There’s a saying in journalism: If it happens three times, it’s a trend. It means that if an event happens once, it’s considered an accident; if it happens twice, it’s merely coincidence. If it happens three times, however, then suddenly you have a trend on your hands, so you’d better uncap that pen and furiously start taking notes.
It’s an unscientific approach at best – why would something happening three times qualify a trend? It’s an arbitrary number, but occasionally, an event occurring three times really isa trend at its earliest stages of formation. I feel this is the case with the flooring industry right now. At Surfaces, attendance and enthusiasm were up. At NWFA, attendance and enthusiasm were up. And while final numbers weren’t available at press time, all indications point to Coverings boosting its attendance this year as well. In any case, enthusiasm was definitely high among exhibitors and attendees.