Editor’s note: The following is one in a series of profiles highlighting the winners of this year’s NFT Styling Excellence Awards. Entries were judged earlier this year by showgoers at Surfaces and by readers online. A complete list of winners is available in the April issue ofNFT.
Mannington Mills was recognized with five first place awards in this year’s National Floor Trends Styling Excellence contest – the most of any company this year. In April,NFTspoke briefly with Mannington about its award-winning residential products, including Antiquity ceramic, Corsica LVT and Urbanite resilient flooring. This month,NFTinterviewed the commercial division executives to discuss the Adorn commercial carpet collection and Edge rubber wall base.
Natalie Jones, vp commercial brand development & creative product, said her design team was excited to win for the Adorn commercial carpet line. “We partnered with a young designer named Kaitlan Phelps,” Jones said. “It was an opportunity to showcase new design talent in the industry and gave us fresh perspective on how to take the vision of a young designer and turn it into floor covering.”
The Edge collection, meanwhile, is the brainchild of Zack Zehner, vp commercial hard surface. Some of the line’s looks stem from Mannington’s recent purchase of Burke Industries. “We put together our own branded program,” Zehner said. “We re-merchandised some of the colors and added a lot of new colors to the line that weren’t in the Burke line.”
“We are very encouraged by the reception to these products,” Zehner added. “It shows us that we’re moving in the right direction as we’re putting this collection together.”
–Michael Chmielecki
