Brassware manufacturer Varied Forms has big ambitions for the bathroom sector offering a unique tap configuration for every customer – creative director and co-founder Benjamin Peak tells Sally Smith how this concept offers an opportunity for retailers.
Varied Forms – a new bathroom brassware manufacturer – was conceived during lockdown by Benjamin Peak, creative director of The Watermark Collection. Over the last couple of years Peak has built up a successful core business selling to architects and interior designers and is now looking to partner with a select number of retailers across the UK.
The company has 42 product types in the collection that consists of a selection of premium modular components. The options are available in an expanding range of different spout shapes and handle designs in a host of finishes and colours, with currently over 800 configurations available for customers to choose from.
Q: So what’s the thinking behind this new concept?
A: I’ve been MD of The Watermark Collection for 10 years and increasingly I've noticed a change in customer behaviour when it comes to bathroom design. I was getting more and more requests from architects, interior designers and homeowners for bathroom brassware they could customise to tie in with their designs. Customers wanted longer spouts, bespoke finishes and colours with the option to mix and match handles and spout designs to their specific tastes.
Generally consumers' choices tend to be quite conservative when it comes to the bathroom because they have to live with their design choices for potentially 10 years or more. I wanted to enable customers to create their own unique product but in the knowledge that, as trends evolve, they can easily upgrade their tap design without the need for plumbers. They can simply do it themselves, as easily as changing the cover on their mobile phone. So the challenge for me was to create a brand where every tap can be different.
Q: How did you bring your this new concept to market?
A: My co-founder Giovanni Veronese has worked for me in Watermark for 5 years and shared my vision. We have partnered with a manufacturer north of Milan, who produces for the top brands and was up for this unique challenge. Veronese is based in Milan and oversees the operations, sales and day-to-day running of the business. It’s a great partnership as it’s so important as a startup to have eyes everywhere for quality control. I run creative direction, product development and marketing.
We spent over a year developing the connecting parts that allow us to plug components on top of the main mechanisms of the tap. We wanted to get the trim and finishes right with a guarantee of a durable and quality of feel that the customer would get if they had bought a single all-in-one engineered premium bathroom tap.
Q: What is the USP of a Varied Forms tap?
A: We are building a series of foundational shapes that are loosely going into range names. All the taps use the same platform so if you buy a product in the Macaron range and you want to change the entire handle shape for, let's say, the new Folio range shape it’s possible to take the elements off and mix the designs to create a unique tap for the customer. Our unique modular tap gives retailers the opportunity to reach out to existing customers after the initial sale of our tap and offer them a refresh service. Our aim is to launch new shapes, material, finishes and colours every 6 months so there is something new constantly coming out.
Q: What support with training, POS and displays do you offer retailers?
A: The entry pack includes one dummy deck-mounted tap and all of the modular components, so retailers can show different configurations to the customer. If retailers decide to ‘buy-in’ we offer a standalone system including all of our different taps and finishes. We provide digital displays for retailers to help present customers with this new concept of changeable modular taps. There is a wide range of CAD drawings and installation guides and all our imagery and brochures have QR codes that link to our online configurator. We have a WhatsApp number to deal with contractors to solve any issues directly on site, via video call.
Q: What happens to the redundant tap components?
A: We offer a ‘recycle reuse’ scheme. If customers want to change their handles or spouts for a new shape, retailers simply have to send the old components back to us and we’ll send out new tap fittings at a minimal cost. We’ll either strip the finish and re-polish and put the components back into stock to sell, and if not the handles and spouts will be recycled.
Q: What’s the vision for the future?
A: Our main focus for 2025 is to build a UK retail network across the country. We can now offer retailers not only an innovative new bathroom tap concept but we have worked hard over the last few years to provide retailers with all the tools they’ll need to engage customers. We’ll also be rolling out 2 new tap ranges this year to ensure there is a growing selection of tap components for retailers to offer customers. Ultimately we are looking to widen our offering into basins and baths and eventually into the entire living space. It’s all about changeability and customisation and creating an environment that’s entirely yours.
