KBB BIRMINGHAM 2022: KITCHENS, BEDROOMS AND BATHROOMS AT THE NEC

Wide aisles but a great buzz at this year’s KBB Birmingham

Once again, we made the pilgrimage up to the NEC in Birmingham. The exhibition centre is vast, with my walk inside the buiiding to get to the show taking me about a third as much time again as my train journey from Euston. And KBB always seems to occupy the furthest reaches of the complex – why does Crufts get to be so near the station???

The NEC

Andy and Andrew both went to the show principally because the Worktop Fabricators Federation was actively partnering with the show for the first time. Two years ago, at KBB 2020 (the last thing we did before Lockdown 1!) WFF was launched. Now we were there to celebrate the growth of the grouping, and (for Andrew) to get some photos of the new line up of directors, with admin Chris Pateman.

The WFF team with KBB Birmingham Show Director Sam Fisher and Show Marketing Exec Phoebe Ollerearnshaw

WFF Directors

Andy Phillips (AG)

Simon Souter (LBS Stone)

Mark Mills (Stone Systems of London)

Ben Prole (Bellagio)

Chris Pateman, WFF Administrator

Happy birthday to us! WFF Team with Jon Stanley, VP Marketing for Caesarstone UK & EMEA

KBB Birmingham 2022 was also the first outing for the Worktop Fabricators Federation’s new general guide to kitchen work surfaces – a handy information source that can be used across our industry, by all our companies. The use of a QR means allows one small point-of-sale display to inform hundreds of individual customers. Try it!

Caesarstone‘s stand hosted us at the show, and seemed to me to be the beating heart of the event. The stand was very large, and crowded and busy the whole time I was there. Really glad to have been there in partnership with the big Israeli quartz supplier.

Overall, the show had fewer exhibitors than in previous years, perhaps reflecting some of the lost time and hits we have all taken through the pandemic years. There were some notable absences amo0ngst quartz suppliers, and the big names in sinks and taps. Stands were large and aisles were bigger than usual – but the numbers of people around gave a real buzz and sense of life and enthusiasm. I valued the chance to really explore some (from our perspective) more peripheral products and build relationships with suppliers in other fields than simply granite or quartz itself.

One reason for the Caesarstone stand’s popularity had to be the endless flow of quality coffee (or beers) from the team at their bar. It is the admin and catering and cleaning people who really keep a show running – Mark and Tilly and others from Café Allez! at Grantham were incredible. If you ever visit Belvoir Castle, I recommend the flat whites!

Eric Bignell of Natural Stone Specialist Magazine chewing the fat with Mark Mills of WFF on the Caesarstone stand.

One kitchen that really caught the eye was this striking installation in beaded black from Rotpunkt.  Notice the in-pantry sink – a trend we looked at in our recent design blog. Though we also noticed how unforgiving that soft, pure black can be when touched by greasy fingers.

Also great for hospitality and a warm welcome was the Cimstone stand. In the shot here are Andy Phillips, Dennis Cook (our Cimstone rep), Levent Akgerman (CEO) and Ziya Ozdemir (UK Manager). It was good to have time to really talk over the impacts of the pandemic and the present pressures on the world economy, as well as to discuss trends in kitchens and enjoy excellent cheese, nibbles and red wine – from the vineyard right next to the Cimstone head office in Turkey! Thank you for the lunch!

Little…

… and large… two sections of Cimstone’s quartz slab display

Perhaps the loveliest kitchen at KBB Birmingham 2022 was this from Daniel George Kitchens of Ireland. Superb installation of bespoke cabinets, and lovely marriage of stone and wood on that cunningly curved island.

Boiling water taps were present on many stands, and the biggest name in that market, Quooker, had a very busy display with a lot of staff on hand to deal with the many questions. Here is a display of some of their heater units – normally hidden out of sight beneath your worktop!

I really enjoyed the use of colour and shape on the Bocchi stand

My favourite light fitting at KBB Birmingham – and I can’t remember which stand it was on! Help me, someone!

Now you see it…

… now you don’t! Beautifully made sliding sink cover on a Quartz Forms island.

Lifting out the matching quartz chopping board and trivet from the island slots

QuartzForms is the German quartz brand with an Italian sales team which is just beginning to make some real waves in the UK market. I always used to feel that they were over-priced for products that didn’t seem quite as interesting as other people’s. But I recently quoted for some lovely new marble-look stones in their Forest and Planet ranges – abnd found them to be both beautiful and more competitive. Other people’s prices have gone up further!

QuartzForms Forest Range on display

I stayed quite late on the Monday, getting a chance to photograph some of the stands after things had quietened down. The Elica stand was a model of spacious, geometric classiness.

In next week’s blog we want to pick up on some more specific products and ideas which caught our eye at KBB Birmingham. There are one or two things that we are looking at stocking as regular add-ons to our granite and quartz worktops. Watch this space!