3 States; 3 Nights - The Mill Tour Way

As most of you saw on my social media, I went to Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia last week. It may have looked like a vacation to a lot of you, but it actually was for work. ... us designers and reps just like to have a good time ;)

i did have a video i created ... but, as always, technology just gets the best of me.. and i removed some stuff from my phone, which created a whole spazz and altered the entire video .. so it just looks like this now (below), with no content.. which really sucks. so i'm only going to have this post with some images of my time that do not do it justice, but at least a picture is worth a million words.

Before I get into it, I want to give a massive thank you to my rep Kirsten for bringing me on this trip and taking care of the ins and outs of it all, Eric for being our chauffeur and a good time, Len for an amazing wine learning experience and great company, and the whole Tarkett team for being beyond courteous, caring, and thoughtful on this trip. it was easily one of the best trips I've been on. Also a huge thank you to my boss and team for letting me take the time to go out of office for this trip.

The main focus of this trip was to see how this specific manufacturer (Tarkett) creates some of their LVT/LVP (luxury vinyl tile/plank) and Carpet. It was one of the most interesting things to actually see how the products that i use in a space are actually made.. learning about the product from the inside out. We also got to meet some of the designers and see some of the new products before they launched (shhhh.).

Day By Day;

Day one:

Road to Nashville...

I was definitely a little nervous because i didn't know any of the other designers going on this trip, but we all ended up getting along well and having a good time from the start of the trip just at the airport, luckily .. we have a good base for conversation since we're all designers .. and i never shut up, so there's always conversation.

Once we got to Nashville and checked into our hotel we got to meet designers from Toronto and have an amazing dinner together, after that we spend the night out walking the strip and going to some bars. We ended the night at a karaoke bar (and goodness i'm shocked i didn't ruin everyone's hearing with my retched voice), but what a great time.

Day Two:

Next Stop Alabama...

After a long night and slightly early morning, we were treated to massages and champagne in our rooms. ~ that was the best cure for late night drinking honestly. We took on Nashville for a good portion of the day before we had dinner reservations in Florence, AL. We stayed the night in yet ANOTHER beautiful hotel and the next morning went on a tour to see how Tarkett manufactures their LVT/LVP, along with their custom cutting process that allows you to have anything you could imagine in a floor. Their victory product was beyond interesting to watch, the entire hand made process was amazing! We also got to meet the designers and talk about their projects they're working on as well as where they get their inspiration from. After a long day of learning and walking around we had another amazing lunch.. said goodbye to the designers from Toronto and got back in the car to head to Chattanooga.

Day Three:

Back to Tennessee...

We made it to Chattanooga the previous day.. a lot of driving, but shockingly I slept in the car, which was great.. the naps were needed. The hotel we were in this time was one of the most intricate hotels I've ever stayed in. Every room in the hotel was completely different and we got to see four of them. Then we went to a dinner/ wine tasting with Len. Another night out filled with fun (and a walk that was not so enjoyable ... i tend to lead people in the wrong directions.. good thing there's such thing as uber!). We all made it back safe and sound.

Day Four:

Taking on Georgia...

The last day and another tour ahead. We got to tour the carpet mill and see the whole manufacturing experience. Learning the whole process is one of the most interesting things and indescribable. We got to meet some of the designers here as well and get an understanding of their process. Seeing them "live" with their design to see if they love it or start to second guess it was comforting (i second guess stuff like that all the time, its nice knowing that everyone has their own phases of design and their own process not too far off of mine).

thanks for reading! as always, leave comments about the post (or whatever you're feeling honestly), and give me some feedback or something you want me to write about!

~ the savage