Linoleum used to be the kitchen floor covering of choice, but with the arrival of less expensive vinyl flooring which had colourful patterns, it got lost in the market. Yet linoleum has always been one of the most natural flooring materials following wood. It has been and is still made up basically of Rosin, sawdust, linseed oil and pigments, all mounted on a jute backing. Certainly, nothing like the petrochemical origins of vinyl!
Finally, someone decided to challenge the vinyl flooring market by adding incredible colours to that old fashioned linoleum, and create a manufacturing process that would give a random, non-photographic pattern to the floor. In fact the pattern goes all the way through the product, so scratches and scrapes have little affect on the look of the floor!
The first photo shows some of the new colours. The second shows the random colour rosins that are used in the process. The flowers are the origin of the linseed oil and the last photo shows some of the delicate inlay patterns that can be created by literally cutting and pasting different colours together. These particular stripes are made for borders.
The ingredients are mixed together and come out as random sized little clumps, kind of like marbles. They are then pressed flat in a roller which gives what is now called Marmoleum, made by Farbo.