Another award for Kirei EchoPanel, the acoustic panel of choice for sound control. The EchoScreenrolling track won first place in the Reader’s Choice Awards for 2018. Made from recycled plastic bottles, Kirei EchoPanel solves two problems at once: sound control and mitigating waste (see above).
For samples email us at echopanel@caragreen.com
While we did upgrade our showroom and warehouse, our website is our virtual showroom, where designers can peruse all of our brands and curate their own sample collection for their projects. Products like Bark House, Durat, TorZo, and Koskisen resonate with designers and architects. Share the website with them as it is a virtual online library from which to design: caragreen.com
If in person is your thing, call to set up a time to come by: 919.929.3009
Game of Stones. The go-to surface has shifted from quartz to more progressive thinking companies like Lapitec, who designed the surface of the future: sintered stone. Designed to withstand the elements and enable healthier living in healthier spaces, sintered stone outperforms quartz and natural stone on all levels. Designed by Breton, one of the most innovative companies in man-made stone, Lapitec has decades of expertise incorporated into its recipe and inherent characteristics which make it the superior surface on the market. Quartz may be on its final season.
Acrylic high heels? Trash 'em. Plastic can’t be sent to China anymore as they initiated the National Sword program, limiting the amount and quality of recycled goods that they would accept from many countries, including the US. The result? Materials that were once recyclable are now piling up in landfills and recycling facilities are closing as they have nobody to buy their goods, relegating them to the dump. Don’t think it is a real thing? 2019 will be the year these fees start to hit the curb. You might need to pick up a side job. Look to CaraGreen to introduce some new products that deliberately repurpose our recycling into sexy, sassy surfaces. Coming 2019.
We have pitted multiple of our surfaces against quartz surfaces over the years, but many were caught off guard when Cambria filed a lawsuit against Chinese suppliers, ultimately securing a ruling that quadrupled the price of Chinese quartz in the US. This will impact many suppliers and projects. We continue to post about this on our blog and in our podcast series so you can stay informed. Products like PaperStone and IceStone are great alternatives, proven, and always made in the USA.
Products from top to bottom:
Benjamin Moore – Metropolitan AF-690
Durat – 031
PaperStone – Slate
Kirei – EchoPanel Geometry Tiles, Penta, 551
HBF Textiles – Lava Rock, White Hot, 993-10
Wonderwall Studios – Parker
HBF Textiles – Merci Boucle, Fleur, 955-40
We told you the color of the year was…drumroll…grey? How exciting! Grey! Everyone loves grey: 50 shades of grey, marble with grey veining, blah blah blah. Well, what if you want color? I'm talking about eye-popping, jazz me up, get me out of bed in the morning, make me love my job, color. Feed me more, rev me up, make me run an extra mile, color. Most building materials jumped on the Greyhound bus and haven’t gotten off yet, but we have colorful suggestions to offer: Durat Solid Surface, in 70 vibrant colors; Koskisen, a superior grade Finnish plywood with integral color faced wood grains; reSAWN Charred Timber, in orange, pink, green, red, and blue; Kirei EchoPanel, acoustical treatments – baffles, cloud shapes, stars, and sheets – available in brilliant colors. These brands have doubled down on color and gone against the grey'n.
For samples of something that really invites creativity with color, email us your request at info@caragreen.com
GOT jokes?
This is actually no joke. The saga continues for the quartz industry, as more legislation on anti-dumping rains down on the quartz industry. A November 14th ruling on anti-dumping tariffs resulting from the Cambria lawsuit means another 300+% tariff on top of the countervailing and government trade war tariffs that are already in place on quartz surfaces. You can read more about it on our blog or hear more about it on our podcast.
Hello, haven’t we been telling you about Lapitec sintered stone? Better than quartz. Better than granite. Man-made metamorphic rock? Stain, etch, scratch, graffiti, and bacteria resistant? Ringing any bells amidst the quartz conundrum? If you are not certified in sintered stone, you should move now. The industry is shifting. For a limited time, we are providing free displays to fabricators looking to get into sintered stone. Lapitec displays can be ordered free of charge by emailing lapitec@caragreen.com
Hello hipsters, millennials, whatevers! We carry Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year 2019 – Metropolitan AF, a neutral warm grey that goes with pretty much anything. We have been busy pairing the color up with some of our favorite surfaces to create some stylish vignettes that bridge subtlety with sexy AF (see our vignette below!). Metropolitan city dwellers, suburban socialites, and mountaintop men alike will all be well served by this bi-partisan color that arrives in the form of Lapitec, Durat, Koskisen, and PaperStone surfaces for furnishing, tables, counters and cabinetry.
To get samples of our Metro AF look-alikes, email us at info@caragreen.com
Thanks to all who have read, listened to, and commented on our podcasts & blogs. We are working really hard to stoke the industry conversation and to put our products up for debate in the broader industry context. We invite your critique and input and will continue to pry open the cans of worms and fan the flames in an effort to push building products to the next level of thought leadership.
Products from top to bottom:
reSAWN Timber – Cladding, Black & Tan
Lapitec – Lux, Sahara
IceStone – Gotham Grey
PaperStone – Leather
Durat – 430 & 110
With all the tariffs and duties being smacked onto building materials, the case for buying products made in the USA is even stronger. IceStone countertops are made in Brooklyn; Durat solid surface and sinks are made in Georgia; PaperStone is made in Washington; Beautiful, economical solutions exist right here, right now. And with China no longer accepting our recycled material, we need local products made with our own recycled materials. IceStone recycled glass, Durat recycled plastics, and PaperStone recycled paper all keep waste out of the landfill and create stunning surfaces.
For samples of these sustainable quartz alternatives, email us at info@caragreen.com
