KBIS 2011
25 April 2011
“What’s It All About?”
I have been a fairly active participant in the “Let’s Blog Off” bi-weekly challenge. It’s when a growing number of bloggers all write and post a blog on the same subject, and it’s something we do every other Tuesday. I bring that up because I will not participate tomorrow, as this blog will be dark the rest of the week. My blogging partner Joe Dusel and I will be in Las Vegas for KBIS. The irony of it is that the subject of tomorrow’s Blog Off is “Where Do You Get Your Ideas?” Actually, that was one of my fears when Joe and I first discussed the idea of this blog site in January, 2008.
We are both cabinetmakers, although Joe has a leg up on me in that regard because he is a licensed California cabinetmaker who has made and installed kitchens for others. But given the interests we share, we knew at once that we would write about cabinetry and furniture and things that could be used in kitchens and baths. As time went on we began to expand into the entire area of interior design and outdoor kitchens, and I don’t know what all. But when we were kicking it back and forth, one of the fears I had was the subject matter itself. How many blogs can anyone write on something like a sink or a stove? We
ll, as it turns out, some three years later we have posted 780 blogs, and I have written all but five or six. About a year into the venture I told my wife that I could continue writing on it forevermore because it is, as it turns out, a most fascinating field.
Anyone who reads my blogs will note that the vast majority of them have me very excited about whatever I’m writing about. That’s by design. I do not write negative blogs as I consider them a waste of my talents and my readers’ time. That is not to say I like everything I see, because I don’t. What I do, though, is just look for products, designs, and concepts that have me genuinely excited, and when I do, that becomes the subject of the next blog. But that brings us, by way of a rather convoluted journey, back to today’s dual topic: KBIS and where I go to get my ideas.
For a long time I have simply scoured the Internet for topics to write about here, but more recently I have been privileged to view an incredible number of potential blog subjects
in one fell swoop. My recent trip to Toronto, Canada at the end of January as a guest of Blanco was a decided eye-opener, as I was able to visit the International Design Show 2011 and visit a good number of exhibitors. I came back with a sack full of media discs, all of which I will put to use for future blogs. And that, in turn, was responsible for our planning this week’s road trip.
Knowing that KBIS was scheduled for April, Joe and I registered for Media Badges, and since then I really have not had to do much of anything to look for ideas. We have been buried with requests from exhibitors, asking us to visit their booths, and that brings us, at long last, to KBIS itself.
For those who are not familiar with KBIS, I have copied the following from Wikipedia: “The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show & Conference or (KBIS) is owned by the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA); sponsored by Kitchen & Bath Business Magazine; and produced by Nielsen Expositions. KBIS is the world’s largest international trade event dedicated to the kitchen and bath industry. This show showcases the latest products
and cutting-edge design ideas of the kitchen and bath industry. It features a large array of product displays and demonstrations, professional development courses and keynote speeches. Its objective is to bring all of the professionals who are involved in product specification and the build-out of a kitchen and bath to KBIS.”
One of the difficulties Joe and I have had is getting out the word that this blog is very much a two-man show. Really, it was Joe’s idea in the first place, so without him, I wouldn’t be doing any part of it. However, the sheer size of the show at KBIS will do much to get out the word, as we mean to split up as much as possible with an eye towards gathering as much material as possible.
Those of you who watch HGTV on a regular basis know KBIS as the biggest show of its type. At the end of this week, I have the feeling that Joe and I will know it as a gold mine of information and ideas. There is an absolutely astounding number of exhibitors (585 at last count), and there is just no way that we could see them all and do them jus
tice. It’s a three-day show that could quite easily run to several weeks. But starting next week, and for some time to come, Joe and I will be writing about what we have discovered at KBIS.
One of these days we may explore “the road not taken” on “Let’s Blog Off,” because it’s certainly something I think about from time to time. I think if I had my life to live again, I might well have gone into design. Architecture is very interesting to me, and I sometimes blog on that subject when I find something that completely blows my mind. Kitchen and bath design is a bit lower on that particular pecking order in some quarters, but I have come to regard it as more innovative and more exciting. There is so much that can be done to absolutely transform those rooms. And the many products now coming out are just blowing the socks off this whole idea of interior designing! That’s what KBIS is all about, and that’s what we’re all about. Tell Alfie.
Joseph
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6 Responses to “KBIS 2011”
April 25th, 2011 at 11:18 AM
I am as excited about going to KBIS as Joseph is. This is going to be a great trip, and I am expecting to gain a wealth of information from it! I can’t wait to see the latest products available for kitchens and baths, plus it will be nice to get together with some of the top design professionals in the industry!
Joe
April 25th, 2011 at 1:15 PM
This is my first year to attend KBIS. I have been restlessly excited, because that’s all I think of when I close my eyes. I can’t wait to see the latest trends & designs in the kitchen & bath industry. This is definitely the most exciting way to learn about the industry!
April 27th, 2011 at 4:12 PM
Take lots of photos for us who are not at the show. Thanks!
April 29th, 2011 at 1:36 PM
i enjoyed seeing the photos…
April 29th, 2011 at 3:35 PM
What a great trip! Joseph and I saw all kinds of great new things, saw lots of friends and made lots of new friends. This weekend we start the process of sorting through all of the information and photos that we got. We are both looking forward to telling all about it!
Joe
April 29th, 2011 at 10:13 PM
I am just now beginning the process of gathering my thoughts for next weeks’ blogs which will focus on KBIS. It was an absolutely astounding trip. Whenever you tell people you’re going to Las Vegas for a business trip, you tend to get a lot of knowing winks. God as my witness, all Joe and I did was business. We played no slots and went to no Las Vegas shows, girlie or otherwise. We focused on what we came for, and my only regret is that it couldn’t have last a few days longer. Although if wishes like that can actually come true, then I must also wish for younger feet to walk around the many exhibits!