Style #725 Almond from Capel’s Martha’s Vineyard ’03 Collection is just one of many Wools of New Zealand Brand rugs to be introduced at the Atlanta Rug Market in July.

 TRAINING PAYS
Wools of New Zealand recently held a Wool Carpet Education course in the San Diego/ Los Angeles area.  Those registering for the four-hour Course included retail managers and staff interested in deepening their understanding of wool. Hallie Cobb, trainer, took attendees from “Farm to Floor,” exploring the various  processes involved in making wool carpet—sheep breeds, properties of wool, the benefits of New Zealand wool, shearing, scouring, yarn production, weaving, tufting, testing for performance standards, allergies, and indoor air quality. The benefits of this course are numerous as indicated in the comments below.

“I have been in the flooring industry most of my life and was surprised at how much new knowledge I gained from this course. The time spent on cleaning and allergies really helped shed light on some common misconceptions and will go a long way in helping me answer my customers’ questions. It just goes to show how important training is at all levels of experience.” —Steve Sevika, owner, Sunset Floors

I sent three people from my store to the Wool Education Course and am already reaping the benefits. Each has more confidence and is speaking with authority [on wool]. Instead of shying away from wool, they are gravitating toward it, which is making a profitable difference in their sales. More retailers need to take advantage of Wools of New Zealand’s expertise. The cost is minimal and the benefits are great.” —Kevin Hentzen, owner, Tuttle’s

Wool education is also available via Wools of New Zealand’s Web site at www.woolcollege.com.  For more information, call Hallie at 770-989-2149 / hallie.cobb@wnz.com or ask your wool representative.

  FOR HAGOPIAN’S LESS IS BEST
In this day-in-age of “bigger is better,” it is refreshing to see a retailer take a different approach. Instead of trying to become everything to everybody, Hagopian’s in Novi, Michigan, has spent the last 1½ years selectively downsizing to become more specialized in wool.
 

Cable Knit is a Wools of New Zealand Brand carpet from Hibernia. For more information, contact Hibernia Woolen Mills at 888-588-9665.

     “We use to be 30-35 percent wool,” explains Peter Posselt, interior designer and manager of Hagopian’s.  “Now we are 75 percent wool. Not because we added more, but because we chose to focus on the heart of what was really selling. Nylon prices keep rising making wool even more attractive to our customers. With wool being a better performer and a better buy, there is really no need to sell much else.”
     In regard to carpet trends, Peter sees continued growth in textured wools. One style catching the eye of customers is Cable Knit—a Wools of New Zealand Brand from Hibernia. Cable Knit is a wide-gauge, multi-level loop carpet with the look of a hand-knit sweater. It’s a warm, nurturing style that also meets the need for durability with Location Guidance ratings of Extra Heavy Residential and Heavy Commercial.

  WOOL WISDOM
Wool carpet is unique in its ability to recover from the effect of heavy furniture. Furniture marks can be removed by lightly misting or steaming the indented carpet area. This releases the temporary hydrogen bonding between the protein chains, allowing the fibers to relax and slowly return to their original configuration.
     When the carpet dries, the marks will have disappeared.

This image and other Wools of New Zealand photos are available for promotional use by contacting Elise Demboski at elise@mindspring.com

 EVENTS
 

July 13-16, 2003
Atlanta Rug Market
Atlanta

October 16-22, 2003
International Home Furnishings Market
High Point, NC

January 15-18, 2004
Atlanta Rug Market
Atlanta

January 17-20, 2004
Domotex
Hannover, Germany

January 28-30, 2004
Surfaces 2004
Las Vegas

This newsletter is
e-mailed to Wools of New Zealand Partners and associates who have requested it. To add or remove addresses from this mailing list, contact elise@mindspring.com.