The MoeDown

05-09

Your guide to what's going on at The Mohawk Group

SPECIAL EDITION

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Color, Color and MOE ColorColor is a global language that we experience every day. It impacts fashion, mood, thought patterns, learning, healing and of course our own industry. You don’t have to be a color theorist to understand how it works, but you do need to understand its relevance in the world to work with designers.

In this issue, our design consultants have provided tips on presenting color, learning about color and feeling comfortable with ever-changing color trends. I’ve also created my own Color Consultation for your convenience. Of course, color doesn’t end here. Work with your regional design consultant to stay ahead of the trends.

Get insider access to the hottest color trends and make a splash with our cross-branded coordinates. When strategically leveraged, our three distinct commercial brands can really set us apart from competitors. Working together as teams, we can provide any style at any price point. Take a look at our cross-branded palettes to get started!

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Created by Mohawk’s six regional design consultants, the palettes allow you to tag team customers with a mind-blowing joint presentation that addresses both product and color trends.What makes it mind-blowing? Well, the amazing products of course, but they need to be packaged in a desirable way to grab your customers’ attention.

Northeast Design Consultant Chris Stulpin knows first-handhow to catch a designer’s eye. He creates dynamic display boxes for libraries and lunch presentations that make an impact long after the sales call has ended.

This sleek package is far more effective than dropping a bunch of samples on the floor with no real context. They are easy to assemble and will kick your presentations to the next level. Start with our palettes or create your own!

Create Your Ownpresentationbox.com, perfectiondistributing.com (very inexpensive, under $5!)Palettes can be ordered using 1 SKU through fulfillment.Photos can be downloaded for PowerPoint presentations or printing from the MOE splash page.

Make Your CaseHave the perfect products for a project?Prove it with our new cross-branded palettes.

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The runway’s sunny yellow has toned down to a buttery mellow for interiors this year. Our luxe golden palette invokes the indulgent trend toward East Asian and Indian design influences. Bask in the golden glow where old world elegance meets modern privilege.

Follow The Golden Rule

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These products are our “Little Black Dress”–simple, sophisticated and perfect for any environment. Use them to create a sleek, modern look that never goes out of style.

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Helpful HintMany architects are schooled in the Bauhaus (German term) or International Style (American term for the same thing). They favor clean, simple , unadorned structures and details. The color palette is defined by black, white, grey and beige. Supplement your presentation (if showing big patterns) with textural solids in the above color family.

Also, utilize room scenes that show the products in an open space, so the person you are presenting to can understand the full extent of the product. Don't rely on the feeler swatch photo- as we all know- color is subjective- so start a library of room scenes that you can re-use for different appointments.

Room Scenes you should have in your arsenal of tools: Architects: Neutral products. Small scale patterns.

Facility Managers: Colors that are both light and dark, more than likely multi-colored to address soiling and traffic patterns. Medium scale patterns.

Interior Designers: Trendy, what's hot now, colors and patterns. Call your RDC to consult.Chris Stulpin, Regional Design Consultant

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That’s because our blue planet is on everyone’s mind, and the color itself is bubbling up in nearly every industry. From rich royal blue to deep navy to liquid aqua, our blues are vibrant and lively. The classic color promotes stability in the corporate market and calm and healing in healthcare.

Everybody Gets The Blues

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Helpful HintNot comfortable speaking about color with your customers? No problem! Let designers discover their inner child by coloring with crayons or picking out their favorite jelly bean color and telling their favorite color story! It is a perfect segway into sharing our cross branded pallets by color family and let's them engage in the color conversation - sharing best practices while allowing you to position our products simultaneously! If it's "after hours," you can do the same with an array of color cocktails! Cosmos (red); Apple Martinis (green), Margaritas (yellow).

Juliana Young and Nancy Schwartz,Regional Design Consultants

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It’s no secret. Eco is in. Inspired by the myriad shades of green that give life to the planet, from muted forest greens to crisp green fields, these styles feed the deepest part of humanity.

Go Green

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Suggested readings from Faith:

Color: A Natural History of the Paletteby Victoria Finlay

Coloristby Shigenobu Kobayashi

Living Colorby Paula Pryke

Pantone Guide to Communicating with Colorby Leatrice Eiseman

Book of Colorby Alexandra Stoddard

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Roll OutThe Red Carpet

Exotic reds, oranges and corals are spicing up the scene, inspired by the growing popularity of South American getaways. The embodiment of passion and excitement, our reds create a decadent floor without being pretentious.

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Helpful HintColor influences peoples’ moods and energy, it can elicit a physical response. Color theories are numerous and widely varying, but the important thing is, they matter. Peoples’ response to color is also quite varied. We have great sources available to educate ourselves about color theory…SolutiaAntronIIDA – Color Forecasting w/ CEU creditsAnother great source is to look into local design schools that offer color theory classes! You won't regret it!

Danielle DelCastilloDesign Consultant, Midwest

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Spring Is In The Air And The Floor

Refreshing neutrals and greens with a hazy gray overtone are another major trend this year, satisfying our urge for classic colors in challenging times. These styles create a tailored, yet comfortable, environment to soften the world around us.

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Environmentally DeliciousThis great lunch presentation idea is both elegant and environmental! I purchased melamine plates from Target, cloth napkins and silverware. The point was to show the designers ways to be sustainable while presenting Durkan's sustainability story. I even purchased placemats and napkin ring holders for a more "restaurant quality" look. I have done a few presentations and the designers LOVE it. They are still talking about it! I will never do another lunch presentation using paper plates ever again!

Beth ReymerDurkan Sales Rep

Lifting spirits! At the beginning of May, three other industry reps and I did a Chili Cook-off for one of our major Design Firms. With

the current economic conditions and moral very low, we thought this would not only boost our spirits but also our customer’s! They loved it! We planned this a few weeks in advance. One of the representatives communicated with the client to make sure they didn’t bring in lunch on this particular day. She did amazing graphics and truly got them excited about this big event. Each one of us made our best pot of chili. We left them ballots to rate our chili, took in fresh rolls, and all the necessary condiments. The client’s slogan is “Shaping the Way We Work, so we called this event “Shaping The Way We Cook.” The three industry reps were – Krug, Crown (wallcovering/fabric), DalTile and Mohawk. The cost was minimal and the flood of phone calls and emails and designer’s rushing into the kitchen while we were cleaning up made us feel pretty good!

Sandra Zobell Bigelow / Karastan / Lees Sales Rep

MOE Ideas From You!Moe-tivational ideas from the field

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Mohawk Group Family Invites Your Family Do you have a territory that has a difficult time getting designers to come to events after work? Perhaps, they have to get home to their kids?

Team up with your sister brands and throw a Mohawk Group Family invites your Family to a Children's Museum or Science Center. Designers rarely get to meet their co-workers kids and very few companies ever invite spouses or children. Pick a Tuesday or Wednesday and make the event from 4-8pm.

To keep event costs in check - serve hot dogs, popcorn, etc and truly make it a family event.

What better way to show your community that our brands are together in the marketplace?

Christopher StulpinNortheast Regional Design Consultant

Bring the SpringI recently delivered aDrag and Fly presentation and wanted to add a bit of flair. I bought a flower pot ($2.99), filled it with

clay and topped it with Spanish moss. I found lollipops in the shape of flowers (3 for $1 at Party City) and inserted them into the Styrofoam. I then inserted a small metal dragonfly garden stake that I found in a craft store. You can find all of these things at Michael's or Joann Fabrics. The participants enjoyed a little bit of springtime.

Michele RubandoLees Sales Rep

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Going GreenFor a sustainability presentation, two Atlanta reps ordered custom M&Ms off the M&M website. They ordered different shades of green and put them in a cute little jar with a tag that was made of recycled content paper. The tag included all four logos and said, "All the same company with different shades of green." This would be a great idea to use with the Green palette featured in this newsletter. Plus it is cross branded!

Faith Brooks, Morgan McDowell, Elizabeth Chambley and Laren McLeroySoutheast Reps

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