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Steelcase Creates Life

To demonstrate their commitment to going green, during the career exchange the recruiters from Steelcase gave out only one thing: a card made of biodegradable fibers with wildflower seeds embedded in it. So it doesn't just biodegrade, it creates life! And we all know how good plants are for the environment. Well done, Steelcase. more here.

Steelcase and Herman Miller Unveiled New Products at NeoCon

CHICAGO, Ill. -- At the NeoCon 2009 trade show, Herman Miller and Steelcase unveiled some of their newest, and improved, products that are made with recycled material, are recyclable, use less energy, take up less shipping space or help cut down on energy use. Herman Miller's new Setu chairs are designed as multipurpose chairs - for use in places like conference rooms - but they are made for people to spend longer periods of time in. The chair is made with one continuous seat and back, and the only adjustment it has is for seat height, leaving it with fewer parts and weighing less than 20 pounds. The chairs contain 48 percent recycled content, are 92 percent recyclable, and are seeking Cradle to Cradle and Greenguard certification. The company has also announced its Energy Manager, a system that can control two of the four circuits of power that feed into a group of workstations, providing quick and easy power management to individuals. The Energy Manager can either be programmed to only provide power at certain times or use occupancy-based controls to provide power to certain devices only when someone is at the workstation. In the new Intent furniture line of desks, storage and shelving, reclaimed wood accounts for 90 percent of the wood content in the work surface substrates. Herman Miller also unveiled a couple of new light products. Twist is an LED undershelf light that uses 40-50 percent less energy than traditional undershelf lights and provides 60,000 hours of light. Flute is an LED desktop light that uses 4.5 watts of energy, can last up to 100,000 hours, is 82 percent recyclable and is made from 26 percent recycled content. Steelcase has announced a broad range of news as well. Its Nesso access floor is made with recycled materials like newspaper and fly ash, and has eliminated the use of PVC. Steelcase's Cogent Group collection of Cradle to Cradle Gold certified textiles has been expanded to include more colors and styles. The company has also expanded the choices available for its Think chair, which now has 14 standard color options, utilizing Cogent Group textiles. Steelcase has additionally redesigned the packaging for shipping its Think and Amia chairs, reducing the amount of space needed to move them around by the equivalent of 150 Steelcase trucks per year. more here.

Steelcase Think Chair Is Worth The Price

During a recession, it's hard to justify purchasing new office furniture, especially of the sleek and stylish variety. Sure, it was one thing to shell out $1,000 for an Aeron Chair back in the dot-com bubble days. Or even during the more recent mid-2000s boom. But spending upwards of $729 on a chic seat like Steelcase's (SCS) Think chair now? While it seems like an extreme expenditure, it could just be worth it. This is the conclusion I come to after trying out a Think chair in "Coconut" (white vinyl) at work for four months—the whole first quarter of 2009. If white vinyl sounds impractical, think again: Its surface was as soft as real leather, and you can wipe away spilled coffee without guilt. The chair design features two trade-marked mechanisms created by Steelcase after consulting health experts at institutions such as the University of Vermont's Back Research Center. Flexible metal bands in the seat back support and move with your back, while the reclining apparatus underneath the seat leverages body weight to provide a smooth transition from sitting upright to leaning backward. Gone are the jarring or jerky position switches that can occur with other office chairs. And you can adjust the arm rests, covered with a cushiony plastic, so they can slide closer to the body. Move them backward and forward by nudging them with your elbows—wonderful when typing and then abruptly moving toward the phone to answer a call. There aren't any complicated levers, though you can "program" your favorite chair positions via an analog, manual knob. Troubles Vanish In the months I tried the chair, I saw some writing-related injuries disappear. (Full disclosure: I usually sit in an Aeron Chair.) I'm not sure this is coincidence. A small cyst in my left wrist disappeared during this time. The wrist aches I used to have from typing too much went away—although I was in fact typing more than before. Which brings me to a caveat: When I was using the Think chair, I took fewer breaks to get up and walk around. While I certainly was productive during the first quarter of 2009, I had to wonder about how healthy these hour-long spells of sitting really were. Another "warning": The Think chair is good-looking. Colleagues who usually don't walk past my cubicle made detours because they had heard I had a cool new seat. Invariably, they commented on the chair's striking appearance. I don't think it's a coincidence that the features added to the latest version of the Think chair (the first version was launched nearly five years ago) are new fabrics and colors. In March, Steelcase announced bright new shades that essentially, and unofficially, match the vibrant hues of the current Apple (AAPL) iPod Nano music players. On the chairs, the colors are featured in a soft, knit fabric. Sure, this is a cosmetic upgrade, but the fact that no other upgrades were announced also speaks to the effectiveness of the chair's original design and engineering. While its price tag suggests it's a bit of a luxury right now, the real reason to buy the chair is its functionality—its ergonomic comfort and simplicity of use. But the new Think chair's jewel-toned fabrics provide a bit of a mood boost, too. And these days, who couldn't use a mood boost as well? Jana is the Innovation Dept. editor for BusinessWeek.

Greener By Design

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- GreenBiz.com has partnered with Net Impact and Steelcase to create the Steelcase Sustainable Design Scholarships -- four full scholarships to the 2009 Greener by Design conference. The four lucky winners will receive full conference registration, as well as travel and lodging at the event, scheduled to take place May 19-20, in San Francisco, Calif. Greener By Design, produced by GreenBiz.com, is the conference where hundreds of brand managers, business strategist, sustainability officers, marketing directors, product designers, material sourcing experts, and many others go to get the answers, tools, insight, and inspiration to improve their company’s bottom line through product innovation and green design techniques. With a long history of leadership in sustainable design, Steelcase, the global manufacturer of office furnishings, is looking to identify ways that design, defined broadly as products, services or business ventures, can be used to improve lives. They have funded the scholarships as a means of supporting the next generation of product designers who understand the opportunity to align environmental and social goals with cutting-edge design. By GreenBiz Staff More on the article here

What We Think About THINK

Day Two with Cyndi I was very excited when I was asked to “test drive” the Think Chair by Steelcase.I am not a woman of many words so I was concerned that maybe I was not the best choice for this “test drive” and analysis, but nonetheless I agreed. When I first sat down in the Think Chair I immediately noticed the very cushioned and comfortable seat. I also noticed how comfortable it was when I leaned back. You see, I ruptured a disk in my back a few years ago so there aren’t too many chairs that are truly comfortable. So I need a chair that has great lumbar support and helps my back relax while sitting. The Think chair does have a great lumbar support which really helps my posture while sitting, not one of my strong points. I also noticed the dial on the right side that allows the chair to recline more or less, depending on my preference. The chair I normally sit in has a lever to allow the chair to recline slightly or not recline at all. So the dial on the Think Chair gives me more options depending on the way I feel for the day. I am a woman and yes I change my mind often. I am looking forward to my second day in the Think...

What We Think About THINK

Because of our continuing curiosity about what it’s like to use the great chairs we sell, we here at Smart Furniture have prevailed upon two of our fine employees to test the Steelcase Think chair. Mark Rico (our resident rendering specialist) and Cyndi Brackett (our accountant extraordinaire), have graciously accepted the opportunity to share the Think for one week and write about their experience.

Mark, in addition to his superb SketchUp and facial-hair-growing skills, is glad to spend life with his wife and two daughters. He hopes to one day hike the Appalachian Trail with his family and is currently reading about insects and spiders because they’re amazing.

Cyndi works out of our office three days a week and is at home the remaining four. She is very blessed to have a wonderful husband and two amazing kids. Her son is entering middle school next year and her daughter will be entering Kindergarten next year. Yes, she drives a minivan and hauls kids around all day but loves every minute of it. She hopes to go to Europe on vacation at some point in the future. On those days when she doesn’t have a minute to herself she looks forward to being an empty nester!

Day One with Mark

Today I started a week-long test of the Steelcase Think chair. Steelcase isn’t really the first brand many people think of when they’re considering modern furniture, or even seating for their home offices. However, the Think pretty well demonstrates that Steelcase doesn’t just make conventional office furniture; it’s beautiful to look at (especially the one I’m sitting in – white seat, white mesh back – stunning) and super comfortable. The real question at this point is how it performs every day.

The first thing I did was read the little how-to-adjust-the-chair tag that came with the Think. It’s only a one-page diagram that tells you what the knobs do, and it’s really all that’s necessary. Think is a very intuitive chair to adjust. The lever thing (there’s only one – simple) is for adjusting the height. The knob thing (there’s only one – again, very simple) is for setting the tilt limit, and there are 4 settings. Under the front of the seat, there’s a bar very similar to the bar you’d find under the front seat of your car, and you lift it and scoot the seat forwards or backwards to increase or decrease the seat depth. There are about 2 inches of adjustability for the depth which turns out to be enough for me, and I’m 6’1”.

The armrests are by far the most fun function. They move in/out in front and back, independently, so that you can find the best position without pressing buttons or being confined to a preset location. Throughout the day, as I’ve gotten used to sitting here, I’ve gotten comfortable enough to just move the armrests with my elbows as I change position.

More tomorrow, but my first impression is that I like the way it feels almost as much as I like the way it looks, and it looks incredible. This is the kind of chair that I want to have in my home office and just “happen” to leave the door open, hoping my guests will see it as I purposefully lead them past the doorway …

New Google 3D Warehouse Tool Lets You Preview Sketchup Images Online

New Google 3D Warehouse Embed Tool Allows you to show 3d version of sketchup models.  This Steelcase Think Chair is available as a model on the 3D Warehouse here.