If you’ve been in our showroom, you’ve no doubt admired Divine Flooring’s beautiful samples. Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to have it installed in your own home. In fact, when picking flooring for their new home, Nicole and Marcos opted to install “The Natural,” a Luxury Vinyl Plank from Divine.
The prairie-born company was founded in Calgary over 20 years ago and is still based there. Though they started in solid hardwood flooring, they have evolved over the years and always stay on top of the trends, building an extensive lineup of engineered hardwood, luxury vinyl plank and tile, as well as laminate.
A big part of our successful relationship with Divine Flooring over the years has been our fantastic account manager, Courtney Sled. Working with suppliers from all over the country can have it’s challenges, but we are lucky to have our Divine representative, Courtney right here in Saskatoon. I sat down over iced coffee with Courtney to chat all things Divine, design, and flooring!
How did you get started in the industry?
I worked at a flooring store in sales after my first year at university, and discovered that I liked helping people with their selections and designs. I’ve always been artsy, so I decided to go to Lethbridge College for their Interior Design Technology program, and worked at the flooring store during the summers. After graduation, I landed a job as a design consultant for a renovation company. After working there for a couple of years, one of my good friends from school, who works for Divine, let me know they needed a Saskatchewan rep, so I interviewed and got the job. I started with them shortly after and I’ve been with them for 4 years now! I’ve also done some side projects designing spaces for friends and family.
What do you love about working for Divine?
Divine is a great company to work for. Since I work remotely from the main office, I have my independence, but also get great support. Despite being over 20 years old, Divine still has the feel of a younger company, we obviously have great products, and I love my customers.
What are your favourite design trends?
I like that the trends are going back towards natural and lighter woods. I’m a fan of Scandinavian design, so I like simple design, with black hardware. But I also like geometric tiles. And I do like traditional elements – there are things that are always going to be timeless like natural woods and subway tiles.
What are your favourite flooring trends?
It’s not necessarily a trend, but engineered hardwood is great. It’s easier to make than solid hardwood, and allows you to get the wide planks and keep the stability. Also, I love that oiled products are so durable, and can be buffed out with oil and you would never know it was scratched.
What does the future hold for Divine?
Divine has been branching out east after starting in Alberta. One thing I really appreciate about working with Divine is that we prefer exclusivity and we don’t want stores to compete, so you will likely only find Divine in very few stores per city or province. Overall, we’ll keep expanding east, dabbling in the US market, and get more dealers throughout North America eventually.
Our architectural and design reps keep us updated on the trends. As you’ve seen, we’ve been innovating with our new Chevron LVP products. Unlike other distributors, we have our own products that we manufacture and no one else can get these products, so you won’t find our exact products rebranded and sold under another name anywhere else.
What else separates you from your competitors?
We also have a custom shop. If you love a certain wood, you’re not just limited to keeping it on your floors, you can make things out of it, like barn doors. You can also just get treads too for stairs.
Our partnership with Haro, a German company, is also unique. Together, we make very high-end engineered hardwood and laminate Naturhaus collections. They are 100% crafted in Europe by the best engineered flooring craftsmen in Germany and are sustainably made and crafted.
Marketing is such a big part of a brand’s strategy now. What is Divine’s approach to marketing?
We have a great marketing team who handles that! I have travelled to many flooring stores, and I think sleek and modern displays really help us stand out. Our samples help give you a very good idea of the variation and what the flooring will actually look like in your own home.
What are your favourite Divine products?
They’re so different but I love the Louis XII in Champagne and would love to do a combination of parquet and planks. And I also love the Farmhouse Cabbiavoli.
Why do you like working with Local?
Local has the most unique store – there nowhere in Saskatoon like this! All the staff are so easy and friendly to work with. It’s also easier to shop here because you don’t have every rack on display, so there’s less clutter. Quality over quantity!
