3. What is your signature style?
I'm known for colour and lighting. People who want a Mal Corboy kitchen want the wow factor. I've never seen an architect do a wow-factor kitchen because they can't dedicate the same amount of time to it as I do. I work with a lot of architects, often begrudgingly on their part because they like to have control over the whole house. My kitchens usually have two personalities - day and night. They have to stand the test of time. It's very hard to do something that doesn't date. White kitchens come around every six years. People still come to me for the pink kitchen I designed eight years ago, because it was on the cover of numerous international design magazines. The pink's starting to wane but it's colour they want.
4. Do you have preferred manufacturers?
Definitely, because at the end of the day I'm just drawing lines on a bit of paper. They have to interpret that and make sure it comes out exactly right. I've had some horrible experiences where the client wants their friend to build the kitchen and I've relented but it never turns out how it should because they substitute materials and don't interpret the design right.
5. Do you need to be a good cook to design good kitchens?
No, that's a fallacy. When I do a design brief, all I need to know is how you work in the kitchen and how you use space. I have a great sense of space and proportion and balance. I don't know where that comes from.
6. What did your parents think of your career choice?
They've always encouraged me. Dad was a hairdresser and mum was a secretary. They were very involved in stage shows and musicals like Hair. As a teenager I always wore the flashiest clothes - I had the turquoise corduroy pants and paisley shirts. When I left high school the school counsellor said I should go into trade so I got an apprenticeship in cabinet making - lots of dovetailed joints. We made furniture for Government House and the Queen when she visited Perth. Then I became a train driver because it was better money.
7. How did you get into kitchens?
When I moved to New Zealand with my wife I discovered there was only about one train and two drivers here so I went back to cabinet making. Builders would ask me to help with kitchens and then it morphed to the wife or the couple wanting a bit more input into the kitchen. Being self-taught has probably made me a better designer because I'm a lot freer - less constrained. I've found a style that works for me. When I started out the average kitchen was about $5000. Now they're about $85,000 and upwards. The kitchen has to be the statement piece of the house. It's where we live and entertain. The party always ends up in the kitchen.
8. Do men and women choose different types of kitchens?
Some couples are on the same wavelength, others are polar opposites. I say, "I can design you a kitchen, I can't do marriage counselling". Men tend to be more budget conscious. Their interest kicks in when the cost goes over what they'd hoped. I had one very tall client, he was about 2.1m and his wife was about 1.5m. He did all the cooking and wanted the kitchen very high. I tried to talk him into dropping it about 30mm but he got the kitchen he wanted. I bumped into him later and asked how it was going and he said, "Oh the wife and I split up. She got the house".
9. Have you had any famous clients?
I love working with Kiwi chef Simon Gault. We've done a few projects together now. A lot of clients have become good friends. Internationally I've designed kitchens for Food TV and poker player Kenny Tran who holds poker nights with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Toby Maguire. Many of our well-heeled clients value discretion so I can share photos of the kitchens but I can't name the owners.
10. What's it like being a small business owner?
Keeping the cashflow going can be a rollercoaster. Spatial design is not like fashion where you bring out a new range each season. You can have really quiet times and then bang - it's all go. I don't get any help from agencies like Trade and Enterprise. You need to have good friends that you can run your ideas past.
11. Are you a Kiwi or an Aussie and do you notice any cultural differences?
I've lived more than half my life in New Zealand. One thing I've noticed is the huge tall-poppy syndrome. Australians want to grab things by the balls and give it a go but New Zealanders for some reason don't like seeing people get ahead. In my industry a lot of people will be negative when you're succeeding. What they don't realise is that success actually brings the whole industry up and everyone benefits.
12. When have you been down, and how did you pull yourself out?
The lowest I've been was nine years ago when my marriage broke up. A doctor put me on some pills but I felt spaced out so I threw them in the toilet and just got up and got on with life. I had a lot of friends making sure that I was okay. The funny thing is that the best things often come out of adversity. If I hadn't moved to Auckland I would never have had the opportunities I've had here. My partner, Fern, has been amazing. I'm a perfectionist and I can get exceedingly grumpy if things aren't going right. She's helped me take stock of that and make sure I don't fly off. She taught me don't ever reply to an email that upsets you. Sleep on it and then reply.
