July’s webinar series focuses on storage solutions with a bonus session on marketing. By Dianne M. Pogoda
The late, great comedian George Carlin famously said the “whole meaning of life is trying to find a place to put your stuff.” And most of us have a lot of stuff.
July’s webinar series from NKBA is all about clever storage and cabinetry solutions in kitchens and baths and throughout the home, helping designers market their expertise in storage to potential clients.
Each month, NKBA offers free 60-minute webinars, each of which features a presentation by an expert in the specific subject matter, delivered via a virtual platform. The sessions offer the attending participants 0.1 CEU per event. Participants must engage in 80 percent of the sessions to receive CEU credit; registration closes two hours prior to start times.
First up, on July 12 as 12 noon (Eastern Time), Richard Landon, CMKBD and designer/owner of Richard Landon Design, will discuss “Approaching Storage in the 21st Century.” Kitchens are now a social place – more like a living room— and home to a lot more activity than just cooking and eating. The cooking process is increasingly shared and digitally enabled, as is shopping. Entire meals and menus can be subscription-based, ordered online, and delivered to the doorstep. And more cooking devices are coming into the space. This webinar will explore the impact of these trends on storage and kitchen layouts. Attendees will learn a simple process for identifying where clients want to store items investigate ways to support the emerging digitization of kitchens, and discover how the “social kitchen” affects the approach to storage. To register, click here: Approaching Storage in the 21st Century
On July 24 at 12 noon (Eastern Time), “Moving Forward: Trends in Cabinetry for 2019 & Beyond” will be the topic of Stephanie Pierce’s session. Pierce, director of design & trends for MasterBrand Cabinets, will focus on five areas that impact cabinetry trends for the coming year: shifting consumer perspectives; style drivers; design trends; and the latest trends in finishes, and storage features. The session will explore what’s driving consumer choices, as well as tips for designers. Pierce will share research about the top cabinetry design requests, specifically cabinetry materials, finishes and storage features, and touch on how technology will continue to affect kitchen spaces in the upcoming year. Attendees will learn to describe the top cabinetry style and design trends for the year ahead, explain the top trending colors and finishes in kitchens and baths for 2019, and recognize the top organizational and storage solutions that consumers will be looking in the next year. To register, click here:
Moving Forward: Trends in Cabinetry for 2019 & Beyond.
On July 31 at 12 noon (Eastern Time), Mark Karpinski, director of sales for WineRacks.com, will present “How to Design a Custom Wine & Spirits Storage Solution.”
In considering the trends that more than 120 million Americans drink wine weekly, that sales of
wine bottles $50 and higher are on the rise, and that 78% of wine sold in the U.S. is in retail stores, it’s evident that more homeowners are looking to build wine storage in their homes, and that more homebuyers looking to purchase a home with wine storage in it. These trends demonstrate that there is significant opportunity for professionals to grow their business and increase their profits by offering wine-storage solution development.
This seminar will help professionals learn to initially assess a wine storage opportunity, review possible spaces within a home that can support wine storage, covering the right points with a client to learn what will make a design more impactful, and learn to design a wine storage solution using leading design software. Attendees will be able to explain the latest trends and best practices in wine storage, determine how to properly set up an opportunity, consult with your client and design a custom solution, and describe unique spaces in and outside of a cellar where wine storage can be incorporated in the home.
To register for this webinar, click here: How to Design a Custom Wine Spirits Storage Solution
In a slight departure from a session focused purely on storage, on July 17 at 3 p.m. (Eastern Time), Denise Butchko, owner of Butchko & Co., will host a marketing class on “How to Plan and Promote Marketing Your Showroom to Bring Buyers to Your Door.”
“Experience marketing” and “interactive marketing” are essential to getting consumers’ attention. They want to be engaged with the process and “experience” of their purchases, particularly when it involves their home. This session takes a designer or sales associate beyond door samples and flat screens for reviewing designs. Butchko will cover how “setting the stage” involves incorporating strategic marketing tools like video, email marketing, Facebook page interactions and events, and how it all works together. At the end of the session, attendees will be able to describe experience and interactive marketing techniques to grab the buyers’ attention, incorporate strategic marketing tools to increase traffic and advertise events in the showroom, and utilize planning skills to organize and promote showroom events from start to finish. To register for this session, click here: How to Plan and Promote Marketing Your Showroom to Bring Buyers to Your Door.
