Diane, Author at Bathroom Review

The Together World Tour, Ideal Standard’s digital series of cinematic events for the international architecture and design community, is making its fifth stop in Dubai.

On the 22^nd November, the penultimate event in the series, A Moment of Innovation, will explore the historic districts of Dubai, as well as the young spirit of this modern city, uncovering links in design between the past, the present and the future.

The film will feature a series of exclusive interviews to reveal unique perspectives around the evolution of modern design and the influence heritage can have on it. The piece will also visit the Dubai UAE 2020 Expo. Combining the technology of tomorrow with viewpoints from some of the best minds in the sector, the Dubai-leg of the Together World Tour will offer audiences cutting-edge insight into the next period of modern living.

The fifth show in Ideal Standard’s global journey will showcase some of its innovative products like the Intellimix smart tap, alongside products from its Atelier Collections.

Jan-Peter Tewes, joint CEO of Ideal Standard, commented: “Dubai is a place renowned for its rapid urban development and iconic modern architecture. However, it has an incredibly interesting history which is still extremely visible. In this film, we will look to explore the duality of old and new design concepts.

“At Ideal Standard, we often look to our past to inspire product development. As a company, we have more than 100 years of experience working with master designers. With our latest collections, we’re re-inventing some of our most iconic designs using cutting-edge technology and materials, offering our customers unique, trend-setting products.

The Dubai Together World Tour will take place on November 22^nd, 2021 at 11 am GMT. To learn more about the tour so far and register for this event, visit: www.togetherworldtour.com.

Duravit acclaimed at the German Design Award 2022

The panel of the German Design Award 2022 has commended Duravit for its outstanding product and communication design. The bathroom designer gained the accolades “Winner” and “Special Mention” in each of the categories “Excellent Product Design – Bath and Wellness” and “Excellent Communications Design – Integrated Campaigns and Advertising”.

white tulip faucets Germn Design Awards — White Tulip Faucet

White Tulip is the first full bathroom created entirely by Philippe Starck and was crowned “Winner” at the German Design Award. Every component mirrors the organic silhouette of a tulip in bloom.

The associated range of taps was also awarded the title of “Winner”. The White Tulip taps feature a consistent design element as the handle slants slightly outwards.

D-Neo is a complete bathroom range and was Duravit’s second innovation from 2021 to win three awards – with an accolade as “Winner” for the D-Neo taps plus a “Special Mention” for the series as a whole as well as the associated communication campaign.

Duravit received a further “Special Mention” for its News Magazine #13. Over 100,000 copies are printed every year, the magazine’s refined style helping to breathe life into the editorial content. The News Magazine gives dealers and end customers in over 40 countries the opportunity to immerse themselves in Duravit’s latest bathrooms.

KBB Birmingham 2022 Innovation Awards are live

Kbb Birmingham, Europe’s biennial kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms event, has announced the launch of the Innovation Awards 2022, in partnership with Blum.

The awards honour the best ideas in the KBB industry. Entrants can nominate a new method, idea or product that demonstrates innovation. The scheme is open to all and winners will be announced at kbb Birmingham in March 2022.

This year there will be a new category added to the programme. This award will be for sustainability, which will acknowledge the cutting-edge work that brands are doing to create, promote and deliver sustainable solutions to the KBB sector.

Entries will be judged by a panel of industry experts which will include leading professionals who represent different areas of the KBB market including design, technical and journalism backgrounds.

Entries should showcase the latest innovations in the industry, ranging from products and components to manufacturing techniques that are disrupting the market, with only solutions or products launched in the last 18 months being accepted.

Following the judging, 10 successful shortlisted entries will be displayed in the Atrium at the NEC across specially designed plinths, for the duration of the show. Winners will be announced at kbb Birmingham on the 8^th of March 2022. As well as the Judges winner, also returning this year will be the popular People’s Choice winner, which is chosen by visitors to the show.

“We’re really excited to launch the Innovation Awards for the 2022 show,” Comments Andy Bishop, Creative Director, kbb Birmingham. “We can’t wait to launch this scheme for 2022 to recognise and celebrate the amazing work that is going on within the industry. We are looking forward to seeing the fantastic entries and being able to share the ground-breaking projects that have been developed since the last show.”

To enter go to: www.kbb.co.uk/en/attend/innovation-awards.html. All entries must be submitted by Friday 17^th December 2021.

Royal celebration for HIB as winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise

Robert Ginsberg, Managing Director of bathroom manufacturer HiB, was received by His Royal Highness, Prince Charles and The Countess of Wessex at Windsor Castle, to celebrate HiB’s accolade of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

The reception saw representatives from 205 firms gather at the castle to celebrate the prestigious award, which each of the businesses had won in either 2020 or 2021. As part of the event, guests had the chance to meet the members of the monarchy and discuss their company’s achievements.

Talking about the reception, MD Robert Ginsberg said: “It was an honour to meet His Royal Highness, Prince Charles and The Countess of Wessex at Windsor Castle to celebrate HiB winning a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation. It is one of the most significant business awards and to be able to take part in such a wonderful event with other pioneering businesses was a great privilege.”

The event culminated a week of regal celebrations which included a visit by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Staffordshire to Inspire House, HiB’s National Distribution Centre in Tamworth. The Lord Lieutenant made the special visit to officially present the company with the Queen’s Award, after taking a tour around HiB’s facilities and meeting staff from across the business.

HiB will be able to use the esteemed Queen’s Award emblem for five years, recognising the company’s ongoing commitment to furthering bathroom product innovation.

For more information about HiB, visit https://www.hib.co.uk

Joe Brawn appointed as head of product management at Aqualisa

Bathroom specialist Aqualisa today announced that Joe Brawn has joined the British manufacturer as head of product management, leading the company’s product strategy and overseeing the introduction of new Aqualisa solutions to the UK and international markets.

Reporting to Mike Simpson, product and marketing director, Joe commenced his role at Aqualisa on 1 November 2021, and leads a team of six product managers and executives responsible for managing the company’s extensive bathroom portfolio and developing its long-term product roadmap. As part of this new position, Joe will be pivotal in the expansion of the Aqualisa line-up and enhancements to the customer experience throughout the range. One of his first plans is to design and implement a bespoke product management framework to streamline launches and increase the efficiency of new product delivery.

An experienced product management leader, Joe’s career has spanned more than 15 years. He joins Aqualisa from kitchenware company DKB Household where he headed up global product management of the Cole & Mason brand. Previous positions have included global brand manager at Bissell Homecare, Inc, and product manager at Vax.

Joe Brawn commented, “Aqualisa is an inspiring British company with advanced, ground-breaking products and a hugely exciting future vision, so the opportunity to be part of the journey to fulfil this potential was too good to miss. I look forward to driving forward the product strategy to extend the company’s market offering in all channels, and to working with the product management team to deliver best practice and provide a superior customer experience across the product portfolio. I am particularly focused on growing Aqualisa’s position as leaders in sustainability and smart digital showers, and providing customers with even more choice in this rapidly-growing category.”

Mike Simpson, product and marketing director, added, “The expansion of our product line-up is essential to our ambitious growth strategy, and I believe Joe’s breadth of experience and expertise from across a varied range of industries will add immense value to our organisation. I look forward to working closely with Joe to reinforce our leadership in pioneering bathroom technology and to successfully developing our product innovation pipeline to meet our long-term business objectives.”

Joe has a busy family life with two children under four years old. A serious sports fan, during his rare free time, his biggest passion is watching and playing rugby, and generally keeping fit. He also likes to unwind listening to his favourite music tracks.

GROHE to exhibit latest design innovations at HIX 2021

HIX will mark the first industry exhibition for GROHE since the onset of the pandemic and will also be the first event where the brand will showcase its newly accredited Cradle to Cradle Certified® products.

The C2C concept enables GROHE to drastically reduce the use of new resources: a product is designed and manufactured with the intent of using its components in its end-of-life-phase for the creation of new products.

To coincide with the event, GROHE is also launching the next module in its series of RIBA approved CPDs: Circularity in the bathroom and kitchen with Cradle-to-Cradle certification. Amongst the first sanitaryware brands globally to achieve Cradle-to-Cradle certification, GROHE has developed the informative and inspirational session to guide design professionals on how to achieve greener projects that offer C2C credentials. Hoteliers and other professionals will be able to visit the GROHE stand at the show in order to be amongst the first to register for the new CPD session, which is hosted by GROHE’s team of experts.

GROHE will also be inviting guests to immerse in the serene ambience of its spa-inspired room set as part of a new premium spa and wellness-focused concept currently in development. The space will be created with re-envisioned designs of its popular Allure brassware range.

Alongside showcasing its latest innovations designed to support sustainable and premium hotel projects, GROHE will also be sponsoring the Meaningful Value keynote speech, presented by leading hospitality consultant, Horwath HTL’s James Chappell. The staged discussion will look at how brands and hoteliers can create hotel experiences that matter in the modern, post-COVID age.

“We are really excited to be a part of the very first HIX design show, a much anticipated event that is long overdue for the industry as we emerge from the pandemic”, says Ebru Bircan, Leader, Marketing Activation UK, LIXIL EMENA and GROHE UK.

“Our stand and the innovations we are presenting focus on two very integral aspects of the current hospitality design landscape: wellness and sustainability. We want to continue to work with more and more hotel brands to provide sustainable solutions that offer tangible results in the reduction of water, energy, materials and waste. We’re also continuing to create this immersive narrative within the hotel bathroom around wellness and health through water. We see these two key design considerations to be integral to shaping the future of hotel design”.

GROHE can be found on Stand 7 at HIX on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th November 2021.

Online bathroom retailer Victoria Plum launches first kitchen range

Online bathroom retailer Victoria Plum has launched its first kitchen products range as part of the business’s ongoing ambitious growth strategy.

The Doncaster-headquartered company has initially introduced seven kitchen cabinet ranges and a variety of kitchen products. These include worktops, tiles, flooring, lighting, Rangemaster sinks and Bristan and Schön taps.

The announcement follows record financial performance by Victoria Plum. For the year ended 28 February 2021, the company achieved a 46 per cent increase in sales to £103m whilst EBITDA grew 115 per cent to £4.5m.

Speaking about the launch of the business’s kitchen range, Victoria Plum’s chief executive, Paul McClenaghan, said: “We have an ambitious growth strategy, high performing teams throughout our business and a clear objective of accelerating our rate of expansion.

“This led us to investigate the kitchens marketplace in detail. What we discovered was a distinct opportunity to leverage our supply chain, internal skill set and ecommerce capabilities to successfully enter this segment of the home improvement market.

“Our kitchen products are selling well, and we intend to expand our offer by increasing both our range and our marketing activity.

“We are creating a sustainable, complementary kitchens offer which will build further equity in the Victoria Plum brand and deliver even greater commercial momentum for the business.”

Victoria Plum was founded 20 years ago and employs 398 people. The company was acquired by Leeds-based private equity fund Endless in October 2019.

For further information visit www.victoriaplum.com

WRAS highlights industry uncertainty over responsibility for compliance

New research has highlighted a lack of knowledge around who is legally responsible for ensuring installed plumbing products and appliances are compliant with the Water Fitting Regulations or Scottish Byelaws.

WRAS (Water Regulations Approval Scheme) has surveyed 500 UK adults responsible for water systems in non-household premises, to assess industry knowledge of compliance and the role played by WRAS.

Three quarters (75%) of respondents knew that plumbing products that are connected to the public water supply must be tested to demonstrate they are of suitable quality and standard, but far fewer knew who was responsible for ensuring those standards are met.

Little more than a third (35%) thought that facilities managers were legally responsible for checking the compliance of plumbing products and appliances which use water, prior to installation.

Just over one in four (26%) thought installers had responsibility.

A quarter (25%) thought tenants or occupiers were responsible, the same number as those who thought building owners were responsible.

WRAS Approvals Manager Ian Hughes says that the real answer is that all of those groups have a responsibility to ensure compliant products are used. While it is not illegal to sell non-compliant products under the regulations, it is illegal for non-compliant products to be installed on a system where the water is provided by a water company.

“Why take a gamble on a product that hasn’t been tested to show compliance? Plumbing products or fittings that do not comply with the water regulations or byelaws may pose a risk to health, as they can contaminate drinking water, or may leak, causing damage to property,” he said.

“If they are not compliant, these products cannot be used. If they are used, the subsequent remedial work can delay projects and mean unforeseen costs.

“In some instances, it could even lead to legal action and fines.”

A great way to ensure that products and fittings are suitable is to check if they are WRAS approved. A comprehensive list of WRAS approved products is available at https://www.wrasapprovals.co.uk/approvals-directory/

The research findings were revealed as a part of a wider survey into industry awareness of WRAS and its role in helping people and organisations to comply.

Nearly three quarters (74%) of respondents said they were aware of the Water Regulations Approval Scheme, while over two thirds (67%) of respondents said they would trust a product if it bore the WRAS logo.

Carron Bathrooms and Eastbrook Company terminate partnership

Carron Bathrooms and Eastbrook Company have announced following over twenty years of trading together they are terminating their partnership upon the expiry of Eastbrook’s current catalogue on 28th February 2022.

Carron Bathrooms has confirmed the decision came as the result of a shared strategic review into their partnership, and they part company on good terms.

Both companies confirm their priority in the disengagement process is to ensure that their loyal customers have continuity of supply throughout the remainder of 2021.

Carron will ensure that Eastbrook continues to access the products required to fulfil demand.

Caron Bathrooms long-term partners, Q4 Bathrooms, have been working closely with Carron over the last few weeks to increase their inventory and distribution capacity and they will announce an exciting new route to market on 1st December which they say will deliver an enhanced offering to its customers.

Close in on style with the Knightsbridge shaver light

November 11, 2021

Meeting the demand for charging points wherever in the house, Knightsbridge has designed its latest shaver light with a concealed dual USB charger as well as an integral dual voltage shaver socket.

Displaying elegant curves to complement modern bathroom tastes, the SL6USB LED Shaver Light is available in three finishes: chrome, white and matt black (SL6USBC, SL6USBW and SL6USBMB).

Constructed from robust polycarbonate, this 230V 6W shaver light is easy to clean and produces a warm white light and is rated to IP20.

It complements the SLULED, a 230V LED shaver/shelf light with a USB port and a single voltage shaver socket. The glass shelf can support loads of up to 2kg for the usual shaving paraphernalia (plus your smartphone whilst it’s set to charge), while the unit itself has a polished chrome finish and an opal diffuser.

And, if no USB is required, Knightsbridge – one of the UK’s leading brands of wiring devices, accessories and lighting – offers the SLIGHT2, a white polycarbonate LED shaver light with a dual voltage socket, covering all the essentials.

To discover the full Knightsbridge bathroom offering, be sure to download their latest e-brochure: The Complete Bathroom Range, at mlaccessories.co.uk.