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28th January 2021

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Designer Colin Wong donates KBB Birmingham proceeds to earthquake charity

Multi-award-winning kitchen and bathroom designer Colin Wong is using his success to help those less fortunate, with the latest donation from his Edinburgh-based design studio Development Direct going directly to help those affected by devastating earthquake in Indonesia.

Colin had been using his holiday breaks to travel far afield, to gain design inspiration for his projects. While he discovered an abundance of design inspiration, his eyes were also opened to another world of unjust poverty and neglect, which had an abject effect on him.

"I used to get so excited to uncover the most lateral and unique design ideas," he explains. "However, it just didn't sit comfortably for me to trot off back home to design beautiful spaces whilst leaving so much heartbreak behind."

Colin then made the decision to donate a percentage of his studio's profits to help those living in poverty and neglect. His chosen charities help young children who are orphans or have been abandoned due to their parents simply being too poor.

"It was a real shock to the system," he says. "These kids really have no concept of the western world and live in such poverty. The first thing I did was to go shopping to make sure all the kids had a pair of shoes!"

UBM approached Colin to showcase his award-winning design ideas at KBB Birmingham, the UK's biggest biannual kitchen, bathroom and bedroom event in 2018. Not only was his 'Rock' concept universally applauded by the industry, he subsequently chose to donate the proceeds to charity.

Commenting on the experience, Colin says: "Whilst it was humbling to receive such positive feedback from my industry peers, it filled me with more pride to see how my design can actually help those in real need further afield."

Having already supported two charities, where his contributions have made a highly positive impact, Colin elected to donate the proceeds from his showcase at KBB Birmingham to help those affected by the recent earthquake in Indonesia.

He explained, "I opened my phone yesterday only to read about the devastation caused by the earthquake in Indonesia. This has brought so much heartbreak to so many families and it fills me with emotion how this seems to always hit the poorest regions. I feel it is only right that this recent donation should now be given to help them through these terrible times."

Key Account Director of KBB Birmingham, Jon Johnston, comments: "Working with top designer Colin Wong illustrates our commitment to providing the industry with groundbreaking, thought provoking and interesting features. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Colin for his designs, as well as our event partners for their time and hard work to help make the 'Rock' happen at KBB Birmingham 2018. I also wish to thank Colin for completing the 'Rock journey' by donating money from proceeds raised from the Rock to help those people suffering from this tragic disaster.

"I look forward to our next event, KBB Birmingham on 1st - 4th March 2020, where I will be featuring over 380 exhibitors and more groundbreaking new trends and features."

www.ubm.com / www.developmentdirect.co.uk

19th October 2018