For Todd Bracher, the challenge of design, the aspect that makes it truly interesting and valuable, is encapsulated in collaboration. "The most interesting part for me, the reason I collaborate so often, is to learn. If I'm not collaborating, I'm not learning. Only feeding myself is not the best way to be creatively inspired."

Todd worked with Shaw Contract Group to develop The Music Project, a visual extrapolation of the universal language of music, a harmony of sound, design and science. Additionally, a team of software engineers worked with Todd and the Shaw team to develop a program to read the gravity and pitch of each song and then output visual representations of each.

Todd, founder of Todd Bracher Studio LLC, is a Designer and Educator currently based in New York City after a decade working in Copenhagen, Milan, Paris and London. Todd has been pinned as 'America's next great Designer' by the NY Daily News as well as received several nominations for Designer of the Year in 2008 and 2009.

“Whatever I design, my goal from the outset is to capture meaning and make it universal. This collection is not just stripes or patterns. A firm or office can say that their space is about classical music. Now, it represents something to them. Whether it's classical, jazz, ambient or electronic music, people can relate to what's in the space.” - Todd Bracher

  Listen to Todd discuss the collection.

Architect. Author. Design. William McDonough is the champion of cradle-to-cradle design. Through William McDonough + Partners, he designs environmentally responsible buildings for companies like Google and Ford that incorporate innovative systems for energy conservation and use. In Cradle to Cradle, McDonough outlines the benefits of products that are perpetually circulated in closed loops, allowing for maximum material value and drastic waste reduction. By incorporating cradle-to-cradle thinking into its organization, Shaw designs carpet that is completely recyclable into new carpet. His work on city planning in China serves as the inspiration for much of the Essay of Clues collection, a Cradle to Cradle Certified product and the first to feature EcoWorx Broadloom backing.

“Our goal is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy, and just world with clean air, water, soil, and power. Economically, equitably, ecological, and elegantly enjoyed. Period.” - William McDonough

  Listen to William McDonough discuss Essay of Clues.

McDonough also collaborated with Shaw Contract Group for A Walk in the Garden, a carpet tile collection using EcoWorx and Eco Solution Q to create a completely recyclable, cradle-to-cradle collection.

Angela Adams is best known for her timeless, simple and balanced designs that are inspired by the natural beauty of life off the coast of Maine. She is a noted designer of rugs and incorporates hand tufting to fit her own aesthetic. The much sought-after Adams is a frequent collaborator with other leaders in the design field in the areas of furniture, fabrics and ceramic tiles, to name a few.

“We focus on creating timeless combinations of color and pattern that provide comfort and celebrate the beauty of the natural world.” - Angela Adams

Angela's unique perspective on nature and design is evident in the Angela Adams collection featuring broadloom and tile patterns. This collection celebrates the tides, the seasons and the landscape, bringing everyday beauty inside.

The redesign of the Dressed to Kill collection is the fourth collaboration between Shaw Contract Group and design studio XLG. Previous design partnerships include Fragments, Flux and the original dressed2kill, the collection that initiated our seven consecutive Best of NeoCon Award-winning products in 2002. XLG envisioned a collection where every carpet tile was unique, providing a custom area rug feel. XLG also collaborates with Novikoff and Joel Berman Glass.

 

“Dressed to Kill represents optimum versatility and sophisticated style. The pattern and texture creates a look of understated elegance, while providing a highly customizable system for designers.” - Charlie Kane, founding principal and design director at XLG

Through the L7 collection, Bruce Mau Design brings color to carpet in a whole new way: framed and arranged one pixilated hue at a time. This approach brings richness and complexity to a tightly defined palette. Working with Bruce Mau, founder of the Institute Without Boundaries and author of Massive Change, brought an outside-the-box approach to the project. An outsider to the carpet manufacturing industry, Bruce's creative process did not account for traditional barriers and constraints that are typical to product design. Through his removed perspective, he challenged us to consider new ways to expand our capabilities to bring color and hue into a collection. Collaborations such as this challenge both sides to achieve new heights.

“The world is so beautiful in its complexity of color. We wanted to capture this in carpet. But conventional carpet requires designers to stay within a very narrow band of the spectrum. We challenged Shaw Contract Group to think outside the gamut. The square became our basic unit of color and pattern. By juxtaposing a wide range of hues within a very limited color palette, we were able to achieve a richness of color never before seen in contract carpet.” - Bruce Mau

A respected designer of carpet, fabric and wall coverings for over 20 years, Esther Dunbar-Cullum brings her experience in hospitality design to create Rejuvenate, a healthcare-focused collection. Healthcare can lack beauty and humanity, an observation that became evident after she spent two months in facilities conducting research for her designs. Working with our design team, Dunbar-Cullum merges aspects of hospitality into healthcare, harnessing the healing and therapeutic power of beauty.

“Rejuvenate provides a stylistic touchstone to the natural forms and colors people resonate to on a subconscious level, and provides a valuable contribution to the emerging enlightenment of healthcare interiors.“ - Esther Dunber Cullum