In mid April, Michael and Darren Farquhar travelled to Milan to visit the world famous Eurocucina Furniture Fair, held every 2 years. Fortunately both Michael and Darren were able to spend 2 full days at the fair before the Iceland volcanic airline dramas unfolded which prevented many people from other parts of the world attending the fair later in the week.

Michael had visited this fair on 3 previous occasions but explains that this far was by far the largest it has ever been, best quality displays every produced and most relevant to the Aussie kitchen industry.

At the Eurocucina Fair, there are over 100 kitchen companies displaying products, many with more than 8 full kitchens on display plus entertainment & selection areas. European kitchen companies spend what appears to be millions of dollars on displaying the latest and greatest in an attempt to woo new distributors and revitalise what has been a very ordinary GFC effected European kitchen industry in the recent 12 to 18 months. Many display areas rival the size of the largest kitchen showrooms in Australia, full of kitchens that can only be described as simply breathtaking. Amongst the more contemporary designs are often some pretty “out-there” concept kitchens, such as the kitchen that has drawn heavy inspiration from that of a sailing boat (see above).

The object of the tour is to seek out ideas and inspiration that can be transformed into products that can be manufactured here at our Lonsdale factory that are relevant and appealing to the Australian market place.

Following the fair in Milan, Micahel and Darren headed to London to visit 12 of London’s top kitchen showrooms. Of the London-based kitchen companies, some manufactured their own products locally (as we do here in Adelaide), whilst others imported their products from mainlaind Europe. A few of these companies had previously had a display in Milan the week before. They were lucky to see some exciting new design concepts as well as new color combinations that will really whet the appetite for our Kitchen design team.

The trip was an invaluable experience for both Michael and Darren. They are now hard at work absorbing all the ideas and inspiration and aiming to incorporate them into new product ranges that are relevant to our builder and renovation clientele. You will the outcome and implementation of all these fantastic kitchen design ideas over the next 6 months as we unveil brand new kitchen displays in our Marion Road showroom.