It’s not about Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn wallowing down a sleepy, leafy river in a banged-out boat, but it is about a South African interior designer who believes in her quirky, cleverly themed designs and partnering with flooring manufacturers that can deliver the quality and variety she demands.
Sam Kopsch is a designer who has panache, imagination and the guts to be really bold when needed. It’s her South African up-bringing which instilled the courage that’s brought her to where she is today…in London, and quite frankly making a scene. When Sam needs top-end design coupled to high quality she inevitably turns to international flooring and interiors specialists Gerflor.
Sam Kopsch commented: “The level of support from suppliers is key in providing the end result for any client. I can dream up a design scheme, but if I don’t have the right products, suppliers and manufacturers to make what’s in my head real, there wouldn’t be an end product.”
She highlights the importance of good business relationships, “ninety percent of the designs we produce are bespoke. We tend to avoid off-the-shelf solutions and treat each project as an opportunity to push ourselves and our manufacturers, which means we have really close working relationships with manufacturers; very often working hand-in-hand to find workable and affordable solutions for our clients”.
Gerflor, as a company, take great pride in being able to supply designers with a raft of solutions to fit every project. Sam further comments: “The sheer variety of Gerflors’ world class products have been key for SKS. Our designs are often themed, which means every meeting room, breakout area and tea point is different. So we need a large range of products to choose from to avoid repetition.”
A perfect example of this relationship would be the refurbishment of 20 St Dunstans Hill in the City of London, where the talents of SKS and Gerflor would really shine. The project would entail some 2500m2 of Gerflor’s stunning LVT Creation and GTI flooring providing the perfect look and practical solution that SKS were seeking.
Service, as we all know, is key to sustaining good on-going business relationships and Gerflor are all-too-aware of its importance in a competitive market. Sam agrees saying: “Gerflor provide an exceptional service. My Gerflor sales representative is always responsive and samples arrive within 24 hours. We’ve sometimes had projects that we work on over long periods, so between conceptualising the design and final install, products, understandably, get discontinued. In these circumstances Gerflor have gone to great lengths to find me a more than suitable alternative.”
Sam finally comments: “I think it’s important that suppliers care as much about a project as the designer. There should be pride in the finished product for everyone involved. Gerflor clearly share this view.
“Gerflor have great products, a large range to choose from, which is always a challenge to find when working on such large scales buildings and they are fixed at a conservative price point. I’m very pleased with the overall look and quality of their products and regularly use Gerflor. In fact, I have just specified their product for two new projects I am working on.”
Gerflor as a company delight in supplying a raft of key solutions for designers. It’s crucial to their commitment in providing a first class service.
