By: Ryan Fasan
Times are tough for many distributors in the building sector. Progressive distributors are searching for new ways to bring customers into showrooms and build their client base now. When business is slow there is time and need for creative thinking, Fontile’s Counterpoint Kitchen Systems in North Vancouver is one company embracing this philosophy. Their action plan for 2010 included monthly seminar nights for local design professionals hosted in their showroom and featured various topics about ceramics, stone and kitchen & bath cabinetry.
Times are tough for many distributors in the building sector. Progressive distributors are searching for new ways to bring customers into showrooms and build their client base now. When business is slow there is time and need for creative thinking, Fontile’s Counterpoint Kitchen Systems in North Vancouver is one company embracing this philosophy. Their action plan for 2010 included monthly seminar nights for local design professionals hosted in their showroom and featured various topics about ceramics, stone and kitchen & bath cabinetry.
The most recent presentation; Cevisama 2010: Trends and Impressions, presented by yours truly, was held on March 18th. I really wanted to give the crowd a passionate overview of everything this trade show offers to attendees. I believe it’s time for North America to re-define its view of ceramics and consider the expanding applications where ceramic tile fits in modern specifications.
From all accounts the program was a fantastic success for both invited professionals and Counterpoint. Guests arrived with an open mind and appreciated my passion and the original ideas presented. In this session my goal was to inspire my hometown audience to embrace the revolutionary product offered by a risk taking distributor who believes in innovation; to challenge them to envision ceramics beyond traditional kitchen and bath installations in future specifications; and finally to encourage architects to work cooperatively with quality ceramic producers to realize their unique design vision. Spanish manufacturer’s at Cevisama stressed their commitment to the architecture and design community and believe it will be this group’s influence that has the potential to revolutionize our built environments.
From all accounts the program was a fantastic success for both invited professionals and Counterpoint. Guests arrived with an open mind and appreciated my passion and the original ideas presented. In this session my goal was to inspire my hometown audience to embrace the revolutionary product offered by a risk taking distributor who believes in innovation; to challenge them to envision ceramics beyond traditional kitchen and bath installations in future specifications; and finally to encourage architects to work cooperatively with quality ceramic producers to realize their unique design vision. Spanish manufacturer’s at Cevisama stressed their commitment to the architecture and design community and believe it will be this group’s influence that has the potential to revolutionize our built environments.
An underlying message throughout the presentation was the power of choice; Specifiers are in the position to offer clients a great quality product at a fair price, rather than a fair quality product at a great price. It was delightful to see how receptive and excited the guests were as they left the event. Products which offer value-added features, lifelong durability and cutting edge design provide an easily defensible argument over product that can only offer the lowest price.
After the first quarter of the year I thought it would be good to check in with Sean Cloete, the organizer and tile & stone specialist for Counterpoint, to find out how effective this new initiative has been. Click 'read more' for the interview.
After the first quarter of the year I thought it would be good to check in with Sean Cloete, the organizer and tile & stone specialist for Counterpoint, to find out how effective this new initiative has been. Click 'read more' for the interview.
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