The kbbreview Podcast

Welcome to this special episode to kick off season two of The kbbreview Podcast.

This is a detailed look into the highs and lows of the lockdown period for the independent kitchen and bathroom retail market to give us a snapshot of what happened and what might happen.

Is this all pent-up demand that will inevitably wear off? 

Or is this the ‘new normal’ that we heard so much about during the lockdown

As difficult as it’s been, has the kbb industry got off pretty lightly compared to many other sectors? And are we truly the benefactors of the lockdown paradox – forcing people to stay at home has actually made them want to improve their home…

To make sure you don’t miss any future episodes of The kbbreview Podcast make sure you subscribe via your podcast app of choice – simply search ‘kbbreview. 

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Welcome to episode 38 of The kbbreview Podcast with your host Andy Davies.

This is another interim episode while Andy takes a little break to catch up on non-podcast work that insists on some attention.

So this is the second of our two catch-ups on interviews that previously ran on our other show – The Kitchen & Bathroom Design Podcast - and this time we’re hearing all about biophilic design from Oliver Heath.

Biophilic design – put simply incorporating nature into interior design – is Oliver’s speciality and we actually recorded this interview about a year ago in his offices in Brighton but when you listen to it now it all takes on such a new meaning and it’s even more relevant considering everything that’s happening since March – so this was a very obvious one to revisit.

You can find out more about Oliver Heath and biophilic design, including links to the white papers discussed in this interview, here

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Welcome to episode 37 of The kbbreview Podcast with your host Andy Davies.

It’s a special episode this week as we're  taking a couple of weeks break  while Andy catches up with his day job.  

So we're running a couple of interviews that originally appeared on our other show – The Kitchen & Bathrooms Design Podcast – to keep your lust for all things kbb going.

We’re going to start with our kbbreview Special Achievement Award winner for 2020 Adam Thomas – he’s simply the go to guy for designing what have become known as accessible kitchens for many years. A wheelchair-user himself he has a level of empathy and understanding of what that market needs and has been an advocate of design that can be used by everyone regardless of their abilities.

He’s a fascinating guy and his dedication to his craft comes through very clearly in this conversation but its driven by such a sense of injustice and frustration at the level of design understanding that is available to disabled people.

Andy went to meet him earlier this year – before lockdown of course - in his beautiful house in Buckinghamshire.

You can find out more about Adam here

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Welcome to episode 36 of The kbbreview Podcast from Taylist Media with your host Andy Davies.

This week we’re looking into a couple of issues that have come out of the lockdown and are vital to the future – both immediate AND long term – of the independent kbb retail sector.

And that’s what the role of the supplier area sales manager will become in a post-lockdown market….

And if the shortage of reliable fitters is holding back retailers’ ability to make the most of the post-lockdown consumer demand.

We're talking to Alistair Jones, who is an award-winning area sales manager for Uform and Mark Conacher, who runs Liberty, a very successful kbb fitting company in Scotland.

You can find out more about Uform here

You can find out more about Liberty here

You can find out more about the BiKBBI here

And you can contact Andy Davies here

DESERTED KITCHEN ISLAND DISCS

Alistair chose Mardy Bum by the Arctic Monkeys

Mark chose I'm On My Way by The Proclaimers

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Welcome to episode 35 of The kbbreview Podcast from Taylist Media with your host Andy Davies.

We’ve got a couple of really interesting discussions this week and they’re both – in very different ways – about opportunity.

First up we’re talking about how consumers AND retailers can make money from reselling used or ex-display kitchens with Looeeze Grossman from The Used Kitchen Company.

Then we’ve got the return of David Woollcott, the managing director for UK and Europe of Fisher & Paykel. He’s talking about the market, of course, but also his fascinating Saddle Up! initiative to support people who have been redundant because of the coronavirus. 

Please remember that the best way to listen to this podcast is via a podcast app such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify. Simply search ‘kbbreview’ and you can see all the previous episodes, subscribe and give us a nice review that we can put on t-shirts and give out as gifts.

You can find out more about The Used Kitchen Company here

Fisher & Paykel’s website is here

And you can learn all about David’s Saddle Up here

DESERTED KITCHEN ISLAND DISCS
Looeeze chose I’m A Believer by Smash Mouth

https://youtu.be/0mYBSayCsH0

David chose Cannonball by Damian Rice

https://youtu.be/3yqM--IMkX4

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Welcome to episode 34 of The kbbreview Podcast from Taylist Media with your host Andy Davies.

This week we’re talking about where design goes from here. 

Just how might the enforced changes to our lifestyles caused by the lockdown affect how we use and design our homes in the future?

Has the experience of working from home, home learning, connecting with nature and spending so much time with family fundamentally changed what we need our homes to be going forward?

One person who certainly thinks so is Dr Tara Hipwood, a lecturer in architecture at Northumbria University, and we're talking to her about this really fascinating subject.

You can read her original article we discuss in this episode here

DESERTED KITCHEN ISLAND DISCS

Tara chose Peaches by Presidents of the United States of America

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast from Taylist Media, this is episode 33 with your host Andy Davies.

We’ve got a really interesting episode for you this week as we look at the art of body language – good retailers, designers and salespeople know how to read their clients but lockdown and social distancing has changed how everyone is behaving.

How do you read faces when they’re covered in a mask and how do you apply all your one-on-one experience to Zoom meetings when you’re used to sitting with someone in a showroom?

We’ve got an absolutely fascinating discussion with business body language expert Carole Rainton – she’s recognised as one of the leaders in the field in the UK and internationally so we’re really lucky to have her on.

You can find out more about Carole at her website

She’s also on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter 

Don’t forget to subscribe via your podcast app of choice – Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify

DESERTED KITCHEN ISLAND DISCS

Carole chose Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast from Taylist Media, this is episode 32 with your host Andy Davies.

We’re talking to Gary Baker, the md of CDUK – they’re one of the industry’s most interesting suppliers as they’ve grown through the success of the versatility of Corian. And Gary is also the chairman of the Furniture and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance or Fiesta, and he’ll talk us through the focus on training and apprenticeships in moving the industry forward – really interesting and really relevant right now.

But up first is the editor of Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms magazine Lindsay Blair and we’ll be talking about the Close To Home initiative to raise the awareness of the independent retailer to consumer starting out on their kbb journey as well as how she thinks the lockdown might affect future trends.

You can find out more about CDUK here

You can find out about FIESTA here

You can find out about the Close To Home initiative here

And These Three Rooms here

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It's episode 31 and we’re heading to Wales for today’s show.

First up we’re talking to Justine Bullock  from The Tap End - a small independent bathroom retailer with a high street showroom near Cardiff.  Lockdown has seen them clock up their most successful period ever so we  find out all about that.

Then we have Steve Tough from very proud Welsh kitchen furniture manufacturer Masterclass. They’ve just had their biggest ever product launch and they did it all remotely.

To find out more about The Tap End click here

And learn more about Masterclass here

You can contact host Andy Davies at [email protected]

And if you want to find out more about advertising in Taylist Media products drop a line to Tara at [email protected]

DESERTED KITCHEN ISLAND DISCS
Justine chose Crazy In Love by Beyonce

https://youtu.be/ViwtNLUqkMY

Steve chose Deliah by Tom Jones

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Welcome to the kbbreview Podcast from Taylist Media, this is episode 30 and with your host Andy Davies.

And what better way to mark this 30-episode milestone than by talking to two of the biggest names in the industry. First up we have John Curwen, managing director of probably the largest network of premium kitchen retailers Harvey Jones.

And then we have one of the biggest suppliers in the industry in the shape of Simon Collyns from Symphony.

So as you can imagine, their views on the current state of the market is absolutely fascinating.

You can find out more about Harvey Jones here…

And more about Symphony here…

You find out more about our Close To Home initiative here.

DESERTED KITCHEN ISLANDS DISCS

John chose I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

https://youtu.be/ARt9HV9T0w8

Simon chose Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream

https://youtu.be/V6QhAZckY8w

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