The Making Of Fornello
When thinking about our first blog, we considered lots of ideas, like delicious bakes made in our showroom Everhot 120i, think heavenly Cheese Straws, gloriously decadent Brownies and towering Coffee & Walnut Vertical Layer Cake. After many ideas being bounced around, we thought talking about how we came to be was the best way to begin.
Back in June this year; after scouring for commercial property throughout Kent, Sussex and Surrey we had almost given up on the idea of opening our own showroom. But luck was on our side when we noticed a sign in the window of a little shop, in the heart of Forest Row. Some places just have magic, and as soon as we stepped into the shop one sunny evening, we fell in love with the space, it had so much light and the potential for making something truly special.
The final decision to take the leap was made over Gin & Tonics, because all good business plans are made whilst tipsy. We would like to say from this point on everything went smoothly and was an amazing experience, but all good things come with challenges along the way and this was no different.
On 31st July we got the keys, and by the 1st August walls were coming down. We are very lucky to have a builder in the family, who has years of experience building, maintaining, painting and decorating spaces, and is able to bring to life a clients vision, or in this case the vision of Fornello. From the beginning, we wanted the showroom to be inviting and welcoming, to feel like customers were stepping into a beautiful kitchen, the heart of any home. With this in mind, we decided to showcase most of the appliances in a beautiful handmade kitchen.
The next tricky part was choosing the display models, how do you choose from all the beautiful models that Everhot, Lacanche, Bertazzoni or Aga Range Cookers from Blake and Bull are able to supply.
With our many years working with the Everhot range of cookers we knew exactly which of the exceptional models would work best for the showroom; an Everhot 120i in Cream to sit proudly in the centre of the showroom kitchen, with its simple elegance and extraordinary functionality its perfect for our main demonstration cooker. Along with an Everhot 100i in Graphite, as its one of the most desirable model sizes. An Everhot Stove now also greets customers and with its charming looks, customers and all of us at Fornello love it. Choosing the stove colour was the hardest part of the ordering process, but we are lucky enough to be one of the first to display the NEW Matt Black option, perfect for our showroom.
From the beginning Lacanche with their many model options was a perfect fit, we now have two beautiful models on display; a Lacanche Savigny 1105 in Ivory and a Lacanche Chablis 1405 in Slate Grey, both whispering French charm and classic beauty. Adding to the excitement of their arrival, it turns out you should always make sure you give the right contact number and not leave the keys for the showroom in a different car. Luckily Lacanche delivery team are very understanding.
We had previously worked with Everhot and Lacnache at Blades Heating Ltd, a well established cooker distributor, but throughout the inception of Fornello we knew we wanted to offer our customer as many options as possible. We had heard a lot about Bertazzoni over the years with a reputation of considered design, outstanding engineering and our display Bertazzoni Professional 90 Air-Tec is a beautiful addition to the family, with it’s built in extractor, it been a big hit with our customers.
Our line up would not have been complete without an Aga range cooker, and the right fit for us was Blake & Bull. We love that they take old AGA cookers and remanufacture them to breathe new life in to this kitchen classic. They keep all the classic Aga charm but give the customer a completely modern user experience. Their options are endless, from the model types to the colours and finishes, each cooker is one of a kind. Alex from Blake & Bull was the first to see our finished showroom two days before we opened, and thanks to him our Blake & Bull AGA cooker with e-Control now sits beautifully in the showroom keeping us warm. There is magic in being able to see your bespoke Blake & Bull Aga cooker being built from start to finish, and our showroom model in Wattle is simply timeless.
As the months passed, the space slowly turned from a building site to a showroom and we were soon in the final week before we opened the doors. We had a showroom with cookers, but the space needed the extra things to bring it to life and add soul. The cavalry was called in, and the family pulled out all the stops, to help come to the rescue. Our family home is now empty of all the beautiful things that have been collected over the years, from framed art work to ceramic chickens, glass cloches and beautiful books. The showroom is a perfect vignette of our family home transported and lovingly displayed to give the showroom the soul and warm feel that we wanted from the start.
We spent that last week before opening flying around the countryside in a mad rush buying everything from plants to fancy eggs, because apparently you can’t have ordinary eggs for displaying in a vintage egg holder. Who knew? Moments of complete hilarity arrived unexpectedly, particularly found at 7:00am one morning watching the sensible sister in the family fall head first into a concrete trough planter that someone else (who shall not be named) insisted we needed for the showroom, we’ve never laughed so hard in our lives. Thankfully, she was no worse for wear other than bruised dignity. Thanks to a good friend and her muscle power, between us we got the mammoth of a planter safely to the showroom and it is now home to thriving Bamboo. GIRL POWER!
Our opening day has now come and gone and we have now settle into offering our customers the exceptional experience including ‘one to one’ appointments and demonstrations from our warm and wonderful showroom.
