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Red Beach couple Melissa Randall and Alan Maher, new owners of Carpet Link in Whangaparaoa Road, have more than 35 years expertise in the flooring industry between them.
Alan is a certified carpet layer and salesperson and Melissa has worked in commercial and residential flooring sales for 15 years.
There is not much they don’t know about the range of carpets, vinyls and wood flooring that they sell and over the years they’ve seen changes in the kind of materials we like to put on our floors.
Synthetics dominate the market now, and they are unrecognisable from the nylon carpets of earlier decades. As well as having a thicker pile and a more luxurious feel underfoot than before, they are also more stain resistant and fade less in our harsh sun.
Squares on the floor at Carpet Link enable customers to get a proper feel for a sample underfoot before they make a decision.
Quality wool carpet still has its devotees and Carpet Link also caters for them. Carpets range in price from around $15 per square metre to $70 per square metre.
One thing that is noticeable as you look around the store is that the days of green, pastels, apricots, bold patterns and bright colours in carpet are over.
The carpets that sell these days are all in shades of cream, beige, brown and grey.
Melissa and Alan took over ownership of Carpet Link in August and hope that locals will tap into their considerable experience – there is a big focus on establishing Carpet Link as “your local flooring store”.
“Being locals ourselves, we feel strongly about keeping jobs on the Coast,” Alan says. “Sure, people can drive down to the Shore but it’s better to deal with a business that is only a few kilometres away from your house than one that’s 30km away.”
“It also means if you have questions or there is a problem, you can come directly to us,” Melissa says.
She says by talking with customers they establish things such as how many people live in a household, whether it’s a bach, rental or family home and if there are pets. “That helps us advise them on the best options.”
The couple are keen boaties and manage to combine their work at the store, which is open six days a week, with time to go out fishing and diving.
Alan has also become an expert in the tricky, specialist job of laying carpets in large boats.
The connection goes further – Alan and Melissa are finalising the details of providing sponsorship to Stanmore Bay Boating Club and Red Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.
