Many winners in a testing year

Well, to say 2020 has been interesting would be a huge understatement. When we look back to late February and the initial global outbreaks who would have thought that the world would have still been in the state it is in today? How fortunate we are to live in NZ.

We have weathered the storm well, however our industry still has a few hurdles to navigate. Additional to the usual pre-Christmas pressures NKBA understands that demand for our members expertise is unprecedented. In addition to this, members are facing supply shortages leading to delivery and supply issues for designers, joiners and their clients. This is a global problem that has come about from a strong and increasing demand in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This demand has resulted in a strained supply chain across many of our industry brands with pressure mounting.

We ask that we all come together as an industry, be understanding that this is an issue that is out of everyone’s control and that we all be kind to one another. We are all doing our best to ensure a great outcome for our clients.

Despite the challenges of the previous 12 months it’s great to be able to also share our successes and look ahead to a hopefully more settled 2021. Always highly anticipated among the design community, the annual NKBA Excellence in Design Awards program has continued to push boundaries and to provide increased exposure for, and celebrate the successes of, our amazingly talented design community. 2020 saw the highest number of entries to date and to receive the amount and depth of entries that we did this year was truly amazing.

Despite postponing our Excellence in Design awards due to the initial lockdown, we planned and invested in what would be one of the very first, live streamed events of its kind in New Zealand. The level of what we were able to deliver only came from the huge commitment and planning from our amazing Executive, thank you to you all.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all 2020 NKBA Excellence in Design winners. A special congratulations to our two Supreme winners, Chelsey Mathieson from Vekart and Angelique Armstrong from Armstrong Interiors for taking out the highly esteemed Supreme Kitchen Design and Supreme Bathroom Design awards, respectively.

The 2020 NKBA Conference was unfortunately cancelled however we are delighted to announce that the 2021 Conference will be held in Wellington in July 2021, with a stimulating program currently in development to tie into our theme of Strength+Resilience@Work.

113 students enrolled in the National Diploma in Design during 2020, additionally we were thrilled to be able to acknowledge the 27 students qualifying over the past 12 months at the Awards ceremony in September.

As New Zealand navigates Vocational Education changes, NKBA looks forward to aligning with the Joinery sector to ensure our industry is well represented and to maintain a strong skill base for our members.

NKBA has a new Executive Board in place for the next few years, bringing a diverse group across our membership base to govern and champion the objectives of the NKBA into 2021 and beyond. Continuing with me for another term are, Mark Bruce, Jared Dinneen, Alison ThirkettleTawharu, Milvia Hannah, Davinia Sutton, Celia Visser, Suzie Rees and Rachael Kwok. Thanks to Mike Arthur from Laminex and Mal Corboy of Mal Corboy Design for joining us and bringing their expertise and knowledge to this important responsibility for the industry.

On behalf of the NKBA, I would like to wish all NKBA and Master Joiner members a wonderful festive holiday period ahead.

Nick Thompson NKBA President