 --> 00:21:59,103 You know, it's not something people want to take a risk on. 447 00:21:59,103 --> 00:21:59,870 it's. 448 00:21:59,870 --> 00:22:02,004 Yeah, usually something that just kind of, 449 00:22:02,004 --> 00:22:03,604 you know, the big investment is the cabinets. 450 00:22:03,604 --> 00:22:05,937 You don't want put something crazy on your cabinets. 451 00:22:05,937 --> 00:22:09,038 That's going to make take away from the beauty of your kitchen cabinets. 452 00:22:09,338 --> 00:22:10,305 You know, the cabinet hardware. 453 00:22:10,305 --> 00:22:14,572 We kind of equate it to putting really nice rims on a car 454 00:22:14,572 --> 00:22:15,505 or something like that, you know, 455 00:22:15,505 --> 00:22:18,539 just kind of want to blend it in and make it look nice and not stand up. 456 00:22:18,539 --> 00:22:22,072 So to something to be the jewelry of the cabinet, 457 00:22:22,539 --> 00:22:24,773 that's a good way of saying it. Yes. 458 00:22:24,773 --> 00:22:29,273 what do you think drives the popularity of a specific type of cabinet hardware? 459 00:22:29,540 --> 00:22:33,274 So really kind of trends in the industry, whether it's, you know, we're seeing 460 00:22:33,274 --> 00:22:36,674 a lot of textures and knurling designs and faucets and lights, fixtures, 461 00:22:36,674 --> 00:22:38,807 which is what's inspiring our new collections. 462 00:22:40,474 --> 00:22:42,375 you know, driven by the trends and prominent lighting, 463 00:22:42,375 --> 00:22:45,875 I think is what, you know, drives the popularity of, of our hardware. 464 00:22:45,875 --> 00:22:48,975 So, again, kind of piggybacks off the first question you asked me. 465 00:22:49,075 --> 00:22:51,575 Yeah. You know, same kind of thing. 466 00:22:51,575 --> 00:22:54,342 Do you find that those trends impact 467 00:22:54,342 --> 00:22:58,543 what like how it's manufactured or does it have a big impact 468 00:22:58,543 --> 00:23:00,710 on the manufacturing of cabinet hardware at all? 469 00:23:00,710 --> 00:23:03,577 Yeah, absolutely. So every year we come out with new designs. 470 00:23:03,577 --> 00:23:05,244 So that's one thing about top 471 00:23:05,244 --> 00:23:09,044 knobs is every single year we come out with about 5 or 6 new looks. 472 00:23:09,044 --> 00:23:12,578 Usually we, you know, cater those based on what's going on in the industry. 473 00:23:12,578 --> 00:23:15,611 And we get a lot of feedback from our customers, designers, work 474 00:23:15,611 --> 00:23:17,612 and trade shows and things like that. 475 00:23:17,612 --> 00:23:21,012 And, you know, people kind of hip us to the trend that even just 476 00:23:21,012 --> 00:23:24,946 maybe in the eyes and ears for the company out in the field and our local sales 477 00:23:24,946 --> 00:23:26,679 team and our customers, they, 478 00:23:26,679 --> 00:23:29,013 you know, let us know what's trending, what's popular. 479 00:23:29,013 --> 00:23:30,613 And you need hardware to match X 480 00:23:30,613 --> 00:23:33,880 or you need a finished that looks like this and things like that. 481 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:35,413 So, you know, we are 482 00:23:35,413 --> 00:23:36,580 we have our ears to the ground, 483 00:23:36,580 --> 00:23:38,680 and we're always trying to stay current with what's going on 484 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:41,447 in the kitchen of both industry and what's trending. 485 00:23:41,447 --> 00:23:45,348 And that's what we drive our new designs off of for sure right now. 486 00:23:45,348 --> 00:23:48,481 What metals and colors are you seeing seeing that stand out above 487 00:23:48,481 --> 00:23:49,215 all the others? 488 00:23:49,215 --> 00:23:51,482 Which ones are super popular right now? 489 00:23:51,482 --> 00:23:55,515 So right now, we have a French called Honey bronze, which is a gold tone that is 490 00:23:55,815 --> 00:24:00,016 far and away our number one French top names has been in business over 30 years. 491 00:24:00,149 --> 00:24:03,783 so brush that nickel's always been our number one finish. 492 00:24:04,116 --> 00:24:06,717 Last year, honey bronze surpassed that nickel. 493 00:24:07,917 --> 00:24:10,250 and it was actually my third most popular finish. 494 00:24:10,250 --> 00:24:13,917 Now matte black also grouped into the top three as well. 495 00:24:13,917 --> 00:24:16,884 So black and gold are what's trending right now. 496 00:24:16,884 --> 00:24:19,418 So all the finishes we were just talking about 497 00:24:19,418 --> 00:24:22,485 seeing if people go kind of crazy with what kind of cabinet 498 00:24:22,485 --> 00:24:25,585 hardware they have, if it matches the rest of their kitchen or not. 499 00:24:25,752 --> 00:24:28,186 Most people, when they're looking at their kitchen, 500 00:24:28,186 --> 00:24:30,886 they just want to simply change out the hardware. 501 00:24:30,886 --> 00:24:33,619 It's an easy switch out. I know my mom. 502 00:24:33,619 --> 00:24:36,620 She's obsessed with just changing out little things like that. 503 00:24:36,653 --> 00:24:37,753 It's super easy. 504 00:24:37,753 --> 00:24:40,020 What feedback have you heard from homeowners 505 00:24:40,020 --> 00:24:42,087 that are looking to make that kind of adjustment? 506 00:24:42,087 --> 00:24:43,654 So one thing that's a little bit 507 00:24:43,654 --> 00:24:47,688 tricky is you always have to match up the existing center to center. 508 00:24:47,688 --> 00:24:50,688 So if you already have cabinet hardware screwed in, sometimes it's, 509 00:24:50,855 --> 00:24:53,188 you know, three inches and the piece you want from 510 00:24:53,188 --> 00:24:56,088 whatever Cabinet Harbor supplier might be three, three quarter inches. 511 00:24:56,088 --> 00:24:56,922 So it might not fit. 512 00:24:56,922 --> 00:25:00,789 So I referenced a collection called the Garrison Collection, 513 00:25:00,789 --> 00:25:02,056 which we just launched, the top notch. 514 00:25:02,056 --> 00:25:04,756 And what we launched with that was universal back plates. 515 00:25:04,756 --> 00:25:07,756 So you can put it back plate over your existing center to centers. 516 00:25:08,023 --> 00:25:11,223 And you know, if you have a three inch center at the center and you wanted to add 517 00:25:11,357 --> 00:25:12,957 even a larger piece like a five and one 518 00:25:12,957 --> 00:25:16,724 sixteenths cover up, the existing screw holes had a longer length. 519 00:25:16,724 --> 00:25:18,157 And where we go. 520 00:25:18,157 --> 00:25:20,024 So, that's one way to do it. 521 00:25:20,024 --> 00:25:22,591 But even just someone who, you know, you're 522 00:25:22,591 --> 00:25:25,691 you're renting a house, you just want to have maybe some old, 523 00:25:26,225 --> 00:25:29,159 I don't know, ceramic knobs from 30 years ago on there. 524 00:25:29,159 --> 00:25:32,359 And they just want to swap out and put some, you know, nice 525 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:35,493 upgraded, gold hardware on their cabinets. 526 00:25:35,593 --> 00:25:38,926 Just, really upgrades the entire look of the entire kitchen. 527 00:25:38,926 --> 00:25:42,793 So, it's just it's an easy, inexpensive add just to upgrade 528 00:25:42,793 --> 00:25:43,893 the look of what you have. 529 00:25:43,893 --> 00:25:45,527 Yep. I agree, and anyone can do it. 530 00:25:45,527 --> 00:25:48,794 You don't have to be a a trade pro or really know how to work any 531 00:25:49,527 --> 00:25:51,894 specific tools besides, like a screwdriver. 532 00:25:51,894 --> 00:25:56,161 Most of the time it's probably the SDI project you can do. 533 00:25:56,161 --> 00:25:57,795 So yes, exactly. 534 00:25:57,795 --> 00:26:01,629 What kinds of stories or experiences do you hear from trade pros? 535 00:26:01,662 --> 00:26:04,829 that will help shape the future of Top Knobs products. 536 00:26:05,229 --> 00:26:08,363 Do you take any of their feedback and move forward with it? 537 00:26:08,363 --> 00:26:08,829 Always? 538 00:26:08,829 --> 00:26:10,863 I mean, people can tell us about, 539 00:26:10,863 --> 00:26:14,297 you know, we we've launched some some tables which you install 540 00:26:14,663 --> 00:26:17,364 and they kind of fade away into the cabinets and some they were just 541 00:26:17,364 --> 00:26:20,597 saying, look, we just want a, clear and concise way. 542 00:26:20,597 --> 00:26:22,764 Just so people can, you know, 543 00:26:22,764 --> 00:26:25,664 they don't want to have the cabinet ever so much in your face. 544 00:26:25,664 --> 00:26:28,398 So we launched some temples a few years ago, which is great, 545 00:26:28,398 --> 00:26:30,598 but really, all of our trends and all of our designs 546 00:26:30,598 --> 00:26:32,565 and everything that we do comes from the trade process. 547 00:26:32,565 --> 00:26:34,499 I mean, that's that's the feedback we get. 548 00:26:34,499 --> 00:26:36,532 We want to do what makes their life easier. 549 00:26:36,532 --> 00:26:39,533 We want to do when they're doing installs, when they're doing 550 00:26:39,566 --> 00:26:42,033 whatever trends, they're doing anything like that. 551 00:26:42,033 --> 00:26:44,366 You know, we want to make their lives easier. 552 00:26:44,366 --> 00:26:47,267 You know, everything we do is driven by feedback from the field. 553 00:26:47,267 --> 00:26:50,667 So obviously today's main focus is about the kitchen. 554 00:26:50,934 --> 00:26:54,134 But cabinet hardware is place throughout the house. 555 00:26:54,467 --> 00:26:56,434 is there a place in the home that 556 00:26:56,434 --> 00:26:59,735 maybe unexpectedly rising in popularity that you're seeing? 557 00:27:00,001 --> 00:27:03,968 I'd say laundry rooms, mud rooms, and you oftentimes 558 00:27:04,002 --> 00:27:05,469 you see these boot benches 559 00:27:05,469 --> 00:27:08,302 that people that a lot of the cabinet manufacturers are doing as well. 560 00:27:08,302 --> 00:27:10,202 you know, we have cabinet hardware. 561 00:27:10,202 --> 00:27:13,736 We also have decorative hooks as well, which people are using within pop ups. 562 00:27:13,736 --> 00:27:16,736 A lot of people are doing that in mud rooms and places like that. 563 00:27:16,803 --> 00:27:20,537 And then, believe it or not, you know, with obviously Covid shifting 564 00:27:20,537 --> 00:27:25,304 a lot of people to remote work and working from home, oftentimes 565 00:27:25,471 --> 00:27:27,638 people are putting cabinet hardware on their, 566 00:27:27,638 --> 00:27:30,404 you know, office furniture and things like that, which we've never had before. 567 00:27:30,404 --> 00:27:32,805 So, yeah, people are spending more time in their home offices. 568 00:27:32,805 --> 00:27:35,738 They want a really nice piece of furniture in their office. 569 00:27:35,738 --> 00:27:37,772 And oftentimes you put no hardware on there as well. 570 00:27:37,772 --> 00:27:41,872 So probably a lot of outdoor living type of situations too. 571 00:27:41,872 --> 00:27:42,639 I know that's been a 572 00:27:43,706 --> 00:27:44,306 couple of years. 573 00:27:44,306 --> 00:27:44,473 Yeah. 574 00:27:44,473 --> 00:27:46,173 We have some stainless steel hardware that, 575 00:27:46,173 --> 00:27:49,606 that we, that we use all the time that outdoor cabinet manufacturers use. 576 00:27:49,606 --> 00:27:51,740 And people do an outdoor kitchens use. 577 00:27:51,740 --> 00:27:55,940 obviously bathrooms is a huge place as well outside the kitchen to 578 00:27:56,474 --> 00:27:59,908 so, you know, even just on a vanity piece for a couple of knobs 579 00:27:59,908 --> 00:28:01,141 on there to dress it up as well. 580 00:28:01,141 --> 00:28:04,141 So that's another DIY project for people to swap out for Roman. 581 00:28:04,508 --> 00:28:08,808 and so, yeah, lots of places outside the kitchen, they use top notes. 582 00:28:08,875 --> 00:28:12,742 How often do you find kitchen designs where homeowners choose to have more 583 00:28:12,742 --> 00:28:16,876 matching cabinet hardware, as opposed to, cabinet hardware that stands out? 584 00:28:17,076 --> 00:28:18,976 You talked you talked about it a little bit already, 585 00:28:18,976 --> 00:28:22,043 but you're seeing most people are just playing by the book. 586 00:28:22,310 --> 00:28:25,377 Maybe there's a few odd jobs out there that want to go crazy. 587 00:28:25,377 --> 00:28:28,177 And I mean, it's super easy. You can always switch it out. 588 00:28:28,177 --> 00:28:29,011 If it doesn't work right. 589 00:28:29,011 --> 00:28:29,911 You can always put it out. 590 00:28:29,911 --> 00:28:32,911 But you know, we we don't see people taking too big of risks. 591 00:28:33,011 --> 00:28:34,011 Yeah. 592 00:28:34,011 --> 00:28:37,545 And Top Knobs is, you know, a pretty mainstream line. 593 00:28:37,545 --> 00:28:38,145 You know, 594 00:28:38,145 --> 00:28:41,645 of course we have some pretty designer driven looks, but most of our stuff is 595 00:28:42,212 --> 00:28:45,612 pretty mainstream, pretty transitional, doesn't fall too contemporary 596 00:28:45,612 --> 00:28:46,379 or too traditional. 597 00:28:46,379 --> 00:28:49,079 We're right in the middle and people are just looking for 598 00:28:49,079 --> 00:28:51,480 something that blends into the cabinets and not stand out too much. 599 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:51,680 You know? 600 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,347 Maybe they'll take a risk on a gold finish, when maybe they would have gone 601 00:28:54,347 --> 00:28:56,247 with a brush that nickel a couple years ago. 602 00:28:56,247 --> 00:28:59,447 Yeah, that's kind of where we see people taking risks is on a, you know, 603 00:28:59,714 --> 00:29:03,014 a trending finish with gold or black, which might stand out a little bit more. 604 00:29:03,014 --> 00:29:03,914 Whereas, 605 00:29:03,914 --> 00:29:04,514 you know, 606 00:29:04,514 --> 00:29:06,314 ten years ago everything was past that nickel 607 00:29:06,314 --> 00:29:08,281 and maybe a traditional oil or a bronze look. 608 00:29:08,281 --> 00:29:11,648 But that's where people are taking that risk is when the finished, not so much 609 00:29:11,682 --> 00:29:14,015 the design. Gotcha. That makes sense. 610 00:29:14,015 --> 00:29:17,716 I'm sure durability plays a factor in choosing the right kind of cabinet 611 00:29:17,716 --> 00:29:19,482 hardware, the right brand. 612 00:29:19,482 --> 00:29:22,683 How does top knobs help themselves stand out in that regard? 613 00:29:22,683 --> 00:29:23,883 And maybe even talking to 614 00:29:23,883 --> 00:29:27,717 about outside, where you definitely want to have something that can with hold 615 00:29:27,717 --> 00:29:31,184 the elements of being outdoors, but even inside as well. 616 00:29:31,917 --> 00:29:33,617 Hey, look, at the end of the day, it's pretty simple. 617 00:29:33,617 --> 00:29:36,284 Yeah, we have a lifetime warranty, so any issues that you have, 618 00:29:36,284 --> 00:29:40,018 we stand behind our product and something that effect the finished flakes off. 619 00:29:40,218 --> 00:29:41,951 Something breaks. 620 00:29:41,951 --> 00:29:44,485 we have a no questions asked lifetime warranty. 621 00:29:44,485 --> 00:29:46,052 So we stand behind our product. 622 00:29:46,052 --> 00:29:48,185 That's great to hear. As simple as that. 623 00:29:48,185 --> 00:29:49,486 Yep. Exactly. 624 00:29:49,486 --> 00:29:52,486 We talked a little bit about trends desktop 625 00:29:52,486 --> 00:29:54,419 knobs as far as going out in the field. 626 00:29:54,419 --> 00:29:57,520 Do we also do you guys also look at I guess a lot of people 627 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:01,554 bring up Pinterest and looking from like a DIY standpoint, 628 00:30:01,754 --> 00:30:05,487 do you ever touch base on just like the online community of DIY or. 629 00:30:05,654 --> 00:30:08,688 Yeah, we have a whole design community within top notch. 630 00:30:08,688 --> 00:30:12,255 We have a whole designer blog that we have, 631 00:30:12,255 --> 00:30:15,455 you know, we actually have a whole product within our product management team. 632 00:30:15,455 --> 00:30:18,022 We have a design team, in-house designers and things like that. 633 00:30:18,022 --> 00:30:21,589 So they actually just returned from the Saloni conference 634 00:30:21,589 --> 00:30:24,589 in Milan, Italy, a couple weeks ago. 635 00:30:24,689 --> 00:30:27,423 just to see what the trends are in Europe right now. 636 00:30:27,423 --> 00:30:29,856 So, yeah, I mean, we have our ears to the streets, 637 00:30:29,856 --> 00:30:31,257 whether it's on the social media 638 00:30:31,257 --> 00:30:35,057 outlets, Pinterest, you know, traveling to international trade shows. 639 00:30:35,124 --> 00:30:39,057 we actually we just at a trade show in New York City, the ICF conference, 640 00:30:39,391 --> 00:30:42,658 yesterday and, yeah, we're we're all over the place. 641 00:30:42,658 --> 00:30:44,925 We got our ears to the streets on everything 642 00:30:44,925 --> 00:30:46,425 trending in the entire industry. 643 00:30:46,425 --> 00:30:49,425 So, our in-house design team was for each. 644 00:30:49,725 --> 00:30:51,392 so what's next for Cabinet Hardware? 645 00:30:51,392 --> 00:30:52,659 What do you see happening? 646 00:30:52,659 --> 00:30:54,926 Maybe in the next year or two with trends? 647 00:30:54,926 --> 00:30:56,226 Do you see it staying the same? 648 00:30:56,226 --> 00:30:58,359 Do you see anything going a certain direction? 649 00:30:58,359 --> 00:31:00,660 Well, I think we're going to continue to see 650 00:31:00,660 --> 00:31:03,660 texture on cabinets, texture on hardware. 651 00:31:04,127 --> 00:31:07,860 I can't really give you a definitive design style that might drive 652 00:31:07,860 --> 00:31:12,194 more sales, but, you know, warmer wood tones in their kitchens, more texture. 653 00:31:12,561 --> 00:31:14,728 that's kind of what we're seeing. 654 00:31:14,728 --> 00:31:18,028 And that's what they saw, overseas in Milan a couple weeks ago as well. 655 00:31:18,562 --> 00:31:20,162 So we'll see. 656 00:31:20,162 --> 00:31:23,329 yeah, I expect more of the same for the next couple of years. 657 00:31:24,229 --> 00:31:26,296 but you never know. 658 00:31:26,296 --> 00:31:31,063 I don't know, do you think that, I guess, like cabinets and hardwood, 659 00:31:31,296 --> 00:31:34,663 the trends that are in those markets, is that influencing 660 00:31:35,230 --> 00:31:37,730 top knobs and cabinet hardware at all? 661 00:31:37,730 --> 00:31:41,197 Like, I know we're kind of getting away from the gray flooring 662 00:31:41,197 --> 00:31:45,764 and going more into those Golden's like you talked about Golden being the number 663 00:31:45,764 --> 00:31:50,231 one seller right now for you guys, kind of just more going towards that probably. 664 00:31:50,465 --> 00:31:53,165 Yeah, I think I think a lot of that and I think a lot of the finishes 665 00:31:53,165 --> 00:31:53,932 that have been popular 666 00:31:53,932 --> 00:31:57,032 the last couple of years and cabinets like the the crazed greens, 667 00:31:57,032 --> 00:32:00,032 the blues, I think those are going to kind of fade away. 668 00:32:00,233 --> 00:32:02,266 Those have the finishes. Nice. Yeah. 669 00:32:02,266 --> 00:32:02,866 You never know. 670 00:32:02,866 --> 00:32:05,866 Whatever it is, whatever it is, we'll have some cabinet hardware to match. 671 00:32:05,966 --> 00:32:06,900 Okay. Perfect. 672 00:32:06,900 --> 00:32:07,800 Do you have anything else 673 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:10,934 you want to add about top knobs and what's in the future for top knobs. 674 00:32:10,967 --> 00:32:12,700 So the future for top knobs is more of the same. 675 00:32:12,700 --> 00:32:13,867 We're going to continue to innovate, 676 00:32:13,867 --> 00:32:17,501 come out with great new designs with multiple lengths, multiple finishes, 677 00:32:17,501 --> 00:32:21,035 matching appliance pools, quality that's unmatched in the industry. 678 00:32:21,035 --> 00:32:23,202 Back with a lifetime warranty. 679 00:32:23,202 --> 00:32:24,568 excellent customer service. 680 00:32:24,568 --> 00:32:27,469 You know, the other thing about Top Knobs is we have everything in stock. 681 00:32:27,469 --> 00:32:32,002 We have an over 99% water flow rate place in order in the morning ship, same day. 682 00:32:32,002 --> 00:32:35,036 We have, you know, warehouse out on the East coast, one on the West Coast. 683 00:32:35,703 --> 00:32:38,103 Usually you have everything within 2 to 3 business days max. 684 00:32:38,103 --> 00:32:40,270 So, you know, you continue to see top notch. 685 00:32:40,270 --> 00:32:45,304 Just be as strong supplier for you and one that has your back and, yeah, 686 00:32:45,671 --> 00:32:48,338 we're we're thrilled to partner with Prosource love 687 00:32:48,338 --> 00:32:51,771 doing business with you guys and, yeah. 688 00:32:51,771 --> 00:32:54,105 Look forward to continued sales growth in the future. 689 00:32:54,105 --> 00:32:57,505 So, it's it was a privilege to be asked to be 690 00:32:57,505 --> 00:33:00,505 on this podcast and really, really excited to be here. 691 00:33:00,705 --> 00:33:03,206 this is actually my first ever podcast, so I can't wait to see. 692 00:33:03,206 --> 00:33:05,606 Oh, great. Thank you so much for your time. 693 00:33:05,606 --> 00:33:06,839 No, thank you for inviting us. 694 00:33:06,839 --> 00:33:08,406 It's this was a lot of fun for sure. 695 00:33:08,406 --> 00:33:09,940 So have a good one. 696 00:33:09,940 --> 00:33:10,273 I’m Kevin Devine, and this is the ProSource Podcast. 697 00:33:11,473 --> 00:33:12,040 We're going to switch 698 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:15,440 it over to Greg Payne with Engineered Floors. 699 00:33:15,807 --> 00:33:17,841 Greg, thank you for joining today. 700 00:33:17,841 --> 00:33:21,441 If you don't mind introducing yourself and introducing 701 00:33:21,441 --> 00:33:24,741 what you do with engineered Floors and your position in the company. 702 00:33:24,908 --> 00:33:29,475 Hi, I'm Greg Payne, with engineered floors, director of buying groups. 703 00:33:29,708 --> 00:33:33,442 I handle, CCI corporately, as well as hopefully 704 00:33:33,442 --> 00:33:37,376 working with every, prosource showroom in the country. 705 00:33:37,543 --> 00:33:41,576 I think I've been the most, if not, I'm sorry. 706 00:33:41,576 --> 00:33:43,510 I we'll be there shortly. 707 00:33:43,510 --> 00:33:44,943 so, I'm good. 708 00:33:44,943 --> 00:33:48,410 we've been doing business with you, quite some time. 709 00:33:48,410 --> 00:33:49,644 Me personally, 710 00:33:49,644 --> 00:33:53,711 through shot and through tough techs and now through, engineered floors. 711 00:33:54,178 --> 00:33:58,311 I've been doing this for probably a little longer than I've always been around. So. 712 00:33:59,878 --> 00:34:01,212 But, All good. 713 00:34:01,212 --> 00:34:03,912 love, the relationship we have. 714 00:34:03,912 --> 00:34:09,379 I love the relationship I have, with Prosource, and, the Prosource family. 715 00:34:09,379 --> 00:34:10,479 it's awesome. 716 00:34:10,479 --> 00:34:13,946 And we've got some wonderful things in the works, and, 717 00:34:13,946 --> 00:34:17,047 a lot of things that are going to happen as we move forward in the future. 718 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:21,481 This episode's all about kitchen design and, engineered floors. 719 00:34:22,014 --> 00:34:25,281 is perfect for this episode, actually, because flooring is a huge part of 720 00:34:25,281 --> 00:34:26,048 the kitchen. 721 00:34:26,048 --> 00:34:29,048 It's literally the homeowner's foundation for the space. 722 00:34:29,181 --> 00:34:33,882 Why do you think that kitchen flooring keeps itself in such a high position 723 00:34:33,882 --> 00:34:38,382 when it comes to homeowners and trade pros making decisions on their kitchen floor? 724 00:34:38,416 --> 00:34:41,283 You know, it's I'll share something personal with you. 725 00:34:41,283 --> 00:34:44,283 We're actually in the process of remodeling our kitchen. 726 00:34:44,683 --> 00:34:46,616 There you go. Yes. 727 00:34:46,616 --> 00:34:50,250 So I've been going through all the steps, you know, to, 728 00:34:51,550 --> 00:34:53,384 get this project started in June. 729 00:34:53,384 --> 00:34:56,217 So coming up very shortly. 730 00:34:56,217 --> 00:34:59,685 but, you know, the interesting thing, you know, when you think about a kitchen, 731 00:35:00,051 --> 00:35:03,052 you know, I always refer to it as the living kitchen, 732 00:35:03,785 --> 00:35:06,085 you know, because everybody wants to spend time in the kitchen 733 00:35:06,085 --> 00:35:10,086 no matter what's going on, whether it's celebrations, family events, 734 00:35:11,019 --> 00:35:12,052 friends over. 735 00:35:12,052 --> 00:35:15,053 It just seems to be a magnet to attract people. 736 00:35:15,453 --> 00:35:18,553 But the interesting thing, from a flooring perspective, 737 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:21,253 you know, a lot of rooms in your house 738 00:35:21,253 --> 00:35:24,254 may or may not have that much flooring exposed. 739 00:35:24,254 --> 00:35:27,321 So flooring in a kitchen has a lot of exposure. 740 00:35:27,787 --> 00:35:28,154 All right. 741 00:35:28,154 --> 00:35:33,321 So it really makes a bold statement in the floor of a kitchen. 742 00:35:33,655 --> 00:35:34,855 And if you think about it, 743 00:35:34,855 --> 00:35:38,622 with most appliances most cabinets are on the wall, you know. 744 00:35:38,622 --> 00:35:41,089 So there is a large space there. 745 00:35:41,089 --> 00:35:46,956 And so it becomes, a bigger portion of the visual of a kitchen. 746 00:35:47,589 --> 00:35:49,523 And I think it's very important. 747 00:35:49,523 --> 00:35:52,523 And if you look at any type 748 00:35:52,523 --> 00:35:55,757 of illustration from magazines 749 00:35:55,757 --> 00:35:59,057 to digital to whatever, every time you look at one, 750 00:35:59,724 --> 00:36:01,691 they really have to focus in on cabinets, 751 00:36:01,691 --> 00:36:05,258 because if they do a kitchen shot, you see a lot of flooring, right? 752 00:36:05,558 --> 00:36:06,791 They are an island. 753 00:36:06,791 --> 00:36:09,525 Those are the two things that seem to dominate, the view. 754 00:36:09,525 --> 00:36:12,592 And I think with a lot of what we were seeing 755 00:36:12,592 --> 00:36:16,192 as new trends, Island seem to be kind of waning a little bit. 756 00:36:16,659 --> 00:36:19,026 And so that exposes even more floor. 757 00:36:19,026 --> 00:36:22,026 So I think those are really key to, 758 00:36:22,060 --> 00:36:24,993 you know, the foundation of the kitchen is finding the right flooring. 759 00:36:24,993 --> 00:36:28,160 And I can tell you from a personal perspective of, 760 00:36:28,594 --> 00:36:31,761 it's the one area my wife is most concerned about. 761 00:36:31,927 --> 00:36:33,928 Yeah. I'm sorry. 762 00:36:33,928 --> 00:36:36,128 Yeah, probably because of those reasons you just touched. 763 00:36:36,128 --> 00:36:39,028 Based on it, I feel like it is like the first thing people say. 764 00:36:39,028 --> 00:36:42,729 The first people say, you know, and so it's it 765 00:36:42,729 --> 00:36:48,229 is, important aspect of designing a kitchen, know for sure. 766 00:36:48,229 --> 00:36:51,396 And you talked about just how much traffic is usually in the kitchen. 767 00:36:51,763 --> 00:36:54,430 usually kitchens are near the front of the house, 768 00:36:54,430 --> 00:36:57,430 or at least the doorways, whether that's back or front. 769 00:36:57,697 --> 00:37:01,431 How has engineered floors help develop floors that remain durable? 770 00:37:01,597 --> 00:37:04,598 To withhold all of that traffic that's going in and out. 771 00:37:05,064 --> 00:37:08,465 you have large family gatherings, you have pets in some homes. 772 00:37:08,565 --> 00:37:09,831 How has engineered floors 773 00:37:09,831 --> 00:37:12,832 kept up with just the durability and the high quality of the flooring? 774 00:37:13,332 --> 00:37:18,166 Well, one thing, that we have, recently done and, 775 00:37:18,166 --> 00:37:21,399 if you ever get down this way, Molly, I'd love to give you a tour of our plant. 776 00:37:21,466 --> 00:37:27,000 we have a new, plant, making luxury vinyl. 777 00:37:27,433 --> 00:37:31,200 And it is direct digital printing right down to the core. 778 00:37:31,700 --> 00:37:34,267 And, we do not put layers on it. 779 00:37:34,267 --> 00:37:39,601 You know, one of the concerns, with luxury vinyl number one, scratching. 780 00:37:39,834 --> 00:37:40,501 Right. 781 00:37:40,501 --> 00:37:44,502 And we are now, making our product with aluminum oxide, 782 00:37:44,502 --> 00:37:48,069 which gives us, an AC four rating on the two styles 783 00:37:48,069 --> 00:37:51,336 that we just launched with Prosource atmosphere and nurture. 784 00:37:52,002 --> 00:37:55,336 Not ugly scratch proof, but it's more scratch resistant. 785 00:37:56,036 --> 00:37:57,436 it's more dent resistant. 786 00:37:57,436 --> 00:38:02,470 We have a high density, core, that we're very, very proud of. 787 00:38:02,670 --> 00:38:06,071 we make every aspect of the product right in our plant. 788 00:38:06,271 --> 00:38:10,704 All of the materials are sourced right here in Georgia, Tennessee. 789 00:38:10,704 --> 00:38:12,505 And I think a little bit out of Kentucky. 790 00:38:12,505 --> 00:38:18,339 So, it's truly a US made product and one of the few domestic products 791 00:38:18,339 --> 00:38:23,372 currently being made and also one of the few true digital luxury models. 792 00:38:24,206 --> 00:38:26,806 Speaking of vinyl, is there a call for certain 793 00:38:26,806 --> 00:38:29,906 wood appearances more than others right now? 794 00:38:29,906 --> 00:38:30,873 Are you seeing 795 00:38:30,873 --> 00:38:35,607 which trends are definitely more, in favor by trade pros and homeowners? 796 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:38,841 I would say, just in general, 797 00:38:39,407 --> 00:38:42,508 people want wood, you know, that's when you're like, clear. 798 00:38:42,508 --> 00:38:43,408 I want wood. 799 00:38:43,408 --> 00:38:47,175 And, you know, there's there's some aspects of wood, you know, if 800 00:38:47,575 --> 00:38:50,208 if it is a, a gourmet kitchen 801 00:38:50,208 --> 00:38:53,542 you're building with a chef that comes in and cook, maybe you can put wood in there 802 00:38:53,542 --> 00:38:57,276 because you probably have a crew to clean up your house and maintain it. 803 00:38:58,109 --> 00:39:01,110 but if you're like the rest of us, you know, you want to serve, 804 00:39:01,710 --> 00:39:03,310 that gives you that performance, right? 805 00:39:03,310 --> 00:39:05,510 That that makes those standards. 806 00:39:05,510 --> 00:39:08,477 And so, you know, with, you know, having 807 00:39:08,477 --> 00:39:12,011 a wood visual in digital, 808 00:39:12,411 --> 00:39:16,511 it's is five times clearer than anything in the marketplace. 809 00:39:16,511 --> 00:39:17,045 Right. 810 00:39:17,045 --> 00:39:18,111 That's that's number one. 811 00:39:18,111 --> 00:39:20,412 So the visual is outstanding. 812 00:39:20,412 --> 00:39:24,879 And back at convention, people remember I had a microscope. 813 00:39:26,012 --> 00:39:26,579 I mean, 814 00:39:26,579 --> 00:39:30,013 the only person you ever heard, showing flooring with a microscope, but, 815 00:39:30,446 --> 00:39:34,280 it was used to point out the fact that it is digital. 816 00:39:34,780 --> 00:39:38,614 Now, there's one important thing in any digital aspect, 817 00:39:38,614 --> 00:39:42,414 whether it's a TV or whatever you're looking at, could be digital. 818 00:39:42,414 --> 00:39:44,081 Print are the pixels. 819 00:39:44,081 --> 00:39:47,081 You know, that's what makes the photo realist. 820 00:39:47,381 --> 00:39:51,682 And so, if you laid out real wood next to our product, 821 00:39:51,682 --> 00:39:54,882 and I would highly recommend the account manager steer this 822 00:39:54,882 --> 00:39:58,316 because it really shows the product extremely well. 823 00:39:58,316 --> 00:40:02,783 When this happened, it looks more like wood than it looks like a luxury model. 824 00:40:03,316 --> 00:40:06,916 So when someone comes in requesting that wood visual, 825 00:40:07,517 --> 00:40:10,984 they have a, an opportunity to give them a product 826 00:40:11,217 --> 00:40:15,051 that meets the water requirements, that meets their performance 827 00:40:15,051 --> 00:40:18,184 requirements, yet gives them this incredible visual. 828 00:40:18,384 --> 00:40:20,651 And, Molly, there's one additional thing. 829 00:40:20,651 --> 00:40:22,785 And this is really cool because it's digital. 830 00:40:22,785 --> 00:40:26,518 Our repeat of planks is 35. 831 00:40:26,685 --> 00:40:27,985 So what happens. 832 00:40:27,985 --> 00:40:30,186 The industry average is seven. 833 00:40:30,186 --> 00:40:33,119 So if you're in a big room with a lot of exposure 834 00:40:33,119 --> 00:40:36,920 where most kitchens are, you're going to start seeing repeats, right? 835 00:40:36,953 --> 00:40:37,653 Yeah. 836 00:40:37,653 --> 00:40:41,120 Lead your meter to go oh that's fake right. 837 00:40:42,020 --> 00:40:45,020 because you just keep seeing the repeats, in real wood. 838 00:40:45,020 --> 00:40:47,521 You don't necessarily see that. Right. 839 00:40:47,521 --> 00:40:50,521 So with our product with 35 plank repeats, 840 00:40:50,754 --> 00:40:53,555 you avoid those type of situations too. 841 00:40:53,555 --> 00:40:57,422 So we just think we have the right answer for a lot of questions 842 00:40:57,422 --> 00:40:58,422 in this environment. 843 00:40:58,422 --> 00:41:02,989 And like you said, most common people aren't going to have actual hardwood 844 00:41:02,989 --> 00:41:03,822 floors. 845 00:41:03,822 --> 00:41:06,756 No, those people don't have the budget or 846 00:41:06,756 --> 00:41:09,890 just, access to keep it clean and maintain it. 847 00:41:09,890 --> 00:41:12,857 So, yeah, I mean, we we have the in our house. 848 00:41:12,857 --> 00:41:14,090 So, Yeah, yeah. 849 00:41:14,090 --> 00:41:17,090 Let's say you want something a little more durable. 850 00:41:17,090 --> 00:41:19,591 Wood's wonderful. We have wood in our house, too, but, 851 00:41:20,657 --> 00:41:21,591 anyways, no, 852 00:41:21,591 --> 00:41:24,591 it's, Paul scraped wood that we have. 853 00:41:24,591 --> 00:41:26,825 Yeah. You have to be very careful with. 854 00:41:26,825 --> 00:41:29,792 With that. I have a dog, and we have hardwood. 855 00:41:29,792 --> 00:41:33,159 And just one part of our house, but we have an older dog now, 856 00:41:33,159 --> 00:41:35,226 so when we leave, we have to keep them off of that 857 00:41:35,226 --> 00:41:38,693 and put them in a different room, because cleaning the hardwood is just. 858 00:41:38,793 --> 00:41:39,493 It's a nightmare. 859 00:41:39,493 --> 00:41:41,060 If you have pet is a nightmare. 860 00:41:41,060 --> 00:41:43,460 So a lot of work 861 00:41:43,460 --> 00:41:46,460 talking about the the wood look with vinyl. 862 00:41:46,527 --> 00:41:47,460 What where do you see that 863 00:41:47,460 --> 00:41:50,727 gray is comparing in popularity to the more typical brown? 864 00:41:50,927 --> 00:41:53,461 What look is that going out. 865 00:41:53,461 --> 00:41:56,295 So so here's the thing with, visuals. 866 00:41:56,295 --> 00:41:58,395 And we're working on a lot of need, of course, 867 00:41:58,395 --> 00:42:01,628 but I'll just talk about the current two day course that we have. 868 00:42:01,962 --> 00:42:03,962 We have 12 SKUs in each right. 869 00:42:03,962 --> 00:42:08,329 So so there's a lot of variables and colors in that, which includes some grays. 870 00:42:08,729 --> 00:42:10,429 it's really interesting. 871 00:42:10,429 --> 00:42:14,096 You know, as I travel the country, you know, 872 00:42:14,696 --> 00:42:17,830 middle of the country is real wood visual, right? 873 00:42:17,830 --> 00:42:18,463 Yeah. 874 00:42:18,463 --> 00:42:22,664 and, if you're on the coast, it gets much lighter. 875 00:42:22,997 --> 00:42:25,198 Right? Interesting. Okay. 876 00:42:25,198 --> 00:42:29,131 where I'm seeing a lot of gray is kind 877 00:42:29,131 --> 00:42:32,932 of, western Texas all the way to California. 878 00:42:32,932 --> 00:42:36,099 So it's kind of in that, southwest area. 879 00:42:36,465 --> 00:42:39,432 I'm seeing gray still maintaining a lot of popularity. 880 00:42:40,399 --> 00:42:41,533 Now, once again, going back 881 00:42:41,533 --> 00:42:45,666 to personal experience, one person pick up marketing survey. 882 00:42:45,666 --> 00:42:50,333 But we found gray and almost everything we were looking at, right. 883 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:50,934 Mean. 884 00:42:50,934 --> 00:42:53,334 Whether it was the countertop, whether it was the backsplash, 885 00:42:53,334 --> 00:42:55,667 I mean, there was a hint of gray everywhere. 886 00:42:55,667 --> 00:42:59,001 So, you know, I think gray has integrated itself 887 00:42:59,001 --> 00:43:03,735 as a neutral color, within all types of flooring. 888 00:43:04,035 --> 00:43:07,169 I don't think it's predominant gray, 889 00:43:07,369 --> 00:43:09,202 meaning, you know, it takes over everything. 890 00:43:09,202 --> 00:43:10,202 Your walls are gray. 891 00:43:10,202 --> 00:43:13,036 You know, our cabinets are gray, etc., etc. 892 00:43:13,036 --> 00:43:15,869 I think there's still a lot of flexibility to work around 893 00:43:15,869 --> 00:43:20,537 gray with many colors, but there are grays, in our products. 894 00:43:20,537 --> 00:43:25,804 And I do see, areas of the country that love gray as interesting to here too. 895 00:43:25,804 --> 00:43:27,871 just, you know, with different cultures 896 00:43:27,871 --> 00:43:30,971 across the United States, which one is leaning more gray? 897 00:43:30,971 --> 00:43:34,405 Which one's leaning more towards, like the Browns and the neutrals? 898 00:43:34,738 --> 00:43:37,805 We've talked about kitchens being that high traffic area 899 00:43:38,105 --> 00:43:41,672 with pets, moisture spills. 900 00:43:41,672 --> 00:43:46,339 How has engineered floors elevated the concept in homes across the country 901 00:43:46,339 --> 00:43:49,340 when it comes to combating against moisture? 902 00:43:49,340 --> 00:43:53,973 So, one thing, Molly, and this kind of ties into this a little bit, 903 00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:58,874 but I think it's important to mention, you know, in developing this product, 904 00:43:59,207 --> 00:44:03,108 basically, from the, the ground up, you know, 905 00:44:03,841 --> 00:44:06,408 we changed, 906 00:44:06,408 --> 00:44:10,775 our locking system, you know, we saw a lot of issues with tap 907 00:44:10,775 --> 00:44:15,476 and lock and, so we went to the the angle angle, for our product. 908 00:44:15,476 --> 00:44:20,376 And I have personally, put boards together, not an install solved 909 00:44:20,376 --> 00:44:24,310 by any stretch of imagination, but it shows I have put more together. 910 00:44:24,377 --> 00:44:26,944 it goes together very easily. 911 00:44:26,944 --> 00:44:30,911 I think the locking system and how that, operates 912 00:44:30,911 --> 00:44:33,911 within the system of being waterproof is important. 913 00:44:34,011 --> 00:44:38,278 and I think we have the right locking system for that, aspect of it. 914 00:44:38,711 --> 00:44:39,445 Certainly. 915 00:44:39,445 --> 00:44:43,412 you know, with, stone, plastic composite, 916 00:44:43,745 --> 00:44:47,679 you know, you have a, foundation 917 00:44:47,679 --> 00:44:52,579 that is essentially waterproof, there, you know, and I think 918 00:44:54,246 --> 00:44:55,546 potentially back in the 919 00:44:55,546 --> 00:45:00,047 pandemic days, some of the manufacturers of these cores 920 00:45:00,380 --> 00:45:03,947 started trying to reduce cost and changed a few things in their corners 921 00:45:03,947 --> 00:45:07,914 that maybe cheapen the product a little bit, maybe lessen some of the, 922 00:45:08,281 --> 00:45:10,181 performance characteristics of that. 923 00:45:10,181 --> 00:45:14,648 And I think it's given us a chance to have a fresh start on, developing 924 00:45:14,648 --> 00:45:18,516 something from the ground that that was probably a very cool to be a part of, too. 925 00:45:18,782 --> 00:45:21,949 Oh, it's great off the tour coming here that. 926 00:45:21,949 --> 00:45:22,149 Yeah. 927 00:45:22,149 --> 00:45:25,150 always really shocked, to see what 928 00:45:25,316 --> 00:45:29,550 what have you heard from trade professionals that are installing flooring 929 00:45:29,717 --> 00:45:32,284 and helping homeowners with the selection process 930 00:45:32,284 --> 00:45:35,617 that has helped shape the engineered floors selection of flooring. 931 00:45:35,817 --> 00:45:38,751 Do you get any feedback where you're like, I, we need to go in this direction 932 00:45:38,751 --> 00:45:41,185 because most of our trade pros are well, 933 00:45:41,185 --> 00:45:44,252 the first thing was the locking mechanism, okay. 934 00:45:44,252 --> 00:45:45,585 That was feedback that we got. 935 00:45:45,585 --> 00:45:47,819 was the locking mechanism. 936 00:45:47,819 --> 00:45:50,452 But you know, as we were developing the product and, 937 00:45:50,452 --> 00:45:51,419 and by the way, 938 00:45:51,419 --> 00:45:51,919 you know, it's 939 00:45:51,919 --> 00:45:55,653 not that, you know, we have something that someone could go out and acquire. 940 00:45:55,819 --> 00:45:56,186 All right. 941 00:45:56,186 --> 00:45:56,553 Yeah. 942 00:45:56,553 --> 00:46:00,120 But, you know, we had to spend about 80 million and, 943 00:46:00,620 --> 00:46:03,920 they're not going to get the equipment overnight, maybe a couple of year 944 00:46:04,287 --> 00:46:06,354 to get it up and running correctly. Right. 945 00:46:06,354 --> 00:46:10,954 Because it is a true, learning process as you make it. 946 00:46:11,388 --> 00:46:14,621 And so some of our feedback came when we first started working on it 947 00:46:15,021 --> 00:46:18,755 was, some of the, performance issues 948 00:46:18,755 --> 00:46:22,922 from making it to dance, like dancing, you know, all those things. 949 00:46:22,922 --> 00:46:24,156 And I was told by one account, 950 00:46:24,156 --> 00:46:27,923 yeah, to take you about 100,000ft² to get things right. 951 00:46:28,089 --> 00:46:28,356 Right. 952 00:46:28,356 --> 00:46:31,590 So there's a lot of things that you test in the lab aren't necessarily 953 00:46:31,590 --> 00:46:35,390 going to respond the way you expect when they're actually in the field. 954 00:46:35,690 --> 00:46:39,524 So we've had a chance to go through all of that, you know, starting back 955 00:46:39,524 --> 00:46:41,291 at the end of last year. 956 00:46:41,291 --> 00:46:45,691 And, and now the product that we have launched out to the pros 957 00:46:45,691 --> 00:46:51,225 or showrooms, is what we feel is a high quality product that, 958 00:46:51,425 --> 00:46:54,892 you know, will meet all of their expectations 959 00:46:54,892 --> 00:46:59,126 and hopefully exceed all of your, members expectations 960 00:47:00,226 --> 00:47:03,960 and, and give them a high quality product, well designed and 961 00:47:03,960 --> 00:47:08,460 and meet the waterproof meet, you know, more scratch resistant, 962 00:47:09,060 --> 00:47:12,561 but most importantly, look like 963 00:47:12,794 --> 00:47:16,895 they want it to look right, because ultimately, when you buy a product, 964 00:47:16,895 --> 00:47:20,862 when I buy a product, you know, it's it's what appeals to me, right? 965 00:47:20,862 --> 00:47:25,229 And and a lot of times you're looking at something that has a visual appeal. 966 00:47:25,229 --> 00:47:26,962 That's part of the value equation. 967 00:47:26,962 --> 00:47:29,029 Right? It's that visual, you know. 968 00:47:29,029 --> 00:47:32,763 So we think we've given a great value equation 969 00:47:32,763 --> 00:47:36,663 with performance, with the characteristics that we have, 970 00:47:36,763 --> 00:47:40,730 with the fact that it truly does look like real wood. 971 00:47:41,297 --> 00:47:43,397 we've even had some people who have told us 972 00:47:43,397 --> 00:47:46,431 it looks like a sanded and finished piece on the floor. 973 00:47:46,998 --> 00:47:51,231 And one of the cool things, Molly, is because it is a digital file. 974 00:47:51,231 --> 00:47:55,032 We actually do a digital file of 35 planks. 975 00:47:55,032 --> 00:47:57,199 It's how we get the 35 points. 976 00:47:57,199 --> 00:47:59,032 So we take real wood, the 35, 977 00:48:00,066 --> 00:48:01,132 files. 978 00:48:01,132 --> 00:48:04,399 Now, the cool thing about that, because it's digital, 979 00:48:04,533 --> 00:48:09,233 going online with our products, it's not a picture of a picture of a picture. 980 00:48:09,633 --> 00:48:10,533 Yeah, yeah. 981 00:48:10,533 --> 00:48:11,800 That's true. 982 00:48:11,800 --> 00:48:13,700 Online we look so much better. 983 00:48:13,700 --> 00:48:14,767 I've had so many people. 984 00:48:14,767 --> 00:48:16,334 Oh, what are y'all doing to this? Why? 985 00:48:16,334 --> 00:48:17,601 You know what? 986 00:48:17,601 --> 00:48:19,768 Y'all are digitally enhancing this. 987 00:48:19,768 --> 00:48:21,601 No, it's a digital. 988 00:48:21,601 --> 00:48:22,835 It's true. 989 00:48:22,835 --> 00:48:24,968 Right? It's the real thing. It's digital. 990 00:48:24,968 --> 00:48:28,369 You know, it's not like, you're having to manipulate sales 991 00:48:28,402 --> 00:48:33,269 since most of our competitors are film or some type of, paper film base, or 992 00:48:33,869 --> 00:48:37,936 there are some that are printing onto paper digital, 993 00:48:38,136 --> 00:48:42,170 but it's still not quite the same as direct digital printing. 994 00:48:42,903 --> 00:48:48,371 so I think that's one thing that, really separates us 995 00:48:48,637 --> 00:48:51,738 and one thing that we got a lot of feedback on, on moving forward 996 00:48:51,738 --> 00:48:56,138 with what excites you the most about vinyl in the home from our perspective. 997 00:48:56,138 --> 00:48:58,705 And we've been importing for a long time. 998 00:48:58,705 --> 00:48:59,072 Right. 999 00:48:59,072 --> 00:49:05,239 but, you know, making a domestic product and knowing that it is a, 1000 00:49:05,772 --> 00:49:09,306 a large percentage of the business and being able to participate in that 1001 00:49:09,306 --> 00:49:14,540 with a product made in the US, sourced in the U.S., that excites me 1002 00:49:14,573 --> 00:49:18,741 and that excites us, you know, because we're doing something, that, 1003 00:49:18,741 --> 00:49:21,041 you know, people haven't done at this point, 1004 00:49:21,041 --> 00:49:25,408 you know, most of this is imported, and, you know, it's coming in containers 1005 00:49:25,708 --> 00:49:28,642 and, you know, we have a few supply 1006 00:49:28,642 --> 00:49:31,975 chain issues every once in a while for different reasons. 1007 00:49:32,309 --> 00:49:33,942 we're not going to have that. 1008 00:49:33,942 --> 00:49:39,176 And we can ship out very quickly, and ship it right from vault in here. 1009 00:49:39,176 --> 00:49:43,476 And, and that excites me from the aspect of, providing, 1010 00:49:43,476 --> 00:49:47,510 you know, our base in North America, a quality 1011 00:49:48,210 --> 00:49:51,077 US made, us sourced product. 1012 00:49:51,077 --> 00:49:52,144 That's awesome. Yeah. 1013 00:49:52,144 --> 00:49:55,978 It does feel like just listening to you and hearing about engineered floors that, 1014 00:49:56,411 --> 00:50:00,412 engineers floors is doing a lot of things that nobody else is doing right now 1015 00:50:00,412 --> 00:50:01,445 in the industry. 1016 00:50:01,445 --> 00:50:03,445 When did engineers floors start? 1017 00:50:03,445 --> 00:50:06,946 So, engineers floors, floor started 13 years ago. 1018 00:50:07,512 --> 00:50:08,412 Okay. 1019 00:50:08,412 --> 00:50:12,079 And, literally, we have a plant called Sam. 1020 00:50:12,346 --> 00:50:16,146 And you'll appreciate this is named after someone's dog. 1021 00:50:16,780 --> 00:50:19,280 Oh, yeah. It's a hunting dog. They had, 1022 00:50:21,614 --> 00:50:22,847 Sam plant 1023 00:50:22,847 --> 00:50:27,181 and, it is over 3000ft² under one roof. 1024 00:50:27,948 --> 00:50:31,415 Now, let me explain how Dalton works. 1025 00:50:31,648 --> 00:50:34,648 Okay. Yeah, it's kind of weird. Especially. 1026 00:50:34,782 --> 00:50:36,249 Have you ever been here? 1027 00:50:36,249 --> 00:50:37,615 No, I have it. Okay. 1028 00:50:37,615 --> 00:50:39,482 So this is kind of interesting. 1029 00:50:39,482 --> 00:50:42,949 So if you ever drive around, like, I just went out and got some latch, right? 1030 00:50:43,749 --> 00:50:47,150 and you see all these trucks from all these manufacturers driving everywhere. 1031 00:50:47,650 --> 00:50:48,517 Okay. 1032 00:50:48,517 --> 00:50:52,450 And, people always ask us, why don't we see your trucks? 1033 00:50:52,617 --> 00:50:55,284 Now, there's a simple reason. 1034 00:50:55,284 --> 00:50:59,451 So an average square foot, from our competitors, 1035 00:50:59,818 --> 00:51:02,585 their trucks drive 250 miles 1036 00:51:02,585 --> 00:51:05,585 for one square foot. 1037 00:51:05,652 --> 00:51:07,719 That's just involved. 1038 00:51:07,719 --> 00:51:08,485 Yeah. 1039 00:51:08,485 --> 00:51:09,319 So they have to move it 1040 00:51:09,319 --> 00:51:13,619 from this plant to this plant, to this plant, to this plant 250 miles. 1041 00:51:14,719 --> 00:51:17,920 We average five miles per square foot. Wow. 1042 00:51:18,420 --> 00:51:20,220 So it's a green story. 1043 00:51:20,220 --> 00:51:23,520 It's a hard one to promote, but it's truly a green story. 1044 00:51:23,854 --> 00:51:24,254 Yeah. 1045 00:51:24,254 --> 00:51:28,521 Sustainability passes and less gas used on top. 1046 00:51:28,521 --> 00:51:29,287 Yeah. 1047 00:51:29,287 --> 00:51:32,421 so when engineer for started, 1048 00:51:32,421 --> 00:51:37,988 it was the only flooring, company in the business that was under one roof 1049 00:51:37,988 --> 00:51:41,722 and at one time is one of the largest, manufacturing facilities in the world. 1050 00:51:41,722 --> 00:51:44,722 I think, Tesla now, has passed, 1051 00:51:45,722 --> 00:51:46,923 but we do have. 1052 00:51:46,923 --> 00:51:48,523 Yeah, and we do have. Yeah. 1053 00:51:48,523 --> 00:51:51,256 I used to expand it, quickly if needed. 1054 00:51:51,256 --> 00:51:57,157 And, so we're very happy about, you know, our manufacturing process. 1055 00:51:57,157 --> 00:51:58,424 Very proud of it. 1056 00:51:58,424 --> 00:52:01,191 And, we think we make a high quality product. 1057 00:52:01,191 --> 00:52:05,991 and, you could ask anyone, about our service, 1058 00:52:05,991 --> 00:52:07,791 and you'll hear from everyone. 1059 00:52:07,791 --> 00:52:10,058 Our service is second to none. 1060 00:52:10,058 --> 00:52:14,225 When did you guys introduce digital digital flooring? 1061 00:52:14,659 --> 00:52:17,859 Okay, so, I started in October, right? 1062 00:52:18,026 --> 00:52:19,193 Okay. 1063 00:52:19,193 --> 00:52:21,860 And, we had people 1064 00:52:21,860 --> 00:52:24,893 in, prior to that, and they saw the equipment 1065 00:52:24,893 --> 00:52:29,194 and they saw some mock ups, and it really seen anything. 1066 00:52:29,227 --> 00:52:31,061 Truly. Right. 1067 00:52:31,061 --> 00:52:34,061 until literally when I was in, in October, 1068 00:52:34,061 --> 00:52:37,861 we were really starting to, run inventory, right? 1069 00:52:37,861 --> 00:52:40,595 I mean, I know a lot of things. 1070 00:52:40,595 --> 00:52:44,629 There is another green story to, our manufacturing there. 1071 00:52:44,629 --> 00:52:48,529 That's also one that's really hard to relate, 1072 00:52:48,529 --> 00:52:52,463 to customers, to consumers, to members, to whoever. 1073 00:52:53,029 --> 00:52:57,997 But we can, literally take a product, run it through the entire process. 1074 00:52:57,997 --> 00:53:02,397 And before we put the attach pad, we can actually recycle it, 1075 00:53:03,064 --> 00:53:07,098 re grind it and make it back into core because there's sale 1076 00:53:07,998 --> 00:53:11,031 literally, we're printing right onto the core so we can do that 1077 00:53:11,531 --> 00:53:14,998 and put it back into the process, go through the whole extrusion 1078 00:53:14,998 --> 00:53:18,499 process again and make another core, without a single waste. 1079 00:53:18,732 --> 00:53:19,632 We've had a lot of people. 1080 00:53:19,632 --> 00:53:22,399 Well, we know you're, you know, starting this thing. 1081 00:53:22,399 --> 00:53:25,399 So, what are you doing with your seconds? 1082 00:53:25,399 --> 00:53:27,333 Really? Know how. Yeah, yeah. 1083 00:53:28,433 --> 00:53:29,700 You know, because 1084 00:53:29,700 --> 00:53:32,700 once we get to that last step and, you know, we're kind of committed. 1085 00:53:33,067 --> 00:53:34,934 I know we've we've talked about a lot of things 1086 00:53:34,934 --> 00:53:38,334 that, Engineered Floors is going to be having in the next year. 1087 00:53:38,334 --> 00:53:40,568 I mean, the digital concept is still pretty new. 1088 00:53:40,568 --> 00:53:42,301 Like you just touched base on. 1089 00:53:42,301 --> 00:53:45,435 Is there anything else on the horizon with engineered floors 1090 00:53:45,435 --> 00:53:46,568 coming up in the next year 1091 00:53:46,568 --> 00:53:50,569 or two with vinyl and particularly anything we haven't touched base on? 1092 00:53:50,569 --> 00:53:53,769 We are working on some, very interesting things. 1093 00:53:53,936 --> 00:53:58,036 we actually have the, CSA hard surface buying team back here, 1094 00:53:58,036 --> 00:54:01,070 and we showed them some of the new, the cores that we're working 1095 00:54:01,070 --> 00:54:04,370 on, some of the new visuals, some of the things that we're learning 1096 00:54:04,370 --> 00:54:08,437 as we use the equipment more and more, some unique things that we can do, 1097 00:54:08,704 --> 00:54:12,971 one we refer to as bold, where you're actually bringing out 1098 00:54:13,004 --> 00:54:16,938 or the graining because of how you process the image. 1099 00:54:17,205 --> 00:54:19,105 so you're adding more ink. 1100 00:54:19,105 --> 00:54:20,939 So it creates a bolder look. 1101 00:54:20,939 --> 00:54:23,306 So it brings out the graining a little bit more. 1102 00:54:23,306 --> 00:54:27,139 We also have what's known as a digital embossing process. 1103 00:54:27,373 --> 00:54:30,540 It's spot on because it's kind of like a 3D printer. 1104 00:54:30,540 --> 00:54:32,173 You know, you're not manufacturing. 1105 00:54:32,173 --> 00:54:35,173 You have slides, you know, shipping. 1106 00:54:35,573 --> 00:54:36,807 it's right spot on. 1107 00:54:36,807 --> 00:54:41,441 So, our digital embossing is, quite unique, 1108 00:54:41,541 --> 00:54:45,708 to the industry really giving a not so much the feel because, you know, 1109 00:54:45,708 --> 00:54:48,708 once a consumer fills in the sole, they'll probably never feel it again. 1110 00:54:48,842 --> 00:54:52,675 Once they fill it up, it does, but it's primarily for the visual effect. 1111 00:54:52,675 --> 00:54:53,009 Right. 1112 00:54:53,009 --> 00:54:58,109 So you can, you know, see that, not you can see, medullary. 1113 00:54:58,109 --> 00:54:59,109 Right. You can see, 1114 00:55:00,243 --> 00:55:01,143 mineral streaks. 1115 00:55:01,143 --> 00:55:05,277 You know, all those things are enhanced by other digital embossing. 1116 00:55:05,510 --> 00:55:07,543 So there's a lot of things we're learning there. 1117 00:55:07,543 --> 00:55:11,777 We're also learning with aluminum oxide how to move into a five. 1118 00:55:11,811 --> 00:55:17,378 Even potentially a C6 for even, you know, more stringent, requirements. 1119 00:55:17,711 --> 00:55:22,012 and so in some of the visuals, you know, because, 1120 00:55:22,245 --> 00:55:25,412 you know, you can take a, a digital image of anything, right? 1121 00:55:25,845 --> 00:55:30,112 So we, we, you know, looking at some really unique, 1122 00:55:30,112 --> 00:55:35,613 wood sources, to continue doing that and, you know, maybe sometime in the future, 1123 00:55:35,613 --> 00:55:39,580 which, strangely enough, it's an easier process to make tiles than it is 1124 00:55:39,580 --> 00:55:44,014 what we could, potentially make tile at some point. 1125 00:55:44,281 --> 00:55:49,014 And also, you know, it's not going to happen right away, but we can also make, 1126 00:55:50,181 --> 00:55:52,982 longer water planks as well, in the future. 1127 00:55:52,982 --> 00:55:56,349 So, and so a lot of opportunity 1128 00:55:56,349 --> 00:55:59,649 and, and, you know, just starting it's kind of just getting that flavor. 1129 00:55:59,882 --> 00:56:00,982 yeah. 1130 00:56:00,982 --> 00:56:03,849 Marketing and understanding that market better. 1131 00:56:03,849 --> 00:56:06,850 And, what, you know, our equipment can do. 1132 00:56:06,916 --> 00:56:08,016 That's another big part of it. 1133 00:56:08,016 --> 00:56:12,317 Our engineers, learn almost every day some unique things that we can do. 1134 00:56:13,217 --> 00:56:13,450 Yeah. 1135 00:56:13,450 --> 00:56:15,417 I can't even imagine with how quick the world's 1136 00:56:15,417 --> 00:56:21,218 changing to just with technology in 2026, this might look entirely different. 1137 00:56:21,951 --> 00:56:24,085 Yeah, but you just said you never know. 1138 00:56:24,085 --> 00:56:26,918 You never know. I mean, you know, who knows? 1139 00:56:26,918 --> 00:56:27,918 You know, I mean, you know, 1140 00:56:27,918 --> 00:56:31,686 I look back, ten years ago, I would be shocked at what we do today. 1141 00:56:32,019 --> 00:56:33,852 Right? Yeah, that's very exciting. 1142 00:56:33,852 --> 00:56:36,753 A lot of fun and exciting things happening with engineered floors. 1143 00:56:36,753 --> 00:56:37,786 It sounds like. 1144 00:56:37,786 --> 00:56:38,020 Yeah. 1145 00:56:38,020 --> 00:56:40,420 Well, thank you so much today for your time. 1146 00:56:40,420 --> 00:56:43,120 Greg. I know it's nice to see you, too. 1147 00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:45,820 And maybe if I'm down there sometime, I'll take a tour. 1148 00:56:45,820 --> 00:56:47,554 we'd love to have you down. 1149 00:56:47,554 --> 00:56:49,221 You're welcome to tight. 1150 00:56:49,221 --> 00:56:50,554 Awesome. Thank you so much. 1151 00:56:50,554 --> 00:56:52,321 Have a great day. You, too. 1152 00:56:54,855 --> 00:56:56,788 us today on the Progress Podcast. 1153 00:56:56,788 --> 00:56:59,988 Please like and subscribe to us wherever you get your podcast. 1154 00:57:00,455 --> 00:57:02,689 Also, follow us on social media. 1155 00:57:02,689 --> 00:57:06,222 Check out our website at prosource wholesale.com, and visit 1156 00:57:06,222 --> 00:57:10,323 your local Prosource wholesale showroom for all of your home remodeling needs 1157 00:57:10,890 --> 00:57:14,023 and. End.