Earlier this year, West Elm, already an arbiter of affordable home style, expanded its influence. West Elm Workspace comprises six collections of contract-grade furniture for the modern office. Comprising more than 75 pieces, the sub-brand’s lines were designed entirely in-house and produced in collaboration with North American manufacturer Inscape, with high-performance fabrics by Designtex. Architizer asked resident design mind Jeff Hannoosh to provide the whys and wherefores of this game-changing news.
Name: Jeff Hannoosh
Age: 37
Title: Vice President of Furniture and Lighting Design for West Elm
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
What precipitated West Elm Workspace?
Two things: One, our customers were asking for it. For years, customers — startups and small businesses — had been asking us for products designed for commercial workspaces. They would come in and buy 30 Parsons desks and file cabinets; they still wanted larger meeting tables and contract-grade chairs.
Second, in spring 2016 we’re moving into an office right across the street from our current location. We want furniture that has a residential look and feel, and we want pieces for open-plan desking, office, conference, meeting, and breakout spaces. We couldn’t imagine creating our new home with someone else’s designs! The time was right.
Since West Elm is part of Williams-Sonoma, can we expect the corporation’s other brands to follow you into this category?
Not at this time, but it’s definitely been exciting to see the positive response for West Elm Workspace.
What does West Elm Workspace say about the changing nature of workplace design?
When we designed the first collections, we set out to fulfill multigenerational teams’ desire to work in personal, residentially inspired spaces, because we believe in lifestyle as “work style.” For years, office furniture manufacturers have talked about bringing a residential look and feel to the workplace; as a lifestyle home brand with a broad range of aesthetics, we are uniquely positioned to achieve it. We also wanted to support a variety of functions, from individual concentrative work to group and collaborative moments.
Do you consider a specific collection or product—or are customers flocking toward one—that illustrates this workplace transformation?
It’s less about one specific piece and more about the way we’ve designed flexibility and personalization into the complete collection.
Press materials have stated that the brand is “disrupt[ing] the current office furnishings model.” Does that refer to the products themselves, as we’ve already discussed, or to the method by which the products are specified and purchased?
Both. We feel strongly that we’re bringing a new and unique design perspective to office furnishings. We’re also working hard to make the purchasing and planning process as easy and transparent as possible. It’s been great to have a partner like Inscape, who has years of experience in the contract furniture industry, to help us navigate this process.
Why has West Elm chosen Inscape and Designtex as partners?
As a successful player in the contract furniture space, Inscape has the experience to help guide us through the complexities of this new business. In a similar vein, when we set out to create a collection of fabrics suitable for commercial settings, we wanted a partner who had tremendous experience in design, manufacturing, and distribution in this industry. We also wanted someone who was flexible, had experience developing price points, and who truly understood our brand. Designtex is a perfect fit.
And how have those teams contributed to your in-house designers’ development work?
We’ve worked collaboratively to design and develop items that have West Elm in their DNA. Color, texture, and pattern enhance the appearance of our upholstered frames, and meet the rigorous testing requirements of the contract industry, for example.
One of the key takeaways of West Elm Workspace is that it lends a domesticity to the modern workplace. Have you found that these products are being specified for residences, in turn?
No, not really. We have a huge line of furniture and accessories designed for residences at westelm.com! West Elm Workspace is designed specifically for the workplace — large benching systems, conference tables, et cetera — not really items designed for the home.
What office spaces have employed West Elm Workspace particularly memorably thus far?
We have some exciting projects that we’re working on, which we will be announcing in the next few months. We’ll be sure to keep you posted!