Furniture manufacturer Bisley has seen an increase in orders from government agencies for products to help deal with humanitarian disasters and emergencies, such as custom-designed lockers for refugee centres. The company has also received large orders for furniture from the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic and for custom cupboards for new Brexit Customs offices. Bisley's ability to pivot and evolve its product offerings in response to changing global forces is seen as key to its success in an unpredictable global marketplace.

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, listing 200-300 creditors owed between $10-50 million. Among them: Transportation Insight, Ryder Last Mile, Kravet, Moore & Giles, and Cylindo. The company has $10-50 million in assets. Dalton Edgecomb, senior managing director of Riveron, will be the chief restructuring officer. M&A firm Stump & Company will supervise a potential sale of assets. The company ceased operations less than two weeks ago due to a disagreement between private equity owners and its lender, PNC Bank. The company is still looking for investors to finance revitalization and has secured a loan to preserve its assets. There have been multiple expressions of interest regarding groups of assets.

 

it was just a year ago that Steelcase forged a relationship with Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. 

Steelcase said at the time that it would offer a collection of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams products throughout the U.S. and Canada, with availability expected in November (2022). 

“We were drawn to the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams vision of creating comfortable and stylish home furnishings, which can now translate into inspiring, informal work environments,” said Allan Smith, VP, global marketing at Steelcase. “We are excited about the convenience this relationship brings to architects, designers and clients as they create the kinds of places where people can unleash their best thinking, collaborate more comfortably and work in a variety of informal postures.”

It is unknown at this time how the Steelcase relationship played into the failure of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, but it obviously didn't help.

Contract Furnishings has opened a design center at the Western Auto Building in Kansas City. The design center aims to be an “educational epicenter for both furniture and interior design,” with fabric samples, digital resources, and a team of 12 employees and designers available to clients on a walk-in and appointment basis. The location was chosen because it perfectly represents what Contract Furnishings is about. The company has been in business in Kansas City for 30 years and also operates a design center in Overland Park and a warehouse sales center in Kansas City.

Tokyo is adopting hybrid work to support a diverse workforce and companies are creating modern workplaces that meet modern expectations for work-life balance. Japanese office workers are working from home around 30% of the time, and hybrid work is expected to remain a trend for both social and economic reasons. Companies are modernizing to address challenges such as labor shortages, an aging population, employee well-being, gender equality, and diversity in the workplace.

Hybrid work creates accessibility that supports a diverse workforce and traditional underrepresented groups have expressed stronger preferences for the flexibility that comes with hybrid work. The inclusive hybrid workplace creates trust and support for employees, increases productivity and retention, and empowers employees to do their best work.

Design trends for high-performing hybrid workplaces in Tokyo include collaboration, focus space, wellness, sense of belonging, and improved technology. Collaborative pilots and adaptation are critical for empowering change and engaging stakeholders and end-users in the final decision-making for workplace design.

Creating inclusive workplaces that support a variety of work styles and employee priorities like mobility, choice, privacy, and working with others virtually is critical for the future of hybrid work in Tokyo and beyond.

This Bloomberg article explores the return-to-office (RTO) debate, interviewing bosses and workers to examine how the issue is playing out globally. The article finds that office-occupancy rates in the US lag behind those in Europe and Asia, and that cities around the world will see less demand for office space. The article also notes that Lisbon and other European cities became a haven for digital nomads during the pandemic, but Portugal and Ireland have recently tightened their remote-work visa policies, sending nomads to Asian cities like Seoul and Manila.

WeWork is renegotiating almost all of its leases and exiting underperforming locations to reduce lease liabilities, according to CEO David Tolley. The company lost 15,000 physical memberships in Q2 and had a net loss of $397M. WeWork is still planning to stay in a majority of its buildings and markets, but will let members know about closures and offer alternatives to minimize disruptions.

Furniture quality has declined over time. Today's consumers tend to dispose of furniture quickly, while companies rely on cheap labor and materials to keep costs down. Even higher-end furniture chains may not offer high-quality furniture. Most furniture today is made of inexpensive materials such as Chinese-made press board and plywood. Rubber wood and other cheaper materials are used to reduce costs. The use of lightweight materials for shipping furniture contributes to the decline in quality. Consumers now expect furniture to be cheap and disposable. This has created a culture of waste. To ensure furniture lasts, consider buying pieces made of solid wood or domestically-made furniture. Custom furniture is also a good option, but it is more expensive. It is important to invest in quality furniture that can be passed down as an heirloom.

America's aging population is a demographic shift that will affect every part of society. With a drop in the working-age population, labor shortages, productivity declines, and slower economic growth are expected. The strains are showing in everything from health care and housing to employment and transportation. By 2053, more than 40 percent of the federal budget will go toward programs for seniors, primarily Social Security and Medicare, but those programs are not designed for or prepared to handle the new demographic reality. A broad-based response is needed to address the challenges of an aging population, including who will care for older people, where they will live, how our cities are designed, and how businesses will adapt.

Only 7% of UK office workers are in favor of fully remote work, with 41% preferring to work from a company office. However, 79% of workers are calling for improvements to their offices and more support for flexible working. The Sony State of Offices Report 2023 also reveals that over half (56%) of CEOs and business leaders in the UK plan to incorporate co-working spaces in the future, despite only 15% of employees preferring this setup. The biggest barriers to making office spaces work for employees' current working habits are a lack of appropriate real estate solutions, budget, and a disparately located workforce. Over a quarter (28%) of UK office workers are still entirely office-based, and 85% of all meetings include at least one remote work participant. Asynchronous working is becoming increasingly popular, with 44% of people wanting complete flexibility over where and when they work. The report also highlights the importance of technology setup, with many workers having better technology at home than they do at work. Employers need to focus on providing the right workplace, equipment, and flexible hours to ensure they get the most from their people.

Keilhauer has launched Foryu, an ergonomic office chair designed by German designer Martin Ballendat, which features a self-weighted mechanism that automatically adjusts to the user's weight and size. The chair is available in black or white nylon frames with black casters and an upholstered cushion in standard black or grey textiles or any COM textile. Foryu is BIFMA Level 2 certified and carries an SCS Global Services certification for Indoor Air Quality at the Indoor Advantage Gold level. It is shipped from zero-waste-to-landfill facilities and is supported by Keilhauer's 10-year warranty.

Frövi, a UK-based commercial furniture designer, has launched Sail, a contemporary seating range that allows flexibility and consolidation of workspace in a given area to collaborate, concentrate, and create. Sail's soft edges, continuous curved corners, and elegant design create a welcoming space without the need for partitioning or division. It can be used in a multitude of locations, including open-plan offices, atriums, and hotel lobbies, and is available in combinations from a one-seater sofa to a four-seater booth with a table and laptop holder.

Frövi has launched the Isle table, designed by their in-house UK team, which adds a softer, more domestic feel to modern commercial furniture. Made from solid ash, the table is available in seven sizes and features concealed functionality for everyday use, including cable management and below-surface power. The table is suitable for use in a variety of commercial environments and can be integrated into most interior design schemes.

These blue street furniture pieces in Barcelona are actually ergonomic supports designed by architect and ergonomist Antonio Bustamante and industrial designer Marc Llagostera. The supports are designed to induce a balanced posture and relieve tension in the vertebral musculature, and are produced in 2mm-thick machined and welded sheet metal.

The Butler Chair, designed by Rikke Frost, is a laminated veneer chair that includes storage for jackets and bags. The design was inspired by the challenge of finding space for personal belongings in public spaces. The chair has gone through several iterations, including the use of floating tenons instead of screws to join the back. While it has been exhibited with Danish Design Makers, it does not appear to be in production.

AstraZeneca has designed its new office in Finland with a focus on health and wellness, using nature-inspired design elements such as green living walls to purify the air and provide a calming visual environment. The layout was designed to provide comfort and space for both collaborative and individual work, and the biophilic design concept was used throughout the office. The company's efforts to focus on employee health and encourage a stronger return-to-office in their hybrid workplace is a strategy that many big companies are taking, with biophilia becoming part of the lexicon of the office sector over the last couple of years.

ATB Financial has created a unique hybrid work environment that optimizes for both performance and employee experience. The company has learned from real-time data and team member feedback to inform future efforts, including adapting to team member preferences around furniture functionality, power inclusion, confidentiality, and meeting spaces. The physical space is designed to be flexible, agile, and diverse, with integrated signage and infographics to navigate through colored zones, a variety of meeting and collaboration spaces, and dedicated quiet zones. The company also provides the right technology and digital infrastructure to enable an effective and seamless hybrid environment, including space booking software, space utilization sensors, ergonomic assessments, and a home workplace setup allowance. ATB continues to push the boundaries and rethink how they work based on feedback and data, positioning them to drive greater value over the long term.

Atelier Cho Thompson redesigned 750 square meters of a historic shoe factory building in Boston's central business district for client EQ Office, creating functional spaces for flexible everyday office life. The architects balanced old and new, uncovering the building's rich history while meeting the needs of the post-pandemic workplace with a multi-layered composition of narrative and tactile layers. The resulting space features a playful juxtaposition of materials and patterns, bringing the ornamental elements of the exterior into the core of the building.

EDspaces 2023
November  7-9, 2023 | Charlotte, NC

 

There has never been a better time to move forward; to reset the places where teaching and learning happens, and to create inspiring spaces for better experiences and learning outcomes.If you play a part in the learning process, from educator/administrator, architect or interior designer, to distributor, integrator, or supplier, EDspaces is the can’t miss event driving the expectations for what the learning experience will be in the future.

Clerkenwell Design Week 2024
May 21-23, 2024 | London

Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, making it truly one of the most important design hubs in the world. To celebrate this rich and diverse community, Clerkenwell Design Week has created a showcase of leading UK and international brands and companies presented in a series of showroom events, exhibitions and special installations that take place across the area.

NeoCon 2024
June 10-12, 2024 | Chicago, IL

 

NeoCon has served as the world’s leading platform and most important event of the year for the commercial design industry since 1969. A launch pad for innovation—NeoCon offers ideas and introductions that shape the built environment today and into the future.  

Orgatec 2024
October 22-26, 2024 | Cologne, Germany

Orgatec is the International trade fair for office and property equipment. Held in Cologne, Germany.

Find the best Contract Furniture Industry jobs and hire the best talent.

TREMAIN is rapidly growing in the US market and in need of experienced sales reps for several different markets across the country.

We are currently looking for a Business Development Executive to join our sales team. This position will have new business development responsibilities for San Antonio, TX.

The Senator Group has an immediate career opportunity for a Territory Sales Rep in the Baltimore/Washington DC area.

Our product offering is ideally suited to Rep Groups who have strong A&D relationships with a focus on project sales cycles.

Indoff is expanding and in need of experienced outside sales professionals in your area. If you’re tired of missing out on money due to low commission rates or you’re sick of quotas, then Indoff is the perfect solution for you.

The Regional Sales Manager will be responsible for the sales and sales growth of The Senator Groups products in the region of the country outlined.

Baresque, a leading supplier of architectural acoustical solutions for the hospitality, contract furniture, public space-site furniture, commercial, education and healthcare markets, is seeking an experienced Project Manager to join our team in Farmers Branch, Texas.