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10th February 2010
Welcome 
With just over a week until the Listed Property Owners Club Show at Olympia, London, you can still get free tickets from our website. Why not visit us at stand F12? We'd love to meet you and we'll also have a great competition for the show. The show runs from 20th until 21st February. From 18th to 21st March we'll be on stand M83 at the National Home Building & Renovating show at the NEC Birmingham and free tickets are also available from the Events Page of our site. Again, we'll have a fantastic competition, so come along and meet us there. We're continually on the lookout for companies who can supply the best products and services the country has to offer, so if you know of any that you would like to share and think should be on our website, please let us know and we'll be happy to contact them. And if there are any products or services that you'd like to see on our site that we don't yet have, again please let us know and we'll do our best to find them for you. Please e-mail your suggestions to sourcing@restorationandbeyond.co.uk
This week we announce the winners of our competitions who are both thrilled to have won. We're also excited to introduce you to an even more fantastic businesses, who have just joined us. You can find them from our home page
Best Wishes
Christine Pearce (right) & Paula Smith
Founder Directors
New Arrivals
 As mentioned last time we now stock recycled paint, an innovative new product made by Newlife Paints, the only manufacturer of recycled paint in the UK.
It's causing quite a stir on Twitter with many people passing on the news about it or visiting our website to find out more. This is the type of eco-product that every home owner can use and will have a really positive affect on the environment by saving thousands of litres of waste paint being sent to landfill. It costs the same as other paints and the quality is comparable, so there really isn’t any reason not to use it. The paint comes in a range of 16 colours, which can be seen on website, and all finishes are available in white too. It's currently available in matt and silk emulsion and acrylic-based eggshell paint. Rachel Poad Interiors is an interior designer who's just joined our site. Not only is she a member of RIBA, but she also works for the National Trust, sympathetically refurbishing their holiday cottages. Rachel's designs have been recognised by the Sunday Times when one of the holiday cottages she refurbished was voted number five out of fifteen of the most memorable places to stay in the UK. Over the coming weeks you can read Rachel's monthly column in our newsletter, giving help and guidance on trends, design and dealing with difficult rooms. She's also become a member of our panel of experts and is looking forward to receiving your questions. Established in 1958, Parsons Group Joinery enjoys the reputation as one of the leading manufacturers of high quality softwood and hardwood external and internal joinery products. Parsons Group Joinery has grown largely through recommendation and has worked on many prestigious projects, such as the National Museums at the Chatham Historic Dockyard, and continues to grow and supply hundreds of building, construction and shop fitting companies throughout the UK. From conservation joinery and architectural renovations, to new build joinery and site surveys, Parsons Group Joinery's approach and dedication to excellence is apparent in every project it has worked on. A name that many of you will know is Bromleighs, whose product portfolio includes period & contempory sockets, switches & electrical accessories, lighting & architectural hardware. Bromleighs' products can be found in various heritage renovations as well as prestigious new establishments. Their commitment to manufacturing and supplying only the best continues with their collections of hand finished plates and quality British-made inserts. Their ranges are designed for ease of fitting to standard wiring. Bromleighs' fittings meet current standards and are subject to detailed inspection throughout production. Bromleighs are world-renowned for their electrical accessories.
Trends: Spring /Summer 2010
The latest trends and colours for Spring/Summer 2010 have recently been announced at the Interiors Birmingham Exhibition at Birmingham NEC. The hottest colours include: Blues, from Aqua to primaries as well as the smokier military tones. Also look out for hot pinks and rich purples which take their inspiration from our western vision of the East. As for metals - the warmer metals are still developing from last year.
With regards to furniture, there's a resurgence of a few old styles for inspiration. Expect to see post war G-Plan style that combines optimism with affordable minimalism, but in icy pastels for a modern update. You can buy the original from Midmode on our site, to be ahead of the trend. Otherwise, it's country styling and the appreciation of real workmanship, which are all available in abundance from our website. Updates come from 'eye-popping accents of colour to lift the spirits' and prevent blandness.
Interview: Helena Gerswitz, Feature Radiators
 When lawyer Katy Findlay and project engineer Phil Jackson returned to the UK from Hong Kong in the late 1990s they thought they’d like to start their own business. They found their inspiration and market gap not in an office but in antiques fairs and salvage yards.From there, a nationally acclaimed business Feature Radiators has developed and here general manager Helena Gerswitz tells us the company story, and its journey from salvage yards to celebrity clients. R&B: Is it true that the company’s roots can be traced back to visits to salvage yards? HG: Yes. Katy and Phil found themselves coming across these gorgeous cast iron radiators. It was very hit and miss where you’d find them and they usually needed renovating. They couldn’t understand why they were only available to trade customers or from salvage yards and not on sale to the public in showrooms. R&B: What evidence was there that the public would want to buy the radiators?
HG: The increased popularity of radiator covers showed that people were becoming dissatisfied with the standard flat steel panel radiators. Having done their research Katy and Phil reckoned there was a definite demand for high quality designer and traditional radiators and towel rails. That’s when they decided to open their showroom in Bingley. Since then the business as gone from strength to strength. As well as supplying some National Trust properties, our customer list includes the likes of Jamie Oliver, Alastair MacGowan, Emile Heskey and George Alagiah.
R&B: You sell both traditional and modern designer radiators. How do you keep up with the latest trends and keep your range fresh?
HG: It’s constant research but we have learnt to be quite ruthless in terms of what goes into our brochures. There are so many different radiators out there now but there’s a lot of duplication – we choose the best and that’s what our customers like.
As the first company to do what we do, we have excellent relationships with the manufacturers, to the extent that we can even commission our own models.
R&B: When people buy a radiator, they’re buying a functional piece of equipment that also has to look right. What support do you offer customers to help them make the right choice?
HG: In the past, when a radiator was just something to heat a room, plumbers would tend to buy and fit them for their clients. More and more we’re now dealing with the end customer. Our staff (We have 10 people working in the business now) are all experts and we know the questions to ask to make sure people get just what they need, from both a design and a heating point of view. There are lots of little mistakes that people can easily make – our staff are there to make sure that doesn’t happen.
R&B: Is it fair to say that the Feature Radiators' team could be described as enthusiasts?
HG: It’s worse than that – we’re geeks. Whenever we go on holiday, we all come back with photographs of radiators!
Visit the Feature Radiators range here.
Competitions
We are delighted to announce the results of our first competitions. Our competition winners are: Competition 1
Plant Finder CD-Rom Carol Jackson from Barnoldswick, Lancashire Answer: 18
Competition 2
Regency Window Box Katrina Denton from Darlington, Co Durham Answer: Georgian or Victorian Congratulations to both winners. We'd also like to thank everybody who entered, we had a great response - and thanks also to Sophia's Gardens and Iron & Stone Products for generously donating such great prizes. We'll bring you news of more competitions very soon.
Events
Next weekend we are at the Listed Property Show on 20th - 21st February 2010 at Olympia 2 in London and in March you'll find us at the National Home Building & Renovating Show at the NEC, Birmingham from the 18th - 21st. Visit the events page for your free tickets and further details.
Have you seen?
Colling Construction specialises in the building of eco-friendly homes. Utilising Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), it provides a complete design, fabrication and erection package.
The combination of strength and flexibility of modern construction methods are used to create the space you need and the company works from concept and planning right through to completion.
Find out more in our interview with Valerie Colling in our next newsletter.
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