KBB KBB SHOW REVIEW REVIEW Matt Broughton
They call me the wanderer…
BKU Editor, Matt Broughton, attended his first kbb this March. Here are just some of the companies he saw and a few of the things he experienced.
T
here’s a very good chance that I was genuinely the most enthusiastic person who attended kbb this year. Until a few months back I knew NOTHING about the kbb industry (I have since been through my own house shouting “We have a FRANKE sink and a Roca basin! I KNOW them!” etc.) However, since my induction into this fair industry, I’ve got to say it’s a surprisingly interesting one, with great innovation, some proper smarty- pants running things, and exciting future-thinking developments to look forward to.
Due to a prior engagement (a Genesis tribute band that really wasn’t worth the bother FYI) I made an early-morning pilgrimage up the M1 to the NEC, arriving just in time to steal several pan au chocolates from the House of Rohl stand before kicking off a great press day, seeing things I’d never seen before and eating food I’d not paid for. Bingo.
The excellent Nigel from House of Rhol started our tour with a rather splendid-looking Seros bath from Victoria +Albert, which needed to be rotated very slowly to allow the light to
properly play off its sculpted surface (I’m hoping it also comes in a non-rotating version as I get seasick very easily). With a tip of the hat towards sustainability, this beauty uses 30% less water than most, making it about the same as a shower (I appreciate you probably already know such things, but I’m new here so this is all very interesting to me!)
We moved on to Perrin & Rowe to take in some attractive taps and brassware from a mid- century collection (I’ve never met a tap with “a 50s story” before) before ploughing through more morning pastries as we made our way to the Aqualisa section. I’ve personally only ever turned my shower on and got in it, but now I feel like such a fool - there’s SO MUCH MORE I could be doing, including chatting to it. “Alexa – run dad’s shower” was demonstrated, with various profiles controlling duration and temp, as well as monitoring water usage and cost. Proximity sensors recognise you as you enter the shower and welcome you (just like my old cat, Kipper, used to). Good times.
InSinkErator was next on my agenda, drawing an impressive crowd for a live demo and trying its
I wish I had a GIF of this slowly rotating to show off its curves.
House of Rhol’s Nigel Palmer explains how taps work: “Just like that!”
18 BKU APRIL 2024
best to distract me with a colourful sweet shop theme. Luckily, I managed to stay focused just long enough to take in some lovely Metal taps. The next generation of knife-less and blade-less disposal units were also on show, as well as some awesome mini-burgers and chunky fries. Rangemaster/Novy was our next port of call, showing off some stunning ranges that would take up my entire kitchen but be SO worth it (as we climbed over it to get into the garden). And yes, more free food (what a GREAT industry this is!) I’m rambling now (as I was on the day) so here are more highlights in snapshot form: Miro – some VERY impressive extraction was demonstrated on a huge cloud of steam. Honestly, it was like CGI out of Harry Potter! A Master Chef winner also made me a steak sandwich (that was sadly ready about 30 seconds after I’d had to leave to make the next appointment (they clearly don’t give out stopwatches as prizes on that show). Kitchen EX – Yet another great family business, producing really smart combos of induction, gas and electric, also colour matching EVERYTHING (which I now know is the current “thing”). Lots of clever pseudo controls that look classic but are all actually digital. If TRON was going to buy a kitchen, this is who he’d come to. On a light cycle. Probably.
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