What an amazing year for Friendly Fires!
First – we were featured in Pools, Spas & Patio Magazine. Then, we were featured in Patio Hearth & Product Report for our opinions on the North American fireplace & BBQ market. One of our fireplaces was then chosen for the Colin & Justin Bunkie (two popular designers www.colinandjustin.tv). To top it off, we were chosen as the official Fireplace Contractor for HGTV’s Income Property Show (www.hgtv.ca/incomeproperty). To add to our accolades, we were also chosen as “Favourite Fireplace Store” in all our markets by local media (Best Kawartha Fireplace Store – Peterborough This Week and The Peterborough Examiner, Best Fireplace Store Northumberland, by Northumberland This Week, and Best Kingston Fireplace Store as well…). We also won two more awards from the Kawartha Home Builder’s Association at their annual gala (www.pkhba.com) and received honourable mentions from multiple charities for our dedicated involvement. Reflecting back on our record number of BBQ classes, BBQ competitions, amazing employee events (http://youtu.be/vJUx1nXJUXQ) – what a year we had!
Oh – and how can we forget that our Cobourg Store is being featured in the upcoming Adam Sandler & Kevin James Movie Pixels.
But – our crown jewel was being named Best North American Fireplace Store by the Hearth Patio & BBQ Association in Salt Lake City (www.vestaawards.com). Friendly Fires was up against some amazing American fireplace stores, and we were chosen as #1 (the first ever Canadian company nominated). Not bad for a store with locations in Kingston, Cobourg & Peterborough – eh?
Looking ahead, 2014 will be tough to beat when it comes to public awards and accolades, but we do have a few surprises up our sleeve – so stay tuned!
A special thanks to all our customers, suppliers & amazing team for a very memorable year.
Alex
