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

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+

Perfectly Modern

This week, we're taking a closer look at some uniquely designed furniture from companies who truly understand modern interiors. HighTower Group is a US-based furniture company made up of passionate design enthusiasts. Founded in 2003 by Scott Hartkopf, the company sources, produces, and delivers products from cafe chairs and lobby sofas, to breakout tables and magazine racks - perfect for your commercial work space. HighTower specializes in fresh, innovative designs that fit seamlessly in today's corporate environment. With a keen focus on collaboration, flexibility, and mobility, HighTower helps boost and maintain our newest generation's productivity at the office.

"Grey walls and cubicles are a thing of the past - offices should be be fun and engaging."

Hartkopf says, "It was clear that our industry was craving new designs for commercial spaces, but needed these exciting, new designs to be more readily available & easy to specify.  We all agreed and started to work on creating HighTower's product collection based out of High Point, North Carolina."

Co-founded by Scott's two daughters, HighTower is "infused with the sensibilities of Gen Y." This combination of generations provides the company with a unique perspective and makes it easy for them to design products that are desirable for how people work in today's world.

Here's a look at a few of our favorite HighTower picks:

InDuplo Sofa - Ernst & Jensen
Comfortable and sculptural sofa with modern retro styling
Lacquered aluminum legs available in white or black standard 
2 seat or 3 seat options
Lowback or Midback

Log - Naoto Fukasawa, 2006
Crafted from oak with natural clear lacquer finish
Series includes stool, bench, bench grande, and table
Removable lid for storage

Papa - Jonas Lindvall 
Beautiful bentwood lounge chair
Inspired by the Danish golden era of design and Hemingway’s grandiosity
Frame available in clear lacquered Oak or black stained Oak
Optional upholstered seat pad
Matching Table available

Images and specs via HighTower

Just in case...

If you weren't able to come see us last week for a look at our selection of sale items in the warehouse, don't worry! We've decided to extend our offering and keep the sale event up and running thru the end of this week from 9am-4pm, as well as on Saturday April 20th from 9am-12pm.

Don't miss out on these amazing deals! If you're in the market for a single new chair or desk, this is the time to buy. Deep discounts on these gently used showroom samples are the way to go for that little pick me up your office needs. Come down to check out deals on multiples of the same item as well! We've got around 20,000 sq. feet full of product to move and everything is marked to guarantee smart savings for you.

Our warehouse is located just down the street from the Rose Garden at 524 N Tillamook, Portland, OR 97227.

We'll see you there!

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog - a place for all things office related. We'll be here often to report on current and upcoming industry trends, highlight fun new products and designers, share interesting articles and, of course, the occasional update on our own projects.

Check back soon to see what we've been up to!