Big win by NZ firm puts it on top of the world
A CROMWELLbased joinery firm has taken on the world — and won.
Masterwood Joinery won the KBB Design category in the Society of British and International Interior Design’s international design awards in London.
The kitchen, which was installed in a home near Lake Hayes, previously won five major awards, including supreme kitchen design, at the National Kitchen and Bathroom Association awards in Melbourne.
One of the judges suggested Masterwood enter the SBID awards where it was selected as a finalist in the kitchen, bedroom and/or bathroom design in a residential space category.
Both Masterwood Joinery general manager Jim Cleveland and inhouse designer Stefan Sonntag attended the awards function.
In a statement, Mr Cleveland said being proud was an ‘‘understatement’’.
‘‘The quality of our competitors was very high and, to be honest, we thought we would be outclassed, albeit extremely happy just to be finalists.
‘‘When they announced Masterwood as the winner, it was a feeling of elation unlike any I’d felt before — we are world champions in the design sector.
‘‘Apparently, we were the most excited winners of the night and were crowd and organiser favourites. I think the small town joinery shop from a small country beating the big guns from all around the world was the catalyst for that feeling,’’ he said.
Finalists were chosen by a technical panel of judges which accounted for 70% of the marks while the remaining 30% was through public vote.
Germanborn Mr Sonntag, who moved to Central Otago about 15 years ago, designed the kitchen alongside Stuart Bateman, of SB Design, who did the preliminary design and brief.
The brief from the client was specific and included a butler’s pantry, a pastry island with a marble finish, a teppanyaki island and a coffee station.
Mr Cleveland has previously described the kitchen as being at the ‘‘top end’’ of the $80,000$100,000 category.