Eric Chan Wins WOCD Award

Congratulations to Eric Chan who recently received the 2010 World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer award from the Hong Kong Design Centre.

Chan says this award is particularly significant: “Creating product that is meaningful, responsive, and imparts a sense of cultural relevancy are personal priorities. I am truly grateful to be recognized in such a meaningful way.”

The founder and director of ECCO Design, New York, Chan was born in China and strongly believes in the Eastern philosophy of creating harmony between man and nature, society and technology: “I am most interested in translating complicated technology into simple understandable, and friendly products for people,” he says.

Herman Miller and Chan have collaborated on a number of projects during a long and proud history together. Among them, the elegant Foray chair and the highly adaptable Intersect Portfolio.

‘We Care’ Event Celebrates 14 years of Spreading Holiday Cheer

This holiday season, Herman Miller is partnering with architects, designers, and suppliers for its annual We Care event. In 25 cities across the U.S. and Canada, volunteers will help children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of America make holiday gifts for their loved ones—everything from tree ornaments to photo frames, holiday placemats, and felt scarves.

It’s the 14th year of a great tradition that brings some very deserving children a day of seasonal good cheer.

Herman Miller Scholars Recall Highlights from Healthcare Design 2010

The recent Healthcare Design conference began on November 13, 2010, at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, with much anticipation from the nine intern architects sponsored by Herman Miller. The scholars attended a variety of educational sessions and toured the large exhibit hall. So I decided to ask them what they remembered most.

Here’s what they had to say about it:

Josh Boltinhouse
Stevens & Wilkinson, Columbia, SC
One thing that I took away from the conference was the incredible anti-microbial properties of copper. Most anti-microbial products simply don’t allow bacteria to multiply on them, but copper actively kills bacteria.
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What Makes a Design of the Decade?

This week our Setu chair earned a prestigious Design of the Decade Gold award as “Best Sustainable Design Solution.” The Industrial Designers Society of America holds the Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) annually, and then a larger, comprehensive and multi-category review at the turn of each decade.

The jury selected Setu, which was designed by Studio 7.5, as the best example of sustainable design for its positive impact on business and broader society. As both wrestle with environmental demands, and as Herman Miller looked to support the ergonomic needs of mobile workers and their technology, Setu created a new benchmark for sustainability and comfort.

Always in good company, Setu appears with Method Laundry Detergent with Smartclean Technology and Nike Considered Footwear to round out the top three finalists in its category.

And it joins Herman Miller’s impressive list of previous Design of the Decade winners, including the Equa chair (80s) and the Aeron chair (90s).

It’s a great example of our commitment to problem-solving seating design and anticipating the needs of our society.

Setu Chairs Star in The Ellen DeGeneres Show’s ‘12 Days of Giveaways’

Since it made its debut in 2009, our Setu chair has received several accolades, but it really hit the big time today on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Featured among her famous ‘12 Days of Giveaways,’ Setu chairs—about 425 of them—were given to every audience member and a few lucky folks who registered online.

Setu also kept good company during the filming. Film stars Hilary Swank and Mila Kunis made an appearance as well as Grammy-award winning singer Adele.

Cerentha Harris, editor of our sister blog Lifework, attended the filming and shares more about her behind-the-scenes experience in today’s post.

“It was such a thrill to be part of all that energy and well-wishing,” Harris writes. “Ellen gave away over $3,000 worth of gifts to each audience member. And the audience was ecstatic.”

We’re thrilled that Setu could be part of such an amazing experience for so many Ellen fans. If they’re excited now, just wait until they get a chance to sit in their new chairs!

‘Read’ All About It

Herman Miller is celebrating the holiday season with its first book drive campaign. You can’t miss it—literally. Bright red Meridian bookcases are appearing at locations all over the country, including our six West Michigan facilities, participating dealerships, and more than 30 higher education campuses.

Education Solutions Director Jeff Vredevoogd came up with the idea to collect and provide books to local nonprofit organizations that want to share the gift of reading. The bookcase is part of the donation, too.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity that’s bringing together businesses, students, and faculty to create a better world for their communities,” he says.

Want to donate a book? You can make a donation to an organization, such as Better World Books, between now and December 15, 2010.

Meridian Stacks Up

As we continue to expand our Meridian filing and storage product line, it’s interesting to think about how it all began with a unique concept brought to market by company founder Edsko Hekman.

Hekman (1914-2000) started the Spring Lake, Michigan,-based Meridian in 1970 with a concept new to the industry: stackable, lateral filing cabinets with an exterior depth of 20 inches, rather than the traditional 18 inches, for more filing capacity.

He also had the idea to sell by the drawer module, not by the cabinet. This unique approach makes it possible to reduce a customer’s cost per filing inch. After all, thought Hekman, customers are paying for storage, not the metal box. Gain more floor space for customers became a unique advantage for Meridian.

Meanwhile, Herman Miller, located about 45 minutes south, was looking for a broader breadth of filing and storage. In 1987, Herman Miller developed a marketing alliance with Meridian. Three years later, Meridian became a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Over the years, Meridian products have gained favor with architects and designers because the company can create custom colors for the individual cabinet modules and match heights to architectural details.

In 2008, Herman Miller began producing Meridian products in the U.K., so that our international customers could experience the same kind of flexibility.

Hekman has been described as “brilliant with mechanics,” and we’re excited that customers all over the world can now benefit from his savvy.

A Greenbuild Conversation with Lisa Ling

At the recent Greenbuild conference, I had the chance to interview television journalist Lisa Ling. A special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show and host of National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer, she’s tenacious about reporting the stories of those who often don’t have a voice. She’s also an advocate for environmental sustainability—as we are—which led to her interest in attending the show.

“Everyone I’ve talked to is so enthusiastic about what they’re doing,” she says about the exhibitors. “Our country is in the midst of an economic catastrophe and this green movement is the answer to our economic woes. That’s why Greenbuild has the highest attendance numbers ever. People are intrigued by what’s going on here.”

Ling is no stranger to building green. She’s about to move into the first energy-neutral home in Santa Monica, California–it’s a place she hopes will inspire others to make their homes more environmentally friendly.

“I try to be the vehicle from which people hear about a situation, with the hope that they want to effect change,” she adds.

Catch Lisa Ling in her new series called “Our America” on the Oprah Winfrey Network, beginning in February 2011.

Greenbuild Exhibit Shows Steps to Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

This week in Chicago, thousands will gather at Greenbuild to see the latest in environmentally sustainable products and building practices. This must-see event has emerged as one of the office furniture industry’s largest trade shows in North America.

Hosted by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the annual event is celebrating 10 years of raising awareness about the importance of thinking and building green.

Herman Miller is a founding member of the USGBC and has exhibited at the event since the beginning. This year, conference attendees will be able to experience several of our latest environmentally conscious products, including the SAYL family of seating, the Thrive Portfolio of ergonomic office tools and accessories, and the Energy Manager device.

Driven by our Perfect Vision initiatives, we’re on track to achieve by 2020 zero waste to landfills, zero hazardous waste generation, the use of 100 percent green energy, and 100 percent of product revenue through sustainable designs.

Tomorrow, we’ll release our fourth annual Better World report, which highlights our progress toward these initiatives. In some cases we’re ahead of schedule, which is good news for us and the planet.

Navigating Healthcare Design 2010

Reports are in from those with Herman Miller Healthcare who attended this year’s Healthcare Design 2010 event in Las Vegas. There was a lot of enthusiasm about the products shown in our booth, including the Compass system and Nemschoff’s Dex guest chair.

The booth experience is one way we were able to provide insight into how Herman Miller Healthcare and its subsidiaries Nemschoff and Brandrud are bringing a new voice to healthcare.

Thanks to everyone who was able to stop by!