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EXCLUSIVE: System Six to manufacture Quintessential Kitchens
EXETER-BASED kitchen company System Six
has
now been revealed as the manufacturer behind the Quintessential
Kitchens range by Laurence
Llewelyn-Bowen (pictured), which is strictly available through independent retailers. Speaking exclusively to kbbreview, Dale Williams, managing director of KBB Partnerships, confirmed System Six’s involvement in the project. Discussing the manufacturing deal, Williams
said: “System Six Kitchens are now exclusively licensed to manufacture and distribute the range,
and their financial backing means that a mature, very stable company is behind it. They see Quintessential Kitchens as a project that they’re willing to invest substantial money behind. “It’s a beautiful kitchen range created by
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and sold by independent showrooms. Because of that, Laurence is really keen to work with independent designers to enable them and their customers to do bold things.” Based in Exeter, System Six Kitchens has been
manufacturing since 1975. The company says it is the largest kitchen manufacturer in the South West, with a 50,000 sq ft factory capable of producing more than 1000 cabinets a week.
“It’s something we’re really excited about. Being in partnership with a household name such as Laurence feels like the perfect addition to our existing portfolio, and it’s going to allow us to expand our network further afield too,” commented Tom Dalton, sales director at System Six Kitchens. He continued: “Originally, we were brought in
for purely the manufacturing side, and as we’ve worked closer with Laurence and KBB Partnerships, we said we wanted to be a bigger part of it. We’ve been working closely with them on product development and taking Laurence’s ideas and turning them into physical products, which we’re now able to offer for retailers.”
‘World’s most environmentally friendly cistern’ launches in UK
A BRITISH manufacturer has developed what it claims is “the world’s most environmentally friendly toilet cistern”, which works using waste water from air conditioning units. Designed specifically to work with air conditioning units, condensate
water which typically goes directly into the waste pipe is redirected to the toilet cistern and used in the toilet’s flushing. Internally, the eco-cistem unit features a patented 18-litre, twin-chamber
cistern that can store up to 12 litres of ‘free’ condensate grey water above the standard 6-litre chamber dedicated to flushing the toilet. The company says it prioritises using the grey water for flushing, and only pulls in fresh water if no grey water is available. In 2023, Paul Crossley, the former managing director of shower tray
manufacturer JT, was appointed to be eco-cistem’s managing director. The business says the product has already received WRAS approval, has also passed the AB Air Gap test, and is eligible for BREEAM points.
‘Bold and brazen’ thieves found guilty of gold toilet theft
AFTER A trial lasting several weeks, two men have now been found guilty of planning an audacious burglary on Blenheim
Palace in 2019, in which a solid gold toilet was stolen from the
stately home. 6 Michael Jones, 39, from Oxford, denied one
count of burglary, but was pronounced guilty by the jury. Fred Doe, 36, from Windsor, was also found guilty of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Bora Guccuk, 41, a jeweller from West London, was found not guilty of the same charge. The toilet was part of an exhibition by artist Maurizio Cattelan being held at the Oxfordshire estate. The piece of art, entitled “America”, was the show’s centrepiece before it was ripped from a wood-panelled room within the property. CCTV footage captured a group of five thieves breaking into the palace with sledgehammers,
kbbreview
before fleeing the property in two stolen vehicles. During a cross examination, Jones admitted to visiting Blenheim Palace on two occasions prior to the burglary. When pressed for more details by the prosecution, he confessed to booking a slot to actually use the toilet at the centre of the trial – an experience he described as “splendid”. Presiding, Judge Pringle told the jury ahead of “This was not a bog standard
deliberations:
burglary – it was an audacious heist on one of the most famous palaces in this country. “It was a bold and brazen burglary, with great rewards for anyone who got away with it.”
May 2025
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