KBB - September 2014 - 27

KBIS SPECIAL SECTION

A Look Back at
KBIS 2014

dealers alive and strong. For me, just having the opportunity to present
was a great learning experience. It allowed me to better my own skills
and forced me to also look closer at how we do things and ﬁnd ways
to do them better. Our businesses are constantly evolving, and unless
we stay focused and ahead of the curve, we will get run over."

K+BB's Editorial Advisory Board shares
favorite trends and programs

"I enjoyed the Kitchen of the Year retrospective presented in the IBS
hall by Thermador, Bosch and Caesarstone. I enjoyed watching the
one kitchen trend outlined over the last few years."

Toni Sabatino, Toni Sabatino Style

Ebony Stephenson, Criner Remodeling
Mixed use of materials and
white-painted cabinets
are trends Seaton noted.

"At KBIS earlier this year, I was a recipient of the NKBA 30 Under 30
Award. Not only did I learn from the other two group's presentations
(Designing for Millennials and Social Media), I also learned a lot from
my own presentation on Multi-Generational Housing. All of these topics
were very useful because as the NKBA Virginia Chapter vice president
of communications, I use social media on a daily basis to promote the
association. Multi-generational housing is something for which more
clients are designing. As a millennial myself, it was great to step back
and hear how to better design for people my age."

Brizo's 2014 Booth:

Why it Won and What Went into the Planning
Phil Seaton, owner of, Seaton, Inc., in Seattle, shares his favorite
design trends, as well as what he learned from KBIS 2014.
"As a builder working with several different designers, one trend I'm
seeing is the mixed use of materials in a single kitchen design. For the
last year, most of the cabinets we used were painted. The wall cabinets
were a lighter color (white, cream) with the island in a contrasting color
(gray tones). My experience at KBIS will help when I work with designers
in understanding their concepts so I can build to meet the ﬁnished
design. At the show, I saw how many more layers can be added to
the design, and it can be overwhelming. Just the category of kitchen
lighting can make a builder loose all his hair (I'm halfway there).This all
means I need to be a better planner/scheduler and to be present at
the job more to make sure all the layers are accounted for."

Feedback from 2014 KBIS Programs
K+BB asked its Editorial Advisory Board members which programs were
the most useful to them, and here are a few replies:

Bill Feinberg, Allied Kitchen & Bath, Allied Decorative Hardware &
Plumbing, Allied Windows & Doors
"Being one of the presenters and speakers at Voices From the
Industry was a great opportunity. Being able to share with others what
we do to keep our ﬁrm in the spotlight and continue to grow and expand
- even through the past several years in a down economy and one
of the worst recessions our country has ever experienced - hopefully
allowed others, especially the new generation of our future industry
leaders, to continue to grow our industry and keep the independent

At KBIS 2014, Brizo took home
an Innovation Booth Award for
its creativity in the planning that
actually began at last year's show.
"We typically start planning
the next booth while we are
standing in the current booth,
"
said Laura Brooks, Brizo's senior
brand manager. "Our team walks
through the booth on the last day
and identiﬁes what we liked and
what we can improve on to help tell our story the following year.
"
What's most important in designing the booth, according to Brooks,
is the feature piece that will promote the new products, catch attendees'
attention and elevate the brand positioning. At KBIS 2014, one goal
with Brizo's booth was to show as much running as water as possible
so attendees could beneﬁt from the overall experience of interacting
with the products and being able to see the different features available.
New bath and kitchen collections were launched at the last show,
and the team worked with a local sculptor to translate the inspiration
behind the launch of the two new collections.
The Sotria bath collection was inspired by airplane wings and
automobile tail ﬁns, so this was illustrated through triangular design.
The Artesso kitchen collection was inspired by turn-of-the century
metalworking and industrial grittiness, which were translated with
forged ﬁttings and rivets, as well as a vintage crane-like sculpture.
Not surprisingly, booth plans are already in the works for KBIS
2015, as Brooks said her team is already talking about new ways in
which they can highlight their upcoming products.
"The brand piece and graphics and all of the little details - it's a fun
puzzle when we sit down and ﬁgure out how it all works together, she
"
added. "Our booth is a novel with several different chapters, and KBIS
is the show we are always building toward.
"

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