Should a REALTOR® Understand Flooring Basics?

Flooring is expensive, and if it has to be replaced who can your customer go to? If they ask you what do, what will you tell them? How will you know the latest products and what’s the best for your potential buyer’s situation? Knowing more about flooring can be the difference between making and losing a sale. Would it help your client by sharing your flooring knowledge? The realtors that attended our last flooring training said they were sure it would!

Greater Capital Association of Realtors is excited to offer a 2^nd Flooring Certification course on November 7 and 8, at the Hyatt Place in Malta, New York.  Exit 12 off the Adirondack Northway. Lisbeth Calandrino, Industry Flooring Expert, from Fabulous Floors Magazine will be our featured speaker.  Our last class had rave reviews; we ran out of seating and had to turn people away. Don’t let this happen to you!

 This day and an half course is sponsored exclusively by Mohawk Industries, Inc.  Richard Owen, Sr. Director or Market Development and Training, Residential Flooring at Mohawk Industries will be joining the class as a guest speaker. Mohawk is the world’s largest flooring company, delivering style and performance for residential and commercial spaces around the globe.

“As your customers’ needs have changed, so has Mohawk, offering the finest in on trend and fashionable collections of flooring products to meet all the demands of today’s home buyers. From luxuriously soft carpeting to the best in wood visuals across all hard surface collection, you can truly FLOOR THE IMAGINATION with Mohawk!” – Richard Owen

 

INVITE YOUR CUSTOMERS AND BUILDERS! Do you want a client to attend, what about one of your customer builders, architect or interior designer?  Non-members are welcomed at all GCAR classes and this useful and interesting flooring course will benefit you and your connections.

Today’s home buyer expects more, and that includes their expectations of their REALTOR®.  You don’t want to lose a sale because they thought the flooring was a problem and you didn’t know what to do! Learn about the latest styles, color trends, which products are the best for your customers.  You will find this exciting and a major tool for your realtor kit.

Listen to what REALTORS® said in the April course:

• “Who knew there was so much to learn about flooring?! It was great information and Lisbeth was a dynamic instructor!” – Tracey LaFleur, Howard Hanna
• “Liz is an encyclopedia of information, I recommend this course to any REALTOR looking to enhance their knowledge or flooring materials, it’s a fun and worthwhile class!” –Susan Sommers, Better Homes & Garden Tech Valley
  
• “The information presented has changed my views on many types of flooring and the knowledge will allow me to better serve my clients.” –David Fyfe, Bird Realty
  
• “Lisbeth has an engaging personality and a wealth of knowledge related to flooring. Her course, Fabulous Floors Certified, was valuable and informative professionally and personally!” – Melanie Jakway, CM Fox Real Estate
• Fabulous Floors was a great course~ I will be able to make better decision on choosing floor coverings for my rehab projects!” – Lorraine Gage, United Business Services

Register now at GCAR.com:  $75 for members, $100 for non-members. Benefits to attending the course:

• Receive 9 CE credits for the course
• Receive an extra 7 hours of CE with a requirements course day that covers: Fair Housing, Ethics and 1 hour of Agency that expires at the end of 2020
• Be listed in the International Magazine: Fabulous Floors with your contact information to reach new clients
• Submit your REALTOR® stories to Fabulous Floors Magazine and have your own byline
• Discounts on products from local Retailers

Register early so you don’t get left out. We have moved from GCAR offices because of limited seating—after 38 we had to turn people away. Again our seating is limited to the first 60! Register now by clicking here.

STAY AFTER CLASS FOR FUN AND NETWORKING! Join us after class, November 7^th for a meet and greet with local flooring retailers, consumers and builders.

For more information on the class, call Lisbeth Calandrino @518-495-5380, or write, Lcalandrino@nycap.rr.com.

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LOOK FOR A FABULOUS WEEK: DWELL ON DESIGN

Look for Fabulous Floors Magazine a Dwell on Design, 2017!

For the first time, Fabulous Floors Magazine will be exhibited at Dwell on Design. The show, curated in partnership with the editors of Dwell magazine, returns to the Los Angeles Convention Center June 23-25, 2017. The show is open to consumers and the trades.

“Dwell on Design 2017 features exhibits for modern interiors, classes for design professionals, and seminars for design-seeking consumers, says Margo Locust, Publisher of Fabulous Floors Magazine.  Since our magazine is  dedicated to both consumers and design professionals, this is a perfect place for us to be. Our information gives consumers information they need to make educated purchasing decisions appropriate to their lifestyles.”

The publication provides information on color and design trends, fashion tips, and the latest and greatest in:

• Carpet
• Area rugs
• Tile
• Hardwood
• Laminate
• Resilient
• Flooring accessories
• Luxury vinyl tile and planks
• Waterproof flooring
• “Green” and eco-friendly flooring
• Under-layments and installation
• Alternative soft/hard surfaces

 

Dwell on Design, Los Angeles Convention Center June 23-25, 2017, features exhibits for modern interiors and exteriors, continuing education classes for design as well as classes for consumers. With three full days of dynamic exhibitions, unparalleled learning opportunities, cutting-edge technologies, 30 onstage programs, over 60 speakers, and 2,000+ innovative modern furnishings and products, Dwell on Design keeps design dialogue moving forward. Attendee registration for the convention can be made at https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=450.

The Dwell on Design educational programs, onstage and in the classrooms overlooking the show floor, provide CEU credits and will be hosted by AIA, ASID, IIDA, AWA+D, NKBA, APLD, USGBC, and other industry partners.

 “The topic of ‘aging in place’ has been very hot in the flooring industry, says Lisbeth Calandrino, Associate Publisher of Fabulous Floors Magazine. According to NAHB, 75% of builders report an increase in inquiries about aging in place and the market to be a 20-25 billion dollar business. Technology is providing many solutions for this issue. I’m glad to see that Dwell on Design is offering a seminar on the topic called, “Innovations-In-Aging in Place.” To sign up: https://la.dwellondesign.com/Attendee/Schedule/SessionDetails/40037/

For more about the show, flip through Dwell on Design digital event magazine to discover some of the brands exhibiting at the show. #DODLA17 Digital Event Magazine.

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Fabulous Floors Magazine.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Lisbeth Calandrino is Associate Publisher of Fabulous Floors Magazine and has been a speaker and trainer in the flooring industry for over twenty years. She writes a column for Floor Covering News, The LizBiz Strategies. For more information on Lisbeth, visit her web site, Lisbethcalandrino.com. 

Tigressa More Than Passes the Tests

I must admit, when I was asked to review a  product called Tigressa from  Carpet One Floor and Home  I wondered, what could be so special about carpet? Having been in the carpet industry for over 20 years,  carpet is pretty much carpet and this looked like many other gray carpets I had seen– with one difference—it didn’t feel like all the rest. It was extremely soft; in fact it felt like silk. I thought,  this is nice but don’t all new carpets look and feel good? And if this is so soft, won’t it mat and crush easily? Basically, soft carpets over time have a tendency to  lose their resiliency, (bounce). I wondered, can you really get luxury and performance in the same carpet?

I decided to put it through the test and see how it would hold up under some rigorous abuse. I turned my three cats loose with some catnip and they started to dig away.  (By the way, I wouldn’t suggest the “cat test” since carpets aren’t warranted against cat claws or cats in general.)  But I figured, why not put it to the test?

To spice it up, I added some ketchup, mustard and wine to see about the carpet’s  stain resistance.

Let’s start with the cats; they spent three days digging at the carpet and still not one  tuft was missing. This is definitely abuse and a strong testimonial  for any carpet since carpets aren’t “cat or dog proof.” The cat  continue to play on the carpet and still no problem.

I went back through the literature to check and see if the carpet had been “walk tested.” The “walk test” is an industry standard where carpet is subjected to 20,000 human steps and then compared to other similar carpets. The test showed that Tigressa is less susceptible to crushing and matting than other similar carpets.  Although the results of a walk test are not readily available it’s a good question to ask your salesperson when purchasing a new carpet. This is a good testament to Tigressa.

Back to the staining; I noticed when pouring the staining agents on the carpet they immediately pooled up on the top of the fibers and weren’t absorbed.  When I came back 10 minutes later, the liquids were in the same place. I decided that since I know there are two things that set stains;  time and temperature, why not use my  hair dryer to force the staining agents into the fiber?  Even after 20 minutes it was obvious that the stain resistant was strong enough to not allow the agents to penetrate the fiber.

I found that Tigressa has a very effective stain treatment which resists staining from the top through to the bottom of the carpet. Even a liquid that’s been on the carpet for some time may be easily removed. In addition Tigressa’s  patented color provides fade resist technology so that carpets remain vibrant throughout  their life.

Back to the silk-like feel of the carpet; this is quite unusual. It is due to the fact the fibers are ½ the size of a human hair making them ultra soft under foot.  In addition there are more of them in the fiber bundles (often called tufts); meaning more fibers per square inch. This accounts for the resiliency or “spring back” of the carpet and the luxurious feel.

We are all concerned about the environment when purchasing products. Tigressa is  made with nylon 6  fiber; a natural, sustainable source and can be recycled over and over and has  earned the Green Select label. This designation is given to carpets that meet environmental, safety and health requirements—a green carpet for your home.

If you’re looking for luxury and performance in a carpet, I suggest Tigressa.

Lisbeth Calandrino is Associate Publisher of Fabulous Floors Magazine, F.C.I.T.S.Certified Floor Covering Inspector and has been teaching carpet product knowledge classes for the past 20 years. She can be reached at her website, Lisbethcalandrino.com.

SUSTAINABLE. TRACEABLE. BEAUTIFUL. JUST SHORN NEW ZEALAND WOOL

Just Shorn brings together elegant carpet with sustainability, style and durability.
As you begin your search for new carpeting or rugs, you may have sustainability on your mind, and you will likely notice that the “green” trend has brought a larger selection of wool flooring options.For example, from New Zealand comes a fascinating initiative called Just Shorn®. Born from a partnership between a group of pioneering New Zealand sheep farmers and a long established agricultural business, Just Shorn assures customers that they are purchasing some of the world’s most beautiful carpeting, created from the natural and renewable resource of New Zealand wool.

The Just Shorn® label provides confidence that the beautiful flooring is made from natural, sustainable materials and can be traced back to New Zealand at any stage in the manufacturing and sale processes.Traceable- Once Just Shorn wool is harvested through a shearing process that is harmless to the sheep and hand-selected based on color (only the whitest for superb dyeing), fiber length, thickness and even resiliency, it is cleaned and processed.  It is never blended with inferior yarn fibers. To ensure that, a microscopic amount of “tracer” fiber is inserted into the wool to verify and “track” the authenticity of the Just Shorn® product .

Where can you find Just Shorn?  As the newest addition to the exclusive Dabbieri Collection of floorcovering, Just Shorn® wool carpets can be found in North America’s premier, independently owned showrooms—honored for excellence in quality, knowledge and service through membership in the International Design Guild.  Members of the International Design Guild have decorative home furnishings showrooms across North America that dominate the luxury floor covering market.

The Dabbieri Collection offers flooring that coordinates easily with traditional and contemporary interiors. Dabbieri is the ultimate in style and fine craftsmanship, created in an array of colors and patterns. For more information on the Just Shorn ® program and especially to see a portfolio of carpet and rugs, visit http://justshorn.com/.