SPONSORED BY
INDUSTRY NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
I
Jordan Pennington Haus Of Design
’m currently the Head of Operations at Haus of Design in Stockton, and I’ve been in the role for seven months. My job involves helping oversee the day-to-day running of the business, making sure operations are efficient, supporting the sales and design process, coordinating projects, and helping maintain a high level of customer service throughout. Before this, I spent 15 years working in hospitality, with the last four years in senior management. I had reached a point where I wanted a change in career, and this opportunity came about after someone I used to work with recommended me to my current employer. A lot of the skills I built up in hospitality, such as leadership, organisation, communication and problem-solving, have transferred really well into this role. AI has started to play a part in my work already. It’s been useful for things like drafting communication, helping with ideas, improving efficiency, and saving time on certain admin or content-related tasks. It’s not something that replaces the human side of the role, but it definitely helps speed things up and makes some processes easier. I think AI will only become more important in the future, especially when it comes to streamlining tasks and improving productivity.
Moving into a new industry meant learning new systems and software, and that has genuinely changed how I work day-to-day. Tools that improve organisation, communication, and workflow have helped me manage tasks more effectively and keep things running smoothly. They’ve made a real difference in helping me settle into the role and support the wider team.
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Kelly Smith SPELK.
’ve worked in design-related roles for the past 25 years, but only got involved with kitchens in the last six months. Prior to that, I was a researcher and lecturer (I did a PhD in Contextual Design), and before that, I was a software designer. I founded SPELK. and ran it on my own for a little over a year, focusing mostly on kitchen furniture such as dining tables and bar stools. Then my husband came on board, and we expanded the business to include fitted kitchens. I’m not much of a people person, so I do more of the behind-the-scenes work. We use AI to quickly produce realistic-looking renders, to give clients an idea of what the finished room will look like. This approach keeps SPELK. grounded in spatial reality; it allows us to ensure that everything is actually buildable. I’ve also created an AI virtual designer called Linnet who can write in my voice, so if I’m not available, Linnet can fill in for me. She’s great at tone but isn’t capable of original thought - we still do that part ourselves, and I don’t think that will ever change.
Visual thinking happens largely in the software program I use, where I pin and categorise images and text using a bottom up format, which allows answers and ideas to emerge from the data. Linnet is also fantastically useful for keeping things on track, because she’s been trained on my ideas and perspective. I hope in future there will be better tools for rendering models, which can hopefully plug directly into software and allow it to render in real-time.
BKU MAY 2026
17
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