John Mortimer, Sales Director, Multipanel/Grant Westfield, joins Showhome Editor Joseph Clarke for this month’s Open House interview
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
For me, the biggest change I’d like to see would be an increase in transparency when it comes to the sustainability of a product. It would be great if it was clearer for the end user of a product to see how sustainably a product was made, so that they can make more informed choices when it comes to sustainable purchasing decisions.
‘Sustainability’ is such a huge buzzword in the industry right now, but with sustainability being so hard to visualise for customers at point of purchase, a cheap price wins too often vs sustainable value. If we were able to implement a better system for presenting sustainable products to customers and improve customer education, we would make it easier for the customer to use their buying power for good.
What three traits define you?
- I’m optimistic— I like to see the opportunity in a situation, and the good in people.
- I’m fair— I always treat everyone how I would expect to be treated.
- Integrity—if I say I am going to do something, I do it.
What’s the coolest trend in the industry today?
I am really enjoying seeing colour and bold design return to the bathroom, after years of white, grey and neutral spaces, we are now seeing pastel colours being mixed with bold stones. Brassware has moved from being chrome only into a variety of finishes which has given designers a huge variety of options to create individual bathrooms.
Seeing colour and bold design return signifies people being able to express themselves through the design of their home, and I can’t think of anything ‘cooler’ than that!
How do you define success?
For me success comes from always giving your best effort. If you give everything your best, you can be proud of what you accomplish no matter how big or small the result.
What would you most like to tell your 13-year-old self?
My 13-year-old self was an interesting character, he was a bit of a joker and liked to challenge his boundaries. To be honest, I think I would tell him to “Just keep carrying on the way you are, everything will work out how it’s supposed to eventually!” However, I would tell him to stretch everyday as his 40-year-old self could do with being more flexible!
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?
David Attenborough—there can’t be much worth seeing that he hasn’t seen.
What’s your favourite aspect about working in the industry?
My favourite part of this industry is the design aspect. For me, the best part of what we do is that we can improve the quality of our customer’s homes by bringing new trends to the market in an affordable way. We analyse what’s out there in terms of trends, and state of the art technology and design, and bring this to life through our own products.
The latest innovation in the design and technology of wall panels has allowed customers to design their bathrooms in a way that they would never normally have been able to afford, and this is hugely rewarding for the whole team.
If you weren’t in your current role, where would you be?
I actually started off in banking in 2007 right before the financial crash, so I only lasted about six months. I’m glad I didn’t end up in that industry as I think I would have ended up being bored pretty quickly.
If I wasn’t in this industry now, I think I could see myself working in a smoke house (hopefully my own!) as an outdoor BBQ chef. I started to smoke food during Covid as a way to get myself outside, so to make a career out of it would be pretty cool!
If not an outdoor BBQ chef, I’d love to be a golf course greenkeeper, or a dog walker.
What three things would you take to a deserted island?
- BBQ – This would be handy as long as there were animals to catch!
- Golf Clubs (and lots of golf balls)
- Music – with some sort of solar powered sound system
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Joseph Clarke
Editor, Showhome
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920
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