The founder of Cherryman, Frank Lin, is a man of high energy and great expectations. A little more than 10 years ago, he saw an opportunity to shake up the commercial furniture industry by offering what he hoped would be a disruptive value proposition: quality products at a great price and shipped within 48 hours. In his own words, he intended to “revolutionize the value market.”
From that beginning Mr. Lin has guided Cherryman to double-digit sales growth every year and expanded its footprint to cover the entire U.S. market through the establishment of additional showrooms and distribution centers, strategically located in or near Los Angeles, Chicago, Indianapolis, Dallas and New York City.
Each facility is stocked with Cherryman products, which have until now been primarily wood and laminate casegoods and seating targeting the mid-market. The primary sales target for the enterprise is the dealer whose client needs a desk or a workstation quickly or perhaps a whole office to outfit a newly leased space. With this infrastructure in place, Cherryman was able to be instrumental in upping the ante in the value proposition of the mid-market by supporting commercial furniture dealers with quality, dependability and nearly immediate delivery.
But several years ago as he was seeing that the strategy was working, he came to believe that the design characteristics of products in that market could be reshaped to better satisfy the demands of customers who wanted more. Deciding to create another brand within Cherryman but with elevated design, he embarked on a journey to find the right person to help him execute that vision. He has named the new brand idesk.
In February of last year, officeinsight covered the opening of Cherryman’s fifth U.S. Distribution Center (https://officeinsight.com/2012). In that story we revealed that Mr. Lin had persuaded Carl Gustav Magnusson to join the firm. In Mr. Magnusson he had found a person with the unflagging high energy and design creds to take on a mission of such scope.
Under the design direction of Mr. Magnusson, idesk’s product strategy is focused on very selective designs to cover a large spectrum of furniture applications. For the launch of the new brand, the company has chosen products designed by Claudio Bellini, Bartoli Design, HanYi Huang, Alexandros Stasinopoulos, and of course, Mr. Magnusson himself. Several of the products have already received design awards from IF, Red Dot and IDEA, and the impressive product scope includes benching, desking, conference and height adjustable tables, a media center, storage, seating for all areas, a lounge seating system and LED lighting. You will be able to see the broad range and experience the new brand at NeoCon in a 3,000 square foot stand on the 7th floor (7-3130).
Reflecting on the collection, Mr. Lin said, “These products support the requirements of our existing and new customers that demand immediate availability and an unparalleled value proposition.” Here we present a rundown on most, but not all of the idesk opening salvo.
idesk Benching and Desking Systems
Mr. Magnusson himself took on the design of the most comprehensive and ambitious product solutions for the new brand. Recognizing that many of today’s workplace designs use both benching and desking systems in concert, Mr. Magnusson used the same design language for both the idesk Benching System and the idesk Desking System.
A lean scope of components comprise the idesk Benching System, including work surfaces, storage and privacy options, LED lighting and full power and data capability. The design permits any number of configurations, for open office layouts such as back-to-back or single straight runs, 90 degree or 120 degree layouts in fixed or height adjustable modes.
The main structure of the benching system is composed of frames and legs of aluminum with cross members of steel. Its connections are designed for speed of assembly and re-assembly when the product is reconfigured. All components are shipped ready to assemble and they can be dis-assembled using common tools. Tops and storage are of laminate on particleboard with pre-tapped metal inserts to assure fast and correct alignment of all connections. The required accessories such as privacy screens, acoustic treatments, storage options, lighting and wire/cable management are what you would expect from the hand of an experienced “Hall of Fame” designer such as Mr. Magnusson.
The idesk Desking System is based on worktops being tied to a central storage spine that allows for back-to-back or single row planning and above work surface storage if needed.
Idesk Conference Tables and Media Center
In keeping with the overall idesk approach of minimal but distinctive forms, lean materials and surface options in order to make a clear design statement, the idesk Conference Tables and Media Center provide a system that is modular in concept. Both product lines consist of extruded aluminum legs that connect to frames of various sizes and shapes as required. Tops can be ordered in three standard laminate finishes or a special tempered white glass that is clear on the edge but opaque from above.
idesk LED light
Asked to describe his design for the idesk LED light, Mr. Magnusson said it is “…a concise visual solution to a technically complicated problem.”
The universal under-shelf or pendant light fixture capitalizes on the latest technical advancements. It is made of high quality anodized aluminum extrusions with ABS end housings connected with Magnusson’s signature M2 stainless steel hex head bolts. The fixture causes no visible LED pattern glare due to its acrylic light prism. It is outfitted with a Passive Infrared (PIR) on-off sensor that turns it off automatically when the workspace is not occupied, and of course that’s on top of the very energy efficient LEDs themselves.
The idesk Small Work Tables are a clever collection of tables also designed by Carl Magnusson. While the tables can be spec’d with or without it, the design is optimized to incorporate a power/data module as a normal attribute of the tops. The intelligence of the design is captured in the flexibility of the extruded aluminum legs and die cast feet that can be configured with either three or four legs depending on the size and shape of the top.
Seating
Curva, designed by Milan architect Paolo Bartoli, is intended for the executive, management, conference and lounge seating categories. It is a full range including high back, mid back and stool-height task chairs plus a lounge version with a complementary side table. The precision mechanism affords a simple tilt and lock, tension control and height adjustment lever. The structure is available in two visually distinctive materials: brushed aluminum or glass reinforced nylon in matte finish. Upholstery is pewter metallic mesh with optional leather seat cover. Armless versions are available as well as an optional headrest for the high back model.
Curvinna is a handsome side chair designed by Si Shang Design. It has a mesh seat and back over a structure of die cast aluminum, steel, and glass-reinforced nylon. It is intended to go with the Curva collection for use as a workspace side chair or on its own for dining or seminar applications.
Oroblanco is a task chair and companion side chair. The desk chair comes with all the normal adjustment bells and whistles, six-way adjustable arms, aluminum base, leather and textile options and all for an incredible starting price of $203 delivered within 48 hours from stock (that price is dealer net).
Muse, created by designer Alexandros Stasinopoulos, has already won IDEA, Red Dot and iF awards with its whimsical approach to cafe, outdoor dining and seating for casual meeting areas. The simple concept of two solid colored shells and three interchangeable but different colored legs allows for six polychromatic combinations. An optional seat cushion can be specified in virtually any Momentum fabric and a small coffee table completes the line.
Crazy Horse is a beautiful wood armchair designed by internationally renowned architect Claudio Bellini. Offered in solid beech overlaid with hand-rubbed hardwood veneers in four finish colors, its design takes full advantage of the capabilities of multi-axis milling equipment. The seat is available in Momentum fabrics.
Mr. Bellini also designed the Tikal group as a spirited addition to idesk’s seating line. Natural applications are as desk side chairs, events, reception areas, small conference, auditorium, breakout areas and outdoor cafes. The complementary bar stool works with high worktables as well as bars and counters. The shells come in five vibrant colors mounted on a choice of three base designs.
idesk Lounge Seating is a seating system for reception, waiting and collaborative areas where optional power/data access are an expected norm. Arms can be specified upright so as to form a continuation of the back geometry or flat where they form a convenient surface for tablets, etc. A hard surface arm/table is intended for laptops or snacks. Said Mr. Magnusson of his design, “The objective is to give a visual balance between a contract and club look while respecting the work place ergonomic requirements.”
The new brand represents an amazing amount of design and development in a relatively short amount of time. But given the energy of the company, that wasn’t enough to fully occupy the team! In July, Cherryman will be moving out of their original headquarters and distribution center in Carson, CA, to new digs in an HLW designed building in the hot tech area of El Segundo. At about the same time, they will be relocating the distribution center to a space roughly double the size of the Carson facility in Fontana, CA.
The new idesk brand’s products are well designed, the collection is comprehensive and well curated and if 48-hour availability adds value then the proposition definitely has the potential to meet Mr. Lin’s wish to be a market disruptor. At the very least it sets the competitive bar higher than ever.