At Davis Furniture, they say “Design is a Choice.” It means that brands and designers and people everywhere can all choose to pursue high design, superior quality, and remarkable innovation in the things they make and purchase. The family-owned contract furniture manufacturer, led by company president Danny Davis, has a rich history of making that statement a reality from its headquarters in High Point, NC.
This year at NeoCon, attendees will expect no less, and we’re happy to report they won’t be disappointed. Davis will introduce eight new pieces that will charm designers with always-present seamless detailing, clean forms all around, and even a clever surprise or two.
Superior quality can be accomplished many ways, and at Davis, it’s more often than not accomplished by hand. It’s easy to skate over the word “handcrafted” – unless you’ve seen it happen in person. Take a trip to the Davis campus, and you won’t overlook the ‘handcrafted’ aspect of furniture design.
At Davis, perhaps more than at any other company, you’re able to see a product grow from nothing to a finished piece, as if it’s leaping from the design board to material creation, welding and gluing, to painting, finishing and packaging. Where many companies, often larger in size, have moved into machinated processes, Davis has chosen to continue working with skilled workers who craft each piece from nothing to a finished product.
“We do so much of our product by hand with real people because we can’t find a machine or a company who can do it well enough,” says Ashley Davis Williams, advertising director at Davis.
The company is not afraid to invest heavily in a design they believe in – even if it means it might take several years to bring the product to market and send the project over-budget. Such was the case with its Linq chair, a conference/task design by Jonathan Prestwich that is just now being shipped after six years of retooling and finishing.
“We believed in the design enough that it was worth it for us to see it through,” said Rob Easton, vice president of design and development at Davis. “The mechanism the chair uses took much longer to develop, but we believed in the functionality and the value of the chair.”
Davis is sticking by its “Design is a Choice” tagline again this year – with new products that push its own boundaries as a brand, and solutions that will delight designers and consumers with both exquisite detailing and big problem solving features. Many of the new pieces focus on the collaborative “small spaces,” which speak to the crossover happening between home and office, as well as the reality that designers are facing smaller square footage projects. Stop by Davis’ third floor showroom (3-115) during NeoCon to check out the new designs, previewed below.
>Ginkgo Mid Back & Ginkgo Low Back. With their complex, sculptural shell curvature mimicking the leaves of a tree, Davis’ original Ginkgo chair, launched in 2011, and Ginkgo Lounge High Back chair, launched in 2015, have both been huge successes. This year, Davis is expanding the line by introducing two new additions from design team Jehs+Laub.
Both Ginkgo Lounge Mid Back and Ginkgo Lounge Low Back intend to fit into the crossover space between home and office that many designers are crafting in workplace interiors.
Ginkgo Mid Back is simply a smaller, petite form of Ginkgo High Back. A soft, generous seat and seamless upholstery detailing stays true to the Ginkgo collection’s comfortable yet polished aesthetic. The Mid Back is geared toward smaller scale spaces that need a mix of sophistication and residential comfort. If you have a chance to sit in the Ginkgo Mid Back at NeoCon, chances are high it will become one of your favorites things at the show this year. Designers looking for an elevated design aesthetic and comfort, but at a more moderate price point than the Ginkgo High Back, Ginkgo Mid Back makes that possible.
On the other side of the coin, Ginkgo Low Back is a different animal that really gives the Ginkgo line some range. Davis describes the Low Back as the “‘in-between’ chair of the Ginkgo line to the Ginkgo Lounge line.” Again, made for small spaces, the Low Back has three base options – wood, four-prong polished aluminum pedal base, and wire base. These bases, combined with a small footprint and the sophisticated profile of the larger Ginkgo line, give designers options when crafting a small-scale lounge space.
Also, look out for the optional headrest extension Davis developed for the Ginkgo Lounge High Back chair.
>Techniq. Training tables come and go, and many companies have reputations as experts in the category, so it’s a bit of a (welcome) surprise that Davis will introduce its own training table this year, designed by Jonathan Prestwich. So what can we expect from a Davis training table?
Techniq is practical in function, with all of the customization options designers want, but its sleek, elegant form and detailing help set it apart. Users will find thoughtful design touches like an “anywhere release” – a flip-top mechanism allowing it to release from the full length of the table – and a flexible pressed felt wire management trough beneath the tabletop that softens the design. At the show, look for Techniq in the back-left corner of the Davis showroom.
>Laura. Laura is a modular lounge series that applies a minimalist design aesthetic to the limitless flexibility designers look to achieve with modular solutions. Wolfgang C.R. Mezger designed Laura with a generous seat and a back set at an easy recline. A tapered base gives an illusion of floating. The attention to detail built into Laura’s design is best expressed by Davis itself:
“High-density foam is used to reduce seat compression and ultimately fabric puddling. Every seam features a beautiful double needle stitch detail and is manufactured for the best durability and resilience to continual use. The details of Laura Lounge are designed to heighten he illusion of one, continuous piece. The corner-seams of the seat and back are set back from the gentle curves so they are hidden from view once the pieces are connected.”
Davis’ design goal with the Laura series was to keep the design as simple and “no frills” as possible so that designers could more freely experiment with shape and form. Designers can craft their own design with straight and curved seats, backless benches and tables in six shapes and a handful of sizes. The base can be also upholstered or left in the glossy white plastic.
>Sketch Lobby & Sketch Lounge. As a continuation to the classic Davis Sketch chair and Sketch Conference, Davis will debut both Sketch Lobby and Sketch Lounge, designed by Burkhard Vogtherr and Jonathan Prestwich. Retaining the simple, modern visual language of the original Sketch chair, the new chairs are wider, deeper, and will be available in three new heights. Other options include fixed bases and swivel and tilt mechanisms.
Sketch Lobby is a compact lounge chair that sits slightly wider and lower than the original Sketch, with almost twice the padding. Designers will find it easy to use Sketch Lobby creatively; intended for casual meeting and lobby spaces in corporate, education and hospitality environments, there’s a lot of breathing room here for a comfy, clean-lined chair with such a small footprint.
Sketch Lounge is all about achieving the highest level of comfort within the Sketch line, and it does that very well. Designers can also choose a mid or high back and an optional headrest.
>Valet. Designed by Wolfgang C.R. Mezger for Davis’ Elements accessory brand, Valet is a line of occasional tables with a clean, residential aesthetic and a bunch of flexibility built in. Valet’s simple design is constructed from sleek metal bases and circular tray-like tops made from a variety of materials, at a mid-range price point. One option includes a removable tray-top that can either rest on the base or be used separately as a serving tray (hello, added value). Designers can work with one table, or layer a mixture of tables with differing heights, shapes and sizes. The line also includes a multi-level table option with two trays for added space, as well as a trilobe tray-top shape.
The Elements line is a great place for interior designers seeking accessory pieces with an elevated design edge.
“These design items are often not paid much attention to when specing,” said Jeffrey Rosner, vice president of sales at Davis. “There’s often no architectural element to many of these products. And it’s difficult to get product designers to think about developing these types of products, but for a [interior] designer, it’s another way to put their stamp on a space. We want to give them the option to think about those layers.”
>Zen. Designed by Jehs+Laub, Zen is a cantilevered chair that brings unexpected ergonomics to a “side chair” function. Zen has a soft, fluid form that gives it an air of luxury that many chairs in this category would typically lack. Stitch detailing, a fully upholstered seat, and optional glides and leather arm caps come together to present a sophisticated option for the workplace or high-end café.
>Cloud. Cloud is a luxurious conference chair aiming to be the ultimate in comfort. Designed by Wolfgang C.R. Mezger, the chair exudes softness and strength at once, creating a powerful dynamic. The design shows that comfort and aesthetic can be equals; Cloud’s seat and back cushions are filled with a blend of down, feather and polyester fiber, and a knee-tilt seating mechanism provides support, while the aluminum arms wrap elegantly around the base. Cloud is available in mid and high back.
“This is a step in a new direction for us, and that’s what designers love about us,” said Mr. Davis. “They never know what they’re going to see when they walk into our showroom.”