Contract furnishings provider, Hightower received multiple awards at NeoCon 2021, including IIDA's 'Best Small Showroom' (under 4,000 sf) and 'Best of Competition' for its newly designed Chicago showroom.
Humanscale welcomes Elizabeth Margles to its Marketing Division in the role of Chief Marketing Officer. Margles comes to Humanscale with twenty years of experience in design, fashion and retail and a background in public relations and advertising.
The exclusive relationship with Kontrol's BioCloud® Technology will provide real-time detection of airborne pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 to help make workplaces safer as organizations return to the office.
One of the ‘hottest’ industries and highly-discussed design topics in the past few years has been the Future of the Workplace. Regardless of sector, many companies are racing to get ahead of – or just catch up with – the evolving Future Workplace, and many firms around the world are looking to play a role in defining how these Future ideas actually play out, especially when it comes to office design.
Herman Miller, Inc. today announced results for its second quarter ended December 3, 2016. Net sales in the quarter totaled $577.5 million, a decrease of 0.5% from the same quarter last fiscal year. New orders in the second quarter of $575.9 million were 4.2% below the prior year level. On an organic basis, which adjusts for foreign currency translation and a dealer divestiture, net sales increased by 1.1% and orders decreased by 2.7% in the second quarter, from the same quarter last fiscal year.
Herman Miller reported net earnings of $0.53 per share on a diluted basis in the second quarter compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.57 in the same quarter last fiscal year. Excluding the impact of certain restructuring charges recognized in the period, adjusted earnings per share in the second quarter totaled $0.54.
Brian Walker, Chief Executive Officer, stated "In the face of an uncertain global economic and geopolitical picture, we delivered on the adjusted earnings per share commitment that we established at the start of the quarter. While North America sales were below our expectations, our ELA, Specialty and Consumer businesses all delivered strong organic sales growth in the quarter. Our consolidated orders were lower than anticipated and reflect uneven demand patterns we're seeing across the broader industry. This was amplified by a particularly challenging growth comparison in our prior year second quarter."
Steelcase Inc. today reported third quarter revenue of $786.5 million and net income of $41.2 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.34. During the quarter, the company recognized a benefit related to the outcome of a tax audit in EMEA, which had a favorable impact on diluted earnings per share of $0.03. In the prior year, Steelcase reported $787.6 million of revenue, diluted earnings of $0.28 per share and adjusted earnings of $0.30 per share.
A family is made up of people, but places and things—the family home, a child’s favorite toy, grandma’s China, mother’s perfume—certainly add context, providing anchors for memories as children grow and life stages flow from one into the next.
Worldwide-leading partition walls manufacturer, the Netherlands-based Maars Living Walls, rounds out 2016 marking the company’s 70th anniversary. It’s been a milestone year that has included business growth in North America, Europe and Asia; celebrations in the Netherlands and the United States; Best of NeoCon honors earlier this year in Chicago; and the launch of the new design software Maars 4D across the globe.
KORE by Kimball Office has been named a 2016 Good Design Award Winner by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies as one of the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world.
As part of its triennial, limited-edition, and often experimental “PS collection,” Ikea has released a 3D-knitted armchair that is both lightweight and durable. Fabricated using a process that, according to Dezeen, is most commonly associated with Nike’s Flyknit line of shoes, the mesh-like material covering the frame of the chair offers flexibility and support without relying on bulky foam.
Because the process relies on computer-operated machines to weave pieces based on a digital design, the manufacturing process becomes more streamlined, and can also be easily integrated into a supplier’s existing operations, explains Sarah Fager, the chair’s designer: “It's a really smart way to produce things, since it's fully automized.”
Designers regularly benefit from art, but how often do artists benefit directly from furniture design? A series of interviews between Nendo head Oki Sato and manga artist Yusei Matsui has culminated in a beautiful new piece of furniture, shaped specifically for the needs of a cartoonist.
The conceptual collaboration started with Sato's interest in manga, which he enjoys while relaxing and traveling. Sato and Yusei Matsui, creator of the popular Assassination Classroom, met numerous times to discuss their different creative processes, work environments, and inspirations. The series was initially used for a TV series, and eventually produced in a book and friendly exchange of design gifts.
Steelcase Inc. today reported preliminary financial results for the third quarter which included revenue of $787 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.34. During the quarter, the company recognized a benefit related to the outcome of a tax audit in EMEA, which had a favorable impact on diluted earnings per share of $0.03 and was not included in the company’s previously issued guidance. In the prior year, Steelcase reported $787.6 million of revenue, diluted earnings of $0.28 per share and adjusted earnings of $0.30 per share. Steelcase had previously guided current quarter revenue between $795 to $820 million and diluted earnings per share between $0.32 to $0.36. The results announced today are preliminary and subject to change based on the completion of the company’s quarter-end review process.
Sales in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017 was $6.7 million or 31.6% higher than the same quarter of the previous year. The current year's quarter benefited from strong U.S. exchange rate, which accounted for about $2.9 million of the year-over-year sales increase. With the exclusion of the currency exchange gain, the normalized sales were 24.9% higher than the same quarter of last year. Strong growth was experienced in all segments of the business.
Madan Bhayana, Chairman of Inscape Corporation Ltd., has announced the following organizational changes, effective immediately. After an in-depth business review, the Inscape Board has created two operating business units:
It used to be that if you went to IIDEX, the big office interior design show, you saw office interiors. Herman Miller, Steelcase, Teknion, all the big guns would be out with their latest. Teknion, which is based in Toronto, would take up a couple of thousand square feet. It is nice stuff, but it seems that where the trend among those of us who work at home is to have an office, it seems that everyone who is at the office is going to look like they are working from home on the dining room table.
Knoll, Inc. and DatesWeiser Furniture Corporation today announced that Knoll, Inc. has acquired the Buffalo-based designer and manufacturer of contemporary wood conference and meeting room furniture through an acquisition of the DatesWeiser business.
We sat down with Geoff Miller, president of Grand Rapids Chair Company, to find out what makes this company so great!
Coalesse, a division of Steelcase, creates office furnishings with the ultimate goal of maximizing collaboration in the workplace.
Office furniture manufacturer Steelcase is now a distributor for Blu Dot, a Minneapolis-based producer of modern home furnishings, lighting and accessories.
In its announcement of the distribution relationship, Steelcase said the move is part of the company's ongoing "commitment to deliver enhanced value and convenience to its customers and dealers."
Steelcase will sell Blu Dot furniture through its distribution network. The core of Steelcase business is to help organizations create great work experiences through understanding worker behavior and creating places to help people think better, feel better and be healthier. Working with Blu Dot expands the company’s breadth in an important and growing category, adding another layer to its ability to service customer needs.
Founded in 1997, Blu Dot offers a wide array of modern home furnishings and accessories including rugs and lighting.
“In the past few years, we have experienced enormous growth in the office segment as companies use our wide collection to personalize their spaces," said John Christakos, Blu Dot CEO. "With Steelcase, we’re able to reach its entire dealer network with convenient tools, ordering platforms and logistics that will make specifying Blu Dot even easier. We couldn’t be more excited about this new relationship.”
Steelcase will make the full Blu Dot product line available through the Steelcase Dealer Network. Dealers will order from Blu Dot and products will ship with Steelcase orders. The process will be managed through the Steelcase order entry and transportation network. Steelcase dealers can begin to order Blu Dot products immediately.
When I first laid down in the Altwork Station, I squealed. While I held down a button, the fully configurable desk-and-chair combo slowly began to move, the seat reclining like a dentist chair and the monitor rising to follow. My stomach churned a bit from the unexpected feeling, and all of a sudden I was fully reclined, the magnetized keyboard and mouse hovering above me. It would be a great way to watch movies. But for working? I wasn't so sure.
The workstation is the signature product of the startup Altwork, which has spent the past six years developing an ergonomic solution that is completely customizable, converting from a standing desk to a more traditional sitting desk to a reclined position. The chair was inspired by the company's cofounder, John Speicher, who had been injured in a car accident and could only work comfortably while reclining. After research and testing, Speicher and cofounder and CEO Che Voigt came up with a medical-looking workstation. But it's not meant exclusively for people who are injured or disabled—Voigt imagines the Altwork station for anyone whose main professional tool is the computer. It is designed to be a chair you never have to leave—a fitting metaphor for our work-obsessed culture.
Global design manufacturer Herman Miller, Inc. today announced the opening of a Herman Miller-branded retail store anchoring the company's New York City flagship. Open to the public as of Tuesday, November 22, 2016, the store occupies 6,000 SF on the ground and second floors of Herman Miller's multi-level presence at 251 Park Avenue South in Manhattan. The store is part of Herman Miller's transformation into a premium lifestyle company, and will offer consumers the opportunity to connect with Herman Miller through a new channel.
It’s always back to the drawing board for this startup. Visual Magnetics, a business that makes high-tech productivity tools, creates magnetic walls that help companies map out their business ideas. Their products can be found in the brainstorm rooms of about 70 percent of WeWork’s buildings.
“The idea is that in a meeting you can sketch your ideas on the walls,” says Shelby Cadiz, a WeWork interior designer.
The creative director behind Visual Magnetics is Tori Deetz, a WeWork Soho West member since 2013. She first introduced her product to WeWork at a community pitch night.
Oakland-based office furniture manufacturer Friant has signed a 274,147-square-foot lease with Clarion Partners in San Leandro as the site of its future corporate headquarters.
The property, located at 1980 West Avenue 140th St., was a former Sears Roebuck warehouse built in 1958. The 312,866-square-foot industrial building was purchased earlier this year by New York-based Clarion by for $26.5 million. Clarion plans to renovate and update the property by improving exterior cosmetics, removing unnecessary infrastructure and building a new 15,000-square-foot office showroom for Friant’s products.
Around 180 people will be employed at Friant’s San Leandro location, which will function as a corporate headquarters, along with hosting a revamped showroom and manufacturing center for the company. It also serves to consolidate some of the company's warehouse and manufacturing operations, which were spread out across three different facilities in the East Bay.
