Step into the new showroom that Inspire Workplace Interiors is preparing to open in downtown Cleveland's Warehouse District, and you may get a back-to-the future feeling.
The storefront space is carefully curated with samples of modern office furniture, from sit-to-stand desks to a new version of cubicles with whiteboard backstops and even a medical examination room.
John Quinones, vice president in charge of Inspire Workplace Interiors, sits at a benching product at the firm's new downtown Cleveland showroom. The unit has a pergola-type top and a panel that accommodates a computer screen. Photo by Stan Bullard
It's arrayed in a retail space at 1382 W. Ninth St. in the Crittenden Block Building, which dates from 1868, when it was built for Cleveland jeweler N.E. Crittenden. Structural wood columns topped with ornate capitals typical of the period line the suite, some revealed anew when old drywall was shed during remodeling.
John Quinones, Inspire's vice president, said, "We are hoping to present our customers with a showroom that is itself an essential destination. Inspire is attempting to marry Midwest charm with clean, modern design sensibilities. The Warehouse District is the perfect venue for that."
Inspire is a new division and brand launched by Brook Park-based National Office, a 50-year-old manufacturer of its own office furniture as well as an office furniture retailer. The Inspire brand is designed to reflect the increasing sophistication of the workspace furnishings business to foster creativity while matching various needs of the workspace.
At the same time, the showroom went into the old building in the city's Warehouse District because "it's so typical of Cleveland," Quinones said.
The firm also landed in the evolving residential and entertainment district because it has lots of parking nearby, not only on the street but at surrounding lots. Inspire arranged for customers to receive free parking validated by the company at the lot across the street on the southeast corner of West Ninth and St. Clair Avenue.
Accessibility is a big reason the new division set up shop downtown.