Twitter is selling Knoll Generation chairs from its San Francisco HQ to the highest bidder / Inscape Announces Second Quarter Sales Declined. Survival at Stake / ULTRAFABRICS X PANTONE - A Collaboration / Jasper considering tax abatement for $2.1M investment by Versteel / Companies Are Lowering Their Office Size Requirements Even as Employees Slowly Return / Some Firms Backtrack On Work-From-Anywhere Policies. Office Owners Shouldn't Get Their Hopes Up / MillerKnoll Retail HQ Awarded Prestigious WELL Certification Platinum / WeWork Default A 'Real Possibility' After Fitch Downgrades Coworking Provider

The Working Space
Monday, December 12, 2022

Industry News

Total sales revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 was $8.3 million, compared to $9.7 million for the same period of fiscal 2022. The floundering maker posted a loss of $7.9 million for the quarter as well. The company blamed the decline in the quarter to delays in the completion of certain projects, reduced average size of incoming orders and lower than expected order volumes.
If you've ever wanted a 6-foot-high sculpture of an @ sign that doubles as a planter, now is your chance. The sculpture is one of the hundreds of items from Twitter's San Francisco headquarters going on the auction block, including a blue Twitter bird statue, a handful of Eames wooden chairs, tons of Knoll Generation task chairs and hundreds of Knoll sit/stand desks, Knoll peds, flat panel TVs, and a variety of kitchen equipment ranging from a vegetable dryer to more than a dozen espresso machines.
 
The items were listed on the online site BidSpotter under the heading “Online Auction Sale Featuring Surplus Corporate Office Assets of Twitter,” with most items showing opening bid prices set at $25 and $50.
 
The items in the auction are a testament to the perk-filled office life for Silicon Valley tech workers, where companies like Google, Meta, and Twitter have long competed to outdo each other amid a costly battle to lure tech talent. While the pandemic has upended many office life norms, many large tech companies and startups once served employees breakfast, lunch, and dinner at an assortment of on campus restaurants and cafes, as well as providing services like on-site massages and dry cleaning.
Landscape Forms announced Eric Swanson as the new President of Loll Designs, the award-winning designer and manufacturer of outdoor furniture. Swanson will lead Loll Designs' Duluth, Minnesota-based team with over twenty-two years in the industry.
Throughout 2023 Ultrafabrics will deepen their collaboration with Pantone through a series of co-branded global, interactive events, sharing their expertise on how color can be implemented in almost any type of space and into Viva Magenta's application possibilities across the world of interiors.
MillerKnoll said Friday that it has been awarded WELL Certification at the Platinum level (the highest possible) and WELL Health Safety Rating for its new retail headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).
The Jasper Economic Development Commission forwarded a request for a tax abatement from Ditto Sales/Versteel to the Jasper Common Council. The abatement is for personal property taxes on new equipment being purchased by the company to increase production capacity and efficiency, in effect sustaining more growth. The company is investing more than $2.1 million in equipment to cut sheet and tubular steel as well as produce nitrogen on-site.

The 80-year-old company has about 154 employees, with 146 at the Jasper headquarters. It specializes in building and supplying components for local furniture manufacturers and specializes in steel furniture manufacturing. The company has clients in corporate, healthcare and higher education, like John Hopkins, American Express and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Though working from home impacted the office furniture industry, the recovery is apparent. Versteel is up about $2 million compared to this time last year.

More workers are returning to the office, according to Kastle Systems’ 10-city Back to Work Barometer, which tracked office occupancy at 49% after the Thanksgiving holiday.

All 10 cities tracked increased in occupancy last week — Chicago, Dallas, New York City and Houston joined Austin as the four cities to reach occupancy above the 10-city average.

The pandemic has changed many things. While some things are returning to normal, the workplace is now so different and forever will be.
 
Where is the workplace market heading next? This question is important to everyone in the workplace profession, and so far, our efforts to find answers have been limited to traditional means.
At first, it was a standard RH earnings call. Chairman and CEO Gary Friedman kicked off the festivities with some impressive numbers: The company had once again exceeded analyst predictions, beating expected earnings per share by 20 percent and drawing in an impressive $869 million in revenue for the latest quarter.
Copenhagen-based NORNORM, a subscription-based furnishing service, announced on Wednesday that it has secured €110M in a fresh funding round led by Verdane. Inter IKEA Group and Philian AB also participated in the round. The Danish company says it will use the funds to accelerate global expansion, including in the US market, in 2023.
Last week, software titan Salesforce - which owns Slack, the tool that enabled workplaces everywhere to be "from anywhere" the instant the pandemic hit - joined the ranks of Snap, Twitter and Comcast in telling some employees to return to in-person work after previous work-from-anywhere policies.
One of New York's most prominent office developers is raising a huge fund to put some office buildings out of their misery.

Silverstein Properties is seeking to raise $1.5B to fund office conversions, hoping to acquire washed-up office towers in New York and other major cities and redevelop them into apartment buildings.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded WeWork Cos. to CCC from CCC+, citing recent negative metrics pulling the company down, and the prospect of a weaker economy next year. Default for the coworking company is a real possibility, according to Fitch. Fitch predicts WeWork would be a going concern should it go bankrupt, and it would be reorganized rather than liquidated. Under a recovery scenario, Fitch expects "significant defaults" on lease payments.
Millions of employees in the UK will be able to request flexible working from day one of their employment, under new government plans to make flexible working the default. Flexible working doesn’t just mean a combination of working from home and in the office – it can mean employees making use of job-sharing, flexitime, and working compressed, annualized, or staggered hours. The raft of new measures will give employees greater access to flexibility over where, when, and how they work, leading to happier, more productive staff.
While premium office buildings in New York City continue to perform well, it’s going to be a dark day for Class B and C buildings very soon. Since the start of the pandemic, which has accelerated a trend toward remote working and consequently lowered the need for space, forecasters have predicted disaster for the office industry. However, the sector has bucked these forecasts. But the sudden increase in interest rates might make it necessary. For owners and developers, financing has suddenly become more expensive—if it is even still accessible. Subprime buildings appear to be the most vulnerable.

Features

The pandemic has led us to the biggest workplace experiment that the world has ever witnessed. This is quite opposite to the industrial revolution that got workers out of their homes to workplaces. Interestingly, while remote working is an accepted style today, two years into the pandemic, we see that office spaces are not being eliminated but instead are being optimized.

Workspace News

Remote work and hybrid employment is becoming the norm — with increasing numbers of people and employers expected to go remote in future. But this rise in working from home/working remotely comes with several costs. Those costs include internet subscriptions, computers and office equipment, home office furniture, security, insurance, and software.
Workplace engagement is approaching an all-time low, and typical employer reaction has been characteristically resigned. Actually, that last statement was inaccurately soft. Let me rephrase: most employees either don't care about or actually hate their jobs, and employers couldn't care less. Gallup...
Companies looking to bring workers back to the office need to focus on providing robust in-house technology and flexible workstations over flashy building amenities, according to a new survey commissioned by commercial real estate building software company Essensys.

The London-based global tech firm, which services office buildings and flex space, surveyed 1,000 U.S. office workers in August and found that 81 percent of those questioned are frustrated with their current office experience. In addition, it found that tech and flex workstations are a more significant factor in getting workers back to the office than amenities.

The UK government has announced that all workers will now gain the right to request flexible working as a day one right - as to after 6 months of employment in the previous legislation. This move is a very welcome one, yet not enough to make flexible working a norm for all workers.
A study from Unispace claims that the majority of workplaces are not set up to enable staff to work to their best ability. This data suggests that there is a mismatch between what employers believe is a productive environment and what staff really want. 
People crave spaces that facilitate focused work, but many offices still aren’t designed for the way people work most effectively.

Trends

This year saw most companies having employees come back to the office in person at least a few days a week. Next year, we will see companies getting employees excited about coming back to the office.

The hybrid model will continue to be popular. But based on feedback from our clients and our own offices across the country, I predict that we will all settle into a more standardized pattern of going into the office at least three days a week. The biggest difference is that employers are going to prioritize the quality of their workspaces even more to entice, engage and enthuse employees into going back.

Latest Products

The Softwood Collection by Lars Beller Fjetland stretches and bends wood to an almost impossible form. Pleat, Quilt, and Twist haven't forgotten their mid-century roots but an innovative new process enables forms inspired by the subtle folds of textiles and drapery.
Hans J. Wegner had a special ability to design furniture that harmonized with their surroundings while staying relevant for the future. This is also true of his Nesting Tables, which were created to be functional and space-saving properties which are also highly relevant today.
Architecture studio McCloy + Muchemwa has teamed up with maker studio Mitre & Mondays to create tables that join together like puzzle pieces.

The Partly Cloudy Tables were designed for Out & About, a programme of free events in Pinball Park, Sheffield, intended to support economic recovery in the northern English city.

Each table has its own unique shape. But they fit together in many different ways, offering endless possibilities for configuration.

Rikke Frost is known for combining classic design with a modern approach, and her designs always employ outstanding craftsmanship to achieve a high degree of functionality. This is clear in the new Sideways Footstool, whose generous upholstery and elegant joinery makes it just as comfortable to sit on as it is beautiful to look at.

Other News

I'm sure it's just a matter of time before lawyers from Beaverton shut this down, but for now, shoebox-inspired furniture is a thing on Etsy. Sneakerheads with an $825 budget for a coffee table can snag this kick-storing unit from Custom Big Cartel.
With people splitting time between the office, home, and anywhere in between, the word “workplace” is no longer synonymous with the office.

The shift has sparked questions around how wellbeing and productivity differ in a variety of environments. The hunt for answers is inspiring researchers to take a deep dive into people’s minds, especially those with jobs in the knowledge economy.

Trends in Commercial Projects from Around the Globe

NDBT's new space features a collaborative and inviting design layout, upgraded technologies and amenities, and a modern, bright, and 'retail-like' environment that ensures an exceptional experience with every visit. The renovated Banking Center by Gensler embodies NDBT's newly repositioned brand.
Ecole Camondo Méditerranée by Emilieu Studio won Dezeen Awards 2022 interiors project of the year because "students can define the spaces according to their needs," says judge India Madhavi in this movie.

Upcoming Industry Events

NeoCon 2023
June  12-14, 2023 | 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.  

National Ergonomics Conference & ErgoExpo 2022
November 8-10, 2022 | Paris Las Vegas Hotel, Las Vegas

National Ergo 2022 returns November 8-10 bringing the Ergonomics community together for the industry's longest running conference and trade show. Learn from the Nation's top Ergonomic and Safety executives with over 40 educational sessions, keynotes and workshops.  

Milan Design Week 2023
April 18-23, 2023 | Milan, Italy

Milan design week is the biggest annual design event in the world and takes place from 17 to 23 April 2023. The week includes the furniture fair Salone del Mobile, which takes place at the Fiera Milano exhibition centre and is the largest event to take place during the week. The selection of fringe events collectively named Fuorisalone also takes place across the city.

hd expo+conference
May 2-4, 2023 | Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

HD Expo + Conference is the largest hospitality event of its kind in the country, showcasing the latest products, services, and innovative developments from the industry’s leading manufacturers.  

Clerkenwell Design Week 2023
May 23-25, 2023 | 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.

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.
Dear Stephen, Have you ever heard of bosses playing favorites with their subordinates? I'm in outside sales, I work in a team with twelve of us reporting to a regional manager. Our division always meets our sales goal. Everybody gets along. The woman I work for is a strong manager and a good leader.
WIELAND is a leading provider of patient room and seating products to healthcare facilities across the country. We are seeking a sales professional to represent our healthcare products Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Alaska. Our continued growth provides significant income potential for the right individual. This is an employee position with full benefits. 
Baresque, a leading supplier of architectural acoustical solutions for the hospitality, contract furniture, commercial and healthcare markets, is seeking an experienced Project Manager - Furniture to join our team in Garland, Texas. This position will be work directly with our customers and is responsible for interpreting architectural intent. This individual will also work closely with our design team, customer service department and third party fabricators. Excellent communication skills and a high attentional to detail are essential.
Kentwood Office Furniture is a growing employee-owned manufacturer and distributor of office furniture and interior solutions with a primary focus on small and medium sized customers. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, the company has approximately 100 employees and additional locations in Lansing,...
We are looking for a dynamic and experienced A&D Sales Leader who is looking to take their career and earnings to the next level. In this position, you will be paid a salary plus a commission. You will travel the United States to establish clients, develop relationships, and generate sales.
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