Candice Sevenus, Quantum Fitted Furniture

Quantum Fitted Furniture
1-3 Poplar Court Parade
Richmond Road
Twickenham
TW1 2DT

Tel: 020 8892 6430

My husband, Sean, and I run the business, which we started back in 1999 with a small showroom on our current site. We expanded to our current size in 2005 because there was such a demand for us to show more of what we could do.

We manufacture and sell bespoke kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and home offices. Sean is a cabinet maker by trade and runs the manufacturing side of the business from our workshop in Teddington. I'm an interior designer/architect and deal with the sales and design side at our showroom which is on the Richmond and Twickenham border. We have another two designers in the showroom with two assistants that deal with initial enquiries from walk-in customers.

The showroom is open from 9am until 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and 10am until 5pm on a Saturday. It's all on one level and is four shops knocked into one with a glass frontage. We have a total of six displays and this includes four bespoke displays and nestled in between them we've got three RWK displays.

Our bespoke kitchens are aimed at the high end of the market, but we realised there was a niche market for one and two-bedroom flats and lower budgets, so we bought in the German brand RWK to meet their needs. Now we target middle to upper market customers as well. Their average spend varies so much, but I'd say it's around £30,000. Prices start from around £12,000 to 15,000 up to around £100,000.

We mix the RWK displays in with the bespoke displays so clients coming in to the showroom don't think they're choosing an inferior product if they don't go with for the bespoke option. We chose RWK because we like to keep a consistent look and its design is very similar to our bespoke kitchens. Our staff toilet and kitchen are both part of our displays as well.

Stocking a product also helps us keep our manufacturing side down. Bespoke furniture manufacturing is quite elite because everything is made to order. There's a lot of time and care put into each of our bespoke kitchens so by introducing the RWK product we're able to keep our turnover up. It provides the client with a great product without putting too much pressure on the workshop. So we're covering two areas of the market, middle to upper and upper.
With regard to appliances we work with all of the BSH groups; Gaggenau, Siemens, Bosch and Neff. We also work with Wolf Sub Zero, Miele and Atag.

On a typical day I'm usually up at 6.30am and once I'm dressed and ready, it's time to get my daughters up at 7am. I've got a three-year-old and a two-year-old so it's difficult but I try to be out of the door in time to get them to nursery, which is near the workshop in Teddington, by 8am. This gives me the opportunity to pop in to the workshop to pick something up for the showroom or to look at some veneers or finishes.

After a quick visit to the workshop I normally arrive at the showroom around 9.30am. First of all I go through the tasks I need to finish that day with my assistant and answer any questions my team might have. Then I spend some time going through my e-mails, returning phone calls and arranging meetings. I have lunch on the go while I'm getting involved with various jobs like designing new projects for clients and displays for the showroom.

On average I can be working on up to 20 projects at any one time so there's usually a client presentation scheduled in to my day. I visit the potential client to present my ideas for their project and run through basic design, which usually lasts around two hours. At the end of the day, at around 4.30pm, I go through any questions that may have arisen throughout the day with my assistant and staff. I get home for about 7.30pm and help get the girls ready for bed. Then it's about time to catch up with housework, cook our evening meal and a chance to chat with my husband about his day in the workshop.

We have two different types of customer; the walk-in type which accounts for around 70% of our leads and then the regular customers and recommendations. We take a brief from the client that details exactly what they're looking for and what their budget is. Then we put together an initial presentation with our ideas, and if the customer is happy with us we get commitment from them by taking a deposit. Then we get the project moving from there, starting with checking measurements, preparing plumbing and electric drawings and we do a pre site check to make sure everything is ready for the installers. We offer an aftercare service too, so once the job is complete we follow up with the client making sure they are happy with everything and if necessary sort out any problems. 

Business is great for us at the moment; we've been incredibly busy. In the future we're looking to expand but only when we're happy that the company infrastructure is ready for the extra business. With this in mind, we're looking to increase our staffing levels both on a short-term and long-term basis.

In my spare time I enjoy swimming and running but my real passion is cooking; it's where I do a lot of thinking. I love reading recipe books and trying out new recipes. I also spend a lot of time looking through interiors magazines as I'm always on the lookout for new inspiration.