Meet Richard Reed, co-founder and senior director of Candana.
Richard is a wealth of knowledge and has been helping customers create their dream bathrooms, plumbers find their unexplainable spare parts and inspire fellow architects since 1981.
What is the most prized
possession(s) in your home?
I love my Webber BBQ cooker, which I use more than I use the stove. I cook
everything on it from my weekend breakfast to delicious smoked meats (of which
I’m a massive fan, being originally from Canada). I enjoy being out on the
patio cooking on the Webber at my home in The Rocks. This suburb of Sydney
sees tourists and locals alike, constantly out and about, who’ll often stop for
a chat having sniffed out the beautiful, smoky aromas – it’s a nice social
activity.
Another prized possession that I have is from when my father, my
son Marc and I were in a pub in Canada. It was the kind of pub loggers and
hunters visit to drink! A woman came in selling these laminated pictures on
plywood, which have like 10 coats of lacquer. I purchased one bearing a moose
(very Canadian!) and while it’s not the prettiest thing, it represents happy
memories and is currently at our cottage - as my wife won't let me keep it in
the house!
If you could
present a Red Dot award to any one product/collection
that Candana sells, what would it be?
The concept of the Electronic thermostatic tapware by English company,
Mira. Although, I would say it is almost
there, this is only the beginning of what I believe this product and technology
can achieve... round one, if you like.
Give it five years and I expect this kind of tapware will just have a
monitor with options for your bath, basins and showers and text you when your
request is completed. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the company
progresses in this arena.
What’s the easiest way
to update a bathroom on a small budget?
One, don't do it yourself (to avoid DIY issues) and, two, leave the plumbing in
the same position as labour costs are expensive and moving plumbing is a big
job.
Also, to keep material costs down, tile only areas which need to be tiled (eg.
tile shower walls but refrain from tiling any other bathroom walls).
Is there a star
product that Candana sells, that most customers will ask about?
Brodware tapware is quite popular. The product is made here in Sydney
and the quality is as good as anything that is imported from overseas. There is
a huge range too, so the price points are varied, from quite affordable to
lavish.
There is also a lot of interest surrounding the concealed toilet cisterns,
due to the broad range we stock and our knowledge of these products.
Other popular products are freestanding baths and also special finishes such as
copper.
Candana predicted
copper would be trending in bathroom design at the beginning of 2015
and now we are seeing the popular finish everywhere, what do you believe will
be trending next year?
Some time ago it was brass that was popular, and then there was black chrome
for years and now copper finishes are seriously trending. If I knew what was
coming up next I’d be rich!
Obviously we follow a lot of European trends and I think all the special
finishes will still be popular in a
year’s time. Also, polished chrome and nickel are still the most
functional; people will go back to these finishes as they are the most durable
and will stand the test of time, aesthetically.
Give us an idea of
what your dream bathroom would look like.
The bathroom I have just renovated in my house!
It has limestone tiles on the walls, with tumbled travertine mosaic tiles
behind the basin. We have ceiling to floor Hydrotherm towel rails and
a Geberit electronic toilet with a touch button. We made the vanity
ourselves, it has an Emperador marble top, a Duravit Starck 2 ceramic
basin, Samuel Heath tapware, a Devon&Devon chrome console and the
timber apron is of Burmese Teak.
If I'm really dreaming here, I'd have an outdoors bathroom. My wife and
I spent a few weeks in Tonga, and in the place we stayed, you bathed outside.
In that climate, it was wonderful and there was a great sense of
nature with the birds all around.
Who is your favourite
designer and why?
Richard Buckminister Fuller, the American architect, systems
theorist, author, designer and inventor, who invented the geodesic dome. I've
always loved geometry and have admired his work for a long time.
Also Frank Lloyd Wright, the American architect, interior designer,
writer, and educator- I've always appreciated his early understandings of
nature and the built environment.
What International design
show do you most enjoy attending and why?
Whenever my wife and I travel to Italy we visit Bologna, and stay within
the walled city. Every year there is a small exhibition of innovative products,
many of the brands already have agents in Australia or the products are not
suitable for the Australian market, but we enjoy attending for inspiration.
