kbb Birmingham 2020 | SHOW REVIEW


‘Blown away by the superb stands’


Freelance designer Sandy Armitage was at the show with a mission to track down all that was


sustainable and green. She had hoped to find more but drew inspiration from the Ecomo kitchen on the Mascari stand and made a new discovery with Saviola


he kbbreview Retail & Design Awards bash on the Monday evening had been a great celebration of the immense talent within the industry and it was a privilege to have been invited by the Queen of Green, Helen Lord of the Used Kitchen Exchange, and to finally meet the lovely Linda Barker [a judge in the bathroom design categories]. That’s one woman who can wear sequins and float along like a ballad by Al Stewart. I forget that I’m no longer 34 and able to drink a bit too much, go to bed a bit too late and still be up bright and early and ready for the day ahead. I really need to have a chat with myself. When I arrived at this year’s show, I was blown away by the sheer scale of it and by the superb standard of the brands and their stands. It was head- spinning – it reminded me of Milan’s 2018 Eurocucina, and I quickly realised that I was never going to be able to get round everything in one day. My invaluable design consultant, note-taker, chief


T


pointer-outer of sustainable things and boyfriend, Craig, saved my skin, because I


think I’d have


wandered about like a lost fool otherwise. The first of the brands that we noticed had sustainability at the forefront of their presentation was one that I didn’t know. Saviola (panelling) with its strap line “we don’t cut down a tree to make our


April 2020 · 41


wood” has been using 100% recycled materials since 1963. A long-term, impressive ethos. The Ecomo kitchen for the millennial generation on the Mascari stand was an absolute delight. What an advert for the Kitchen Design Degree at Bucks New Uni. The thought that went into every tiny aspect of its efficient design, materials and legacy within a 2.5m run of furniture was a total joy. Rob Mascari’s brief for the students had been achieved brilliantly. Design student, Liam Butler, explained the details with high energy and knowledge and Rob energetically filled in more information. Natalie


Peters was


another of the students involved and I’ve been following Natalie’s progress – through her monthly column in kbbreview – with interest. We also liked Novy and Falmec for their combination of sleek design and extraction technologies.


The Ecomo kitchen for the millennial generation on the Mascari stand was an absolute delight. What an advert for the Kitchen Design Degree at Bucks New Uni


In bathrooms, it was Laufen and Roca that most impressed us with the combination of style and eco-production, especially the Everlux plated metal finish. I also had fun trying out the Virtual Worlds 4D headset with Impey. I had hoped to see a focus on the true sustainability being offered and how well it was being supported. I hoped to see it being showcased at this kbb as the theme had been so strong in the build-up. The table decorations at the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards were donated by its sustainability partners Bauformat, Trojan and the Used Kitchen Exchange, but at the show it wasn’t as strong a theme as it could have been.


My heroes were the Used Kitchen Exchange’s Carbon Neutral Calculator’ and the Used Kitchen Company’s ‘Kitchen Passport’. Embrace the win-win of trading in.


„


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88