Tradeshow Report

(Apr. 21, 2008)

K/BIS 2008 Wrap-Up

K&A delivers hot products, groundbreaking trends and speaker highlights

The buzz of the 2008 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show & Conference’s opening day was manifested in an enthusiastic crowd of attendees. Dealers, designers, architects, distributors, retailers, consumers, home center staff, as well as kitchen and bath professionals…all eagerly gathered to check out the market’s latest product revelations and design ideas. 

Held in Chicago, this year’s captivating event featured a large array of product displays and demonstrations, and interactive roundtable events plus the opportunity to network with thousands of industry professionals.

Miss out on this year’s hottest industry event? Don’t worry; K&A plugs you into the most important tradeshow of the season.

Hot Products

Never a dull moment at K/BIS, revolutionary product introductions included Craft-Art’s stand-alone furniture pieces accompanying the company’s vast selection of wood countertops, and Cucine LUBE’s Brava Island. With the push of a button, this Italian sliding kitchen island reveals a stainless steel range, sink and workspace—the world’s first!

At the Aqua Glass booth the latest in luxury tubs, whirlpools, and showers were on display including built-in iPod systems for musical relaxation! The latest in furniture innovation could be seen at the Hettich booth which displayed soft closing drawers with Silent Systems…great for any consumer.

Meanwhile, over at the DeRose Designs booth, show goers were wowed by the beautiful appearance and color selection of vessel bowls, flat and integral bowl countertops. Keeping in touch with the green movement, Sonoma Cast Stone displayed their latest environmentally sustainable LEEDcrete™ sinks, countertops, islands, fireplace surrounds, tiles and pavers.

On the cooking side of things TurboChef demonstrated how to cut down cooking time with the revolutionary TurboChef Speedcook Oven – cooking up to 15 times faster than conventional ovens!

In addition to the launch of its most premium bathroom collection to date—the Logan Square™ Suite—Gerber Plumbing Fixtures presented its innovative PeeWee Collection, a bathroom suite for children. Not only was it a huge success with attendees, but it was even filmed by “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s” Ty Pennington!

Launching an updated Collection of Styles program with four new bathroom product lines—Hansastela, Hansaform, Hansaclassic, Hansastyle—in addition to its new Sink ‘Worlds’—Architecture, Harmony and Emotion—the KWC and Hansa booth was one of the biggest buzzes of the show.

Eternal by Grand Hall also unveiled its landmark Eternal Hybrid Direct Vent model. Engineered to out-perform all water heaters on the market, the Eternal Direct Vent combines both tank and tankless water heaters without the limitations of either.

 

Groundbreaking Trends

Displaying the industry’s fashion forward trends, K/BIS 2008 highlighted a presentation on future bathroom design elements. KWC and Hansa pushed the envelope with the unveiling of the Hansa Innovation Circle, a comprehensive visionary demonstration on the future of the bathroom.

Cifial also responded to the demand for smart contemporary bathroom elements with the introduction of three new products including the Techno 25, Quadra 25 and Techno M3 Lavatory Faucets. Each new faucet is available in a choice of three brilliant finishes to compliment any décor matching its cabinet and door hardware.  Cifial’s other lines are also available in three living finishes ranging from distressed bronze, rough bronze to weathered. The exclusive rough bronze finish tells its own story as it naturally evolves and wears over time.   

Not to be outdone, Metallo Arts proved fine art can be brought into the kitchen. Showcasing its latest kitchen ventilation hood, inspired by the red-hot ’57 Chevy Bel Air, Metallo Arts drew people from all over the tradeshow floor. Handcrafted from the front end of an original Chevy with its original paint color and chrome, Metallo Arts’ Chevy Bel Air Vent Hood was a gigantic hit.

K/BIS 2008 reaffirmed that the luxury market is still relatively unscathed. Mr.Steam revitalized the healing powers of color and light with the introduction of its new ChromaSteam™ and AromaSteam™ Systems. Attendees were also able to meet with Denise Turner (ASID, CID, CMG) at Mr.Steam’s booth to learn what color best matched their mood and personality. Turner, an internationally recognized expert in color design trend forecasting and founder of Color Turners, also presented her predictions for the upcoming year entitled “As the Colors Turn–2009 Color & Design Trend Forecast.”

Speaker Highlights

With over 50 professional development courses as well as keynote and session speeches, K/BIS certainly proved that knowledge is power. One of our favorites was Ken Williamson’s presentation, “Wood Countertops—From Butcherblock to Furniture—New Look, Innovative Technologies, and Incremental Margin.”  

Williamson—founder of Craft-Art Wood Countertops —enthralled the crowd with his keen fascination and impressive knowledge of wood. Presenting at the Lakeside Center Stage on Sunday, Williamson discussed the history of the kitchen and how wood has remained a dominant material in this prime area of the home. Engaging the audience and disproving the myth that no wood is resistant to stains and spills, Williamson applied ketchup, mustard and grape juice on several pieces of displayed wood. The audience gasped as Williamson wiped them off with no trace of residue.

Celebrity Appearances

K/BIS 2008 was like the actors’ Oscars for kitchen and bath professionals. Noted TV industry personalities graced the tradeshow floor including Ty Pennington of “Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition,” Eric Stromer of TLC’s “Clean Sweep” and Candice Olson from “Divine Design.” Cheryl Tiegs, fashion icon and green living advocate, also made an appearance at the show as the new spokesperson for Cambria.

Hometown USA

K/BIS 2008 was a colossal success, setting the tone for a promising year in the kitchen and bath marketplace. K/BIS 2009 expects to be even bigger and better, bringing together more than 900 companies exhibiting their products to more than 64,000 national and international industry professionals. What’s more, it’s being held in K&A’s own Atlanta backyard!

Stay tuned to www.kleberandassociates.com for more information about K/BIS 2009 and other events in K&A’s tradeshow circuit including next month’s Hospitality Design Expo & Conference in Las Vegas. Next up, the Milan Furniture Fair; check out Steve Kleber’s blog next week for up-to-the-minute findings from the event that paves the way for the future of design. 

 


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