For Immediate Release: August 2020
MULTI-AWARD-WINNING CABINETMAKER ANNOUNCED AS FINALIST FOR 2020 HIA GREENSMART PROFESSIONAL AWARD
Melbourne, Victoria: VerdeLife, this week announced multi-award-winning cabinetmaker and designer, Dan Bruce, has been named as a finalist for the 2020 Housing Industry Association (HIA) GreenSmart Awards in the Professional category. VerdeLife is on a mission to influence the cabinetry industry with their sustainable, and innovatively designed outdoor kitchens.
“It is an absolute honour to have been named a finalist for an award of this calibre, at a national level. This award celebrates Dan’s hard work, passion and business success,” says Carrie Bruce, wife and business partner. “We have worked tirelessly to provide Australian families with the best quality outdoor barbecue kitchens for Weber Barbecues Australia New Zealand, while holding values very close to our hearts. Dan has not only designed a sustainable and eco-friendly product, but one that is proudly Australian Made & Owned.”
VerdeLife’s SustainaPod is breaking new ground in functional conscious design, combining both environmentally preferable products and sustainable building practices. In 2019, their scope expanded from retail suppliers to also include trade suppliers, including residential builders, buying groups, architects, cabinet makers and landscape designers, providing an eco-responsible all-in-one alfresco solution. They are Australia’s first Official Licensee – Australian Made & Owned, and accomplished their goal of ongoingly offsetting 100% of their carbon emissions in partnership with Greenfleet Australia, through the regeneration of Australian forests.
“This finalist nomination affirms our mission to make environmental considerations standard in our business, projects and products,” says Dan, owner and designer at VerdeLife. “It sends a strong message to us, and our industry that sustainable practice is being recognised, and that’s not only motivating, but inspirational.”
HIA's Australian GreenSmart Awards recognise the diligent efforts of environmentally-aware residential builders, designers and manufacturers. The awards recognise those who build or design environmentally-friendly homes, provide solutions to make homes more efficient or create new products for the building industry.
Dan is best known throughout his local region of South Gippsland and Bass Coast, Victoria, as the owner and lead designer at Leongatha Kitchens & Bathrooms (formerly Don Bruce Kitchens), an Australian family-owned and operated professional design and custom cabinet making company, with over 40 years of experience collaborating with local clients and builders.
In 2015, Dan obtained his certification as a HIA GreenSmart Kitchen & Bathroom professional and returned to work inspired with an idea to provide premium quality, sustainable cabinetry. As a result, he embarked on a journey that would become VerdeLife, innovating alfresco living with my SustainaPod Outdoor Kitchen Range. The SustainaPod concept is sustainable, pre-assembled, modular cabinetry that is easy to install in just a few steps. In product partnership with Weber Barbecues Australia New Zealand, Laminex, Blum and Lithofin, SustainaPod launched in Victoria in 2016, before becoming a nationwide product the following year in July 2017. They design, manufacture and sell the product nationwide to retail and trade suppliers.
Through the years, Dan has also won several HIA awards for kitchen design and construction, including winner of the inaugural HIA Outdoor Kitchen of the Year in 2012, and again in 2013.
The HIA GreenSmart Awards are held in the highest regards within the Victorian and Australian residential construction industry. Finalists are making a positive difference to the environment. Leading by example, they are inspiring other HIA members to build sustainable, energy efficient and comfortable homes for their clients.
The winners of the 2020 GreenSmart Awards will be announced in a presentation on Facebook at 1pm (AEST) on Tuesday 8 September. Read more at greensmart.com.au/awards.
For further information: For an interview with Dan Bruce contact Kiera Elliot-Pickett of Strong Digital Marketing on 0470 288 995