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