September 8, 2009—Elise Demboski, Executive Director of Wools of New Zealand, discusses why wool has seen a recent increase in popularity and how her organization has changed in the last year. Listen to the interview to hear more.
September 4, 2009—Jack Mishkin, renowned carpet designer, and Kemp Harr discuss the current landscape of the upscale residential carpet market. Listen to the interview to hear Jack talk about affluent budgets, the recent increase in wool sales, and new products for J-Mish and Prince Street House and Home.
September 2, 2009—Maryanne Adams, President and CEO of Avalon Carpet Tile and Flooring, explains how this 13 store chain is able to maintain historic consumer traffic levels even during these tough economic times. Listen to the interview to hear more about Avalon and their recipe for success.
September 1, 2009—David Duncan, VP of Residential Marketing, and Bart Rich, Brand Manager of Soft Surfaces, discuss how Mohawk's SmartStrand carpet performed after 14 days in the Rhino habitat of the Birmingham Zoo. Listen to the interview to hear more about the results and how Mohawk plans to tie this in with dealers and consumers.
August 28, 2009—Don Finkell, President of Anderson Hardwood, and Kemp Harr discuss some of the issues facing the hardwood market. Most of the discussion is around what the market might look like as the economy starts to recover and some of the changes that Anderson is making to be ready for an uptick in the market.
August 27, 2009—Patricia Flavin, head of marketing at Beaulieu of America, tells Kemp Harr about her company's emphasis and success marketing to women, especially through its Bliss brand, as well as details about her company's Million Mile Challenge, in which employees will walk at least a million miles this year to improve their health.
August 25, 2009—Jim Walker, CEO of the Certified Floorcovering Installers Association, and Kemp Harr discuss the CFI's annual conference held last week in Kansas City, Missouri. Listen to the interview to hear about the attendance, the highlights of the show and how the recession is affecting the nation's installer base.
August 21, 2009—Patrick Flaherty, the owner of two Texas retail flooring stores, and Kemp Harr discuss key take-aways from Flooring America's recent summer convention. Listen to the interview to hear Patrick talk about what he is doing differently as a result of attending this meeting.
August 20, 2009—Kermit Baker, Chief Economist for American Institute for Architecture, and Kemp Harr discuss the slow but steady improvement in the AIA index. Kermit predicts that the non-residential downturn, which lagged the housing downturn, will not be as long or as severe. Listen to the interview to hear how the commercial and residential markets are interconnected and what's driving the recovery of the housing market.
August 18, 2009—Frank Douglas, VP of Business Development at Crossville Tile, and Kemp Harr discuss the company's many expansion projects and its performance in light of the current economy. Listen to the interview to hear more about the installation of the world's largest porcelain tile press, Crossville's new crusher (allowing it to take back post consumer tile and recycle the material back into new products) and its new kiln. (approx 6 min). You can see a photo of the world's largest tile press in the recent industry events section of this website.