Woman behind the caravans - Angela Robson of Elddis
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At the July 2011 launch of Elddis 2012 caravans we met with Angela Robson, Associate Director of Aesthetic Design and Customer Care, to find out about the thinking behind the new designs
O&A Live: How did you get into caravan design Angela?
AR: It was something I moved into. I was Elddis Financial Controller and I'd worked in Elddis manufacturing, prior to that. Then, because I'd shown a flair for project management, I was given something called the Appeal Project which was all about the internal aesthetics of the van. Our aim was to create a consumer-driven design brief, looking at the practicality of the van and also the look and feel of it.
O&A Live: What did you think of the caravans which were around when you first got involved with design?
AR: Fabrics then were very geometric in design and quite dated – we were among the first to use more modern, plain fabrics. The kind of furniture construction we had at the time didn't flow as well either and we've put a lot of work into making the different areas of the caravan feel like they belong together. And then there was the overall use of space - we thought we could do better. The very first project I was involved in was the redesign of the interior of the Buccaneer for the 2008 product year. Buccaneer sales have been going from strength to strength since then.
O&A Live: How did your team make a difference to Buccaneer?
AR: We did things like making sure you had a cupboard that could take a cereal box, and making sure the mirrors were in practical places. So it was the use of the space and making it appeal to people - using curved moulds so that the sections of the caravan look like they're all meant to go together rather than being put together separately. Making sure the lockers are deep enough is important as well.
O&A Live: Where do you get design ideas?
AR: We ask caravan owners and journalists, we talk to people at shows and every van now goes out with a questionnaire in it. It's about speaking to everyone who has something to say about caravans and tapping into that knowledge. We also do a lot of research at Dusseldorf at the International Caravan Salon. We find that when we look at European motorhomes more than caravans there are a lot of ideas which can transfer.
O&A Live: What difference has that made to current Elddis caravans?
AR: A few years ago for example, people were starting to differentiate kitchens from the rest of the living space so we decided to do that with Avanté for the 2011 model year. The very first thing we did was to put LEDs above the kitchen lockers.
O&A Live: Do you think that a woman looks at caravan design differently?
AR: Our R&D manager Alan says that I do the fluffy bits and he does the techy bits! We actually test things for practicality. So for example the Crusader Supersirocco has three hanging rails in the wardrobe and we've actually loaded that to make sure the arrangement works.
O&A Live: What's different for the 2012 model year?
AR: We've completely redesigned Buccaneer and Crusader and you can't do that kind of development and concentrate on bringing down weights, so this year we've had two design teams reporting to Alan - one team dealing with weight and the other with layout designs. One thing I've tried to do is look at were the TV points are, so that in most cases we take the TVs away from the central cabinet and put it at the end of the lounge. We've looked at having TV brackets in more than one place so the TV can be easily moved from oe place to another. We've made microwaves much lower too.
O&A Live: What's the best part of your job?
AR: Often we're designing certain areas of the caravan so press previews like this one can be the first time we've seen the whole caravan. That's really exciting.
For more info on the Elddis Buccaneer and Crusader changes for 2012 click here
For info on the changes to Xplore for 2012 click here
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