On the Boards
This month was filled with producing construction documents and finalizing furniture packages for both the conference center and the office remodel, we presented last month. It was helpful to have just been to NeoCon, gave us a lot of fresh ideas for furniture and finishes. We were able to see several chairs, stools, and sofas. It benefits us and the client to see pieces in person and try them out before specifying.
The office remodel has been a fun furniture project. The scope is small, but we’ve enjoyed selecting pieces for their lobby, café, and lounge areas. The pieces are simple and modern, with tube frames – some favorites have been from m.a.d, Via, and SitonIt. We’re hoping things will smooth out for lead-times when orders are placed next year. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Rep Round Up
We met with a variety of reps throughout the month – flooring, lighting, laminate, furniture, and wallcovering. It was nice to catch up with everyone, see new updates, and learn about new products. Some reps we haven’t seen in person in over a year! We’ve missed seeing them and are happy to hear they are all staying busy!
- Contract Alliance with Kaela Vass who recently started at Contract. She brought in Ian King, the Vice President with MTS Seating. It was nice to review their line with Ian and see their new releases with Stacy Garcia. We were not aware of the extent of their line. We will definitely be specifying them on future projects.
- J&J Flooring Group with Lisa Piekarz, who we have not seen since 2019! She brought samples from several lines, new and old to highlight how complementary the collections are to each other. We liked the Apothecary and Journey collections. Plus she treated us to macarons – DELISH!
- Sheridan Contract with Michelle Sheridan, who we missed at NeoCon, so it was great to catch up! She came with three chairs and several updates from Groupe Lacasse, Via Seating, Falcon, Tonik, and LDI Interiors. There was a lot to cover, but very helpful, we even switched out a spec on our project to the Via, Eclipse!
- MDC Wallcovering with Susan Ernest, who brought in new releases with Zintra and a new wallcovering series, Designer Gallery. MDC chose three designers from different industries to design their own wallcoverings. Each designer brought a unique style and together they created a diverse collection of fifteen wallcoverings. We’re looking forward to seeing more in the future.
Click on the images for links to the manufacturer’s website.
Happenings
This month was work hard, play hard! We had two very fun outings.
November 2nd – Elizabeth Sikorski with Allermuir invited us to the WNDR Museum. A pop-up museum in the West Loop that is an interactive experience. The exhibits consist of a range of installations – most encouraging you to use all of your senses and engage with the installation. It was fun to roam the exhibit together. Lots of laughs were had by all. Thank you Elizabeth for a creative break from our workday!
November 11th – 12th – Stacey Harloe and Matt McCormick of OFS invited us to visit their headquarters in Huntingburg, Indiana. OFS is a family owned manufacturing company of contract furniture of several sectors; we’ve specified them on healthcare and corporate projects past and present. Our group included peers from EWP Architects and Holabird and Root, which turned out to be a really fun group! We flew in on Thursday morning and hit the ground running.
We started the day with a CEU on WELL with Wesley Edmonds of OFS. In January OFS received a platinum certification for their corporate office. OFS is not only creating designs that support the WELL concepts, they are implementing them into their every day as a company. They are dedicated to creating a healthy workplace to improve employees’ well being.
Then, we toured a few of the different manufacturing facilities – our favorite was seeing their own test lab facility. Furniture has to be tested for BIFMA standards to make sure they follow safety and performance standards to be used in commercial settings. While we were there, they were in the midst of testing several items – chairs, a wardrobe, height adjustable desk, and a plant wall system. The visit to all of the plants really opened our eyes to the process of producing orders. There are so many steps and several people involved.
Overall, it was a fun and informational trip that gave us a great view into OFS and their brand. Thank you Stacey and Matt for being great hosts and planning a fun 24 hours.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Looking forward to a busy month!!
Katie & Karina, aka Sassy K’s