In response to post-pandemic shifts that have impacted all areas of our existence, humanity has emerged forever changed. In an effort to champion a hopeful path forward for people, place and planet, Mohawk Group is exploring this phenomenon through the lens of three categories: Grown World, Built World and Meta World. Together, these emerging worlds are connected through collective intelligence and a deep interdependence. At NeoCon 2023, Mohawk Group’s showroom will take guests on a journey that explores each world through a deeper dive into emergent thinking. The showcase will explain how the manufacturer is actively solving the challenges that plague society to be better for people and better for the planet through its Better Together initiative.
Many of this year’s highlighted collections were created as part of Mohawk Group’s ongoing Better Together collaboration with ArtLifting, a non-profit organization that champions artists who are impacted by disabilities and/or housing insecurity. ArtLifting provides a platform and creates opportunities for these underrepresented creatives to amplify their voices and participate in the contemporary art market. Through this collaboration, each artist is empowered, emboldened and valued for their participation, respected for their diversity, and compensated for their work. Last year Mohawk Group’s design team collaborated with artists to provide inspiration for new floorcoverings; for 2023, a different approach led to the commissioning of different art pieces as a call-and-response to new products and themes.
Upon entering the showroom, guests will explore the Grown World, where highlighted biophilic collections showcase how Mohawk Group has applied eco-intelligence and fostered symbiosis between the natural and human communities. An imaginative exploration into nature’s hidden side, the new Wild Dyer 24" x 24" carpet tile collection celebrates the unexpected richness and beauty of dyes from the often-overlooked mushroom. Coordinating styles Curious Cluster and Wandering Troop pay homage to mushroom growth patterns, creating dynamic depths of movement within a beautifully constructed palette and boucle texture. To explore the inspiration behind Wild Dyer, Mohawk Group commissioned a work from Laria Saunders, an artist on the ArtLifting platform who creates digital photo assemblage paintings. Her original piece, “Ciclo de Las Setas,” was inspired by the healing effects of fungi and other plants.
Throughout the showroom, guests will encounter the three styles of Taking Root, Mohawk Group’s first platformed LVT collection. The line’s two 18" x 36" styles, Transfiguration and Mycotexture, were inspired by mycelium growth and mushroom structures, and are both available in either a 2.5-mm or 4.5-mm thick construction. The collection’s third style, Zone Lines, draws its inspiration from spalted maples, which result from mycelium growth that creates a unique patterning in wood grain. Zone Lines is available as a flexible plank in both a 2.5-mm and 4.5-mm thickness; or as a 6-mm rigid click plank with an attached pad, with slightly varied plank sizes per construction. To further explore the design story behind Taking Root, Mohawk Group commissioned ArtLifting artist Lindsay Holcomb to create an original piece based on the hard surface collection.
The new Above and Below 12" x 36" carpet plank collection is inspired by the connectivity and sustaining nature of vast webs of mycelium below the earth’s surface. These thread-like structures distribute nutrients among plants and recycle matter into new sources of life – supporting every element of an ecosystem. Collection styles Biotope and MycoBiome, respectively, translate mycelium networks and mushrooms (their fruiting bodies) into various scales layered with abstract forms and colors. Styles MycoSuede and MycoLoop add a rich tactile element to the collection as coordinating textures, creating a harmonious and cohesive flooring solution. To further conceptualize and understand the collection, Mohawk Group commissioned original photography from ArtLifting artist Michael Van Huffel that leaned into the same inspiration behind Above and Below.
Initially launched at HD Expo, the award-winning Mycotopia multi-category carpet collection will also be featured at NeoCon. Mycotopia is inspired by the hidden structures, intricate patterns, beauty and ecological importance of mushrooms. Mohawk Group also commissioned a piece of artwork that was inspired by Mycotopia – “Matsutake” – created by ArtLifting artist Connie Avery, whose work is a reflection of her experiences and her family.
Launched earlier this year, the Emanating Echoes carpet tile collection calls to mind the positive action of water through patterns created to help provide calming spaces and processes designed to conserve resources. Whenever styles are chosen from this collection, specifiers are joining Mohawk Group in promoting water conservation and human health around the world by supporting river restoration projects through the Waterways Project.
Within the showroom, manufacturing innovations like Color Pulse will also take the spotlight with a special feature. Mohawk Group’s Color Pulse yarn system offers a solution-dyed nylon option that mimics the effects of space-dyed fiber using with a zero-water dyeing process. An adaptable palette and rich tonal movement are punctuated with rhythmic intervals of different colors and crisp, clear color separation.
Moving through the showroom, guests will then enter the Built World, which highlights the manufacturer’s commitment to creating positive impact and better outcomes through sustainable, low embodied carbon flooring systems and special partnerships that promote social equity. By working together with leaders in human-centered design, Mohawk Group is developing flooring products that leverage the built environment to improve the world and enhance quality of life for everyone. Art Alliance is a plush broadloom carpet collection inspired by community, resilience and inclusion. Art Alliance’s 20 patterns – three of which are running line – take their cues from the designs of six artists that are members of the ArtLifting community. These motifs create plush, welcoming area rug and wall-to-wall installations, integrating Mohawk Group’s Pattern Perfect construction format for added depth, warmth and tactility.
Also among the highlights of the Built World is a special NeoCon preview of Chromatic Cadence – a 24" x 24" modular tile collection available in a glorious range of colors created using Mohawk Group’s PDI carpet technology. This forthcoming line of different color fields was inspired by “Organic,” an original piece created by Yvette – an ArtLifting artist who paints every story that she feels. Chromatic Cadence will launch this fall.
Innovations including EcoFlex™ ONE backing with attached pad also speaks to the notion of contributions to the Built World. EcoFlex ONE contains the equivalent of 28 recycled PET plastic bottles in each square yard, and undergirds the full Living Product Challenge Petal-certified portfolio of Mohawk Group nylon carpet tile products.
“Our work and research in the commercial architecture and design space consistently reveals this notion of interconnectivity and the impactful role of design to connect people and nature,” added Dettmar. “The sooner we can all embrace this idea as a guiding principle, the sooner we can emerge a better, more inclusive and mindful society.”
The manufacturer is actively working on ways to continually refine and improve strategies for water consumption, decarbonization, material health and product circularity for a better planet. The manufacturer has taken its product portfolio to the next level of sustainability: to be Beyond Carbon Neutral to build a climate-positive future. All of Mohawk Group’s soft and hard surface flooring products now boast an additional 5% carbon offset over neutral, for a net-positive impact.
From creating zero-harm workplaces to partnering with organizations that uplift and support different members of society, Mohawk Group aims to impact communities in a positive way that is better for people. As part of the company’s Better Together program, portions of the sales of eligible collections created in collaboration with ArtLifting are donated by Mohawk Group on their customers’ behalf to Susan G. Komen through its Specify for a Cure partnership.
In the Meta World, showroom guests will be transported to otherworldly and dreamy states of being through immersive design as Mohawk Group explores the next frontier of the digital era. Project solutions including MOHAWK GO offer a glimpse into Mohawk Group’s industry leadership in the metaverse space, where virtual reality (VR) offers interactive and hyper-expressive experiences. MOHAWK GO will be highlighted in the showroom at NeoCon as Mohawk Group’s all-in-one app for commercial flooring selections. After filtering and browsing a complete portfolio of hard and soft surface styles, clients can select products and visualize them in their spaces via real time high-definition augmented reality. Samples can then be ordered directly through the MOHAWK GO app.
In the Chicago showroom, Mohawk Group will also be featuring its award-winning VR system. With provided headsets, users can view and change products in different virtual environments, and control how much of and what they want to see. Mohawk Group can engage its clients in web-based VR around the world without the need for hardware or gear, with future plans to continue to expand accessibility and capabilities.
“Through design, technology and a holistic approach to sustainability, we’re turning what we imagine into action – and emerging toward a future that is more secure, healthy and just for all,” added Dettmar.
NeoCon attendees can experience Mohawk Group’s showroom (3-377) at THE MART during regular trade show hours, including cocktail receptions on Monday and Tuesday, 3 – 5 p.m. Outside of the showroom, attendees will be greeted by an engaging installation of Mohawk Group’s Denim Culture carpet tile collection at the Kinzie Street entrance.
For NeoCon 2023, Mohawk Group will reprise its popular #MyShoesOnMohawk “selfeet” social media campaign, where guests will have the chance to enter to win a custom vegan leather bag created from mycelium and designed by Stella McCartney.
