New "Outdoor Living" Seminars Added at 2010 Landscape Expo

Russ Faulk

With the rising popularity and demand for the designing and installation of "outdoor living" areas, especially outdoor kitchens, landscape designers and contractors seeking to capitalize on this hot market should check out the new "Outdoor Living" seminars being offered at the Landscape Expo, October 6-7, at the Long Beach Convention Center.

The new "Outdoor Living" track will feature two seminars taught by industry experts Russ Faulk and Pete Georgiadis, both senior executives at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, a leader in outdoor kitchens. Complete details on each of these new seminars are provided below.

Winning Outdoor Kitchen Design: A Best Practice Seminar
Wednesday, Oct. 6, 9:30 AM; Thursday, Oct. 7, 12:30 PM, 2 Hrs.

Instructor Biography: Russ Faulk, vice president of product development for Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Russ is on the front lines of outdoor kitchen design, working daily with design professionals of all disciplines to create outdoor cooking and entertaining spaces that exceed client functional needs and design expectations. Russ is regularly called upon for design assistance on outdoor kitchen projects for some of Kalamazoo's higher-profile clientele. In his role as head of product development, he is the steward of the company's "Fundamentally Different and Fundamentally Better" approach to product design, resulting in industry benchmarks such as the hybrid grill, weather-tight outdoor cabinetry, and the Outdoor Artisan Pizza Oven, among others. He is an authority on the latest outdoor kitchen design trends and industry innovations.

A student of design, Russ holds his degree from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Russ is also an avid cook and author of more than 150 outdoor cooking and entertaining recipes published by Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet.

Course Description: Outdoor kitchens represent one of the fastest growing areas of consumer capital spending, but remain a largely untapped opportunity for many design professionals. This introductory course will expand your expertise and help you capture new business by learning the details of outdoor kitchen design, one of the biggest trends in outdoor living. The course is not specific to the Kalamazoo brand or any other manufacturer. This Webinar will teach participants the key functional design principles for kitchen layout, including prep areas, storage, and equipment placement. Faulk will share specific and actionable guidelines that have been developed through years of experience with outdoor kitchens and are founded in some of the best practices for indoor kitchen design.

Pete Georgiadis

Building a Successful Outdoor Kitchen Practice
Wednesday, Oct. 6, 12:30 AM, 2 Hrs.

Instructor Biography: Pantelis A. "Pete" Georgiadis is the chairman and president of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, a company he created in 2005 to deliver the highest-performing and highest-quality outdoor cooking, refrigeration and storage equipment to residential outdoor kitchens.

Under Georgiadis' leadership Kalamazoo has nearly tripled its historic peak revenue. The company has successfully grown and expanded its product line from its unique Hybrid Fire outdoor grills (that cook with charcoal, wood and gas) to offer the industry's broadest and most innovative assortment of outdoor cooking and entertaining equipment, including:

• The industry's only weather-tight line of cabinetry
• The most comprehensive line of outdoor refrigeration products, including the only selection featuring 15-, 24-, 48-inch widths, as well as the only outdoor-rated freezers and freezer drawers
• A unique line of countertop outdoor pizza ovens.

An engineer by training and a Harvard MBA, Georgiadis is a serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years experience in advising, building and growing companies. He brings to design professionals and outdoor living retailers a unique perspective on how to build successful businesses.

Course Description: Pete will present his unique perspective on how to build successful businesses to design professionals and outdoor living retailers.