An article in The Grand Rapids Press, http://bit.ly/NpmiV, this week brought to my attention a wonderful collaboration to the office furniture industry. DesignTex has contracted with Azure Rugs Inc. for a new collection of rugs called Common Threads made by Afghan women.
The program is more than about the carpets. It’s about empowering these women and girls and providing education and employment for them. We get a beautiful product and they get a better life.
Azure Rugs Inc. is a not-for- profit organization that is providing sustainable income for Afghan women by making connections and selling the rugs they weave. The program that Azure has established helps empower the women weavers so they are able to provide for their families and gain access to education and healthcare.
This is the first product the weavers have produced that is being sold through the office furniture industry. The Common Threads Collection was previewed at NeoCon in Chicago this past June with great success. It won two awards: Innovation and Editor’s Choice.
Sizes are 5x7, 6x9 and 8x8. The rugs are hand tied with 100 knots per square inch.
Patterns are Unity, Relativity R600, Prosperity, Humanity, Connectivity R300, and Diversity.
Personally I love the Humanity design with Prosperity a close second. Somehow that sounds a little strange but right, Humanity over Prosperity! I like it.
DesignTex has taken sustainability into account with these rugs in many areas. Make sure to check out their environmental Design criteria for Common Threads.
I think these are beautiful and tell a great story. They are worth checking out.
DesignTex http://www.dtex.com/
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Let the sun shine in
I found this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer today, http://bit.ly/2lsuhS . I don’t know if anyone else saw it, but wanted to post it to share.
It’s all about getting the natural light into building spaces and the shifts that are going to occur in future building to be more energy efficient.
Whether a building is built to LEED standards or not, who doesn’t want more sunlight?
It’s all about getting the natural light into building spaces and the shifts that are going to occur in future building to be more energy efficient.
Whether a building is built to LEED standards or not, who doesn’t want more sunlight?
My first blog entry, wish me luck…
As of August of this year I had worked in the Steelcase for almost 12 years. After a company layoff, I found myself re-evaluating what I wanted to do with my career. I, like many in my profession, have worked with the office furniture for almost 20 years, but it has changed a lot in the last two decades. Triple bottom line, ergonomics, and Community-based planning, which are common vocabulary for companies today, were not even a part of a marketing plan 10 years ago.
Welcome to Workplace Perspectives. Workplace Perspectives is my new blog about the architecture and interior design business that will look at many aspects of the building envelope. I will explore the trends in workplace design for vertical markets such as Healthcare, Higher Education, Corporate Workspaces and Hospitality. I’ll also investigate and report on new and redesigned products and materials and the lasted applications of the products. Attention to sustainability, LEED credits and BIFMA e3 will also be compared between manufacturers.
I am going to help bridge that gap of the resources information and news, share links to newsworthy sites and interesting new products, and give honest critic opinion of new product. With an Interior Design degree from Drexel Nesbitt School of design, LEED AP accreditation, and 20 years of industry, I have a lot of experience to draw on.
Today, we rely on relationships to get us through, and you work with who you trust. In the world of design that is hard to earn. Projects depend on timely response and accuracy in information. Creativity and product knowledge of not just your product but what else is out in the field is important to them as well. Every company has to do more with less; the resources are stretch thinner than ever before. I hope to increase your knowledge with the information that I share in this blog.
All manufactures of furniture and material will be included. Manufacturers like Steelcase, Knoll, Herman Miller, Haworth, Teknion, and Allsteel are great in the big picture of the more mainstream commercial furniture world, but the offerings of smaller companies that offer product that is just as good but not as well know, is out there. What is Kimball promoting these days? Is it sustainable? What does it look like? How about Evolve from Global? Does it stack up to other sustainable products? Does it install easily?
Surface materials are also a constant challenge. There are constant questions of fiber content, nanotex, crypton, recycled and antimony-free polyester. Which manufactures make what kinds of fabrics and what kind of applications might they have. What are the new applications of the new exciting products like 3Form or Corian? Are there other alternatives?
This is a lot to accomplish in one little blog. It’s journey that I hope that you take with me. I welcome interaction and topics that you want me to research. I know what I want to cover, but there may be more that you need to know. So let’s hear it!
Welcome to Workplace Perspectives. Workplace Perspectives is my new blog about the architecture and interior design business that will look at many aspects of the building envelope. I will explore the trends in workplace design for vertical markets such as Healthcare, Higher Education, Corporate Workspaces and Hospitality. I’ll also investigate and report on new and redesigned products and materials and the lasted applications of the products. Attention to sustainability, LEED credits and BIFMA e3 will also be compared between manufacturers.
I am going to help bridge that gap of the resources information and news, share links to newsworthy sites and interesting new products, and give honest critic opinion of new product. With an Interior Design degree from Drexel Nesbitt School of design, LEED AP accreditation, and 20 years of industry, I have a lot of experience to draw on.
Today, we rely on relationships to get us through, and you work with who you trust. In the world of design that is hard to earn. Projects depend on timely response and accuracy in information. Creativity and product knowledge of not just your product but what else is out in the field is important to them as well. Every company has to do more with less; the resources are stretch thinner than ever before. I hope to increase your knowledge with the information that I share in this blog.
All manufactures of furniture and material will be included. Manufacturers like Steelcase, Knoll, Herman Miller, Haworth, Teknion, and Allsteel are great in the big picture of the more mainstream commercial furniture world, but the offerings of smaller companies that offer product that is just as good but not as well know, is out there. What is Kimball promoting these days? Is it sustainable? What does it look like? How about Evolve from Global? Does it stack up to other sustainable products? Does it install easily?
Surface materials are also a constant challenge. There are constant questions of fiber content, nanotex, crypton, recycled and antimony-free polyester. Which manufactures make what kinds of fabrics and what kind of applications might they have. What are the new applications of the new exciting products like 3Form or Corian? Are there other alternatives?
This is a lot to accomplish in one little blog. It’s journey that I hope that you take with me. I welcome interaction and topics that you want me to research. I know what I want to cover, but there may be more that you need to know. So let’s hear it!
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