{"id":59729,"date":"2017-12-08T21:15:43","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T21:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/projects\/resimercial-contract-furniture-partnerships\/"},"modified":"2021-11-23T18:09:12","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T18:09:12","slug":"resimercial-contract-furniture-partnerships","status":"publish","type":"metro_viewpoint","link":"https:\/\/metropolismag.com\/viewpoints\/resimercial-contract-furniture-partnerships\/","title":{"rendered":"How Evolving Workplace Needs Are Forging New Partnerships Among Furniture Brands"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"resimercial
Like all the other major contract brands, Steelcase has been watching the workplace landscape shift toward a residential and hospitality aesthetic and, in response, developed its \u201cancillary product\u201d partnerships with residential brands, including Blu Dot. Steelcase now includes the entire catalog of the Minneapolis furniture company on its ordering platform. \u201cBy being integrated, designers can drag and drop our furniture into floor plans and drawings and spec them as easily as they can spec Steelcase products,\u201d says John Christakos, cofounder of Blu Dot. \u201cWe are integrated logistically on the back end as well, so our products can show up on a Steelcase truck with the Steelcase products at the same time because there are very specific move-in dates.\u201d Courtesy Steelcase<\/b><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Primo Orpilla, cofounder and principal of Studio O+A<\/a>, a go-to interiors firm in San Francisco, points to a surprising influence on workplace design: coffee shops. With working outside the office becoming so popular, suddenly traditional workspaces feel third-rate. Meanwhile, coffee shops are taking on a luxurious look, be it at Santa Cruz, California\u2013based Verve Coffee Roasters or other Bay Area venues like Sightglass or Four Barrel Coffee, which were designed with residential furniture. \u201cSince a lot of the workforce is able to work in those spaces, it\u2019s affected the workplace,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Orpilla sees a trend\u2014\u201cresimercial\u201d being today\u2019s industry buzzword\u2014emerging from the idea that people like to work where they spend a lot of time. \u201cIt\u2019s about bringing that feeling and aesthetic into the workspace,\u201d he says. \u201cBefore, corporations would buy the same lounge furniture and just move it\u00a0throughout their facility. Now you\u2019re seeing a more territorial approach to making different settings with vibes that feel more curated.\u201d Orpilla has found that if a space is designed with love and care, people work better. \u201cAll of that matters,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople respond to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea of residential crossover into workplaces is not new in itself. In recent years, big contract companies have been acquiring more residential furniture brands and retailers: Knoll absorbed Holly Hunt and Vladimir Kagan; Haworth scooped up Italian high-end furniture brands Cassina, Poltrona Frau, and Cappellini in 2014, the same year that Herman Miller purchased Design Within Reach<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"resimercial
Steelcase x Blu Dot Courtesy Steelcase<\/b><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

But the biggest excitement in the hallways at NeoCon this past June came from announcement after announcement of new strategic partnerships. Steelcase, the $3 billion contract furniture company, has been the most aggressive in lining up strategic partnerships in the past year, with Minneapolis-based modern furniture maker Blu Dot, classic high-end residential firm Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, and 55-year-old Italian\u00a0lighting brand Flos. Steelcase\u2019s sister company Designtex began a partnership with Brooklyn-based home furnishings company West Elm (itself already in a partnership with Inscape) to launch 20-plus high-performance upholstery fabrics in more than 90 colorways, which were created for the 75-plus pieces in the West Elm Workspace collection. Smaller companies are getting into the act too: Allsteel announced its partnership with the Danish brand Normann Copenhagen, and contract furniture company Studio TK announced a joint venture with the French Basque furniture company Alki with the launch of two collections of chairs, bar stools, and lounge seating.<\/p>\n

\"resimercial
Recognizing that Flos has more than 50 years of experience in lighting\u2014 and an aesthetic that resonates with Steelcase\u2019s other \u201cresimercial\u201d partnerships\u2014Steelcase is offering the Italian brand\u2019s decorative lamps through the company\u2019s dealership networks and streamlining the specifying process along the way. \u201cEarlier, design firms had to go fumble through a catalog probably on the back shelf somewhere,\u201d says Jack Schreur, CEO of Flos USA. \u201cToday you can stay within your specification world and you\u2019ve got much broader access to the kind of furnishings that people actually want to work in.\u201d Courtesy Steelcase<\/b><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

More to Choose From, Easier to Specify<\/strong>
\nBrian Shapland, general manager for product partnerships and Turnstone at Steelcase<\/a>, sees this crossover trend as the result of demand from design firms that are really pushing for more choice. Steelcase\u2019s first partnership was with Blu Dot, while the second partnership, with Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, went into effect this November.<\/p>\n

Blu Dot was founded in 1997 by two architects and a sculptor, John Christakos, Maurice Blanks, and Charlie Lazor, to bring good design to as many people as possible. Who wouldn\u2019t want to curl up with the latest annual report in one of Blu Dot\u2019s best sellers, like the comfy Field lounge chair\u2014upholstered in Edwards Tomato red fabric\u2014rather than sit in a black ergonomic task chair?<\/p>\n

Christakos explains the collaboration with Steelcase: \u201cThey reached out to us with the concept and explained how the workplace is changing and offices are becoming more residential and more like boutique hotels and that there\u2019s a growing demand for ancillary product with a residential feeling to it.\u201d Blu Dot<\/a> furnishings were already selling like hotcakes in contract projects, but the company didn\u2019t have a sales force to expand that territory.<\/p>\n

Now, as part of the new partnership, the entire Blu Dot catalog is integrated into Steelcase\u2019s ordering platform. So dealers can work with products from both companies simultaneously, putting them into plans and specifying them with equal ease.\u00a0\u201cWe are integrated logistically on the back end as well, so our products can show up on a Steelcase truck with the Steelcase products in time for very specific move-in dates,\u201d Christakos says. Blu Dot can make this work because it is inherently nimble. Larger contract manufacturers have many levels of customization for their products, which makes it difficult for them to hold large inventories. By contrast, \u201cI think 98 percent of everything we carry is in stock at any time,\u201d Christakos says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not only furniture partnerships that interest Steelcase. \u201cWe felt like lighting was often the focal point of the space,\u201d Shapland explains, \u201cso we started connecting with the Flos<\/a> leadership team.\u201d Founded in Merano, Italy, in 1962, the renowned Italian lighting group has a track record of working with top-notch designers from around the world to create finely crafted decorative lighting for a mix of residential, commercial, and custom projects. \u201cThat\u2019s something that our own sales teams and our own dealers were just thrilled to have an opportunity to connect with,\u201d says Shapland. \u201cWe\u2019ll manage the order and we\u2019ll manage the transportation for the products.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"resimercial
Feeling that their aesthetics fit well, Designtex approached West Elm, resulting in a collaboration on three exclusive textile collections for the contract division West Elm Workspace. \u201cThey were really trying to develop a new design language that I thought would be super exciting to be part of,\u201d says Susan Lyons, president of Designtex. For its part, West Elm saw a partnership with the renowned textile brand as an opportunity to establish itself in the commercial sphere. In keeping with the resimercial trend, the collections offer contract performance with the softer aesthetics and palettes of home furnishings.\u00a0Courtesy West Elm<\/b><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

A New Design Language<\/strong>
\nSince taking over Designtex in 2012, president Susan Lyons has led the company into partnerships with the likes of 3M and Vescom. When she heard the announcement of West Elm Workspace\u2019s partnership with Inscape, she realized there was an opportunity for a collaboration for Designtex, since so much of West Elm\u2019s product is upholstered. \u201cThey were really trying to develop a new design language that I thought would be super exciting to be part of,\u201d she says. The two companies shared many concerns\u2014the notion of supporting smaller makers, for example. \u201cThat\u2019s definitely an interest of ours, too, in terms of working with some of the smaller mills,\u201d Lyons says. \u201cThey also have an interest in developing products that have an eye toward sustainability and community. Those ideas resonated with us as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, Designtex<\/a> has collaborated on three collections of fabrics with West Elm. Because both companies work with a lot of independent designers, West Elm suggested Designtex work with the U.K. textile and rug designer Margo Selby<\/a> to create a collection that will launch next spring. \u201cMargo does a lot of work with West Elm in their retail stores, so it has been great to have her point of view expressed in the commercial environment,\u201d says Lyons. \u201cThe notion that people could get the West Elm aesthetic and get workspace performance, but at a lower price point, really appeals to me. It\u2019s neat to design a $150 textile; it\u2019s harder to design one for $30 that works and is poetic. We like that challenge a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"resimercial
Allsteel observed that designers and facility managers were using a complex process to procure different products to address social and collaborative spaces in offices. \u201cThere were some clients on the West Coast where you have maybe 300 vendors of furniture being used for a site,\u201d\u00a0 says Jason Heredia, Allsteel\u2019s vice president of product design and development. \u201cGetting these on-site logistically or installing is a real pain point. We saw some opportunity there.\u201d After a selection process, the manufacturer chose to partner with Normann Copenhagen to furnish these nontraditional workspaces.\u00a0Courtesy Allsteel<\/b><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

A similar desire for an expanded design language and a mutually beneficial relationship drove Allsteel\u2019s partnership with the Danish furniture and accessories brand Normann Copenhagen, which launched a seven-piece furniture collection. \u201cThey have a very extensive collection and in-depth knowledge of furniture, but you don\u2019t get that in America very often,\u201d says Jason Heredia, Allsteel\u2019s VP of product design and development. \u201cWe are able to provide a scale in the sense that our large sales team and all our dealer network are now out there, spreading the gospel of Normann Copenhagen<\/a> for them.\u201d Heredia sees the Danish brand\u2019s strength as applying design\u00a0thinking through the lifestyle of the accessories, lighting, and rugs that go with it. \u201cThat\u2019s not our core business, nor do we want to be in that business,\u201d he says. \u201cWe influence each other. We\u2019re teaching them about the world of work, and they\u2019re teaching us about trend and color and insights in terms of sensibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

The need for faster and more culturally attuned design solutions is reflective of the changes in the corporate design world, where corporate campuses were hitherto designed to last for 15 or 20 years. Now Allsteel is seeing clients growing and changing rapidly, doing five- or three-year leases in extreme cases. \u201cYou still need quality, service, and reliability, but you might be looking at that ratio differently,\u201d says Heredia. \u201cYou start to see that, for example, in some of the social collaborative areas. Part of it is budgetary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"resimercial
The Danish brand is known for its classic Scandinavian midcentury designs and craftsmanship. But to show American residential and commercial designers in particular\u2014who are more apt to try funky combinations and styles\u2014 that these sophisticated pieces can take on fresh new looks, it partnered with fashion-forward Edelman Leather. Together they curated a selection of six textures in neutral, vibrant, and metallic palettes to ensure that there would be something for everyone on the subdued-to-wild spectrum. \u201cThe line between doing something that\u2019s cool and something that\u2019s obnoxious is very fine, and I think their leathers have such a quality to them that we can go to that edge,\u201d says Thomas Vagner, Carl Hansen & S\u00f8n\u2019s president of Americas. Courtesy Carl Hansen & S\u00f8n<\/b><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

For the Danish brand Carl Hansen & S\u00f8n, a successful collaboration with Maharam<\/a> a few years back led it to try another one with Edelman Leather recently. Since more than half of Carl Hansen & S\u00f8n\u2019s orders are either \u201ccustomer\u2019s own material\u201d or \u201ccustomer\u2019s own leather,\u201d and so many of the company\u2019s pieces are classic midcentury Modern designs, it was important to show the products in a different light from time to time. \u201cWe want it to sometimes appeal to a new target audience,\u201d says Thomas Vagner, president of Americas at Carl Hansen & S\u00f8n. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get interior designers to look at us for different settings and not just for Scandinavian furniture.\u201d The firm created two collections with Edelman: one that is more residential in feel\u2014\u201cless wild,\u201d as Vagner describes it\u2014and another for the commercial market that is more daring, with colors like pink, bright yellow, and some turquoise. Meanwhile, the company is seeking new directions as well through a partnership with designer Naja Utzon Popov<\/a> on a collection of rugs. \u201cWe always choose collaborators who can complement our furniture, and Naja\u2019s rugs contribute to this thought\u2014rugs are a natural part of a home, just like our furniture,\u201d says Knud Erik Hansen, CEO of Carl Hansen & S\u00f8n<\/a>. \u201cWith time, the idea is to offer more items that can contribute to the design universe of Carl Hansen & S\u00f8n. This could, for example, be lamps, ceramics, cushions\u2014accessories which are part of the home that we craft furniture for.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"resimercial
Acknowledging that commercial manufacturers were attempting to become more residential or partner with residential brands, West Elm decided to \u201cpush the envelope on our end to get into the commercial [business],\u201d says Cheryl Carpenter, VP of West Elm Workspace. Through a partnership with office furniture brand Inscape, Workspace translated its residential sensibilities into contract-grade products (the company\u2019s Industrial benching system is shown, opposite) and then collaborated with the established brand Designtex to develop fabrics for numerous upholstered pieces. Most recently, West Elm Workspace partnered with Gensler to create a new workstation system, Conduit.
Courtesy West Elm<\/b><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Here to Stay<\/strong>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s probably one of the biggest trends that we\u2019ve seen in our industry in a long time, so it\u2019s definitely something that everyone\u2019s reacting to,\u201d says Cheryl Carpenter, VP of West Elm Workspace<\/a>. The strategic partnerships formed this year all enable designers to stay within the contract specification world, but with broader access to the furnishings that people want to work with. \u201cI think you\u2019re going to see all of those companies in a bit of a race,\u201d says Jack Schreur, CEO of Flos USA. \u201cThey\u2019re trying to make sure that when their large corporate customers walk in the door with their architects and designers, they\u2019re able to meet all of their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orpilla of Studio O+A doesn\u2019t think the residential crossover trends that have driven these partnerships are going away anytime soon: Technology and wireless networks have allowed the officescape to be more untethered. Plus, \u201cit\u2019s proven that it\u2019s better to move around than to sit sedentary at your desk for eight hours a day,\u201d he adds. \u201cDo what suits your work in a place of comfort.\u201d So ancillary furniture specifications are now outnumbering workstation specifications. \u201cIt is not uncommon to see a lot more soft seating and casual areas in a work area outweighing the number of workstations,\u201d he points out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason why people come home and fall into some sofa with their feet on the coffee table,\u201d says Schreur. \u201cIt\u2019s because they\u2019re comfortable that way. If you want people to keep coming to work, and to enjoy what they do, you\u2019re going to have to create some spaces where they can feel comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may also enjoy “West Elm Local Bets on America’s Makers, Letting Them Sell Goods in West Elms Nationwide<\/a>.”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As workplace design increasingly takes cues from homes and hotels, contract companies are adapting by strategically pairing up with residential and lighting brands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":64435,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"featured_image_focal_point":[],"legacy_WP_ID":null},"tags":[382,1301,1533,205,235,1688,865,144],"metro_tax_domain":[76],"metro_tax_topic":[14],"metro_tax_program":[],"metro_issue":[],"metro_cat_viewpoint":[],"internal_flag":[],"class_list":["post-59729","metro_viewpoint","type-metro_viewpoint","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-allsteel","tag-blu-dot","tag-designtex","tag-furniture","tag-steelcase","tag-west-elm","tag-workplace","tag-workplace-interiors","metro_tax_domain-workplace","metro_tax_topic-interior-design"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Evolving Workplace Needs Are Forging New Partnerships Among Furniture Brands - Metropolis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As 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