Hi Sally,
Many thanks for taking the time to come across the bridge today to our showroom to discuss your beautiful glass art - it was a real treat to see the wonderful samples, and to understand in much more detail the processes both of creating the artworks, and also how you are developing the business model around it. My apologies if some of my earlier assumptions proved to be wrong - I think I now have a better understanding of it and how the respective unlimited and individually bespoke pieces work. It gives me a better idea on how we in our studio could use both the unlimited and more bespoke commissions in our different projects and at different price points, as well as flagging some of the “pinch points” in that model which might limit when we could or could not incorporate them into schemes. Obviously I love your art and the Red Dog products developed from that and would love to be incorporating them into as many schemes as possible, so hopefully some of what we discussed may help you understand the challenges and limitations we face as kitchen & bathroom designers and such that your business model is supportive of independent studios like ours, so that we all stand the best chance of successfully promoting & selling your work - in a way the maintains your ethos, the quality of your work, the absolute premium nature of it and, outside of the “unlimited” end, that wonderful interaction with you as an artist.
From our conversation - the several hours of it, yet it still felt too brief! - it was quite clear you have an excellent head for business and have done plenty of market research as well as starting to “hone in” on the niches you wish to target with the glass panels. I never really had a chance to fully explore what all parts of our industry you have experienced to date, though you have clearly already had great success getting your artworks into some of the flagship stores on Wigmore St etc, so you already have the start of an excellent “shop window”. That said, the reach of Wigmore Street is still limited in its reach, but will at least target a mixture of the wealthy London markets as well as key designers & architects for the larger developments in London & other global cities.
What is important to understand is that the staff in such places are basically employees of the “box manufacturers” with a remit to maximise the sales of their “grey boxes” - everything else in their stores is largely window dressing to encourage you to buy, say, a Nolte “grey box” rather than a Leicht, Poggenpohl or Nobilia grey box. And in truth, while each brand will tell you differently, there is far less difference between the respective “grey boxes” from lower-mid to upper ranges than many people realise! I challenge anyone to be dropped onto a dozen different German kitchen brands’ stands at KBB with all logos & named materials removed and then tell me which brand was which! Only the geekiest of kitchen geeks would manage…
So while Wigmore Street is an excellent place to showcase stunning pieces like yours - and a great place to meet with those architects etc. throwing up high end tower blocks & hotels - the reach has its limit. How you manage your precious time in fielding those sorts of (often demanding!) one-off clients or buyers for larger developments will have its challenges, and creative tension between the artist & entrepreneur in you will be in full force!
Looking at the other segments in our industry - at the opposite end you have the “sheds” - the B&Qs, Wrens, Wickes, Homebase & Magnets of this world. For the purposes of considering your Red Dog products & services, I would also lump in the building supply merchants (Howdens & various others for whom kitchens & bathrooms is an “add on” to selling timber & breeze blocks!) and a few internet providers selling low cost boxes against a list of units from someone else’s design to the cheapest price. On the bathroom side, the equivalents are Victoria Plumb, Victorian Plumbing, Plumbase, Bathstore etc. As I think you’ve already identified, this is an end of the market you want to avoid at all costs - they may have the volume, but margins are thin and it is an incredibly good and fast way to wreck a quality reputation. Indeed, a number of well-known, previous “premium” brands have been seduced by the promises of volumes through such businesses, only for many of us small independent studios to immediately eject all trace of their products from our stores, as we know we will be undercut, the brand damaged, often the products progressively degraded to meet an ever shrinking price and then, belatedly, to realise the error of their ways!
Finally, there are the independent studios (like us) in countless hundreds & thousands the length & breadth of the country. Many are small, few will extend beyond, say, a handful of linked studios though one or two at the “premium” end have grown to maybe a few dozen carefully located stores in affluent areas (often the South East or major cities). We are a hugely diverse bunch, and each individual independent has evolved into it’s owl little niche of eco system based on the location, demographics, population densities and frequently, what styles the owners themselves are passionate about! These are, in many ways, the lifeblood of the industry - it is here where great designs are done, where we cater the the very personal & individual needs, wants & tastes of each unique customer. Some (in the Welsh valleys, say) will only churn out relatively low value, quick & basic projects, as the properties being serviced are low value, the residents less wealthy and requirements relatively basic. At the other end of the spectrum you have your high end “names” of designers & companies - the likes of Diane Berry, Smallbone, Tom Howley, Searle & Taylor who have built excellent reputations at the premium end, may have multiple premises, outstanding designers capable of wonderful projects using the very best products & materials and premium pricing. These should most certainly be in your sights for winning premium showroom space and enthusing their designers to incorporate your wonderful artworks! The list of such “big names” is comparatively short but well worth targeting. It is interesting (and a little sad) to see, however, a few of these being bought out as investment vehicles, and sadly losing a little of their creative flair and independence as they become a bit more corporate, pushing for growth.
We ourselves sit as something of a “mixed practice”, largely based on the history & legacy of the company and the location we serve. We are deliberately not on the high street (expensive and too many time wasters!), we have a very mixed catchment from lower mid value housing to, 5 miles north, a great many stunning rural half million pound upwards and still only a half hour to the “Clifton set” and nicer parts of Cardiff! We have minimal advertising, the majority of our clients are by recommendation or repeat or a smattering who find our website or Houzz page. We are fortunate to be able to largely pick & choose which projects we pursue from those who approach us. Last year the kitchen project values ranged from £25k to £70k and included a client who bought a single high end vanity unit with basins (nothing more, not even taps!) for £7k; This year we started with a “supply only” to a bespoke new build for £30k, another local fully fitted project for £40k alongside various mid-priced bathrooms, but we will also now slot in a quick little kitchen project for £8k, as it is a longstanding, loyal client of many decades standing! The design took 30 minutes, the pricing 20 minutes, it will be fitted by a good local fitter who lives in the next but one street to the customer, and will be largely “fire & forget” - but with a couple of grand return. I really cannot predict who will walk through the door! And while we are, to an extent, running CKBC as a “lifestyle business” for a couple more years until our nest is less crowded, we know how we will progressively target both the premium end of our local market and the smaller, more bespoke developers & local landlords of multiple properties. And there are hundreds & thousands of us independents around the country - finding the ones who will be passionate about Red Dogs and sell actively could be an interesting channel for you.
Lastly, there are the manufacturers themselves. Many (though not all) have their own extensive showrooms which are either only open to their trade customers (folk like us!) or, in some cases (like Crown Waterline’s Daventry showroom) may be open by appointment to clients of their displaying dealers. While again these spaces are largely there to help them sell their “grey boxes” to us studios, the better ones serve as excellent design inspiration, and we all use them as resources for design ideas and to find the best “add on” products to help our showrooms really pop and increase our value add to clients. To get one or two statement pieces in to their spaces may have a decent return to grow your display footprint around the country.
And then there are the trade shows. KBB in the UK, Kitchen Mile Week (Kuchenmeile https://www.kuechenmeile.de/ for the majority of the German brands and Living Kitchen in Cologne https://www.livingkitchen-cologne.com/), though how these are affected by Covid is anyone’s guess!
So we are a diverse bunch, and no two kitchens are ever the same - even in neighbouring, semi-detached houses with the same footprints! And yes, there is a degree of standardisation in some ways, it can be less than you think a 600,900,1000 or 1100 wide by roughly 750 mm high “behind hob” splash back will cover most basic eventualities. But get to more wide format, and the challenges begin. Even for a simple rectangle, my width could be anywhere from 1800 mm to 4000 mm. My height may be broadly consistent at approx 450 mm high, but will vary every time - it depends on the unit manufacturer (the Germans use a different “grid” system to the Brits), the thickness of the worktop (normally from 12mm to 40 mm), whether the units are under-clad in panels or have a pelmet. And while there are the select clients who have the budget and desire to go fully bespoke and pay the premium for the privilege, there are also those who may wish a “halfway house” - a design carefully constructed to permit minor (within tight bounds) cropping or scaling to fit an otherwise fairly straightforward rectangle. And for a practice like ours, there is probably most value to be generated from this segment. Yet it is not (currently) one to which you cater - and may choose never to!
Now that I understand your design process, I have a better appreciation for the challenges you face technically & artistically. And so I reflect on the challenges for bathrooms rather than kitchens. As I (very badly) tried to explain, there are probably 4 basic “elements” we might propose using your artwork -
The first two of these elements give most scope for “wow” factor, are the largest areas of glass and have greatest potential value & margin.
The third is a “staple”, and would be easy to incorporate into most designs (we already do!), though would need to be scalable
The final element is likely either to pick up on an “unlimited” standard size, or might give ample scope for bespoke commissions. IF the latter, though, the volumes would be much lower.
I would really love to explore how some form of more “unlimited” option that was parametrised could work for options 1 & 2:
e.g., Typically, room height is 2.3 to 2.5 metres and a bath width 1.7 to 1.8 metres. Aesthetically, I would probably look for a tall vertical floor panel in a room to maybe be 0.6 to 0.8m wide by 2.4m high. So, for argument’s sake, a panel that is 3 or 4 times as high as it is wide. If you had a “Standard 4:1 or 3:1 Unlimited” option which, if my room was only 2 metres high, could be 2m high by 0.5m wide without in any way changing the content of the artwork, only the scale of the print, that would be a wonderful, flexible design asset.
Similarly a vertical recessed shelf element behind a built in bath would typically be about 1.8m wide, and I would probably want it 0.3m high - to a 1:6 format. If my actual wall was 2m wide, I would need a one 337mm high to keep everything in proportion. I can work with that!
Similarly, a recessed cubby could be a standard shape - say 3 times as tall as high. In a big space, I might be have plenty of width and make it 90cm tall by 30cm wide; in another I might have a limiting width of 15cm so only be able to make it 45cm high. It still works!
Finally, I reflect on the pricing and potential mark ups / commissions for a product like this. Pricing in kitchens is something of a black art - at the end of the day, the customer as a general rule will have champagne tastes and a chardonnay budget - even when they could afford the Krug! Our challenge starts with getting them to understand the price of champagne and then, as the relationship grows and the project evolves, to encourage a fair number of them to ditch the Sainsbury’s own brand and stretch to, if not the Krug, at least the Pol Roger. Every project is priced on its own merits - we know the costs of everything to a decent level of detail (with the labour element a bit more variable) and have a good feel for how long the project will be on site, the level of complexity and associated level of risk. We will have a feel for a client’s budget (though this is never static). We will know how many iterations of design we’ve gone through, how long that has taken, how much brainpower has been expended. We will by then have a feel for whether they are an easy going, relaxed client who will permit a smooth and “hands off” installation or a neurotic nightmare who will require daily hand-holding & ego-stroking. We know what our overheads are, what our minimum price “walk away” point would be, and we’ll have a gut feel for what would represent value for the client, value for us and perhaps an “upper limit” of what could be achieved if all the stars align. And then, only then do we go into that nerve-jangling part of the process where we’ve already invested days of effort for zero or nominal fees, and negotiate to a point both the client and we are happy to shake on!
And the “functional work of art” which I am selling is anywhere from 24 cubic metre of space they will centre their lives in to 10 times that, containing hundreds of individual items, all careful curated, choreographed and orchestrated into a wonderful 3-d space they need to love for 20+ years to justify the tens of thousands of pounds they spend in it!
Each of those items will have a different price, from a £20 designer waste in the basin to a £1500 hot tap, £7000 Desktop worktop or £3000 butler’s pantry. There are certain items it MUST contain - units, worktops, flooring, appliances, a sink & tap. That is my skeleton. On the big ticket items (the units) I would expect to be making 40-60%margin. Appliances will very by brand from single digits to about 30-35% for those brands who better manage their distribution channels and have “studio only” ranges that can’t be bought cheap at AO.com. Worktops are a strange beast - at the lower end, 50% margins are perfectly achievable. For granite, quartz, Corian & Desktop premium worktops, the big areas and bespoke nature mean they are probably the most expensive “line item” in the whole kitchen, so only a 10-20% margin might be possible, so whether 50% of a “budget” option or 10-20% of a “premium” material, the net contribution to the bottom line is fairly similar - and my fabricators are low maintenance, very low risk experts at what they do requiring minimal time from me, so I can live with that! Flooring and accessories are where we may be able to upsell, or may be marginal contributors - we might achieve 50%+ on a premium tile or plain glass splash back or if budgets are tight, may target this area to trim costs and hit a budget. And then we get to the luxuries - the feature lighting, the stunning Red Dog splash backs ;-) or the pop up spice racks and hot taps. Here is where the “black art” comes in - it may be that we need to include these at higher margin to get a project to be suitably profitable to be viable, or one or more may be used as a loss-leading “clincher” to get a client over the line.
In the case of your “Unlimited” range, I think one of a couple of things will happen - if on display and delivering the wow factor, some clients will fall in love and require it in the kitchen at whatever price. Or I may use it as a “clincher” - offering an upgrade, say, from a plain glass splash back to a Red Dog artwork for the same price. You still make your margin, I may take a loss on an item to win the “big prize”. But one thing is certain - I need to know that the client can’t easily go to your website and buy said item at the same price you offer it to me, or we all look foolish & lose!
For your complete bespoke commissions, the picture is different again. If all I am doing is introducing a client to you, sending some dimensions for you to work to and receiving a fully designed, templated, fabricated and installed element of the kitchen on a given day with minimal time outlay & risk, a 10-15% commission may work fine (as for, say, my granite fabricator - though worktop is an essential element of the kitchen!). If a client was looking for a one off bespoke splash back into an existing kitchen and was just viewing displays, having a site survey, basic template, pricing or a direct introduction to you, the 10-15% would be fine - and (as with the granite) there may be occasions where we step out of the loop, take no commission in order you you don’t lose a sale.
If, however, a bespoke Red Dog piece (or multiple pieces!) are the focal point(s) of an overall design, and there is as much dialogue between you, the client and us as designers of the whole space, the time & effort involved - and the potential for the high cost of the pieces to eat into, say, the amount spent on highly specified units which make me 50%+ margin might require a slightly higher consideration - otherwise I might be guiding the customer more towards the £160 a square metre Ca’pietra tiles as the focal point where I can make 40%. Though knowing me, I’d probably sacrifice the margin in order to have created a greater masterpiece by incorporating your work - which is why I’m not an investment banker…
Which I suppose is a very long winded way to get back to the idea of the very slightly “tweak able” parametric elements. Not off the shelf, standard-sized, unchangeable that are “plug and play”, nor the high end, fully bespoked individually created one-of-a-kind artwork for the select few. But a flexible “in between”, designed in such a way that limits tailoring in very tightly defined ways to protect the artistic integrity of any piece and which still requires a studio to make work and tailor make minor adjustments to fit a given space. The “hard work” is pre-done by you at the front end - the integration to the overall scheme by the studio, the fabrication & installation done by Opticolour or whomever you have deemed your glass partner, and the consideration paid to you each and every time it is sold. The artworks are larger, the value add greater than “unlimited” pieces and the margins for you, us and the fabricated all higher.
To think in painting terms - it is neither the one off, bespoke artwork (or commission) nor the unlimited, unframed small size prints sold in the million in Ikea, but the “limited edition” No 3 of 100 series print, expertly framed in the frame of the customer’s choosing from a professional gallery.
Anyway, that was a long & meandering brain dump - take it or leave it as you see fit! I hope it at east helps understand how the independent studio market works and gives another perspective as you look to grow. I would love to see Red Dog grow and achieve wonderful thinks, helping people think of kitchens & bathrooms less as functional spaces and more as blank canvases for beauty & creativity in their own right.
A few last links & contacts that may be useful:
You can do a virtual walk through of the Omega showroom here: https://www.omegaplc.co.uk/showroom
We are creating a similar virtual tour of our own showroom currently - not Bathrooms until a few more displays are completed!
A bit of information on the Crown equivalent at Daventry: https://www.crown-imperial.co.uk/daventry/
Another great example of these spaces is UFORM - actually a door manufacturer who sell doors to cabinet manufacturers under their Kitchen Stori brand. Their showroom virtual tour is here: https://www.uform.co.uk/design-centre
Burbidge are another highly regarded British manufacturer of both Kitchens & Bathrooms at the high end (predominantly traditional though not exclusively)
https://www.burbidge.co.uk/OurKitchens
A sample of the German equivalent manufacturer showrooms can b found at Bauformat/Burger here: https://www.bauformat.de/?lang=en
A few other general ones:
Well, thank you once again for popping over - fantastic to meet you and explore how & where we might be able to bring Red Dog into our portfolio. I look forward to our next conversation on specific opportunities for specific clients, as well as our showroom. I’ll have a chat to Phil to explore what support might be forthcoming from him to enable us to maximise what showroom space is offered to you, should you be agreeable to working with us. And if you ever wish to pick someone’s brains about our industry or need further contacts/introductions, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I’d really love to see Red Dog take on in the world, and we can assist in any way, it would be an absolute pleasure!
Best regards,
John
Many thanks for taking the time to come across the bridge today to our showroom to discuss your beautiful glass art - it was a real treat to see the wonderful samples, and to understand in much more detail the processes both of creating the artworks, and also how you are developing the business model around it. My apologies if some of my earlier assumptions proved to be wrong - I think I now have a better understanding of it and how the respective unlimited and individually bespoke pieces work. It gives me a better idea on how we in our studio could use both the unlimited and more bespoke commissions in our different projects and at different price points, as well as flagging some of the “pinch points” in that model which might limit when we could or could not incorporate them into schemes. Obviously I love your art and the Red Dog products developed from that and would love to be incorporating them into as many schemes as possible, so hopefully some of what we discussed may help you understand the challenges and limitations we face as kitchen & bathroom designers and such that your business model is supportive of independent studios like ours, so that we all stand the best chance of successfully promoting & selling your work - in a way the maintains your ethos, the quality of your work, the absolute premium nature of it and, outside of the “unlimited” end, that wonderful interaction with you as an artist.
From our conversation - the several hours of it, yet it still felt too brief! - it was quite clear you have an excellent head for business and have done plenty of market research as well as starting to “hone in” on the niches you wish to target with the glass panels. I never really had a chance to fully explore what all parts of our industry you have experienced to date, though you have clearly already had great success getting your artworks into some of the flagship stores on Wigmore St etc, so you already have the start of an excellent “shop window”. That said, the reach of Wigmore Street is still limited in its reach, but will at least target a mixture of the wealthy London markets as well as key designers & architects for the larger developments in London & other global cities.
What is important to understand is that the staff in such places are basically employees of the “box manufacturers” with a remit to maximise the sales of their “grey boxes” - everything else in their stores is largely window dressing to encourage you to buy, say, a Nolte “grey box” rather than a Leicht, Poggenpohl or Nobilia grey box. And in truth, while each brand will tell you differently, there is far less difference between the respective “grey boxes” from lower-mid to upper ranges than many people realise! I challenge anyone to be dropped onto a dozen different German kitchen brands’ stands at KBB with all logos & named materials removed and then tell me which brand was which! Only the geekiest of kitchen geeks would manage…
So while Wigmore Street is an excellent place to showcase stunning pieces like yours - and a great place to meet with those architects etc. throwing up high end tower blocks & hotels - the reach has its limit. How you manage your precious time in fielding those sorts of (often demanding!) one-off clients or buyers for larger developments will have its challenges, and creative tension between the artist & entrepreneur in you will be in full force!
Looking at the other segments in our industry - at the opposite end you have the “sheds” - the B&Qs, Wrens, Wickes, Homebase & Magnets of this world. For the purposes of considering your Red Dog products & services, I would also lump in the building supply merchants (Howdens & various others for whom kitchens & bathrooms is an “add on” to selling timber & breeze blocks!) and a few internet providers selling low cost boxes against a list of units from someone else’s design to the cheapest price. On the bathroom side, the equivalents are Victoria Plumb, Victorian Plumbing, Plumbase, Bathstore etc. As I think you’ve already identified, this is an end of the market you want to avoid at all costs - they may have the volume, but margins are thin and it is an incredibly good and fast way to wreck a quality reputation. Indeed, a number of well-known, previous “premium” brands have been seduced by the promises of volumes through such businesses, only for many of us small independent studios to immediately eject all trace of their products from our stores, as we know we will be undercut, the brand damaged, often the products progressively degraded to meet an ever shrinking price and then, belatedly, to realise the error of their ways!
Finally, there are the independent studios (like us) in countless hundreds & thousands the length & breadth of the country. Many are small, few will extend beyond, say, a handful of linked studios though one or two at the “premium” end have grown to maybe a few dozen carefully located stores in affluent areas (often the South East or major cities). We are a hugely diverse bunch, and each individual independent has evolved into it’s owl little niche of eco system based on the location, demographics, population densities and frequently, what styles the owners themselves are passionate about! These are, in many ways, the lifeblood of the industry - it is here where great designs are done, where we cater the the very personal & individual needs, wants & tastes of each unique customer. Some (in the Welsh valleys, say) will only churn out relatively low value, quick & basic projects, as the properties being serviced are low value, the residents less wealthy and requirements relatively basic. At the other end of the spectrum you have your high end “names” of designers & companies - the likes of Diane Berry, Smallbone, Tom Howley, Searle & Taylor who have built excellent reputations at the premium end, may have multiple premises, outstanding designers capable of wonderful projects using the very best products & materials and premium pricing. These should most certainly be in your sights for winning premium showroom space and enthusing their designers to incorporate your wonderful artworks! The list of such “big names” is comparatively short but well worth targeting. It is interesting (and a little sad) to see, however, a few of these being bought out as investment vehicles, and sadly losing a little of their creative flair and independence as they become a bit more corporate, pushing for growth.
We ourselves sit as something of a “mixed practice”, largely based on the history & legacy of the company and the location we serve. We are deliberately not on the high street (expensive and too many time wasters!), we have a very mixed catchment from lower mid value housing to, 5 miles north, a great many stunning rural half million pound upwards and still only a half hour to the “Clifton set” and nicer parts of Cardiff! We have minimal advertising, the majority of our clients are by recommendation or repeat or a smattering who find our website or Houzz page. We are fortunate to be able to largely pick & choose which projects we pursue from those who approach us. Last year the kitchen project values ranged from £25k to £70k and included a client who bought a single high end vanity unit with basins (nothing more, not even taps!) for £7k; This year we started with a “supply only” to a bespoke new build for £30k, another local fully fitted project for £40k alongside various mid-priced bathrooms, but we will also now slot in a quick little kitchen project for £8k, as it is a longstanding, loyal client of many decades standing! The design took 30 minutes, the pricing 20 minutes, it will be fitted by a good local fitter who lives in the next but one street to the customer, and will be largely “fire & forget” - but with a couple of grand return. I really cannot predict who will walk through the door! And while we are, to an extent, running CKBC as a “lifestyle business” for a couple more years until our nest is less crowded, we know how we will progressively target both the premium end of our local market and the smaller, more bespoke developers & local landlords of multiple properties. And there are hundreds & thousands of us independents around the country - finding the ones who will be passionate about Red Dogs and sell actively could be an interesting channel for you.
Lastly, there are the manufacturers themselves. Many (though not all) have their own extensive showrooms which are either only open to their trade customers (folk like us!) or, in some cases (like Crown Waterline’s Daventry showroom) may be open by appointment to clients of their displaying dealers. While again these spaces are largely there to help them sell their “grey boxes” to us studios, the better ones serve as excellent design inspiration, and we all use them as resources for design ideas and to find the best “add on” products to help our showrooms really pop and increase our value add to clients. To get one or two statement pieces in to their spaces may have a decent return to grow your display footprint around the country.
And then there are the trade shows. KBB in the UK, Kitchen Mile Week (Kuchenmeile https://www.kuechenmeile.de/ for the majority of the German brands and Living Kitchen in Cologne https://www.livingkitchen-cologne.com/), though how these are affected by Covid is anyone’s guess!
So we are a diverse bunch, and no two kitchens are ever the same - even in neighbouring, semi-detached houses with the same footprints! And yes, there is a degree of standardisation in some ways, it can be less than you think a 600,900,1000 or 1100 wide by roughly 750 mm high “behind hob” splash back will cover most basic eventualities. But get to more wide format, and the challenges begin. Even for a simple rectangle, my width could be anywhere from 1800 mm to 4000 mm. My height may be broadly consistent at approx 450 mm high, but will vary every time - it depends on the unit manufacturer (the Germans use a different “grid” system to the Brits), the thickness of the worktop (normally from 12mm to 40 mm), whether the units are under-clad in panels or have a pelmet. And while there are the select clients who have the budget and desire to go fully bespoke and pay the premium for the privilege, there are also those who may wish a “halfway house” - a design carefully constructed to permit minor (within tight bounds) cropping or scaling to fit an otherwise fairly straightforward rectangle. And for a practice like ours, there is probably most value to be generated from this segment. Yet it is not (currently) one to which you cater - and may choose never to!
Now that I understand your design process, I have a better appreciation for the challenges you face technically & artistically. And so I reflect on the challenges for bathrooms rather than kitchens. As I (very badly) tried to explain, there are probably 4 basic “elements” we might propose using your artwork -
- A tall vertical floor to ceiling panel behind a bath;
- A wide horizontal recessed shelf behind a wall or run of units;
- A recessed cubby, probably between twice to 4 time the height than the width;
- Either a splash back behind a basin or a landscape format cubby.
The first two of these elements give most scope for “wow” factor, are the largest areas of glass and have greatest potential value & margin.
The third is a “staple”, and would be easy to incorporate into most designs (we already do!), though would need to be scalable
The final element is likely either to pick up on an “unlimited” standard size, or might give ample scope for bespoke commissions. IF the latter, though, the volumes would be much lower.
I would really love to explore how some form of more “unlimited” option that was parametrised could work for options 1 & 2:
e.g., Typically, room height is 2.3 to 2.5 metres and a bath width 1.7 to 1.8 metres. Aesthetically, I would probably look for a tall vertical floor panel in a room to maybe be 0.6 to 0.8m wide by 2.4m high. So, for argument’s sake, a panel that is 3 or 4 times as high as it is wide. If you had a “Standard 4:1 or 3:1 Unlimited” option which, if my room was only 2 metres high, could be 2m high by 0.5m wide without in any way changing the content of the artwork, only the scale of the print, that would be a wonderful, flexible design asset.
Similarly a vertical recessed shelf element behind a built in bath would typically be about 1.8m wide, and I would probably want it 0.3m high - to a 1:6 format. If my actual wall was 2m wide, I would need a one 337mm high to keep everything in proportion. I can work with that!
Similarly, a recessed cubby could be a standard shape - say 3 times as tall as high. In a big space, I might be have plenty of width and make it 90cm tall by 30cm wide; in another I might have a limiting width of 15cm so only be able to make it 45cm high. It still works!
Finally, I reflect on the pricing and potential mark ups / commissions for a product like this. Pricing in kitchens is something of a black art - at the end of the day, the customer as a general rule will have champagne tastes and a chardonnay budget - even when they could afford the Krug! Our challenge starts with getting them to understand the price of champagne and then, as the relationship grows and the project evolves, to encourage a fair number of them to ditch the Sainsbury’s own brand and stretch to, if not the Krug, at least the Pol Roger. Every project is priced on its own merits - we know the costs of everything to a decent level of detail (with the labour element a bit more variable) and have a good feel for how long the project will be on site, the level of complexity and associated level of risk. We will have a feel for a client’s budget (though this is never static). We will know how many iterations of design we’ve gone through, how long that has taken, how much brainpower has been expended. We will by then have a feel for whether they are an easy going, relaxed client who will permit a smooth and “hands off” installation or a neurotic nightmare who will require daily hand-holding & ego-stroking. We know what our overheads are, what our minimum price “walk away” point would be, and we’ll have a gut feel for what would represent value for the client, value for us and perhaps an “upper limit” of what could be achieved if all the stars align. And then, only then do we go into that nerve-jangling part of the process where we’ve already invested days of effort for zero or nominal fees, and negotiate to a point both the client and we are happy to shake on!
And the “functional work of art” which I am selling is anywhere from 24 cubic metre of space they will centre their lives in to 10 times that, containing hundreds of individual items, all careful curated, choreographed and orchestrated into a wonderful 3-d space they need to love for 20+ years to justify the tens of thousands of pounds they spend in it!
Each of those items will have a different price, from a £20 designer waste in the basin to a £1500 hot tap, £7000 Desktop worktop or £3000 butler’s pantry. There are certain items it MUST contain - units, worktops, flooring, appliances, a sink & tap. That is my skeleton. On the big ticket items (the units) I would expect to be making 40-60%margin. Appliances will very by brand from single digits to about 30-35% for those brands who better manage their distribution channels and have “studio only” ranges that can’t be bought cheap at AO.com. Worktops are a strange beast - at the lower end, 50% margins are perfectly achievable. For granite, quartz, Corian & Desktop premium worktops, the big areas and bespoke nature mean they are probably the most expensive “line item” in the whole kitchen, so only a 10-20% margin might be possible, so whether 50% of a “budget” option or 10-20% of a “premium” material, the net contribution to the bottom line is fairly similar - and my fabricators are low maintenance, very low risk experts at what they do requiring minimal time from me, so I can live with that! Flooring and accessories are where we may be able to upsell, or may be marginal contributors - we might achieve 50%+ on a premium tile or plain glass splash back or if budgets are tight, may target this area to trim costs and hit a budget. And then we get to the luxuries - the feature lighting, the stunning Red Dog splash backs ;-) or the pop up spice racks and hot taps. Here is where the “black art” comes in - it may be that we need to include these at higher margin to get a project to be suitably profitable to be viable, or one or more may be used as a loss-leading “clincher” to get a client over the line.
In the case of your “Unlimited” range, I think one of a couple of things will happen - if on display and delivering the wow factor, some clients will fall in love and require it in the kitchen at whatever price. Or I may use it as a “clincher” - offering an upgrade, say, from a plain glass splash back to a Red Dog artwork for the same price. You still make your margin, I may take a loss on an item to win the “big prize”. But one thing is certain - I need to know that the client can’t easily go to your website and buy said item at the same price you offer it to me, or we all look foolish & lose!
For your complete bespoke commissions, the picture is different again. If all I am doing is introducing a client to you, sending some dimensions for you to work to and receiving a fully designed, templated, fabricated and installed element of the kitchen on a given day with minimal time outlay & risk, a 10-15% commission may work fine (as for, say, my granite fabricator - though worktop is an essential element of the kitchen!). If a client was looking for a one off bespoke splash back into an existing kitchen and was just viewing displays, having a site survey, basic template, pricing or a direct introduction to you, the 10-15% would be fine - and (as with the granite) there may be occasions where we step out of the loop, take no commission in order you you don’t lose a sale.
If, however, a bespoke Red Dog piece (or multiple pieces!) are the focal point(s) of an overall design, and there is as much dialogue between you, the client and us as designers of the whole space, the time & effort involved - and the potential for the high cost of the pieces to eat into, say, the amount spent on highly specified units which make me 50%+ margin might require a slightly higher consideration - otherwise I might be guiding the customer more towards the £160 a square metre Ca’pietra tiles as the focal point where I can make 40%. Though knowing me, I’d probably sacrifice the margin in order to have created a greater masterpiece by incorporating your work - which is why I’m not an investment banker…
Which I suppose is a very long winded way to get back to the idea of the very slightly “tweak able” parametric elements. Not off the shelf, standard-sized, unchangeable that are “plug and play”, nor the high end, fully bespoked individually created one-of-a-kind artwork for the select few. But a flexible “in between”, designed in such a way that limits tailoring in very tightly defined ways to protect the artistic integrity of any piece and which still requires a studio to make work and tailor make minor adjustments to fit a given space. The “hard work” is pre-done by you at the front end - the integration to the overall scheme by the studio, the fabrication & installation done by Opticolour or whomever you have deemed your glass partner, and the consideration paid to you each and every time it is sold. The artworks are larger, the value add greater than “unlimited” pieces and the margins for you, us and the fabricated all higher.
To think in painting terms - it is neither the one off, bespoke artwork (or commission) nor the unlimited, unframed small size prints sold in the million in Ikea, but the “limited edition” No 3 of 100 series print, expertly framed in the frame of the customer’s choosing from a professional gallery.
Anyway, that was a long & meandering brain dump - take it or leave it as you see fit! I hope it at east helps understand how the independent studio market works and gives another perspective as you look to grow. I would love to see Red Dog grow and achieve wonderful thinks, helping people think of kitchens & bathrooms less as functional spaces and more as blank canvases for beauty & creativity in their own right.
A few last links & contacts that may be useful:
You can do a virtual walk through of the Omega showroom here: https://www.omegaplc.co.uk/showroom
We are creating a similar virtual tour of our own showroom currently - not Bathrooms until a few more displays are completed!
A bit of information on the Crown equivalent at Daventry: https://www.crown-imperial.co.uk/daventry/
Another great example of these spaces is UFORM - actually a door manufacturer who sell doors to cabinet manufacturers under their Kitchen Stori brand. Their showroom virtual tour is here: https://www.uform.co.uk/design-centre
Burbidge are another highly regarded British manufacturer of both Kitchens & Bathrooms at the high end (predominantly traditional though not exclusively)
https://www.burbidge.co.uk/OurKitchens
A sample of the German equivalent manufacturer showrooms can b found at Bauformat/Burger here: https://www.bauformat.de/?lang=en
A few other general ones:
- If you aren’t already aware of them, I would definitely encourage you to get in touch with Arlberry Interiors in Bristol. Possibly one of the finest independent, entirely bespoke kitchen/bedroom studios in the country and with a beautiful studio in an atmospheric setting at: No.2 The Stables, Leigh Court, Bristol, BS8 3RA (Arlberry.com). Well worth a chat!
- Other key “names” of the most highly regarded studios in our industry are: Diane Berry (https://www.dianeberrykitchens.co.uk); Smallbone (https://www.smallbone.co.uk/), Searle & Taylor (https://www.searle-taylor.co.uk/) - their MD is a regular and well regarded contributor to KBB Review; For a feel for a well regarded “mixed” practice, have a look at Rugby Fitted Kitchens (https://rfkkitchens.co.uk/) and seek out the previous articles from their MD, Trevor Scott - one of the canniest, most down to earth voices in the industry.
- The various KBB Review podcasts are also worth a listen if you want to get a feel for our industry - https://the-kbbreview-podcast.simplecast.com/
- The sister publication to KBB Review which is more client facing is: https://www.kbbmagazine.com/
- There is also another sister publication focussed on architects and interior designers called STUDIO: https://www.studio-news.com/
Well, thank you once again for popping over - fantastic to meet you and explore how & where we might be able to bring Red Dog into our portfolio. I look forward to our next conversation on specific opportunities for specific clients, as well as our showroom. I’ll have a chat to Phil to explore what support might be forthcoming from him to enable us to maximise what showroom space is offered to you, should you be agreeable to working with us. And if you ever wish to pick someone’s brains about our industry or need further contacts/introductions, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I’d really love to see Red Dog take on in the world, and we can assist in any way, it would be an absolute pleasure!
Best regards,
John
