Here at Fríant, we recognize that the future of our industry doesn’t lie with us, but with the young designers, craftsmen, and salespeople who will one day take the helm. We’re happy to help guide and inform the next generation looking to enter this space, so we were thrilled to welcome students from IIDA California State University, Sacramento to our San Leandro HQ.
This talented group was hosted by our rep, Melanie Bixler, who led a guided tour throughout our showroom and production center. The day started with some lunch and introductions, followed by a walk through our airy, sunny showroom. The students were able to touch, feel, and try out our furniture and solutions — including some of our yet-to-be-released pieces. They were also shown our samples bar, where our guests can pull fabric and finish samples to bring their customized furniture to life. This helped the students not just familiarize themselves with Fríant products, but better understand the importance of empowering end-users to customize solutions and preview fabrics and finishes before receiving the final product.
From the showroom, Melanie took the students into our massive warehouse and production areas, where they got to see our incredibly hard-working production team in action. From cutting and sanding to measuring and painting, they went station to station watching our furniture coming to life under the careful observation of our team. They also got to watch our warehouse crew and the important work they do in organizing and inventorying our product, while getting it packed and shipped out safely.
Melanie was also able to explain our sustainability efforts to the group and show them in-person how we work to reduce waste in our production processes and ensure the health and safety of our teams. As younger generations continue to embrace and push for green manufacturing, it’s important for them to see what those efforts look like in practice, so they can advocate for them as they enter this industry and articulate what they should look like and how they should be implemented.
As the tour wound down and the group returned to our showroom, the students were offered an opportunity to ask their final questions, and Melanie provided some valuable insight into networking and breaking into the industry.
It was an honor to host the IIDA Sac State students here at Fríant and give them a look into our processes. It’s one thing to learn by studying and reading, it’s another entirely to get out into the field and actually engage with what you’re being taught. We hope this experience was informative and enlightening for this group, and we wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors.
