I recently experienced Dauphin’s Junxion for myself at the manufacturer’s showroom during NeoCon, but our team member in New York got a sneak peek of the collaborative lounge piece a couple months ago. She told me all about it as part of a new monthly series in which I&S staff members actually interact with the products we cover.
“After a lovely meeting, I was having some hors d'oeuvres and looking through my emails. It was 2:55 p.m. and I got a request to turn in something by 5. But there was no way I had time to get to my apartment uptown. Where was I going be able to get Wi-Fi and work? Grind was too far. The noisy Starbucks? Nightmare!” explained Jewells Blackwell. “I was so embarrassed to ask if I could stay and work in the Junxion piece.”
But she was “that girl” and used the Privacy Pod as her own purple oasis. Comprised of thick foam, upholstered to match the cushions and armrest bolster, the nook’s noise-reducing walls allowed Blackwell to make a few necessary calls without being distracted by background noise. It also offered power, data, and USB ports, and featured conducive directional lighting.
“As I worked, people came to look at the piece and I must have scared them. No one expected anyone to actually be using the furniture,” Blackwell said. “I just said hello and shamelessly continued.”
But she soon grew comfortable, and at the end of her experience, even felt chic and slick—which the Hell’s Kitchen resident claims is “rare for [her].” At 4:45pm, with her work completed, Blackwell gathered her items, exited Junxion, turned the corner, and hit a wall of sound and activity. Thirty people had joined the space over the past hour.
“I was a startled little fish out of water. I had just been in peaceful solitude,” she explained. “I went home and tried to do a little more work, but a jackhammer was also trying to get some more work in.” Now she had a new problem: how could she get this sanctuary in her home office?
Dauphin, can you hear us?
Chris Curtland is the managing editor of Interiors & Sources. He can be reached at [email protected].
