The thing people might not know about me is…

David: My middle name is Ewart and I have webbed feet.

Tracey: I enjoy bird watching.

What I love most about my job is…

Tracey: Seeing the smile on our customers’ faces when we finish their dream kitchens.

David:Working with my wife.

When people outside the industry ask what we do we say….

Both:We have a kitchen showroom in Ramsbottom designing and installing kitchens into our customers’ homes. We do as much or as little as the customer wants, from building the extension to complete install, or if it’s a new kitchen in an existing space then we can do that too. They then usually ask, “are they expensive?”, and we reply: “We sell great kitchens to normal people in  normal homes”.

The story we always tell to make people laugh is… 

Tracey: We can always sort problems when it comes to kitchens, but sometimes in life you can’t fix everything. For example, at our son’s wedding, the photographer lost the drone with all the photos from the day in Lake Windermere. Later on, the BBC did a programme called ‘Lost in the Lakes’ where they arranged for divers to go looking for lost items underwater, and guess what? They found it. The moral of the story is you can always sort things.

The industry person I most admire is…

David: Simon Jones, the sales director at BSH. A real human being who understands how important communication is.

Tracey:Omega chairman Sir Bob Murray. He’s built a business that continues to go from strength to strength.

I wish this industry would talk more about…

David: Aspirational kitchen showrooms like ours and the hard work that we put in.

Tracey:The large multi-national suppliers that are faceless and hide behind corporate talk.

I wish this industry would talk less about…

Both: Howdens, Wren and the internet! As independent showrooms we are far superior and offer a far better service!

Our proudest professional achievement is….

Both: The business that we have built over the last 30 years, the team that we work with, and their commitment to RKC.

One professional mistake we’ve learned from is…

Both: We can’t do it all ourselves. At times, we need to let go and allow the rest of our staff to do their jobs.

If we could go back to the day we started in this industry, we would tell ourselves…

Both:Not to worry so much – you can deal with whatever is thrown at you! 30 years on, and we still worry, of course, but it’s about different things now. A close professional friend once said to us: “you worry because you care”. After all this time, we’ve learned that owning your own kitchen showroom is a ride, but a good one!

I dance in my kitchen to…

David:Jungleland by The Boss, Bruce Springsteen.

Tracey: Abba’s Dancing Queen.

The song I always sing in the shower is…

Both: For David, it’s Valerie by Amy Winehouse, and for Tracey, it’s Summer of ‘69 by Bryan Adams. Both songs remind us of precious family memories…

Ramsbottom Kitchen Company celebrated its 30th anniversary last month.