MARBLE HLL, GA, November 15, 2009—Joanna Ramsden, Creative Manager at Wools of New Zealand’s International Development Center in Ikley, West Yorkshire, has been honored with a top industry ‘Skills Hero’ award from Skillfast UK, the government-sponsored Sector Skills Council for fashion and textiles. The announcement was celebrated at a central-London exhibition where Skillfast presented awards to 50 individuals identified as U.K.’s top creative talents.

“We are extremely proud of Joanna’s accomplishments,” says Tim Lonsdale, CEO of Wools of New Zealand. “As a participant in a number of influential international color forecasting panels and as the Creative Manager for Wools of New Zealand, Joanna has influenced the making of many highly successful carpet ranges—not only in the U.K., but across the globe.”

Currently, Ramsden and the Ilkley team are developing the 2010 Color and Trend Collection for carpets. Aside from identifying the latest color ranges, the collection highlights unique yarn textures and surface structures for carpets and rugs. The forecast will be launched at Surfaces 2009 and will again form a key component of the Wools of New Zealand service package for its international network of partners.