John Crooks | Kitchen Designer

John began his career in the building industry after completing a four-year apprenticeship as a carpenter and a three-year building construction degree at Swinburne Institute of Technology.

John worked initially as a sub-contract carpenter with Merchant Builders, one of Australia's most innovative and acclaimed project home builders. Following this formative experience, he travelled to Europe, where he spent seven years training and working as a commercial deep sea diver, mainly in the North Sea, before moving to the USA.

Returning to Australia, John decided to apply his building knowledge to the kitchen renovation industry, and became the protege of the legendary Hans de Weerd, founder of one of Melbourne's most innovative and respected kitchen design companies.

John undertook additional studies to further his qualifications in this high-growth industry and is a Certified Kitchen Designer – the highest qualification available.

In 1992, he won the inaugural Trends/HIA-NKBA Kitchen Designer of the Year Award and by 1995 had completed more than 500 kitchen renovations. By 2000, this had exceeded 1,000 projects.

In 2003 John designed the EzyVent™ modular rangehood ventilation system, now in use nationwide.

Also in 2003, John graduated as a Certified Mentor for the kitchen design profession, originally qualifying as a Certified Practitioner in 1996.

Over the past decade, John has trained many successful kitchen designers and now heads an innovative mentoring program for the kitchen industry through the Belair Kitchen Design Group.

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