October’s free webinars help with one of the most daunting problems in the home: A lack of storage.
By Dianne M. Pogoda
If your clients live by the adage, “He who dies with the most toys wins,” they’re probably living a clutter nightmare. And their problems become your challenges.
Fortunately, NKBA’s free webinars for October, generously sponsored by Hettich, are all about the storage solutions to turn that particular nightmare into a dream.
Each month, NKBA offers free 60-minute webinars, each featuring a presentation by a specific subject matter expert, delivered via a virtual platform. The sessions offer certified participants 0.1 CEU per event — it’s an easy way for designers to collect the CEUs needed to maintain NKBA certification. Participants must engage in 80 percent of the live sessions to receive CEU credit; registration closes two hours prior to start times. All webinars begin at 12 noon, Eastern Time. Visit www.nkba.org to register.
Starting the series on Oct. 6, Dee Maher, dealer group manager for Kessebohmer, discusses “How to Increase Profits & Customer Satisfaction with Interior Storage.” Attendees will learn why including interior storage solutions in their projects will be a boon to their clients’ lifestyles through better organization and efficiency, with easier physical and visual access to their storage areas — which will ramp up sales and profits for every job. Maher will explore strategies for increasing customer satisfaction when designing a space that includes storage solutions, and illustrate how to compose a sales plan to sell more storage solutions.
To register for this webinar, click here.
Next up, on Oct. 15, Mali Braun, vice president of Perfect Fit Closets, will show how to “Impress Your Customers with Custom-Made Closets.” Some people have the room but just don’t know how to organize it. Creating tailor-made custom closets will impress and delight homeowners, and in this webinar, attendees will learn about ideas for designing custom closets and discover best practices on how to maximize efficiency to create a cost-effective closet.
Braun will also demonstrate different ways of designing closet spaces while assuring functionality and durability, and share ideas for designing custom closets.
To register for this webinar, click here.
On Oct. 21, learn about new directions in storage in “From the Root Cellar to the Amazon Room: Storage and Organization Trends.” Kristi Hodson, senior manager of customer strategy at Cabinetworks Group, Michele Gross, a Certified Professional Organizer for All Sorted Out, and Jeanine Yancy, a designer at KSI, will reveal that everything old is new again. Sort of. These experts ask, “we all remember grandma’s root cellar, but have you designed an Amazon Room for your customers yet?” This webinar will focus on current trends in home organization as well as historical and economic influences on storage trends. Attendees will learn how to get to the heart of their clients’ storage needs, and how those needs have evolved. The panel will explore how macro trends in economic and consumer buying behavior have impacted the amount of “stuff” homeowners need to store, and define how social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest have been driving consumer interest levels in organizing solutions for kitchens and baths. Finally, they’ll offer practical organizing tips to use in kitchen and bath designs.
To register for this webinar, click here.
Rounding out the month, Karen Blum, brand communication coordinator for Blum Inc., discusses the “Importance of Functional Hardware: Designing from the Inside Out,” on Oct. 29.
Planning a new kitchen is a fun and exciting time, but choosing cabinet hardware (like hinges and drawer slides) doesn’t usually top the list of things consumers think about. With functional cabinetry and organizational solutions so important to an overall design, Blum will share tips to help designers and remodelers provide better-equipped kitchens without sacrificing style. Attendees will discover ways to use hardware to add value to projects, choose cabinets based on storage needs, and learn how to discuss with clients ways to find storage space in unexpected places.
To register for this webinar, click here.
