A Foot's Perspective - Episode 11

This episode of A Foot's Perspective - as did A Foot's Perspective - Episode 10 - comes from Carpet One Floor & Home's Summer Convention in Nashville, TN.

This time, the view comes from Mohawk's booth as I expose you to a carpet style, made with Wear-Dated Natural Nylon, called Hardanger by Wunda Weve.

Wear-Dated Natural Nylon refers to Nylon 6,6 carpet fiber that is combined with a proprietary insert technology. The resulting fiber generates a carpet with the look and feel of wool, yet with the durability of Nylon 6,6 - the best nylon available for carpet.

As we describe it in Wear-Dated Natural Nylon Makes for Stylish Carpet [which includes PowerPoint slides with micron photography], the proprietary insert technology process literally inserts a low-melt nylon fiber in between the yarn plies. During manufacturing when heat comes into play, the low-melt nylon melts, binding the yarn together. The result: tufts that cannot be untwisted, creating a carpet that has better resistance to matting [i.e., great performance], and better tip definition [i.e., that means you can create some unusually fashionable carpet styles].

[Also check out Marianne Cone Discusses Surfaces, By The Foot and Natural Nylon.]

Back to this episode of A Foot's Perspective.

Handanger is a textured loop or an uneven loop carpet construction where the unevenness creates texture. From the photos, you may notice a fuzziness [my term and it's not just from camera focus] to the construction that I associate with the wool-ness of Wear-Dated Natural Nylon [i.e., luster, hand and appearance - if you want to get really technical].

See for yourself.

[Subscribers, please click on this link to view the YouTube video.]


Other recently introduced carpet styles made with Wear-Dated Natural Nylon carpet fiber include:

+ From Wunda Weve: Shining Allure, Sisal Chic, and Rosewood

+ From Gulistan: Craftwork, Weymouth and Ashmore

+ From Karastan: Nob Hill, Eloquence Classic, McLaren Park and Union Street.

They are definitely worth checking out.

For the most recent episode from A Foot's Perspective - Episode 10. Or you can also scroll through previous blogposts with links to all previous episodes of A Foot's Perspective.

Thanks for watching!


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Wear-Dated Natural Nylon Makes for Stylish Carpet

Wear-Dated Natural Nylon carpet fiber makes for really stylish carpet. Since I'm biased, you shouldn't just take my word. Check it out for yourself.

What is it you ask? It's our latest Nylon 6,6 carpet fiber brand extension [the last one was DuraSoft], and we're excited about it.

We introduced Wear-Dated Natural Nylon at Surfaces 2007. This past Surfaces 2008, we showcased a fun range of new carpet styles [see Marianne Cone Discusses Surfaces, By The Foot and Wear-Dated Natural Nylon], many of which you can find in carpet stores now.

I have heard people mumble "Natural Nylon - that sounds like an oxymoron." That's okay because it gives me the opportunity to explain why this product is so exciting, so technologically advanced and so worthy of the name Wear-Dated Natural Nylon.

[BTW, we are not talking about this Natural Nylon.]

Wear-Dated Natural Nylon refers to Nylon 6,6 carpet fiber that is combined with our proprietary insert technology. The resulting fiber generates a carpet with the look and feel of wool, yet with the durability of Nylon 6,6 - the best nylon available for carpet.

The name came out of consumer focus groups. Consumers [primarily women] told us that "Natural Nylon" best captured the look, feel and elegance of the carpet samples they touched, felt and interacted with [see photo above]. So, we went with it. It tells a story.

Wear-Dated has a reputation for durability. So, when we realized during the product development process that Wear-Dated Natural Nylon improves on the superior performance characteristics of nylon 6,6 -- with a natural look and feel -- to deliver an even better carpet, we were really excited!

Here's how it works. The proprietary insert technology process literally inserts a low-melt nylon fiber in between the yarn plies. During manufacturing when heat comes into play, the low-melt nylon melts, binding the yarn together. The result: tufts that cannot be untwisted. This creates a carpet end product that has better resistance to matting [i.e., great performance], and better tip definition [i.e., that means you can create some unusually fashionable carpet styles].

It also means that staple yarn [i.e., the yarn normally associated with traditional textured carpet styles] can now go into carpet constructions that up-to-now were only possible with BCF yarn [i.e., the yarn that creates loop and pattern carpet styles]. So the variety of pattern and styling possibilities become endless! And the look and feel is more wool-like than ever.

Which makes us very happy because we can offer consumers [thanks to carpet mills like Karastan, Mohawk and Gulistan] a gorgeous range of carpet patterns and colors that deliver beauty, comfort and durability -- with the natural beauty of wool and the incomparable performance of Wear-Dated nylon carpet fiber.

I've attached a slideshow to visually explain what makes Wear-Dated Natural Nylon different.

| View | Upload your own

[NOTE: This slideshow IS available. If the screen says it isn't, then click on the 'view' link to the right of the slideshare logo. Thanks. Added 6/5/08.]

In the slideshow, pay particular attention to Slide 2 which shows you micron photography of Wear-Dated Natural Nylon:

+ Starting at the top left corner you see a bundle of Wear-Dated Natural Nylon carpet fiber.
+ Move to the top right, and you'll notice a larger view of that bundle with closeup of the tips of the fibers.
+ The bottom left photo goes closer yet to show you the insert fiber.
+ Finally, the bottom right photo goes even closer to show you the insert fiber bound together with the individual Nylon 6,6 fibers in a "between-ply fusion."

Pretty cool, don't you think?

The Latest in Carpet Style Trends shows you specific examples of carpets made with Wear-Dated Natural Nylon carpet fiber. As others become available, I'll be sure to let you know, too!

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Marianne Cone Discusses Surfaces, By The Foot and Wear-Dated Natural Nylon

During Surfaces 2008, Kemp Harr, publisher of Floor Focus Magazine and FloorDaily.net interviewed Wear-Dated's own Marianne Cone.

In the interview, Marianne, our director of marketing, describes Wear-Dated's presence at Surfaces 2008. [It took place from January 31 through February 1st, 2008 in Las Vegas.]

First, our overall theme: By The Foot, based on our award-winning marketing campaign.

By The Foot updates Wear-Dated's reputation for durability [our tagline is "You'll Wear Out Before Wear-Dated Does."] with fashion and beauty, making us more relevant particularly to women consumers.

By all accounts By The Foot continues to generate enthusiastic reactions, and - we're hopeful - spirited conversation around fashionable carpet options.

Next, Wear-Dated Natural Nylon.

First introduced during Surfaces 2007, Wear-Dated Natural Nylon has been successfully adopted. We now have a multitude of products from well-known carpet mills showcased in our booth. Many are already available or will shortly be available to consumers.

What is Wear-Dated Natural Nylon?

From a recent press release recapping Surfaces:
 
"Wear-Dated Natural Nylon combines the superior performance characteristics of Solutia type 6,6 nylon with a proprietary insert technology that binds individual fibers together. The result is a patented fiber structure with sharp pinpoint tip definition and a natural ‘wool-like-look’ in constructions previously limited to BCF fiber, all with superior appearance retention."


In other words, it creates carpet with the beauty, luster and hand of wool, in delicious pattern and loop styles, but with the durability of Nylon 6,6.

Creating Beauty. Comfort. Durability. Pretty exciting!

Finally, new carpet introductions made with Wear-Dated carpet fiber.

Marianne describes some of the carpet styles featured in our Surfaces 2008 booth. More specifically she talks about Marciano from Mohawk and SuperChic from Tuftex [both pictured here; SuperChic is the intensely thick area rug, atop Marciano].

We're pleased to share with you both the audio file of the interview with Marianne and the video version. [We heartily recommend the video version.]

We hope you enjoy the interview, and the glimpse it offers into the excitement of Surfaces 2008.
If you'd like to read more about our Surfaces 2008 experiences, you can do so with Surfaces 2008, The Elegance of Dupioni Silk and The Latest in Carpet Style Trends.

~ The Women of Wear-Dated

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