FEEK Out!

Check out the newest thing to come out of Trendway! Feek is a European product which utilizes coated foam to create unique pieces of furniture in all kinds of shapes and sizes. The pieces are flexible, functional, and futuristic - the perfect fit for your modern office, home, library, or retail space. Feek is tailor made to your project and the colors are all so fresh and trendy.

Since 2003, Feek has been a pioneer in furniture design using surprising new materials. It all started with foam products, which after 10 years has resulted in a completely new approach to the furniture, interior, and building industry. Feek offers a wide range of award winning designs, materials, products and processes. Foam coating, known as “rock face", uses the latest developments in the world of 3D foam and surface techniques. Feek's material is made from a range of polyurethane-based lacquer systems which is easy to maintain and will take on any shape.

We first caught wind of this exciting new product a few months ago, but were lucky enough to check it out in person at this year's NeoCon exhibition as Jake snapped some shots inside the Trendway showroom. Contact us for more info on how to snag this awesome product for your space - available to order in mid July!

Fun at NeoCon

Happy Monday! Our team had a great time in Chicago this past week exploring the city and getting inspired by its architecture and, of course, by the creative showrooms at NeoCon. Their days were full of lunch meetings, exhibits, and dinner parties with industry professionals and our resident designer, Jake, snapped some great shots chronicling their trip.

We stopped by to see some of our favorite manufacturer showrooms, including OFS, Kimball, HON, BuzziSpace, Trendway, Arcadia, and Izzy+.

The guys spent some quality time getting up close and personal with the products and learning about all their options.

The team also got a good dose of big city inspiration from the amazing Chicago architecture. Hours of exploration and great weather led to these awesome building snapshots.

After a few delays and a cancelled flight, our guys were on their way back to Portland to get to work! Come check us out to get some more information on these awesome brands shown at the conference and let us outfit your space with the best of the best in modern furniture.

Love for OFS from IIDA

The International Interior Design Association holds frequent competitions for the interior design community to participate in all over the world. Most recently, the IIDA announced its winners for The INDEX & Office Exhibition Product Design Awards, a contest which took place in Dubai last month.

The competition featured products designed for residential and commercial office spaces, which were offered for sale after February of 2012. Categories included applied finishes/materials, free-standing furniture, decorative accessories, flooring, lighting, seating, tables, and textiles - among others. The winning products were selected by a judging panel of design professionals, with a Best of Category winner for each, and two Honorable Mentions in each category. An overall Best of Show winner was then chosen from the category winners.

With a plethora of awesomely deigned products to choose from, the judges gave OFS - one of our favorites - ample praise at the showcase! Eleven won Best of Category in Casegoods/Free-Standing Furniture, while the Madrid chairs won an Honorable Mention in the Seating category!

How exciting to see some of the products we love being awarded around the world. We're currently enjoying those wonderfully modern Madrid chairs in our own office as well!

Here's a look at some of the other winners from the exhibition:

Best in Competition
In_Motion Seating from Guialmi, designed by Rita Cruz

 

Honorable Mention, Casegoods/Free-Standing

cWave from Dieffebi S.p.A., designed by Michael Buford

Honorable Mention, Flooring

Kahrs Oak Trollaborg Flooring from Nordic Homworx, designed by Kahrs

  

Check back next week for updates from our design team at this week's NeoCon event!

Photos via IIDA

European Influence

As we've mentioned before, we're huge fans of looking to European design as inspiration for our own modern shift in interiors. Because, hey, let's be honest - Europe has always been little bit ahead of the game! We're so inspired by their keen use of color, shape, and innovative products that we pulled together a few bundles of photos to give you an idea of where we're coming from. Check out these totally modern office spaces from around the world and let the drooling commence!

BIPA's Colorful and Productive New Headquarters

Austrian cosmetics firm located in Vienna.
Designed by BEHF Architekten and outfitted by office furniture company Bene.

Bubble's Efficient and Teamwork-based Offices

Social Media agency based in Prague.

 















































And here's an Australian and Canadian example, for good measure!

King & Wood Mallesons Flexible Brisbane Offices

Leading law firm in Brisbane.
Designed by HBO+EMT.

The New Urban System's Surrey Offices

Community-based engineering firm in Surrey, British Columbia.
Designed by Ashley Price Interior Design.

Photos via Office Snapshots

Inside The Industry

"Office furniture is being 'dumbed down' by manufacturers whose focus is on styling instead of substance. 'If you look at their chairs, they probably shouldn't be making chairs. It dumbs down design and that means design firms play less of a role.'" - MMQB and Humanscale's Bob King

The above quotes couldn't be more accurate when speaking about the current standing of the commercial furniture business. There are the major competing manufacturers - Steelcase, Herman Miller, Knoll, etc. - and then there are those smaller companies, such as Humanscale, who focus whole heartedly on design and strive to provide a diverse range of products to meet their customers' needs without demanding loyalty from dealers.

The industry's traditional office furniture makers tend to be more concerned with their numbers and keeping up with competitors than with sharing the market in order for their dealers to offer more options to clients. Most dealers have a cut throat relationship with these larger manufacturers and are pressured to remain loyal by selling only the product that is made available to them.

Luckily, for smaller, boutique design firms like us, we have options! We're open to working with smaller manufacturers who produce trendy, fresh new items that meet the needs of your project by way of price, style, and innovation. This is an important factor to take into consideration when choosing a dealer to order product through. Not only do we provide a fully customized revamp of your space and get to know you and your project on a personal level, but we also tend to offer more of the best products that may not be available to you from a dealer with loyalty to those manufacturers offering less of the options you need.

When choosing to update your space, think about the advantages of a personalized experience that you may only get with a boutique dealer like ours. We look forward to every project that comes our way and are excited about the freedoms that allow us to choose from a variety of manufacturers so that you get the product you want at the price you need, all the while being a part of the design process from start to finish. What could be better?

quote via MMQB

Now that's fresh...

Check out Amazon's most recent design plan for their Seattle Headquarters - talk about a fresh update!

NBBJ first unveiled their plans for the large Seattle remodel back in the Fall of 2012, but they just announced plans to add three biospheres in the middle of the 3-block downtown campus to be filled with plants from around the world. Amazon hopes to create a successful working environment that resembles a park instead of the typical "vanilla" office space.

The new campus will be LEED Gold-designed to include steel and glass structures complete with employee environments, retail spaces, botanical zones featuring a range of plants - including mature trees from high-elevation climates - and a large public park in the surrounding area.

"Amazon’s new Seattle campus will revamp three blocks in the Denny Triangle area in between South Lake Union and the commercial core. The plan calls for three 37-story towers complemented with lower volumes, open space, parks, green roofs and art installations." The largest dome will be 130 ft in diameter and the smallest around 80 ft in diameter. Inside, the spheres will house a variety of work spaces, dining areas, meeting rooms, and lounges. The LEED certified transparent domes will allow for tons of daylight and fresh air while minimizing energy use and enhancing the streetscape with reduced impact from shade and shadows.

"According to the Seattle Times, Amazon and NBBJ met with the city design review board this week to share the new plans. The plans were met with mixed reviews, although the consensus is that the biosphere plan is better than the old, rectangular design. Amazon hopes to finish the project by 2016."

We're definitely in to this new design plan and love that Amazon is utilizing LEED initiatives to further enhance their work space and help keep our environment green. This definitely has us eager to dream up new ways to implement some environmentally savvy designs into more of our day to day projects.

+ NBBJ
Via Seattle Times

Brighten Up Your Mondays

Monday mornings got you down? Long, drawn out meetings held in cold, sleepy conference rooms with bland designs should be a thing of the past by now! If you're still behind the times, we can help you liven up your office by way of modern, new additions and cool, current furniture. Refresh your employees' outlook on their office life with some updates! Take a look at these awesome pieces from izzy+.


Nemo Trellis
"Encouraging collaboration and connection starts with creating a sense of place in an open space."

As a unique architectural piece, the Nemo Trellis provides your space with a "hint of enclosure without shutting anyone out." The trellis comes available in three configurations, two widths and multiple lengths which gives the flexibility needed to create inspiring spaces. Nemo is modern with a clean aesthetic and simple geometric form built primarily of steel for durability and recyclability. The fresh izzy+ flavors palette offers a wide variety of choices in materials and colors. Designer of the Best of NeoCon award-winning Dewey collection and Rylee table for izzy+, Joey Ruiter redefines expectations in the world of industrial design. Only 33 years old, he's already a major influence in today’s new direction of the human-centric workplace. Ruiter's signature is "design that meets everyday needs in surprising ways — pushing the limits of manufacturing and confronting established expectations."
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HÅG H09
"More than a chair."

"It's more than a chair, it's a philosophy. A chair is not just a chair. It's an extension of your body and mind." A good chair should fit your body in all situations and allow for free, natural movements and superior comfort. HÅG H09 gives you a feeling of private space; creating a screened atmosphere which helps stimulate your creativity and improve concentration. Designer Svein Asbjørnsen works from the historic, renovated rooms of a 1904 building in the mountains of Norway which provides the perfect setting for his company's modern designs. HÅG H09 is an innovative chair which brings together "advanced ergonomics, 21st century manufacturing capabilities, and bold design" that may be used in a variety of settings from conference rooms to private offices. Its unique flip-down arms and unparalleled lumbar support separate it from other chairs in the high-end ergonomic seating market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clara Tables
"Human centered designs encourage support the new workstyle."

Clara tables offer clean yet unexpected shapes, ideal for open plan spaces and are perfect for small conferencing/collaboration areas. Table materials include a solid urethane edge, high pressure laminate work surface, and extruded aluminum legs. Designed by Dan West, Tod Babick & Chuck Saylor, the Clara table comes in a variety of unique configurations, shapes, and sizes (straight, arc, corner, diamond, etc.) to fit any project space. The three accalimed designers came together to create izzydesign's inaugural Clara Furniture Collection in 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nemo Bar
"We don't work and learn like we used to. We collaborate and telecommute, always on the move with our technology and our ideas. Nemo Bar responds to the characteristics of our 'most inspiring spaces' – encouraging and supporting connection, inspiration, and reflection."

"As an iconic statement within a variety of different applications, the Nemo Bar offers a hub for reflection, connection and collaboration, along with options for power." Plus, all of the izzy+ flavors options for materials and colors bring it all to life. The bar can be used in conjunction with the Nemo trellis, or on its own in an open plan work space. It's perfect for quick meetings, individual work time, or even as a collaborative space for office lunches. The Nemo Bar is a modern take on the typical bar/desk application and provides a fresh sense of style in your newly updated space - perfect for today's growing offices.

 

images/specs from izzy+

Advantis Credit Union

"Kimball Office did whatever it took to get me what I needed, even if it wasn't standard. Kimball and NWOI really pulled it together to get the job done."

Recently, we wrapped a project at Advantis Credit Union where we collaborated with Kimball to design and furnish their 10,300 square foot space to be used for finance and banking purposes here in Milwaukie, OR.

Our design team utilized pieces from Priority, Itsa, Villa, Xsite, Footprint, and Bingo to create a functional space complete with open plan ideals, private offices, and conference rooms. The challenge was to work with Advantis' recent growth and need for a fresh remodel. We aimed to meet the contemporary vision of Tim Clouse, VP of IT and Facilities, who wanted to "create an interesting work place so that [their] staff knew they were valued and their work was appreciated."

Advantis employees work long hours at their desks and have little interaction with others with few open spaces available and cubicle work spaces. Our team and SUM Design Studio + Architecture knew that this needed to change and worked to create a space which encourages collaboration and positive employee relationships. The space now has a new, modern feel with tons of natural light, abundant storage, fresh colors, and contemporary furniture from Kimball.

Overall the project was a huge success and Clouse confirms “the openness increases productivity and creates transparency around work. This project was incredibly gratifying for me because people enjoy it.”

Check out the full case study here.