Carpet Exudes Sweet Emotion...

Photo courtesy of Tuftex of California.

There once was a carpet named "Sweet Emotion" and it exuded inspiration, musicality and sweet memories...

Names. Did you know that most carpets, especially the beautiful ones, receive names once they make it through the product development gauntlet? The name captures how much passion and emotion went into the carpet's creation. As does the name you give a child. It's a formal sign of adoption and introduction to the world - here, of retailers and consumers.

It tells a story. One that inevitably says something about the product's inspiration or family history.

In case you've ever wondered where those names come from - note: you can 'meet' your carpet and learn its first name by simply turning over most carpet samples - here is a tale for you!

Take Sweet Emotion by Tuftex of California. Here's the official product description:

Sweet Emotion embodies a densely constructed California Cable in an updated Color Logic color line. This handsome and luxuriously soft, casual texture is constructed with Solutia's Wear-Dated DuraSoft carpet fiber and is an outstanding addition to Tuftex's high-end DuraSoft product assortment. It features thirty-six colors that combine a natural luster, solid-color spun-yarn component with a complementary filament barber pole accent yarn. A Softbac Platinum is then added for additional softness and luxury.

Hold that in one part of your brain.

Next, listen to Greg Payne, Director of Corporate Accounts for Tuftex.

First, Greg is a passionate guy, especially about music. So passionate that he influences and encourages in others the connection to music - regardless of the conversation! Although he's surrounded by kindred musically inspired spirits, he seems often to hold the baton when it comes to naming products.

I asked him to talk me through the process.

The product - if it's right - will inevitably hit a chord and inspire connection to a song. There will be something about that chord - a feeling, a place, a time - that offers meaning through the song. A final look at the product to answer the question "does that make sense?" and - if the answer is yes - the product becomes named according to that connection.

Greg brought up a product called Tiny Dancer; a diamond pattern, it clicked with the image of a small dancer on a jewelry box, always in motion. After he told me about it, I checked out the image. And, yes, the name is perfection.

Hitting that chord requires being in harmony and being open to connections. [I sense a Zen aspect to all of this...]

In evaluating names, the products get placed on a scale from bass to treble. Do they scream "look at me!" or do they touch you deep down? The name must correspond.

Getting back to Sweet Emotion. It fits into the Frieze or Casual Texture category. It has a trend-setting quality that connects to its carpet heritage, but definitely looks forward. It exudes warmth, but also brightness.

All of those qualities relate to the chord that the song Sweet Emotion captures for Greg. It's a song he associates with high school, with fond memories, with good things. It has a nostalgic quality, but is forward-thinking at the same time.

It's a product with a good story to tell.

And it's a product worth becoming acquainted with. Look for Sweet Emotion at carpet retailers around the county, and for closely related products at the following retailers:

+ Carpet One Floor & Home ask for Kelsey,
+ at Flooring America and Flooring Canada look for Cross Trace [a picture of the color line is attached here]
+ at ProSource Wholesale Floorcovering showrooms look for Sentiment
+ at Abbey Carpet & Floor, ask for Scarborough
+ at Floors To Go, check out Esprit.

May carpet inspire you as it has Greg Payne and his associates at Tuftex!

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