Shaw Awards “Voice of Consumer’ in Design

Dalton, GA, September 18, 2006--Esteemed interior designers from across the country were welcomed to Shaw’s Research and Development facility for the fourth annual Visions Retreat and first annual Visions Design Award ceremony from August 20 through 22. Designers from the builder, retail and design studio industries worked side by side with Shaw’s R & D staff evaluating new products and styles in residential carpet and discussing trends in color and design with a goal to understand and execute the voice of today’s consumer. Designers spent two days analyzing trends, predicting colors, putting together mock collections and asking questions about the industry to Shaw CEO Vance Bell and President Randy Merritt. “The voice of the consumer is something many corporations rarely seek to hear. These designers represent this voice. Their educated opinions are treasured, appreciated and applied here at Shaw. You will see their ideas and suggestions in our upcoming collections,” said Emily Morrow, director of color, style and design. “It was inspirational to be around such a passionate, creative and talented group. We truly consider each designer a member of Shaw’s R & D team.” The Shaw Visions Design Award was awarded to a designer whose input, ideas and concepts were exciting, applicable to floor covering and well executed. Jamila Wilson and Barbara Ford of Courtney Ford Design in San Diego, Calif. won the Shaw Visions Best Overall Design award. Jennifer Dumoulin of Fentress Hughes Interiors in Cincinnati, Ohio won Most Applicability to Carpet award. And Thomas Hoskins of Fisher Homes in Fort Thomas, Ky. won Best Visual Presentation award. Shaw solicited the talent of interior designers by requesting concept boards with fabrics, textures, color pallets, photographs and other ideas to inspire the creation of cutting-edge floor covering. It was the goal of Shaw’s design team to set their styles apart from other product offerings in today’s market with innovative patterns and unique flooring alternatives. Shaw applied the designers’ ideas and created over 500 samples of residential carpet based on the design concepts from the boards. The designers spent hours reviewing and rating the samples. “Floor covering is the most important element of home design because it’s what you see in mass. It sets the groundwork for how the design and theme of your home is created,” Thomas Hoskins of Fisher Homes and host of Home WoRx television show said. “It was important to touch, feel, step on and really analyze the products to give insightful suggestions.” Designers engaged in a “round table” during the retreat discussing regional color trends. Conversations about the cultural inspiration from media and travel, history and the present war were found to influence color in today’s market. Brick, exposed beams or metals found in industrial spaces were prevalent trends. Consumers in some areas were found to take risks choosing bright accent colors while some regions choose neutrals and earth tones. Predictions for upcoming color trends in 2007 were learned with the help of speaker Sonu Matthews of Benjamin Moore. One fact remained the same no matter the region: With the ever changing world around today’s consumer, she is looking for a retreat in her home--a place that identifies and defines the personality of herself and her family, a place that rejuvenates, offers solitude, reflects on her life experiences and feels like, well, home. Understanding and relating to the consumer’s voice in the design process is invaluable to the success of the designers and the products they sell.

Related Topics:Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

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