BRINGING COOL TO THE COTTAGE
Brojects brothers Andrew and Kevin Buckles to appear at 2018 Cottage Life and Cabin Show
Buckle up for the unexpected, as this year’s Cottage Life & Cabin Show will see the boys from Brojects spring into Edmonton.
While Cottage Life TV stars Andrew and Kevin Buckles are leaving their tools behind — they won’t be building any of those outrageously unique cottage life dream projects here; no floating hot tubs or ‘browling alleys’ (a fixed wooden boat dock that doubles as a 10-pin bowling lane) — they will be meeting and greeting their fans as the 2018 edition of the Cottage Life & Cabin Show rolls into the Edmonton Expo Centre from April 20 through April 22.
“We just finished one (a meet and greet) in Toronto,” said Kevin, who added that this will be the Buckles’ first trip to Edmonton. “We did two days at the Cottage Life show in Toronto and it was awesome, it was really great. We shook a lot of hands, met a lot of really cool people. That’s, personally, the way I like to go, and I think I can speak for Andrew too; we’d rather be meeting people than doing a stage show type of thing.”
The brothers, with six seasons of shows under their tool belts, said they feel the popularity of Brojects boils down to two things: fun and cottage life.
“It comes down to us actually having fun, and people live vicariously through that,” said Andrew, adding that people can identify with what they see on the show. “The ideas, they’re not $100,000 builds — they’re not unachievable. They’re stuff where you and a buddy or good friend can knock it off in a weekend or in a week.”
Meanwhile, beer aside — the initial project for their pilot was a canoe that had beer on tap — the brothers point out that most people just love the cottage lifestyle.
“People build stuff and go to cottages all over the world,” said Kevin, noting that cottages represent a break from the grind of everyday life and hearken to weekends and more pleasurable times for everyone. That appeal has increased the show’s popularity, as it has also aired in Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. “It’s kind of a universal thing. Everybody probably has hunting camps or fishing camps and stuff like that, and everybody tinkers around the world over, so I guess that’s where probably the popularity of it comes from.”
Andrew and Kevin recently finished taping their latest show, six episodes of Brojects: Built for the Weekend, where instead of concentrating on their man sanctuary (also known as the ‘mantuary ’) they use their skills and imaginations to come up with projects for other cottage and cabin owners, one of which focused on designing a nautical-themed outdoor kitchen.
“It’s a little more intense doing stuff for other people, because we know if something doesn’t work properly for something that we built (for ourselves) we have the ability to go back and fix it,” said Andrew. “But when we leave a project behind for a family, then it’s got to work, it’s got to be safe. You’ve got to feel good at the end of the day that they’re going to enjoy it, and that they ’re going to like it. So it puts a lot of pressure on to actually build for other people. But it’s fun. It’s great meeting people and stuff, but you definitely feel like you’ve got to do the best job possible.”
OUTDOOR KITCHENS GETTING HOT
The Brojects boys are part of another growing trend: outdoor kitchens. The outdoor living market is one of the fastest growing in the construction sector, said Ernie Lussier, owner of Calgary-based Canada Outdoor Kitchens and an exhibitor at the Cottage Life show, who noted that outdoor kitchens are changing the way people enjoy their homes.
“This basically adds square footage to your home,” said Lussier, who is eyeing entering the Edmonton marketplace with a bricks-and-mortar storefront in 2019. “It’s everything indoors (in a kitchen) that you can take outdoors, but it’s made to last for the outdoors. Anything you can dream for indoors we can do outdoors.”
Canada Outdoor Kitchens began when Lussier wanted an outdoor kitchen for his own home.
“We started designing our own outdoor kitchen and we couldn’t find anything,” said Lussier, who would ultimately go on to open what he believes to be the only onestop shop in Canada that is exclusively devoted to outdoor kitchens.
Outdoor kitchens include running water and can embrace features such as soft-close drawers and dishwashers, but they are much more than barbecues on steroids. They do not need to be covered, although it would help to extend the life of the overall installation, even though they are built to withstand the hottest summers and harshest winters.
“This is my first adventure in regards to looking at lake or summer living,” said Lussier. “This show will also dictate my timing in regards to moving to Edmonton. If there’s a great response then it will force my hand to move into Edmonton sooner than later.”
For three days, the folks at Cottage Life are making it their mission to bring that cabin and lakeside feel to the forefront, says show manager Rebecca De Silva.
“Spring is around the corner, and this show is the kickoff to enjoy the great outdoors,” said De Silva, adding that the show is a one-stop shop for your cabin and outdoor living needs. “This year our show starts April 20. We decided to run it a week earlier, as we found that families are looking to get a head start on planning their summer and outdoor activities.”
For 2018, there will be approximately 150 exhibitors at the show, as well as mainstage presentations on DIY projects including the dos and don’ts of renting out your cabin, and another on fire safety. This time around, the food presentations have been moved to the mainstage for easier access.
For the kids, Cabela’s is returning to the show with activities including air archery (foam arrows), while the Alberta Society for Injured Birds of Prey will be on-site with some of the birds they’ve rescued.
“Edmonton is a central location to connect with our western audience,” said De Silva. “The show draws in people from all over Western Canada. Our (Cottage Life) magazine subscribers see this as their touchpoint.”