Why do designers need an association?

KBB designers don't just need an association : - they deserve one!

The KBB Industry

It can be hard work in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry.  The hours can be long and antisocial, the theory is complex and the public can be difficult to deal with at times, but it is a rewarding career, not always financially, but in terms of job satisfaction.  While many designers and sales people can make decent money, the real satisfaction is in completing a project and seeing the look of delight on the customers' faces, knowing that the object of their pleasure is your creation.

Of course you require considerable skill and a lot of knowledge about products, plus you need to understand a fair bit about construction and building practice if you are to provide customers with a practical design which offers a great looking, individual and safe solution to their kitchen, bedroom and bathroom needs.

But there is no legal requirement for training, accreditation or even basic product knowledge.

Now any responsible employer will ensure that new employees are provided with some basic training before they are let loose on the public, but this can be a little as a 1 or 2 day course and often there is little or no follow-up.  As a result, the kitchen bedroom and bathroom industry unfortunately often finds itself in the firing line when customers feel they have been misinformed or sold products which do not meet there needs.  Poor designs will be inefficient, difficult and maybe even dangerous for customers, and bad product specification leads to customer complaints, dissatisfaction, refunds and returns.  This is all costly and troublesome for customers, retailers and manufacturers and of course can damage reputations with poor revues and negative publicity.

The Federation of Kitchen and Bathroom Designers

The FKBD offers designers a vehicle to share and both product knowledge and design ideas and tips. Membership can be seen by customers as a mark of competence and trust.  The FKBD gives all KBB designers and sales people a base to learn their craft, to benefit from collective experience and knowledge and to help with career progression, but more than that, it is a home where you can feel good about your work experiences and show your achievements to fellow members and to the public, while enjoying the status and feel good factor of being part of a professional association.

With kitchen bedroom and bathroom designs being so central to home design and decor these days, it is important that customers can be confident in their supplier.  After all, we are talking about major purchase decisions, and high value products so it seems totally wrong to allow untrained individuals to assist customers with such important projects.  Of course the vast majority of KBB retailers would not let loose an untrained staff member on customers, but the fact remains that they legally could.

It would be ideal if the public were provided with an indicator showing them they are dealing with a competent individual, and FKBD membership is exactly that.

You know the FKBD makes sense, 

so please come on board TODAY and register here Totally FREE and no ongoing commitment.   

We would love you to be part of our online community.  Registration will only take a few moments.

With your help we can build a strong community of people working in or involved with the kitchen bedroom and bathroom industry.  We operate as a broad church and welcome people from our allied industries such as tiling, lighting and appliances as well as interior design.  

However, while this is a wide base for our community, a full FKBD member will demonstrate experience and knowledge of design specifically in a KBB business.  The broad scope of our community is intended to bring help and assistance from the collective experience of people in all areas of the home improvement business.

Our website is designed to offer you a place to interact with each other, to learn and to assist.  The KBB industry can be challenging, particularly at the sharp end where we meet our customers, and regardless of your individual experience, there will always be lessons to learn.  Here you can share your experiences and gain something yourself while you help others.  The members area of the site is only open to registered members of our community, but you can also post pictures and information publicly if you want to display your projects and your talents.

As we grow, membership of the FKBD will be the definitive mark of KBB experience, skill and integrity, giving customers added confidence in you as a designer and trust in your business offering.  register here