Kitchen & Bath Business September/October 2022 - 18

NKB A MEMBER
PROFILE S
Getting to Know You
Meet some of the pros who are thoroughly involved with the association
Th e people who make up NKBA's membership come from all segments of
the industry - and they have often taken a circuitous route to arrive at their
current positions. In this new series, we'll be sharing some of their stories.
NICK VANDERHOVEL, CMKBD
DESIGN GALLERIA, NASHVILLE, TENN.
TENNESSEE CHAPTER
Nick Vanderhovel, CMKBD, believes luxury is experiential as much as
it is about selecting quality materials. " I want my clients to be confi dent that
I will be there to guide them through their journey and help them obtain
the incredible spaces they deserve. "
" Our time is valuable. Our knowledge is
valuable. Our creativity is valuable. They are
the reasons why clients travel across the
country to work with us. "
- NICK VANDERHOVEL
Vanderhovel, a second-generation kitchen designer and licensed builder,
was one of the youngest NKBA members to earn a CMKBD at age 32. He
spent 11 years at his family's business, Dream Kitchens, in Michigan before
starting his own enterprise, Kitchen NV. While building his own business,
he tapped the professional expertise of Matthew Quinn, owner of Design
Galleria in Nashville and Atlanta. After a meeting in which Quinn told
him the new Nashville showroom was starting to take off , Vanderhovel
accepted a design position and moved to Nashville.
" I had been looking for a place to plant roots and open my physical
showroom, " he recalled. " At the same time, I had been emailing Matthew
every now and then, picking his brain about business-related topics. "
While he never thought he'd leave his own company, he says the decision
wasn't that hard and that working with Quinn was the equivalent of
climbing a staircase three steps at a time. Vanderhovel is one of fi ve designers
working alongside Quinn, serving as interior architectural designers,
engineers, mechanical planners and therapists.
He prides himself on his mathematical approach to design. " I love
fi nding ways to make the numbers work. I solve issues of symmetry, functionality
and proportion by just paying attention to the numbers, " he said.
" I plan out the storage while I am designing the fl oor plan ... every cabinet
18
/ SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022
MARK
STAPPERFENNE
GREEN FOREST
CABINETRY
CHESAPEAKE, VA.
VIRGINIA STATE CHAPTER
" If you believe you are awesome, awesome
things happen. " Th at's one of Mark Stapperfenne's
mantras, and apparently it's paying off .
Stapperfenne, director of sales and customer
success at Green Forest Cabinetry, has made a
serious impact at his company by increasing revenue
(15% in his fi rst year), decreasing workplace
accidents by 85%, ramping up production by
25% and making the facility OSHA-compliant.
As with many people in the kitchen and
has a curated purpose based on its mathematical
proximity to its specifi c work zone. "
Th e most important thing he's learned from
Quinn is, " Our value as professionals. Our time is
valuable. Our knowledge is valuable. Our creativity
is valuable. Th ey are the reasons why clients
travel across the country to work with us. "
When it comes to traveling, Vanderhovel
holds his share of frequent-fl yer miles. He speaks
Japanese, having studied it while living in Tokyo
and Yokohama for several months.
" I love going back to Japan ... I want to go
there to study Wabi Sabi design, which is based
around the idea of beauty in imperfection and
impermanence, " he said.
Meanwhile, he guides his life in part from a
quote from Czech politician Konstantin Josef Jireček,
shared by his dad, who learned it serving in
the Navy: " We have done so much, with so little,
for so long, we are now qualifi ed to do anything
with nothing. "
Design Galleria: designgalleria.net
Nick Vanderhovel on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/
in/kitchennv/
http://www.designgalleria.net http://www.linkedin.com/
Kitchen & Bath Business September/October 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business September/October 2022
