West Elm outfitted Edible Schoolyard NYC’s new Brooklyn office with contract furniture from the company’s west elm Workspace brand. The nonprofit Edible Schoolyard NYC partners with New York public schools to transform eating habits of young New Yorkers through hands-on garden and kitchen classes integrated into the school day.
west elm Workspace worked to create an interior setting for the organization’s seven full-time employees and 20+ additional staff. Outfitting the new headquarters with additional workstations, communal areas for internal meetings and spaces to host consultants and funders, west elm Workspace created a comfortable, efficient space with more storage capacity.
“The layout allows for a much more conducive work environment, where we don’t feel cluttered and on top of each other all the time,” says Luis Medina, Edible Schoolyard’s Operations and Finance Manager. “Overall, the west elm Workspace furniture has kept our office open and airy while simultaneously maximizing the space to allow for a professional, clean and inspiring work environment.”
The team’s new Truss workstations allow them to organize materials and comfortably fit five employees along one wall. Meanwhile, two executive desks on the opposite side and two conference tables allow team members to have multiple meetings simultaneously. This way, staff can work solo but with easy access to others, allowing for functional focus that’s personal yet collaborative. Communal work areas featuring Retro Wing Chairs encourage the Edible Schoolyard staff to easily and more frequently interact with each other. Charlie Stacking Stools save space while creating a flexible, welcoming way to gather at team members’ desks for small gatherings. “The Workspace furniture allows us to have more formal workstations as well as flexible lounge areas to gather and meet,” says Luis.
Working in a transformable space increases the number of choices an employee has during their work day. Their expanded choice spurs spontaneous collaboration, fosters a greater sense of ownership over work ad ultimately creates a stronger feeling of togetherness in the workplace.