*Emblem Founder and CEO, Lindsay Braun sitting in* *Emblem’s Shell Chair*.

In the weeks post-NeoCon people are taking time to unwind and recharge after all the preparation, travel, long days of meetings and show exhaustion. As summer sets in, the vibe is slower and more relaxed. That may be true for many, but Emblem founder and CEO, Lindsay Braun has been in accelerated activity mode preparing for this week’s launch.

Designed to be different, Emblem is a digitally native, eCommerce contract furniture company. Emblem sells commercial-grade lounge furniture online, directly to business owners and design professionals. The launch collection includes 17 seating designs in seven velvet colorways and four metal finishes. All options ship out of California with an impressive three-week lead-time. We asked Lindsay our typical product profile questions, which she answered not only with the facts, but with the genuine enthusiasm and creativity she brings to her addition to the contract furniture industry.

Tell us about Emblem. Why did you decide to launch this company?

During the past few years, I noticed an increase in clients and designers shopping online for soft seating for commercial spaces. The contract furniture acquisition process has always been complicated, but it feels even more so now that the rest of our shopping and buying habits have evolved. And there are very few good options for buying contract furniture online. My previous business was focused on custom furniture design and manufacturing, so I saw all the levels of frustration firsthand. Sometimes we’d receive calls from a client asking about a timeline for completion on a project, but we hadn’t even received the purchase order yet. We felt helpless in our efforts to solve the problems that would pop up.

In 2017, CBRE and Contract Consulting Group (now ThinkLab) published findings from a yearlong study of the contract furniture acquisition process and that was a major moment for me. The CBRE Furniture Forum defined the same pain points that so many of my colleagues and clients had been discussing. These pain points included that pricing is confusing, the process is complicated and time-consuming, there is a general lack of communication between parties, an overwhelming number of options, and that clients don’t feel educated or empowered to make good decisions.

So, I started working on a new kind of company that could address these issues. I wanted to bring the ease of online shopping to the contract furniture acquisition process. And I wanted to offer furniture designs that addressed the new ways of working.

Life is too short to spend all your time worrying about furniture. I hope Emblem gives business owners and designers an option that inspires creativity, fuels growth, and causes zero headaches.

How will the product impact workplace design?

Inspiring workplaces need to be more attainable for companies of all sizes. Today, designers and businesses that want to source lounge seating for commercial spaces really have just two choices: contract furniture from a dealership or residential retail furniture. After working in the contract industry for over a decade, I wasn’t satisfied with either of these options.

Commercial design is changing so rapidly and more businesses than ever before are seeking collaborative, warm, home-like environments. Desks are no longer the star of the show. There is an enormous demand for soft seating.

Emblem removes the barriers between businesses and commercial-grade lounge furniture. I hope we can empower more businesses and designers to create beautiful, inviting, creative commercial spaces with a focus on soft seating.

Does the product contribute to how people want to work today in more flexible space?

Forward-thinking businesses of all sizes are exploring work-from-home hybrid models for their employees and testing “homing from work” designs that encourage a more casual approach to office hours. Because the focus is no longer just to provide desk space from 9 to 5, more professionals are looking to create collaborative, comfortable, experiential spaces that elevate brands and inspire employees.