Change is upon us! As we step over the threshold of a new season, we’re also rolling out products and line expansions that we’re thrilled to share with you. We’ve been hard at work taking our solutions to the next level to give you more options for creating privacy, unique layouts, and collaborative spaces in the workplace. Check out what’s new from Fríant!
ReddiSpace ADA
Our ReddiSpace booths are the perfect solution for workspaces that need somewhere for employees to step away for calls, virtual meetings, or some focus time. While we already offered our ReddiSpaces in four different sizes, we’ve added a new option to our lineup: the ADA Pod.
This new version of our popular acoustic booth has features to accommodate mobility needs. The automatic door opener and open floor make getting inside easier, while chairs that flip up create room for wheelchairs and other mobility assistance equipment. Now, no matter your team’s needs, there’s a ReddiSpace for everyone.
Novo Top Glass
You asked, we listened: Our Novo panel system now supports top glass. Create a sense of privacy and division while enabling your team to easily communicate over panel walls and not feel boxed in. It’s the perfect solution for helping workstations maintain openness and airiness.
Gallery Panel Expansion
We’re introducing a variety of new gallery panels into our product line! From mid-run to L-shaped to new sizes and widths, we’re now offering so many more ways for you to customize your workstations. Provide privacy, encourage focus, even create breakout areas between workstation pods to enable collaborative work. You have so many options with our new panels.
Interra Tiles: Laminate and 24″H
Our Interra laminate tiles are now a standard product in our pricebook! And in addition to being available in 24”H, you can also get them in markerboard. Swap them in for a space to jot quick notes and reminders, swap them out for something else if you want to update your look. We’re making it easier for you to get creative in your workspace designs and build stations that are functional, smart, and scalable.
Dash Corner Encasements
If you love our My-Hite adjustable desks but want a clean look to your workstation, look no further than our Dash Corner Encasements. A new addition to our beloved Dash collection, these encasements fit snugly around the legs of our My-Hite desks to create a seamless, sleek silhouette. Turns out you can improve on perfection.
Whether you already love Fríant or want to start introducing our solutions into your workspace, we’d love to hear from you. Connect with us today so we can start bringing your vision to life.
When considering the best design for a workplace, the placement of the furniture is just as important as the furniture itself. The flow of foot traffic, the efficiency and comfort of workstations, and the overall feel of the environment all work in tandem to create a space that feels right — or wrong. Let’s explore five of the most common mistakes that come up when planning a workspace layout and the best ways to avoid them.
1. A Lack of Storage
Not considering where your team is going to keep their things is a more common oversight than you might think, and especially in open floor plans where benching is the primary mode of seating. However, it can even be an issue when planning cubicles and private areas, when only the bare minimum storage options are included in the design, often due to a lack of space. But if a workstation lacks storage, it can quickly become crowded, messy, and cramped, making it inefficient and unpleasant to work in.
There are so many solutions available to address this issue regardless of how much room a workstation provides, from overhead storage to credenzas, full-length cabinets, mobile pedestals, and more.
Our Dash line demonstrating just why it’s our go-to solution for storage options.
Even small spaces can be optimized for storage.
Consider adding overhead storage with either pneumatic lifts or sliding doors to make it easy for your team to reach what they need while keeping things off of desktops and out of sight. Open shelving is also a great option for easy, instant access to things without dealing with doors. Credenzas, towers, and hutches provide ample room for supplies, documents, laptops, books, and even coats and bags. And in workstations with benching, mobile pedestals are perfect for just the right amount of storage to keep desks clear and open.
2. Creating Break Rooms and Breakout Areas No One Enjoys Being In
Whether it’s time to dig into lunch or a brainstorming session, your team wants a comfortable, welcoming place to sit and chow down or collaborate. But when the chairs are hard, the rooms are sterile, or there isn’t enough seating to accommodate more than a couple people at a time, these spaces feel uninviting and become unused wastes of space that no one wants to utilize.
Introduce some color into these spaces, even if it’s just a pop with soft seating, for a much-needed boost of personality and style. Try cushioned chairs in the break room as an alternative to hard seating to help the space encourage relaxation and respite from the workday. Also make sure tables aren’t cramped — even better if they can seat 2-3 people to make socializing easier. Breakout areas should provide as ample seating as the area can provide without being too crowded to allow teams to gather, chat, and work together effectively without anyone having to roll over a task chair or sit on the floor. Mix things up with an assortment of stools, chairs, and a couch or smaller sofa to provide options. And don’t forget the greenery! It’s not only easy on the eyes, it helps make the space feel less rigid and cold.
3. Overlooking the Reception Area
You don’t get a second chance at a first impression, so don’t treat your reception area (if you have one) as an afterthought. Guests should feel welcome as they walk through the door and waiting areas should be comfortable, inviting areas to receive them. Coffee and end tables are a must for placing reading material. The desk itself is a statement, likely the first thing to draw your visitors’ eyes as they enter, so make sure it’s reflective of your design preferences and something you feel represents your business well. It should provide enough space for your guests to sign in, sign documents, etc. and for your receptionist(s) to work comfortably behind the desk.
4. Not Considering Noise Reduction or the Need for Privacy in Open Offices
Open offices are great in that they bring everyone together and make everyone easily accessible to one another. Open offices can also be challenging places to work in — because they bring everyone together and make everyone easily accessible to one another. Your team will need areas for calls, focus time, and private conversations, so design an environment that can accommodate the open flow of foot traffic while providing places for people to move to when they need some space.
Acoustic booths cut sound and provide privacy, whether for a short call or an extended period of work where alone time is necessary. Creating division with free standing storage options provides double the benefits, while breakout areas allow teams to meet and collaborate without disturbing their colleagues at their desks. Panel systems can create small, cozy spaces for work or lounge, while privacy panels at height-adjustable desks can make them feel more personal and enclosed.
5. Not Planning with Scalability in Mind
If you foresee significant growth in your company’s future, you’ll likely need to do some rearranging of your layout as you add new members to your team. If panels are part of your design, be sure to choose systems that are versatile, customizable, and easy to move around and reconfigure as needed. If you’re working in a small or multipurpose space, consider tables and chairs that are simple to roll around and set up when in use and stack and store when they’re not. Growing your team should be something to look forward to and simple to accommodate, and that starts with furniture and a layout that make it simple to change things up.
Our Interra system makes in incredibly easy to change up your workstations as your team’s needs change.
The Lune Training Table and Soleil Nesting Chair are perfect for small and/or multipurpose workspaces.
There are a lot of moving parts and both present and future concerns to consider when designing the layout of your workspace. But ensuring from the start that the small details don’t fall through the cracks will help you create a comfortable, welcoming, efficient workplace that you and your team will enjoy being in every day. Ready to start bringing your own vision to life? Let’s connect today.
For those of us that spend the majority of our days working from a desk, repetitive motion, poor posture, and inadequate physical support can take a toll on our bodies that can cause lasting damage. We hear and read about the importance of creating ergonomic workplaces all the time. But how do you do it? From chairs that support your back and spine to desks that enable you to get in some movement throughout the day, there are a number of solutions you can introduce into your workstation to create a space that supports your physical health.
Chairs That Got Your Back
Your parents were telling you to sit up for a reason: poor form can create or exacerbate back pain. And while advice varies when it comes to the best position to sit in (some say 90 degrees, others say slightly tilted back like in the driver’s seat of a car), the most important takeaway is that your task chair should be adjustable, provide full back and arm support, and most importantly, be comfortable.
Solution: The Ignite, Yele, or Tango Task Chairs
All of our task chairs here at Fríant provide the ergonomics needed to alleviate the longterm damage of sitting all day, but the Ignite, Yele, and Tango are especially great options. With the Ignite, you get lumbar support and the ability to adjust tension with the back tilt lock and tension adjuster. Plus, height adjustment is easy with its pneumatic lift. The Yele’s 3D adjustable arm rests enable you to set them to the perfect height, width, and position to ensure your arms aren’t creating tension in your shoulders while at rest. It also has great lumbar support and a synchronous tilt feature to find the right angle for your back while working. Finally, the Tango’s Flex-Adjust Frame provides a full range of motion, while key ergonomic points in the back of the chair provide sacrum support and maintain the natural curve of your spine.
Footrests That Give You a Leg Up
Kicking up your feet doesn’t just feel good, it does your body good by encouraging blood flow and reducing swelling. This is especially crucial for people with certain health conditions, those who are recovering from an injury, or pregnant women.
Solution: The Pog II and Fala Stools
Our stools are perfect for storing under your desk (without taking up too much valuable real estate under there) and easy to move around when you need them. Go with the Pog II if you want something that can double as a small tabletop next to your desk, and choose the Fala if you not only want a little whimsy, but want a unique seating experience that will get you out of your task chair for a little while.
Desks: They’re Not Just for Sitting Anymore
On the subject of getting you out of your chair, height-adjustable desks are one of the key solutions for introducing movement into your workday and preventing you from remaining static for too long. Go from sitting to standing in a brief moment and as often as you want (or need).
Solution: My-Hite Height-Adjustable Desk
Our My-Hite collection of height-adjustable desks was designed specifically to promote healthier workplaces to get people moving. Our My-Hite 3 Stage, for example, enables you to save three preset heights so your desktop is always in the position you need it to be with the push of a button. And since standing for long periods of time can be just as damaging to the body as sitting for too long, this feature makes it easy to go from one to the other and back again.
Let There Be Light
Feeling a little fatigued or bleary-eyed while you’re working? That could be because low light levels can cause eye strain that can lead to dryness, blurry vision, and headaches when you’re trying to focus. If it’s dim in your workstation, it’s time to start viewing it in a new light.
Solution: LED Tasklight
If you have overhead storage or some sort of overhang above your desktop, our LED Tasklights may be the solution you’re looking for to shed a little light on your space. Designed to attach to the underside of overhead storage, hutches, and more, these LED lights have optional motion sensors, can pivot, and are one less thing cluttering up your desk. (Talk about being easy on the eyes.)
Monitors Don’t Have to Be a Pain in the Neck
For those of you who work with more than one monitor, it can be uncomfortable sitting with your neck turned at an unnatural angle because your monitors are too far apart or static and unable to adjust to the height you need. Flexibility is key for your workstation to be comfortable and supportive.
Solution: Single Monitor Arm and Dual Monitor Arm
Our positionable monitor arms are critical for reducing neck stiffness and strain and ensuring your work is at eye level. They pair especially well with height-adjustable desks, so no matter whether you’re sitting or standing, your monitors can follow along.
You’ve only got one body — so treat it well throughout the workday with solutions that will reduce the pain and discomfort that often accompany desk jobs and keep you healthier in the long run.
It’s been well documented how the furniture industry is, unfortunately, responsible for a significant amount of pollution and emissions which harm the environment. At Fríant, we’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint and finding new, innovative ways in which to manufacture more cleanly and responsibly. Here’s a rundown of just some of the methods and processes we’ve implemented to ensure we’re doing our part to be kinder to the planet.
Wood Sourcing + Wood Products
We source our manufactured wood byproducts from providers that don’t harm endangered species or environments. We also don’t just meet but exceed California’s standards for composite wood products to reduce formaldehyde emissions.
Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!
From production to shipment, we’re constantly finding ways to reuse materials where we can. We utilize recycled materials in our products and shipping materials, and we also blend recycled polyester fibers into our fabrics. Additionally, we reconfigure designs to maximize yardage per roll. On the shipping side of the business, more than 75% of our product is shipped on a reusable wood pallet, shrink wrapped with plastic that’s recyclable.
Save Your Energy
To reduce our energy consumption, we’ve installed LED-sensory lights in our warehouses and factories. Rather than leaving lights on for hours even if crews aren’t actively in a room or area, these lights turn off when there’s no movement and turn on when crews enter the space. These lights have also been installed in our San Leandro HQ showroom and offices, ensuring our employees have light when they need it but that we’re not wasting energy when they don’t.
Clearing the Air
The pollution we can’t see is often some of the most destructive, so we’ve made efforts to reduce our emissions in meaningful ways. We combine deliveries where possible to decrease the number of vehicles we put on the road. All of our glue and adhesives are manufactured with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and contain no chlorinated solvents. All of our finishes, glues, and adhesives are GREENGUARD certified or equivalent.
GREENGUARD is a voluntary program that verifies that products have low chemical emissions, especially VOCs, and are suitable for indoor spaces. Products which receive this certification have been tested and evaluated to meet stringent chemical emissions limits. It’s important to us that our employees and customers work with, on, and around surfaces and products that take their health into account, so we’re proud to choose these GREENGUARD-certified materials for our production.
Fríant is focused on reducing our environmental impact and establishing practices that protect us today and prepare us for tomorrow. From materials and shipping to finishes and textiles, we’re utilizing resources and creating products which give customers confidence that they can count on us to support earth-friendly manufacturing. We’re always looking for new opportunities to improve our sustainability and foster a greener way of living.
The state of in-office work is changing and it’s changing rapidly. The pandemic saw many employees shifting to remote work in the wake of office closures and lockdowns, but the tide is turning and employers are asking employees to make the return to office (RTO). Employers are increasingly meeting employees in the middle, with 30% of companies offering hybrid work models as of Q2 of 2023, up from 20% in Q1. And with the majority of employees still working from an office (59.1%), employees want their workspaces to be inviting and conducive to both collaboration and privacy.
In the early to mid-2010s, it was all about open floorplans and wide, airy spaces for office design. But post-pandemic, employees are increasingly seeking higher walls and private spaces, and want more of a balance between collaborative and solo areas. According to Andy Cohen, Co-CEO and Global Co-Chair at Gensler, “What many companies don’t realize is that the office needs to give employees the space and resources for both collaborative and deep focus work, not one or the other.”It’s key for employers to design spaces that employees want to be in and return to, but for many that may be easier said than done.
Let’s dive into our suggestions for how to build both team and solo spaces within an office, and which Fríant products can bring those design ideas to life.
Options for Collaboration
Open tabletops and easy reconfigurability
Whether a team needs a quick huddle or an extended working session, they need a space that’ll make it easy for them to speak across the table, with enough room for laptops, notebooks, drinks, and more. Our solution? The Verity line.
Verity is our benching system that’s perfect for open areas or meeting rooms and can be set up as either single-sided or double-sided as needed. It also provides easy access to power so teams aren’t scrambling to find an outlet to charge their laptops. And as teams grow and change, the configuration of Verity can easily change, as well. Need to attach more units and expand that workspace? Not a problem with this system.
For the most ideal collaborative setups, try a double-sided configuration that enables teams to easily see each other to talk across tables, share ideas, and solve problems.
Seating areas for a change in scenery
Try setting up some cushy soft seating in open areas of the office. It’s nice to work somewhere other than a desk or table, and these living room-like corners can encourage great conversations that lead to great ideas.
Pair our Aras and Petalstool seating with either our Raffe or Roke accent tables for the perfect blend of comfort, functionality, and style. The Aras comes in two sizes; the two-seater is especially nice for creating more ample seating that keeps people feeling connected, rather than simply gathering around a bunch of single chairs. Throw in our large Petalstool for some fun seating that people can share without feeling cramped, and one or two single-seater Arases or Falas for teammates who would prefer their own chair. Finally, add in some side tables or a larger coffee table from either the Raffe or Roke lines and you’ll have a great seating area teams will be fighting for (so maybe create one or two more).
Options for Privacy
What’s old is new again
“Cubicle” became a bad word in office design for quite a while, synonymous with cramped boxes, drab colors, and sadness. But here at Fríant, we continue to get feedback that employees want their own space upon returning to the office, whether that’s a cubicle, a workspace shared with one other person with some partitioning, or even acoustic booths where they can take calls or do some quiet, focused work.
We’ve got options.
For partitioning, our Interra and Novo systems get the job done. With Interra, tiles can be switched out depending on your teams’ changing needs and preferences. Markerboard one day, windows the next. It’s also an incredibly versatile system that can be integrated with our Dash storage or overhead storage with pneumatic lifts. Similarly, the Novo can also be outfitted with overhead storage and has the option of segmented tiles that can be mixed and matched. Interra and Novo make it easy to build private workspaces for employees that also have the functionality they need to work with ease. And with different fabric choices available, you can add color and personality into these spaces.
Minimize distractions, maximize productivity
Whether it’s a private conversation or a case of writer’s block, sometimes your employees need a quiet, secluded space to work but don’t want to take up entire conference rooms for large groups that may need them. Our ReddiSpace acoustic booths can help.
Available in four different sizes, ReddiSpace provides a quiet, comfortable, enclosed space with soundproofing that cuts distractions and helps employees focus. They’re powered, so employees can charge devices while they work, and the booths have casters that make them easy to roll around if you decide to change up the layout of the office.
There’s a wide array of customizable features, from wall color to carpet color, from sofa fabric to tabletop finish and more, so you can add some character to your workplace.
Get feedback from your organization before determining the best office structure for your workplace. Are employees wanting more private spaces over public areas or vice versa? Staying tuned into their preferences and needs will help you design a workspace they’ll look forward to coming into and will help them do their very best work. “If you want people to come in, the office has to be a place people want to go, not a place they feel obligated to go,” says Cohen.
Be sure to explore all of our products on our site to find the pieces that will help you create an office that’s as stylish and welcoming as it is functional and efficient.
Here at Fríant, we always get excited when June rolls around because that means NeoCon is just around the corner! Last year, we held a pop-up showroom and party on the rooftop lounge of The Godfrey Hotel in Chicago during the massive industry event, and our guests loved every minute of it. This year, we decided to return to The Godfrey, where we held an iconic gathering that welcomed friends new and old — and celebrated a surprise HiP Award win!
This year’s pop-up was all about bringing color back into the office. Taking cues from some of the masterpieces of modern art, we showed off both upcoming pieces and works-in-progress in rich, vibrant shades. From red to sage green to royal blue and beyond, we can see that color — not just neutrals — is making its way into workspaces and is here to stay. We’ve been ahead of the curve for years now, with soft seating, task seating, and panel systems available in a number of gorgeous shades and textures, but we’re adding even more colors and pieces into our lineup in the coming months.
Additionally, this year we’re focusing on expansions and improvements for our existing lines and products. At our pop-up, we announced the following options you can look forward to starting in July 2024:
ReddiSpace ADA version
Interra laminate tiles will now be a standard option, available in 16”, 24”, and 32”, along with markerboard in 24”
The Novo system will now have a topcap glass option
We’re expanding our gallery panels and going longer, bigger, and L-shaped, with the latter constructed out of two pieces. These expanded panels will be available for Novo and Interra
Also be on the lookout for a CET update that will introduce our Novo line into the software, which will be ready sometime later this year.
Visitors to the pop-up were also able to sit on, touch, feel, and provide feedback on prototypes of products still in development, including both expansions to existing product lines and totally new products. But you’ll have to be patient for more details on those (coming soon)!
On Monday, June 10, we welcomed hundreds of friendly faces to our Iconic Office party, where we ate, drank, and toasted to the incredible work of our teams, our amazing dealers and partners, and the future of Fríant. However, it also became a celebration of our first-ever HiP Award!
For 11 years, Interior Design, the industry-leading publication, website, and events company, has hosted their HiP Awards at NeoCon. These awards are meant to spotlight the products and people pushing boundaries and defining the future of design. This year, our Fala stool was nominated in the category of Workspace: Bench/Stool and on Sunday, June 9, we received the award for this category! We were so humbled and appreciative, and because of the timing our Iconic Office party became in part about celebrating our first win at the HiP Awards.
This year’s pop-up showroom and party are over, but we’re already looking forward to next year’s festivities. But in the meantime, keep an eye out for those new features and products coming in July and announcements we’ll have later in the year! Exciting things are coming from Fríant.
