Gunlocke Showcases Sustainability at Living Product Expo as Show Sponsor
Contract furniture manufacturer to sponsor tour, panel discussion
and offer a new Savor™ chair in a special giveaway
The Gunlocke Company, an industry leader in the design, creation and marketing of contract furniture for professional workspaces, will serve as a “Murmuration”-level sponsor at the new Living Product Expo, Sept. 16-18, in Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Launched this year by the International Living Future Institute, the Living Product Expo is the world’s leading place for design and manufacturing professionals to learn about game-changing products that will transform the marketplace and network with one another. Attendees will experience a stimulating agenda of education tracks, inspiring keynote presentations, tours, networking and Show + Tell product demonstrations of the latest trends in sustainable products.
“We look forward to being a part of this exciting new expo,” says Roy Green, Gunlocke’s Director of Stewardship/Sustainability. “We recognize that a vibrant, healthy planet yields the products we create, and our future is dependent upon the commitment we make to sustain the natural environment. Sponsoring the Living Product Expo is another way for us to further build upon that commitment and showcase how we’re passionate about protecting our natural resources.”
As part of its Murmuration-level sponsorship, Gunlocke will sponsor a tour of Pittsburgh’s new Frick Environmental Center on Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tour participants will visit the construction site of the latest building in Pittsburgh to pursue the Living Building Challenge. The center, a joint effort between the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the City of Pittsburgh, will be a cutting-edge, environmentally sensitive building that will act as a living laboratory, providing children from all parts of the city with access to hands-on, experiential environmental education. Designed to meet the Living Building Challenge and LEED Platinum standards for energy efficiency, the new Environmental Center will support its own needs for water and energy.
On Friday, Sept. 18, Gunlocke will sponsor a panel discussion, “Green Chemistry: Bringing Innovations to Market.” The discussion runs from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Convention Center Room 328. The panel will include Gunlocke partner, Gavin McIntyre, co-founder and chief scientist at Ecovative Design, a materials company that uses biology to create healthy and sustainable products. McIntyre will discuss a new material, Myco Board, during the discussion.
Myco Board is a groundbreaking material made from rapidly renewable components, including agricultural waste, such as corn stalks, and mycelium from mushrooms. It is used in the seatback on Gunlocke’s award-winning Savor guest chair, introduced in 2014 and recognized as a Best of NeoCon Editor’s Choice. Alyssa Coletti of Nonfiction Creative designed Savor, which is the first furniture item in the world to feature Myco Board technology.
During the session, McIntyre also will discuss how the partnership between Gunlocke and Ecovative evolved and how Myco Board came to be used in this new chair.
Expo visitors will be able to try out the Savor chair, upholstered in the new “Cork Cloth” fabric from Gunlocke’s sister company, HBF Textiles, at Gunlocke and Ecovative’s shared booth, #209, in the exhibit hall. They will be able to experience its unique construction and refined style firsthand, see samples of Myco Board and talk with contract furniture and sustainability experts. As of 2015, all Gunlocke conference, casegoods and seating lines are level® 2 certified through BIFMA’s sustainability certification program for furniture.
Those who decide they can’t live without a Savor chair can test their luck at winning one during the show. Savor has been named “The Living Product Expo Grand Prize,” and show organizers and Gunlocke will award the chair on display at the show to one lucky winner. The drawing will occur on Friday, Sept. 18, at the end of the show’s daily gaming events on the main stage, just prior to the closing rooftop reception. The only catch? The recipient must be present to win.
“We are thrilled to launch this exciting new Expo with partners like Gunlocke at our side – ones who truly are pioneering innovative ways to incorporate sustainable materials into authentic, real-world design,” says Eric Corey Freed, Vice President of Global Outreach at the International Living Future Institute. “Visitors to the Expo are truly in for an amazing experience.”
To learn more about the Living Product Expo or to register for the show, visit http://www.livingproductexpo.
For more information about Gunlocke, contact 1-800-828-6300 or visit www.gunlocke.com.
About Gunlocke
Since 1902, The Gunlocke Company remains an industry leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of private office and collaborative contract furniture for professional services clientele, specializing in casegoods, seating and tables. The company carries forward a tradition of quality craftsmanship, technical expertise and features the Gunlocke Advantage – legendary support for dealers, architects, designers and their clients, all backed by the industry’s strongest warranty. The Gunlocke name is synonymous with lasting design integrity, uncompromising manufacturing excellence, and enduring substance that communicate status in meaningful ways. Nine U.S. presidents and leading decision makers in a range of industries have made the company’s products their choice.
Gunlocke invites its partners and customers to visit one or more of its showrooms, strategically-located for your convenience in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., as well as at its headquarters in Wayland, New York.
