An exciting new product from Bellbridge called Grasscloth has been exposed to a stern test of performance and appearance retention.
The 100% wool flatwoven product photographed above has been installed in one of the most demanding areas within the Bellbridge facility in Benicia California for the last 7 months. It was important to select a  location that really tested this carpets resilience and this particular sample was laid at the doorway connecting the warehouse to our main office.  It is the most frequently used entrance and was  also at a turning point.  The turning action of footwear is always the most demanding of situations for a carpet, as it is not just the compacting effect of the foot traffic but also tests the abrasion resistance of a carpet.  The test was particularly tough as the range of footwear varied from work boots to ‘heels’.

Controlled laboratory tests also provide solid reference points but there is nothing like actually being able to observe a products reaction to tough conditions over time.  We often assess product in these sort of situations, the information from ‘real time tests’ such as this is great technical reference material.
Grasscloth is a great new Bellbridge product that takes on the stylish look of Japanese tatami but has all the benefits of a sophisticated and practical wool surface.  It comes in a range of great colors and is available as 13′ 2″ width.
Grasscloth has performed very well in these tough tests and is a very good choice for a customer requiring  a stylish, natural and great performing product.

Bellbridge have begun a 1 year recycling trial with Hendricksen Naturlich Flooring of Sebastopol Ca.

It has been agreed that any Bellbridge carpets that are replaced during this period, will be recycled in Napa Valley vineyards as weed blankets.
The first carpet which was removed from a consumers home in September was laid in the vineyard during October.
The particular product was formerly in the consumers home for 16 years. The replacement was also a Bellbridge wool carpet product.

Although Bellbridge have previously laid thousands of feet of used and scrap carpet at Nord Vineyards, this is the first agreement involving a carpet store.

The store owner Rob Hendricksen, has always taken an active interest in environmental issues and has actually recycled wool carpets in own garden for a few years now. So he was very eager to take part in this trial. 

This trial is a chance to evaluate the recycling model for Bellbridge which could lead to further projects.

Above, Rob Hendricksen (center) and his sales team Sarah and Marc show the first Bellbridge Recycling Certificate.

Twelve months after the installation of several thousand feet of used and waste wool carpets in the Nord Vineyards in the Napa Valley, the extensive recycling trial has been declared a resounding success.
Julie Nord owner of Nord Winery a prominent wine grower from the Northern California is well qualified to pass judgment on the effects of the Bellbridge trial, as she is a qualified Soil Scientist as well as a well known owner and vineyard manager in the Napa area.
The carpets were laid in between the vines in October 2009, before the rains. The carpets achieved the results that Julie had wanted, they had significantly inhibited weed growth, improved the water retention in the soil and have aided in land erosion on the terraced slopes of this particular vineyard.
The success of this trial was very good news and is a great example of how wool carpets are not just ‘special’ when they are on the floor of your home!
The successes have meant that Julie Nord is continuing to lay used wool carpets in her vineyards.
Bellbridge have agreed with Sebastipol based carpet store Hendrickson Flooring to recycle their used wool carpets in 2010 and 2011. The first carpet in this new iniative was a Bellbridge wool carpet that had been in place in a residential home for 16 years and when the owner wished to remodel what better place for the ‘retired carpet’ than a vineyard!
Julie Nord of Nord Vineyards, Rob Hendrickson of Hendrickson Flooring and Bruce Bell, President of Bellbridge Carpets met at the vineyard to see the great results of the trial and to agree the next phase of recycling.

They may have also sampled the wine!

Did you know?

Tennis Balls
There are 300 million tennis balls produced annually. Tennis balls are covered in a Wool felt.

Washington and Jefferson
Both maintained flocks of sheep and both were inaugurated in Wool suits.

Bellbridge and Wool
New Zealand is the world’s biggest producer of carpet wools, the owner and President of Bellbridge, Bruce Bell is a native New Zealander (a Kiwi, as they are called)

The Spinster
Back in the 1600’s in the UK, when many families spun their own wool to make clothes, this task fell to the oldest unmarried daughter of the family and this is where the term ‘Spinster’ comes from.

Wool fire Curtain
In Australia, Wool has been used to produce a curtain that is being offered to protect Australian homes from Bush Fires. The weakest point in a house under threat from a bush fire is its windows and the external curtain acts as a preventative barrier.

Wool in the Danish Bog
One of the oldest surviving Wool textiles was found in Danish Bog and is dated at 1200 BC,  making it over 3200 years old!

 Today’s clients are different. Trends are different. Spending patterns are different. But these are expected changes in a new economic climate.

Two significant changes are how design is viewed by clients and the ways in which products are purchased. Many of today’s clients view design with a longer-term vision; clean color, more familiar style, perhaps a bit more traditional or transitional with a twist. In addition the traditional purchasing venues are not as strong as they were. The old stand-by sources for product are not as innovative nor as customer service oriented as they were in the past. Nor are all of the traditional channels closed to the public. There are new venues, smaller showrooms, more innovative approaches to product, sales, and service.

 As the economy rebounds new purchasing channels will be created and discovered. Clients will be looking for more from their purchases. A “social-good” benefit, a “sustainable” advantage. Greater emphasis will be placed on what the long-term advantages are of the purchasing relationship (vendor to designer) and the product.

This change in the selection and purchasing process and venue solely about price? Price is only one consideration in the purchasing process, though indeed many clients are looking for “cheaper chicken.” Is it a change in style? Yes in part. We are seeking more innovation, more difference from product with a hint of familiarity – i.e., comfort. Is it about service? Certainly key. The larger your purchase the more you rely, and will rely, on dedicated, consistent, forthright vendors. Is it about responsibility? I think this is a growing concern in making decisions. Whether it is about the sustainability of a product or its “social-good” impact this is a consideration that is growing among consumers, especially those with the ability and willingness to spend.

 Will the old purchasing venues fade? Maybe, or perhaps their importance will just diminish as other innovators, and more “closed” sources, find their place in the market. Firms will begin to offer products with more point of difference, will become more responsive, go a step beyond the standard customer service, and will be more willing to take a chance.

Have you experienced a change in your vendor relationships? Are you seeking alternatives? What makes you jump ship? Are your clients asking more questions about sustainability and “social-good” issues?

Well, its not really a secret….
Following the outstanding results of the wool carpet lined baskets, Harvest Park Middle School have used Bellbridge wool carpet samples in their newly planted tomato area and their pumpkin patch. The wool feeding the plants as it degrades and the carpet acting as a weed barrier. In addition as the pumpkin grows it will rest on the carpet - until the school children harvest at least. A good use for redundant samples!
We will continue to monitor this environmental work with the school, these educational projects have all been the passion of Marsha Jones, who is the Head Teacher. Marsha and her husband Mark( very able garden volunteer).

When we visited the school to meet with the Marsha Jones, the teacher who is responsible for the wool carpet reuse initiative, it was great to see first hand how our products were being recycled to benefit the flowers and plants. As you can see from previous posts on this blog, others have commented specifically about this in some detail.

What was really wonderful and more important was seeing Marsha’s eyes light up when we asked how her students responded to the whole gardening experience!

I commented that a significant number of these students would never have been exposed to gardening ever before and I asked about how their attitudes and interest changed over the course of the year?

“The students seemed to sort themselves into natural groups,” said Marsha;

The “diggers”, as she called them – they love to dig. The garden plots, ditches, holes, ponds, and channels – anything at all that needed digging.

The “cultivators” – they nurtured the seedlings and young plants until they were ready for planting.

The “planters” – they actually planted the plants and watched over them.

Marsha also commented that everything did not always go as smoothly as she would like but of course they are kids and that is very natural and in fact part of the whole learning process.

She was also extremely excited about how some children in particular flourished in the outdoor garden environment. While some of them were not necessarily the best students in terms of their book grades they were amazing in the garden and it may have helped them find a direction in their career path.

So what is more important?

Seeing kids being given this learning experience by a passionate and committed teacher!

This is the third year that the flower baskets lined with Bellbridge Wool carpets have deliverd a great visual display. The project is one being carried out by Harvest Park Middle School in Northern California and it has really interested the school children, who now are going to incorporate more of our wool carpets in various other garden projects.

This a great example of the biodegradable benefits of wool, as it releases the nutrients into the soil and feeds the plants. We thank the Marsha Jones the Head Teacher who has added another dimension to the lessons being taught in the garden.  A big thank you to Harvest Park Middle School for working with Bellbridge on this project!

Coalescing of Design

Less than a decade ago each region of the US could be identified by its use of color, texture, pattern and design elements. With the advent of well published “celebrity” designers, specialized home design media, mega home design retailers- from low to high-end, and the growth of targeted home design publications, has design across the US become more “coaleced?”

 With the exception of perhaps the Northwest US (perhaps they have been the design leaders after all?) I think the answer is a resounding YES. Designers and consumers have become more universal in their approach to design and the elements that make them comfortable. There is a greaterblending of color, texture, and design aesthetic across the US today than ten years ago.

We have strongly taken to the use of “modern” design elements, “clean” colors, “paired-down” design elements, and greater texture across the US. The trend is not contemporary “sparse”  but “clean”, not fussy but “bridge-transitional”, a mixture of sleek and antique.

America is growing into its interiors. We employ a greater number of interior designers today than ever before. We are honing in on what we like, what makes us comfortable. Our interiors reflect more who we are rather than whom we think we should be and how that is communicated through our surroundings. Interiors that reflect the real us not the idealized us.

Mixing, upgrading, changing, refining.

What do you think? Have our interiors become more “us”,  less what we think we should “represent?” Are they more united across the US in terms of color, style, and texture use? Are we uniting the real us with our interiors?

Look through some  magazines and form an opinion. What might be the causes? Where might our interiors be headed? Talk to us!

Our recent large scale trial of ‘used’ and waste carpet at Nord Vineyards has created interest as far afield as Hungary, where it has been featured in an on line Wine magazine called Vinoport… 6 months into the trial the vineyard owner Julie Nord is very pleased with its effect as a weed blocker and erosion barrier. The next 4 months are critical as this is the growing season and we are looking to see the improvement in vine growth and even fruit. These shots are of the ‘installation’ in October 2009 (below)  and the most recent March 2010, with the introduction of sheep….and of course the dog (disguised as a sheep!). We continue to explore creative opportunities for the recycling of Bellbridge wool carpets! We encourage thoughts on our recycling efforts and you can find out much more on our website….

Malcolm Sims -VP Operations.