Shaw Contract launches Inside Shapes carpet tile

Posted Date: 6/18/2018

[Cartersville, Ga.] Shaw Contract has introduced its newest collection, Inside Shapes. In its first collaboration with Stockholm-based design studio, Form Us With Love, Shaw Contract said it is challenging how the standard 24” x 24” carpet tile might be approached in a new and unique way. With Inside Shapes comes unlimited shape and color combinations that can be both simple and abstract.

“Inside Shapes is a genuinely groundbreaking product, that has deep layers of design thinking at play”, explained Reesie Duncan, vice president of product design for Shaw Contract. “It’s the result of a very considered and intentional method of working with different talents to constantly innovate.”

Rather than designing a new collection, the collaboration between the Shaw Contract and Form Us With Love opened up opportunities to think differently about what a carpet tile could be, beyond variations of pattern and color, the companies said. The simple reframing of the tile as an object, not a surface, created new possibilities for an innovative toolkit that allows designers the freedom to design, and not just specify, the companies added.

“Shaw’s work ethic didn’t feel all that different from how things work at Form Us With Love”, said Form Us With Love co-founder John Löfgren. “Despite the enormous scale of the company, we worked with a tight-knit team, with whom we could really hone in on the details. We had an intense level of dialogue, iterated endlessly and went to the farthest reaches of our imaginations to then concentrate our mutual findings and push the process forward.”

Shaw Contract, Inside Shapes, Valencia

The mission was to design a creative response to enhance how commercial environments feel and function today. Inside Shapes features four distinct geometric shapes — square, diagonal, point and curve — and 12 color options, each in light and dark shades for added dimension. Shapes, colors and shades can be chosen in 17 pre-mixed options or curated individually for a completely custom solution. Inside Shapes utilizes a CNC machine to cut each shape that makes up a 24” x 24” carpet tile.

“The shapes themselves become characters in an overall narrative that allows each designer to tell a singular story”, explained Oriana Reich, brand director at Shaw Contract. “This is not just a new collection – it’s actually an entirely new system that in part derives from the product design language that Form Us With Love is known for. At the same time, it’s an entirely new way of thinking about floor design.”

Along with the launch of Inside Shapes, Shaw Contract will also provide a digital tool that allows architects and designers to visualize all of the possibilities Inside Shapes allows. Users can begin with a blank canvas, easily change colors or re-arrange tiles from a series of idea starters, or use a premix option to seamlessly produce a dynamic layout. This interactive tool will enable the creation of compelling designs that express a particular vision.

Inside Shapes debuted at NeoCon, June 11– 13 at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.