141 N. Seventh Ave., Sequim
683-4343
Hours: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Dazzled by the well-appointed design showroom at Strait Floors, Inc., 141 N. Seventh Ave., Sequim, you might have missed a bit of bling on a gleaming glass table by the front door.
Owners Steve Wilson and Chad Copeland proudly display one Pacific Northwest region award and two national awards — one just presented in December at the national Mohawk Industries convention in Dallas, Texas.
For the second time since Strait Floors opened in 2003, the company started by the Sequim natives in a small Carlsborg store won the prestigious 2016 National Dealer of the Year out of all of Mohawk’s retailers in Canada and the U.S. Strait Floors won the first time in 2008. Strait Floors partnered with Mohawk in 2004 after moving the store to Sequim and opened a second store in Port Townsend in 2006.
“It’s very rare to get Dealer of the Year twice — it’s a very rare occurrence,” Wilson said.
“Mohawk probably is the largest flooring manufacturer on the planet,” Copeland noted. “It’s a $6 billion company today and they back us 100 percent. Mohawk’s a good big brother to have to back us. It’s definitely an honor to win the award.”
Altruism was one of the factors Mohawk officials took into account in deciding its award winners. Other criteria were sales and customer service.
“It was a huge thing for two homegrown Sequim boys,” said Hayley Wilson, Steve’s wife and the store’s lighting specialist. “They have given back to the community, its schools, sports and local businesses. We have a motto, professionally and personally, we purchase products sourced from the Olympic Peninsula. We just think it’s important to give back and keep the community thriving.”
After working for other flooring companies as installers, Wilson and Copeland began getting frustrated with customer complaints about customer service — or better said — the lack of it. They decided to start their fledgling business in Carlsborg with higher expectations for customer satisfaction and learned from manufacturers what to do and what not to do, Hayley Wilson explained.
Inventory
In flooring, the showroom has dozens of samples of carpet, tile, hardwood, laminate, vinyl, Marmoleum, a green product “that comes in every color under the rainbow,” and luxury vinyl flooring.
“We feature dozens of colors and grain patterns of Cambria countertops, which is a very nice quartz material,” Copeland said, “and granite, Corian and laminate. We also do interior and exterior doors.”
Other decor products include trim packages of molding, lighting, mirrors and custom area rugs in any size.
“We’ve tried to grow with our lighting, countertops, home decor trim — there’s a whole gamut of things we do,” Hayley Wilson said.
“We work hand in hand with area builders and we’ve worked really hard to build our builder relationships.”
Strait Floors also has on staff Keli Haffner, an interior design graduate from Washington State University, and consults with Trisa Katsikapes, a local design professional.
Giving back
“The thing about us is we’ve worked in the field — me for 26 years and Chad for 24,” Steve Wilson said.
“The business has been growing every year. I feel very grateful that we’ve been able to support the economy in Sequim and have given back to the community because of our success.”
Asked what the best part of the business is, Steve Wilson said it’s seeing the satisfaction of the customers while for Copeland it’s being able to raise a family in a small town.
For Hayley Wilson, “the best part is giving back to our local community, having a heart and helping. It feels good to take care of our local community.”
Hours at both stores are 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays.
