CALHOUN, GA—Designers have a home base with Mannington Commercial at txstyle-mannington.com. The site, which began with 6,000 members, provides a home for product and idea collaboration in the design world, along with mini-contests around industry events and promotions.

Incentive for the site came from Mannington’s inaugural Tx:style Design Challenge competition that gave up-and-coming designers a chance to put their ideas to the test, drawing almost half a million votes from the design community.

“We saw how networking technology serves the new approach to collaboration that young designers bring,” said Natalie Jones, vice president of commercial brand development and creative product. “By uniting our product development expertise with their vision, we’ve created a new paradigm of participation. It’s like nothing ever seen in floor covering.”

In addition to sharing design ideas via uploaded images and posted comments, Mannington plans to expand the site by posting products currently under development. Designers will be allowed to “download, tweak, and re-upload images” of developing goods, finished Jones.

The site will also serve as the home for the second Tx:style Design Challenge that launches Nov. 30. Last year’s winner, Meagan Webb of Nashville, Tenn., won $7,500 and her design was developed into a full line to be released in early 2010.

For more information, call Mannington at 800.241.2262