Lifestyle Carpet Collection Part 1: Headlam Group

Headlam Group’s (the group is a wholesaler/manufacturer) major launch this year has been the Lifestyle Floors collection. They are aggressively promoting their new launch in the form of lovely stands and lecterns that they are offering to place in shops across the country for a nominal fee. It’s great value for shops, so you will see plenty of these stands.

Ours was installed last week and we have 14 carpets on it. This rundown of the carpets will come in three parts. Today I’m looking at:

City Twist: This is a ‘better than most’ budget twist that is comparable to something like Revolution in terms of price and quality. It does feel a little more dense to me and it is a very colourful range, with ‘Sky’ and ‘Fuchsia’ definitely catching the eye at first glance. It’s 100% polypropylene and action backed and is available in either 4m or 5m wide rolls.

It’s a decent stab to do a reasonable twist for under a tenner and I have to commend it. You should pay £8-£12 per metre for it and it would be ideal for those on a budget or landlords who don’t want the ‘cheap and nasty’ look.

Revival Twist: This one is a heavier, heathered twist with a more subtle colour bank. I quite like the Crimson and Raspberry Jam, but if I’m honest then I am not blown away by this one in the least. It’s one of many similar at this sort of price.

It’s 100% polypropylene, action backed and available 4m and 5m wide. It should be priced between about £14 and £18 per square metre and I think that maybe a pound or two too much. I don’t think it stands up that well to competition at a similar price, like Cormar’s Primo Tweed, Balta’s Stainsafe Heathers or Lano’s Startwist Supreme. It’s not a bad carpet as such, but it’s not as good as its competitors to my mind.

Cosmopolitan Stripe: The much-vaunted ‘funky’ stripe of the collection (there is another, but it is a little more subtle) is a slightly shaggy twist with stripes of varying widths in some crazy colours.

Coffee and Tan are by far the best colours in the range and it features a truly rancid ‘Hot Pink’ shown below:

It’s 4 metre wide only, is made from 100% polypropylene and is felt backed. I’d be guessing it’s for kids’ bedrooms or playrooms, but you could use it elsewhere I imagine.

Time will tell if it will sell well, but customers have not been impressed by it in here so far, so I don’t think it’s going to work for us, but I might be wrong. Expect to pay around £9-£12 per square metre and it’s not a bad price for what it is and if you like the colours and designs, you could do a lot lot worse.

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Endangered Species: Rhinofloor & Armstrong To Close

Save the rhino! No, this is not a sudden departure into protecting those mighty beasts……sadly it is to post about the impending demise of Armstrong’s domestic vinyl production on Teesside. Note that this closure affects the domestic side of their business only.

It really will be a hammer blow to a part of the country that can ill-afford the loss of 163 jobs. It’s pretty clear that Armstrong have struggled to cope with the new generation of vinyl competition from Europe, of which Leoline has been the spearhead.

It does not surprise me to hear this news, though it does sadden me. To think that what is by far the most recognised vinyl brand, Rhinofloor, will no longer be available is quite shocking. Realistically it is pretty much the only brand people ever seem to ask for in this shop – in recent times however, they often come in talking about Rhinofloor and leave the shop having bought Leoline – sad but true.

A lack of true innovatition and creativity, as well as some very strange pricing structures have contributed to their demise as much as anything else in my book. I actually dismantled one of their stands today (coincidentally) to make way for something else that will sell a lot more than that and the significance of what I had been planning for a couple of weeks sunk in. If I’m not getting results from their stand, then I’m sure I’m not alone.

The end of an era and another British manufacturer goes to the wall. No bail outs from the goevernment to the flooring trade though, we  save those for reckless bankers……

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Pure Stone by Balterio

Balterio recently added a tiled laminate range to their impressive array of products with Pure Stone, a collection of four new designs.

It’s an 8mm thick heavy grade laminate with a 25 year domestic and 12 year commercial warranty and is suitable for areas of heavy traffic including kitchens.

With this range, Balterio have managed to create a genuinely authentic looking stone tile. The surface texture and finish is subtle and slightly ‘pitted’ like the real thing. Obviously it doesn’t feel like stone, but perhaps that is part of the charm. Stone floors can often deter potential buyers simply because of their feel and coldness, so Pure Stone does offer a solution there.

Although there is a disappointingly small number of options, the four designs in the range are well thought out and the end result is especially good in my opinion. It’s streets ahead of Quickstep‘s very very tired looking Quadra range and Berry Floor’s tiles are not in the same league.

The tiles are bevelled all the way around and in a very large format: rectangles of 1192mm x 392.5mm. They lend themselves to large rooms, though we have fitted them in smallish kitchens so far and they have looked very good.

The format of the tiles brings me to my one gripe with Balterio’s point of sale. Their wonderful display stand has large tiles for each design, but nowhere does it show the bevel! I have found myself explaining to the customer, “yes they are bevelled all the way around, just like this one” and then showing them an image – it’s far from ideal and a definite oversight on their part. This does not detract from what is a great product though and I recommend it highly.

Can you put it in bathrooms? We often get asked this by customers and to be brutally honest, I don’t like putting any laminate floor in a bathroom. Forget what the makers may claim, it so often ends in tears. Thankfully Balterio and Quickstep unequivocally say ‘no’ by and large to avoid confusion. If you really want to do it then go ahead but clean up all spills and make sure the room is very well ventilated. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Price wise, this will sell at £18-£25 per square metre and is pretty decent value at that price.

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Carpet For Mods: Carnaby by Brockway

While I was researching the ‘striped carpets’ stuff for this blog, I did come across a very lovely new range that I hadn’t seen before.

Brockway have launched the decidedly 60’s retro mod chic of Carnaby to the market and what an absolutely wonderful design it is – right on the money:

It’s a 100% quality wool berber that I am yet to have a physical sample of, so I am simply bowled over by the design alone at this point. Brockway will send you samples from their (very good) website. They do a whole host of excellent stripes on there – Carnaby is just the tip of the iceberg.

I expect an order from Paul Weller is pending…and if I can convince the wife, maybe from me too.

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York Twist by Associated Weavers

One of the additions to Associated Weavers’ range that we saw in the Spring was York Twist and it’s definitely a worthwhile contender.

It’s a decent 100% polypropylene twist aimed at those who perhaps want a ‘wool look’ but maybe don’t have ‘wool money’. It’s a decent stab at replicating the look of a wool twist and although the feel of it does not absolutely convinvce, it’s not bad for the money you are likely to be asked. I’d reckon on £11-£15 per square metre and it’s pretty good value at that.

It is available in 10 neutral shades, comes 2,3,4 or 5 metre wide and features the usual 10 year stain and wear warranties that AW like so much.

I think it will sell very well for Associated Weavers, although our experience is steady rather than a massive rush. That particular price point in that particular type of carpet is mightily competitive right now.

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Are You Going To Harrogate Fair?

This year’s Harrogate Flooring Show is almost upon us – it is being held between the 5th and 7th of September this year. In a move to persuade hard-working shop owners to make the journey, the operators have decided to begin on a Sunday this year.

I’m not sure whether to pop along there or not at the moment. Anyway, you can pre-regisiter by clicking the link above and if you do go then have fun.

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Hardwood by Kersaint Cobb

I’m a big fan of Kersaint Cobb’s products and their refreshingly positive attitude towards retailers. Their coirs, sisals and seagrasses are excellent, as are their tremendous collection of wool carpets.

Therefore it was quite a surprise when they launched a hardwood out of the blue last year. It’s a range full of oak, which is the big seller after all, save for an American Walnut. There are a couple of 14mm Engineered Oaks – lacquered or brushed & UV oiled,  four ‘semi-solid’  18mm thick options (including the walnut) and five options of 20mm solid oak, as well as an 18mm solid oak.

The display stand that they have come up with is simple and effective. It’s a ‘toaster stand’ that allows easy access and provides the customer with enough of the fitted hardwood on show to have an idea of what it will look like on the floor and also helps the retailer to really show off what is a quality product.

You can buy it on Yourfloors and you are much better off with a quality wood from a reputable supplier than some shady pallet handler from the Far East who sells on Ebay. Be very careful when buying hardwood…

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Balterio’s Laminate Flooring Manufacturing Process

Balterio are now one of the world leaders in laminate flooring. The sheer scope of their innovative designs and huge choice of options puts them at the cutting edge of the industry.

Their rise has been meteoric in what is a fiercely comeptitive industry. Contending with the likes of the huge Quick-Step, Berry Floor and Grundorf was never going to be easy for a newcomer, but they are now first choice supplier for many retailers here in the UK. Far and away my favourite laminate manufacturer because of their great products, continual improvement and innovation and their wonderful point of sale that shows off their products perfectly.

Here is how they make it:

And no, I do not work for them – just giving credit where it’s due.

I’ll be taking a look at their recently launched Pure Stone range soon and their sampling error….

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Revolution Heather by Condor Carpets

Just as a footnote to my post last week about the very popular Revolution Heather by Condor Carpets, here is an image of the best selling colour for us, Damson 215.  It’s available 4 metre and 5 metre wide and is very good value at between £8 and £12 per square metre. Anyway, here it is in all its glory:

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Vintage Wilton by Balta Carpets

As promised in my recent post on Classique Wilton by Balta Carpets, I’m now going to take a look at its ‘bigger brother’, Vintage Wilton.

Once more we see Balta continue the theme of creams/beiges/browns across a full range of Wilton. It’s a real difference from the ‘traditional’ Wilton ranges that were prevalent a few years back. Whilst Balta are happy to be pushing colour in a lot of their new plain carpet ranges, they seem to be heading in the opposite direction with their Wilton.

Like Classique Wilton, it has a heavy domestic/general contract rating, but weighs in at an almighty 2520gr per metre, significantly ahead of Classique’s 1650 gr per metre and has a pile height of 10mm, as opposed to Classique’s 8mm – as I said it is the ‘big brother’.

At that weight it feels a lot more ‘meaty’ and handles beautifully. It’s dense, sharp and impressive. It’s 100% ‘B-Tron’ (Balta’s fibre) Polypropylene and comes in 4 metre wide rolls.

The designs are varied across the range. My favourite is the slightly ‘art deco’ looking ‘duo’ design pictured above. Aside from that, most of the popular bases are covered. A tidy pindot, a nice, subtle small square motif, a couple of floral sprays and an impressive panel. If you like this kind of thing then you ought to be able to find something you at least like and possibly love. Most of the designs are each done in three shades – so I believe that’s around 24 options in the range.

The price of this is obviously going to be higher than Classique and is likely to set you back around £25-£34 per square metre. Overall a high quality product and ideal for heavy wear. It’s heading towards wool axminster price-wise, but it is realistically quite a lot less than most of those and if you want a very high end man-made Wilton then this is a real option.

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