They wanted to do more than just introduce another furniture line.
I’d say they succeeded.
It only took a year from soup to nuts, but Inscape, Designtex, and West Elm hit the Merchandise Mart in June with a 75+ piece collection of furniture systems and accessories that brings a currently coveted residential aesthetic and mentality to the workplace with West Elm Workspace.
However, what some of you might not know is where it all came from. Part of the answer is the West Elm Makers Studio out of Industry City in Brooklyn. This one-of-a-kind space, which opened just this past April, is a virtual playground for West Elm collaborators, their in-house designers, and even independent designers—featuring kilns, weaving looms, carpentry area, finishing lab, and painting studio. And it was in that creative laboratory that Designtex began to truly develop the upholsteries that would apply to this collection. From handwoven and hand-embroidered samples to hand-painted items, these inspirational pieces helped Designtex explore new ways of building textiles. They translated West Elm’s “aesthetic weaving voice into a contract quality weave,” explained Jim Brett, president of West Elm.
“They feel very human,” said Susan Lyons, Designtex president, of the upholsteries for Workspace. “You know there’s been somebody lovingly weaving these fabrics, which is kind of an intangible thing. You really feel the hand of the maker.”
“We’ve evolved into a very craft-rich brand,” added Brett. But furthermore, West Elm “helps people express their own personal style at home, as [they’re] experts at mixing different aesthetics.” And they just couldn’t find that same type of spirit in the contract furniture market when the company began to outfit their new headquarters, which they will inhabit in about a year. The process truly served as the impetus for the entirely new venture for this major home retailer.
Enter Inscape. While West Elm wanted to break into the contract world, they knew they’d need the right partner. Inscape helped them develop and now deliver on the proper form and function for all of the pieces within the Workspace line.
“They had the design, but there’s so many nuances to this industry,” said Jim Stelter, CEO of Inscape. “You try to figure out how to deliver furniture in the middle of Chicago to a union building on the 20th floor. That’s different than running a retail organization.” They not only bring that knowledge, but also BIFMA and UL standards to the collaboration.
“They got what we do, and how what we do mixed with what they do could be this massively disruptive thing in the industry,” Brett said. What the partnership resulted in is featured on the following pages. Here is a little insight into the Modern, Mid-Century, Contemporary, and Industrial lines that make up West Elm Workspace:
industrial
This collection is getting the strongest reaction from customers, especially tech companies, note both Brett and Stelter. While many small upstarts and newer tech and design companies have bought direct from retail (and still will to some extent, Brett admits), West Elm Workspace entices them to engage directly with the contract market, thanks to the comfort their name provides and a very transparent pricing structure with only a few tiers.
The Industrial collection represents a utilitarian workshop style, with warm oak finishes set on steel frames, and shelving systems and casegoods that feature deep cabinets and drawers. Workstations within this line have built-in storage.
modern
The Modern line delivers a much more sleek form with its mix of white laminate and natural wood base. The wood softens it, said Brett, and it’s those little design details, added onto simple forms, that bring warmth to a space, and are very much at the core of how West Elm designs their products. Modern is also one of the brand’s biggest aesthetics next to Industrial. It features curved edges and swivel seating that also allows for a big focus on functionality and a seamless flow between workstations, lounge areas, and breakout spaces. This is essential for collaborative cultures that thrive on a sense of community, which can either be turned on or off depending on the task at hand.
“Collaborating is exhausting,” laughed Brett. And while the West Elm personal office culture relies on it, he acknowledged that people need to be allowed to work in different ways. “Many [furniture] solutions today are designed for rigid work cultures,” he explained. But the Modern line is a good option for a client who needs, well, options.
mid-century
Love Mad Men? Then Mid-Century is for you as it’s inspired by the golden age of American office design. “This is my personal favorite,” said Brett, admitting that the line will grace his office in their new home come next year. “I secretly want to look like Don Draper too. But he had much better hair than me.”
Mid-Century features warm walnut tones accented with bronze. It’s also where Designtex really gets to strut its stuff. Twenty plus contract-grade fabric choices can grace the sofas and upholstered chairs in this segment, offering a more relaxed comfort.
contemporary
This line is best for larger populations, said Brett—companies with 100-200 station spaces that need efficiency and flexibility, allowing them to increase or decrease their density at any point.
Aesthetically, Contemporary marries the style of its other three sister lines by offering three different designs: Truss, Scandi, and Strata. This is the line for a more functional customization in the arrangement of its cabinets, drawers, desks, partitions, and beyond.
A driving force behind the collection in general is achieving an emotional connection to the environment with lines that make it approachable, said Stelter. Which of course promotes the collision of work, life, and wellness that the team has seen take over the industry, in part driven by generational changes: Younger workers require a variety of spaces for optimum productivity—or spaces that remind them of their living room, or the coffee shop down the road.
