Details Issue 09 Boss Design
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In this issue of Details, we interview our Chairman and Founder, Brian Murray, to get his insight on the effect that Brexit and the pandemic have had on UK trade and business. We also take a look at the impact of working from home on our musculoskeletal health with Founder and Chiropractor Kate Molloy of White Therapy. With many people still working from home for at least part of the week, Kate offers some sound advice on how to create the right set up at home and protect ourselves from developing long term health Soissues.with a sense of cautious optimism in the air, we very much look forward to welcoming you back in person to our global showrooms and to seeing you at CDW and Neocon.
NATALIE MURRAY EDITOR Boss 03Design Details
Editor’s Letter
After two years of living through a global pandemic, it seems at last that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Of course the heart-breaking situation in Ukraine sits firmly at the forefront of all our minds, but after months of lockdowns and restrictions, it’s encouraging that global trade shows such as Clerkenwell Design Week and Neocon will be taking place at full capacity this year. For Boss Design, Clerkenwell Design Week and Neocon will see the launch of four exciting new products: Amelia, Flo, Rosa and Sol.
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New Collections
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Sculptural
Amelia’s svelte form was made possible by Boss’ innovative application of the cold cure foam injection moulding process. Foam, set around an inner steel skeleton gives strength, durability and longevity. The technique gives the design team freedom to create slimmer, more sculptural forms, whilst reducing the amount of material used in the process.
Named in celebration of the 1930s aviator, Amelia Earhart, this light and streamlined seating blurs lines between workplace, hospitality and domestic living - with a graceful single, organic perimeter line. Light yet durable, Amelia combines the ultimate comfort with functional wings for acoustic and visual privacy.
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Amelia
The classic wingback chair redefined
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Amelia Lounge merges a supportive back, ergonomic arms and functional wings that provide visual and acoustic privacy – all contained within a single, continuous perimeter line that flows organically around the form with the elegance of a gymnast’s ribbon. The flexibility of the design continues down to its base. Amelia is available with a four-leg frame, sled frame, cast aluminium four-star base or timber four-star base, each of which gives it a slightly different vibe. The timber four-star base includes a memory return on the swivel.
A strong, supportive & comfortable design that’s made to last
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Natural Flo Devotion to detail
Elegant and comfortable – the Flo Lounge Collection comes with a relaxed character and a finish that exudes quality and sophistication. The defined forms of this sofa collection express confidence, while the finer details and outstanding upholstery bring a soft and welcoming personality to the fore.
While Flo’s linear, low-profile shape gives a clean and elegant first impression, close-up the well-proportioned sprung seat, back and contoured arms seem to merge seamlessly highlighting the softness and comfort that defines this sleek partnership.
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The minimal appeal of Flo’s Scandi-inspired silhouette is softened by its timber leg finish, introducing a whisper of nature to the design.
The Flo chair and sofa can be covered in fabric, vinyl or leather, in colours to suit any décor scheme, and the choice of leg finishes includes oak, stained oak and lacquer.
With its contemporary forms, premium workmanship and timeless elegance, the Flo Lounge Collection plays in perfect harmony with all the latest Boss Design lines. Its comfortable, relaxed nature means Flo will sit as easily in a hospitality lounge as it does in a studio loft, office lobby or collaborative workspace.
Flo’s sophisticated character is expressed through its superb upholstery & detailing
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The Kruze Plush Lounge chair is a fusion of classic and contemporary. A luxurious sitting experience, the finest sartorial craftsmanship combined with intelligent design. The high sculpted back and gently curving contours promise outstanding sitting comfort, while its distinctive profile makes it a stand-alone statement piece to enhance any space.
A softer level of luxury
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Kruze Plush Lounge is available as a sumptuous fully-upholstered chair, with an aluminium 4-star base available in any of the eight Boss
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Refined
Inspired
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Inspired by the functional elegance of mid century classic tubular chair designs, Rosa exudes the easy-going versatility of outdoor furniture, without compromising on comfort. Rosa’s flowing lines and proportions were refined through an iterative prototyping process resulting in slim, sophisticated forms, alongside maximum comfort and durability. The visual appeal is validated by the seating experience Rosa has to offer. Our layered polyurethane cushion technology makes the chair and sofa comfortable, while maintaining its shape for long-lasting, durable seating. by heritage Rosa
The premium elegance of our Rosa Lounge Collection is highlighted in the fact that it has no visible fixings. With a total absence of screws, bolts or rivets, the back support appears to float lightly above the seat board – a perfect place to sit, relax and contemplate the world. In accordance with our circular design ethos, Rosa’s smart engineering makes the furniture simple to disassemble. The back and seat easily separate from the frame and their forms make reupholstering a straightforward process. Meanwhile, the cantilever frame can be resprayed and the seating reassembled, extending Rosa’s lifecycle and making it one of the most sustainable lines in its category.
When the time comes, separating Rosa’s materials is just as simple. The steel frame can be recycled, as can the FSC-certified plywood board while the polyurethane cushioning can be crumbled and turned into a multitude of other foam products.
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Aesthetically light, Rosa combines the flexibility & appeal of al fresco seating with classic lounge comfort
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A modern sustainable classic
Simplicity was the starting point for the Sol side and coffee tables. The basic aesthetic for both rests on a nimble-but-sturdy tripod base.
Simply Sol
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A wide variety of tabletop options are available, helping schemes project the right atmosphere. Standard finishes such as MFC, MF MDF and laminate are all available in a variety of colours, or with natural wood veneers.
However, at Boss Design our design process is driven by sustainability and we knew we could go a step further with the tabletop options for the Sol collection. Our design team have been researching and experimenting with renewable and recycled materials, aiming to give our customers the most environmentally friendly and visually exciting choices on the market.
We’re excited to offer the Sol side and coffee tables with 100% recycled plastic tops, which look striking and have a great story. They are available in a variety of colours, made from waste materials including wooden chopping boards, plastic yoghurt pots, bottles, various kinds of packaging and plastic pollution removed from the sea. The items are chipped, mixed with eco-friendly resin, formed, hardened and the resulting boards are cut to size for our tables. Each tabletop consists of 100% recycled materials and is 100% recyclable.
One of the benefits of tubular steel is that it is relatively thin and therefore ideal for furniture with a light look. In addition, it is very strong and can be worked into many forms. With Sol, we’ve used a minimal amount of metal for maximum structural effect. With an unassuming base, the personality of both the tabletop and other accompanying furniture can come to the fore. That’s where the expressiveness lies with the Sol collection.
Our World SUSTAINABLE FUTURES BACK TO WORK MEET THE FOUNDER WORK PROJECTS
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Aesthetics are an important aspect to consider. Some trendy designs may seem youthful and energetic, but they can date quickly. Designing furniture with long-term appeal, which is functional, elegant and attractive, will help reduce the frequency of refits. Specifiers can help by guiding clients towards styles that will stand the test of time.
Longevity over sales As an industry, we need to break away from focusing on cost of purchase and think more about overall cost of ownership. This means much less cheap furniture that dates quickly, breaks easily and ends up in landfill because it can’t be reused or recycled. The costs of consumption and waste are carried downstream.
Dr Professor Diana Ürge-Vorsatz of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, speaking at Expo 2020 Dubai
BY CERI LOVETT, BOSS DESIGN’S CREATIVE DIRECTOR
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Responsibly sourced, durable, renewable materials can help rectify this. Just as important is build quality. By investing in quality materials, skills, technology and good design, we can make chairs that last 20 or even 30 years, rather than five or 10.
Breaking out of the ‘make, use, discard’ pattern is crucial to sustainability in the commercial furniture industry
Consumption and production – ever linked – are the drivers of the world economy. However, if we continue to consume goods using materials from the natural environment at the current rate, our survival will be threatened. The UN has warned that the world’s population will be 9.6 billion by 2050, and we’ll need the resources of three planets unless we change our ways. In commercial furniture, refits happen years apart which means consumption and waste aren’t as visible as in food production or fast fashion, for example. Post-COVID, many organisations are reconfiguring their offices making now the ideal time to talk about furniture consumption.
“What we need to do is rather than have a 20th century model which is takes a lot out of resources, sells a lot of products and make it bad quality so that they keep buying more and more and more, instead I think a good 21st century industry and a good 21st century business focuses on quality rather than quantity, on durability and longevity rather than the number of product sales.”
Sustainable Futures
Interior specifiers and furniture manufacturers are also thinking ahead to the second and third lives of the pieces they deliver. By collaborating with social enterprises and charities, it’s possible to supply everyone from incubator hubs through to firms and state bodies in developing countries with excellent reconditioned furniture.
Rethinking Refits Lockdowns have given organisations time to rethink their office schemes and also to consider more deeply the environmental impact of their activities, including refits. It may mean far less office furniture goes to landfill in the coming years. We’ve been approached by customers actively seeking refurbished furniture instead of new – on ethical grounds and because it helps them meet their environmental targets. From corporates to SMEs, there’s much greater awareness about how consumption of office furniture affects the planet.
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The challenges in recycling
Using our skills to extend product life Reconditioning furniture, rather than replacing it, is an excellent way of keeping it in use and up-to-date aesthetically. For example, it can be reupholstered in fashionable colours to keep the look and feel of a scheme Accordingcurrent.tothe study Circular Economy in the Furniture Industry, produced by the FURN 360 Project and the EU, in European countries – 80-90% of office furniture at end of life went to landfill in 2018. One reason for this was poor repairability and a lack of spare parts. Making it easier for businesses to maintain and repair furniture is another excellent way of extending its life, thereby reducing waste.
“We have become too comfortable with societies that are immensely wasteful”
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On the face of it, longer lasting furniture would threaten future revenues for manufacturers. However, with their in-house skills they are ideally positioned to help customers refresh and renew their office furniture. Service and maintenance can become part of the package when schemes are specified.
When a piece of furniture really can’t be used any more, ideally its components will be separated and recovered rather than going to waste. The industry still faces big challenges when it comes to waste and recycling. Firstly, the justifiable public outrage about issues such as single use plastics has left waste recycling facilities overwhelmed. Government intervention is needed to increase recycling capacity. Secondly, furniture recycling is dependent on recyclable materials being used in the first place. We have come full circle, to the initial design of the furniture and the choice of materials. The more recyclable and/or recoverable content the better.
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Increasingly, buyers want environmental transparency with regards to materials and recyclable content. Manufacturers are responding but there is a long way to go, and the decision-making is complex. There are environmental considerations even within recycling. For example, recovering and recycling certain materials can be very energy intensive which makes it difficult to weigh up the best course of action.
Working more closely with customers in the long term, manufacturers can add value by helping manage the lifecycle of their products after they’ve left the factory. Maintenance and reconditioning, then redistribution and recycling – these things should be planned into the life of every product.
It’s time to adopt ‘furniture as a service’ as a model for our industry in the future. Now is the perfect time to have this conversation so that the ‘make, use, discard’ approach to commercial furniture can be consigned to history.
Innovative solutions
Some office furniture manufacturers are already playing a significant role in the second lives of the pieces they produce. However, we need to go beyond that and look at the problem of consumption and waste through a different lens. Our industry has an opportunity to take responsibility for our products in the same way that many of our customers are taking responsibility for their purchases. We often talk about the four Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle, recover. Let’s introduce a fifth R: refuse. We can refuse to make furniture that is quickly consumed and adds to the global problem of Wewaste.have the skills to design and make furniture that lasts longer, and we can utilise and develop our skills to extend the lives of our products.
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It’s estimated that as many as four in five workers have developed some form of musculoskeletal pain as a result of poor home working ergonomics. And with hybrid and home working set to continue for the foreseeable future, the long-term health implications could end up costing businesses and the economy millions. So how can something as innocuous as sitting, pose such a serious risk to our health and productivity? We caught up with Kate Molloy, Founder and Practicing Chiropractor of White Therapy, a multi-disciplinary private health clinic specialising in treating muscle, joint and nerve pain, to find out what the risks are and more importantly, what we can do about it. “It sounds dramatic” explains Kate, “but if done incorrectly, over time the simple act of sitting can be extremely damaging on the body. Over the past two years, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of musculoskeletal complaints in clinic including hip, back and neck pain. Most of this is directly attributable to people becoming more sedentary, experiencing increased stress and spending hours working at home at makeshift desks and on chairs that simply aren’t designed to support correct posture and alignment.”
AN INTERVIEW WITH CHIROPRACTOR & FOUNDER OF WHITE THERAPY KATE MOLLOY
Research reveals that the average office worker in the UK spends up to 9 hours a day sitting at their workstation. That’s a whopping 67 days or around 1600 hours a year sat in front of a computer screen. Factor in the amount of additional hours we’ve all spent sitting during lockdowns and you begin to understand the cumulative effect that sitting can have on your musculoskeletal health. But it isn’t just neck and back niggles that we should be alert to and it isn’t just poor seating that’s the culprit. The type of desk and computer you use can aggravate the problem further. Desks that are too low or too high can cause poor posture and place extra strain on muscles and joints. Studies have also shown that laptops cause more strains and pains than desktops because of the close positioning of the screen and the keyboard and those who’ve done away with surface support altogether are at an even greater risk. If you’re sat with a computer on your lap, constantly hunched over looking down at a screen, you’ll experience sustained flexion in your neck and your shoulders will round.
Kate explains further: “Physically, when we are in a seated position, our femur (the largest bone in the human body) is placed at 90 degrees to our torso. The problem is that this positioning can shorten the hip flexor and cause tendinopathy and degeneration. When sat we also inflict sustained compression through the discs in our backs. If we exert these pressures on our backs and hips for hours every day, eventually there will be consequences, ranging from pain and inflammation to restricted or limited movement and in extreme cases, spinal damage”.
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Kate continues, “In addition to back and neck complaints we’ve seen a significant increase in lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) and temporomandibular joint disorders, symptoms include teeth-grinding business of protecting your musculoskeletal health to Work
A whole host of other factors colluded: people stopped going to the gym, the lines between work and homelife blurred and the natural break enforced by the daily commute was removed. Big business was commendably quick to respond with many providing allowances for employees, who suddenly found themselves WFH full-time, to buy company -approved and ergonomically designed office equipment for their homes. All businesses were not created equal, however, and for smaller organisations that just wasn’t an option practically or financially. “While the full impact is yet to be seen”, Kate cautions that “with hybrid working set to stay, it’s a good idea to take stock of our working arrangements and the impact they’re going to have on our health and well-being longer term. As a clinician, as soon as I meet a patient, I try to understand the aetiology - or cause - of the pain to work out the most appropriate treatment plan. Increasingly, it’s poor working practices and inadequate equipment that are to blame. We were designed to move. We are like machines and keeping that machine still for long periods of time won’t do it any good. Over time, low grade pain will turn into permanent injuries and that could end up costing businesses dearly if workers are unable to work and having to take more and more time Besidesoff.”the
physiological aspect there are other factors to consider. A growing body of research focusses on the mind-body connection and the role poor mental health, fear and stress can play in aggravating an individuals’ experiences and responses to pain. A complex relationship between mind and body is at work, with past experiences, attitudes, perceptions, circumstances, personal relationships and a whole host Research reveals that the average office worker in the UK spends up to 9 hours a day sitting at their workstation
and pain or clicking around the jaw. Both conditions are significantly aggravated by incorrect positioning due to poor ergonomics when people are working from home.”
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The role of HR and Occupational Health and the Mind-Body Connection Whereas pre-pandemic, HR or occupational health professionals in the office would make sure seating and equipment was fit for purpose, when offices closed overnight, so too did access to that expertise.
“In an ideal world everyone would work at bigger screens, but the reality is that most people will continue to use laptops as we continue to take a hybrid approach to working switching between home and the office. That being the case, the most important thing to do is to make sure you have a properly designed task chair and a decent working surface at home to encourage correct alignment and adequate postural and lumbar support. There are also some excellent laptop stands on the market which use a separate keyboard and mouse to ensure that your laptop is correctly positioned for your arms to rest comfortably and with the screen at eye level. I’m also a big fan of hydraulic desking which allows you to move between a seated and standing position, reducing spinal loading in the same position.”
Details00of other external variants, all contributing to an individual’s assessment of and response to pain.
Kate concurs: “The connection between good mental and physical health cannot be underestimated and there is so much emerging research about the inter-relationship between movement, gut health and sleep on our mental and physical wellbeing. At White Therapy, we moved from being a sole discipline to a multi-disciplinary clinic because we understand the importance of treating mind, body and soul holistically. There is a lot we can do: take regular breaks, drink lots
In their paper Psychological Factors in Chronic Pain: Evolution and Revolution, academic researchers Dennis C. Turk Akiko Okifuji state that, “There has been a growing recognition that pain is a complex perceptual experience influenced by a wide range of psychosocial factors, including emotions, social and environmental context, socio cultural background, the meaning of pain to the person, and beliefs, attitudes, and expectations, as well as biological factors”. The paper goes on to discuss how psychosocial factors play a key role in determining patient outcome such as whether individuals will spontaneously recover or whether fear or anxiety will lead to avoiding physical activity for fear of aggravating the pain.
Kate explains: “Over the past couple of years, people have experienced increased levels of fear, tension and isolation because of the pandemic. People have had a lot to deal with and even though we can connect via technology, vital human connections have been lost. Increased anxiety, tension and isolation all trigger higher levels of cortisol and that can impact directly on recovery. There is a simple saying that ‘what the mind thinks the body follows’ and lots of evidence that demonstrates how people’s perception of pain increases when they are stressed or under pressure. Consider your own physical response to feeling nervous: dry mouth; clammy palms; an upset stomach; and you get a sense of how the mind-body connection works”. Several studies have found that psychosocial variables (i.e, attitudes, beliefs, circumstances and psychiatric status) are as, if not more, important than the severity of injury when predicting recovery from injury.
As an absolute minimum, anyone who WFH should be investing in a really good ergonomically designed task chair.
• Nutrition is also very important. At home it’s tempting to graze or eat foods you wouldn’t ordinarily eat during the day. Stick to regular mealtimes and incorporate plenty of high-quality protein into your diet to aid muscular health, repair and recovery.
I think people are becoming more aware of where the hip flexor is but they don’t always appreciate the connection between that and the lower back.
• Try to minimize tension and distractions which can lead to shortness and tightness in your shoulder muscles and chest as well as a tightening in the jaw.
• Position your neck in a neutral position and make sure your monitor is directly in front of you and at eye level. An ache at the top of your neck means the screen is too high; an ache at the bottom means it’s too low.
• Try and create a designated workspace at home so you’re properly set up and not tempted to improvise.
KATE MOLLOY DC BSC(HONS) CHIRO CCEP THE FOUNDER AND PRACTICING CHIROPRACTOR AT WHITE THERAPY, A HOLISTIC CLINICAL PRACTICE SPECIALISING IN TREATING MUSCLE, JOINT AND NERVE PAIN.
WWW.THEWHITETHERAPY.COM / INFO@THEWHITETHERAPY.COM
• New research points to the link between health and adequate sleep so making sure you get enough good quality shut-eye is essential.
• If you do experience pain, don’t ignore it and hope it goes away. Take positive action and make an appointment to see a chiropractor or another musculoskeletal specialist before it becomes a serious problem. of water, make sure your screen is at the correct level. But it’s counter productive if we do all those things and then spend nine hours a day sat on a sofa hunched over a tiny screen. Pretty soon we’re going to run into trouble”.
• Stay hydrated. For optimal musculoskeletal health, you need to have that 1.5 – 2 litres of water. We’re seeing a lot of headaches in clinic because of dehydration.
• Try and make sure that when seated your knees are lower than your hips to open the hip flexor, this will minimize shortening of the muscle.
• Similarly, your keyboard should be directly in front of you. Try a laptop stand with separate keyboard and monitor so that your forearms rest on your desk comfortably.
• Move around regularly alternating between sitting, standing and walking. Ideally every 30 minutes but if that isn’t practical, then schedule regular short breaks even if it’s just walking upstairs or taking a turn around the garden if you have access to one.
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• If possible, don’t use a separate camera or position your camera to the side when video conferencing as it causes rotation and puts a unilateral strain and contraction that can create left or right sided conditions.
Kate’s Top Tips for staying healthy & creating a safe workspace
Kate concludes: “Like many things no one size fits all but, as we continue to navigate our way through the pandemic and learn to live with Covid, it’s vital that we promote the importance of protecting musculoskeletal health. As an absolute minimum, anyone working from home for all or some of their time in the foreseeable future, should be investing in a really good ergonomically designed task chair. When you compare the relatively small cost of that initial outlay with the potential long-term damage to health and subsequent time off work, it will quite literally be worth its weight in gold”.
• We’re designed to move so make sure you are exercising regularly and build in time to have fun and spend time with people who lift your spirits.
• Place your feet flat to the floor and don’t be tempted to cross your legs or sit in a mermaid position (with your legs to the side) as your body will contort and place joints under unnecessary pressure.
Details0000Meet the Founder In Conversation with Brian Murray
Brian Murray: Chair & Founder of Boss Design
Brian continues: “In an industry like ours working together in person is critical. All our concept, design, manufacturing and upholstery is done by a team of experts, and from start to finish each part of the process Our00WorldCreating agile, sustainable businesses is key to future-proofing our industry
The past two years have challenged us all. First was Brexit and then almost immediately, Covid19 wreaked havoc forcing businesses large and small to tear up the rulebook. Now the situation in Ukraine presents even greater challenges. As we continue to adapt and transition from the pandemic to the endemic phase of the disease, Details caught up with Boss Founder and Chairman, Brian Murray, to get his take on doing business in a post-pandemic, post-Brexit world.
Fast forward to 2022 and while the final outcome still hangs in the balance, Brian is optimistic that the future for Boss Design is less bleak than those early days suggested: “I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how resilient the business is. It’s still very early days but, so far, we’ve experienced a healthy v-shaped recovery and are performing as well, if not better globally, than we were pre-pandemic. Of course, no sooner do we get over one hurdle than there is something else that comes along to challenge us. Whether that’s another variant or global geo-politics like the war in Ukraine, no-one really knows.”
“At the start of 2020 when everyone was mandated to work from home, Zoom was king and the office, it was claimed, was dead. Lots of businesses, including Boss, faced huge uncertainty. Almost overnight business dropped by around 35% - so in those very early days the fear of actually contracting Covid was overshadowed by the fear of what would happen to the business, job security and what the future held”.
In the face of such unpredictability creating an agile business is, according to Brian, the key to future-proofing his and other businesses in the industry. “One thing we’ve learnt over the past two years is that we can make all the plans we want but you can’t mitigate against or plan. To survive you need to be flexible and capable of responding and adapting to whatever life - or politicians - throw at you next. In just under two years, we’ve moved from a point where the office was written off to a growing realisation that remote working isn’t the panacea it might at first have seemed. At Boss we work with lots of big, global companies and almost without exception, they are now investing in shared, physical workspaces again. Fundamentally, you can’t escape the fact that we are social beings and need human contact. Zoom is great but it can be awkward and unnatural and, in the end, there’s no substitute for talking to someone face to face.”
And more recently, the medical bible, The Lancet, published evidence that even less that 10 days of social isolation, can result in lingering psychiatric effects (Brooks et al, 2020).
Researchers have long championed the positive impact of human interaction on mental and physical health, with studies showing that people with smaller and less complex social networks actually have smaller amygdala (the part of the brain that processes emotional responses). Countless academics have made the link between a lack of social bonding and stress, anxiety, memory loss and depression.
Brian takes up the story again: “Since 2005, all of our factories have been powered by renewable energy and we only work with suppliers who meet and comply with our strict compliance regulations. We work extremely hard to do our bit, but we’re a tiny piece of the global jigsaw.
A winning combination that, in the face of constant shifting economic, political and social sands, Boss Design and its Chair and Founder appear to be getting right.
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feeds into the next; it’s necessary collaborative process. Fabrics and finishes need to be physically seen and handled and the ergonomics and comfort of a seat or sofa can only be experienced in person. Our carpenters, upholsterers and master craftsmen and women are the backbone of our business and for obvious reasons, that work can’t be done remotely. I think a lot of businesses have come to the realisation that while working remotely has its place, there are certain tasks that will always need employees to be present and together”.
Climate change may have dropped down the global agenda given the crisis in Ukraine, but the issues won’t go away and Boss Design continues to drive innovation with an impressive track record. A recipient of a prestigious Queen’s Award for sustainability, Boss brought one of the first 100% recyclable zero carbon footprint chairs to market and was one of the first manufacturers to introduce product data sheets show ing a products’ materials, components and recycling profile, that are now an industry standard. Acknowledged as the biggest challenge of our times, the climate emergency means that for businesses and for Boss Design, finding new and innovative ways to align the friction between competitivity and sustainability is paramount.
Mews – our new system of modular pods - for example, have been really popular because they allow businesses to completely transform and reinvent their spaces cost-effectively without having to make huge architectural changes. Clients have almost limitless interior options and because they’re modular, the pods can be configured and reconfigured in any number of ways to create zones for connecting remotely, meeting informally or focusing when you need to get your head down. Right now, businesses are focused on creating places that people can be productive in and work from, but that they actively want to spend time in and find inspiring and motivating.”
To date, Brexit, with all its incumbent shortcomings, doesn’t appear to have dented Boss’s reputation across Europe and beyond. Handmade and known world-wide for all the hallmarks of British design, craftsmanship and manufacturing, when Amazon was looking to furnish its HQ offices in India recently, it was Boss Design that it turned to. “We were up against all the key players globally, but Amazon came to us, a relatively small, British supplier”. When asked why that is, Brian is clear: “Because we offer them a combination of exceptional British quality, competitive pricing and the highest environmental credentials. A business like Amazon doesn’t want low quality products that they’re going to have to replace in two years’ time and they also want guarantees about value for money, provenance and sustainability. Investing in British made, high quality products like ours gives them all of those assurances – and at the right price. We see the same pattern in the US, in the Middle East and increasingly in Europe where, despite Brexit and everything else going on in the world, there’s a confidence in British design and manufacturing that means we are continuing to grow and thrive in those markets.”
As for the other great challenge of our time, Brian is passionate but pragmatic when it comes to climate change. Something of a trailblazer in the contract furnishing industry, sustainability and ethical practices are embedded into every stage of a product’s lifespan at Boss Design, from only using ethically sourced materials to adopting state-of-theart manufacturing practices that dramatically reduce or eliminate emissions entirely.
The almost impossible challenge facing us all, and particularly our politicians, is global conformity and how we get everyone around the table signed up to the same thing. As a grandfather I’m acutely aware that if we don’t get our act together, the way we and other countries around the world act today is going to have disastrous implications for the world my grandchildren and future generations will inherit. The problem is that you have people and governments who aren’t prepared to make concessions now for something that won’t necessarily affect them directly. It’s like telling a 17-year-old that smoking is bad for them and will end up killing them. It won’t resonate because it feels too remote in the here and now, so they carry on smoking and years later, are going to suffer the consequences”.
“As a business we have a duty to do as much as we can to mitigate against the effects of climate change – but at the same time we need to retain our competitive edge. If we focus exclusively on ticking all the environmental boxes but compromise on quality or become too expensive, then we’re no longer competitive. All those clients we have that buy from us and then return 25 years later to buy the same products simply won’t come back. So, whilst we can’t predict everything that lies ahead, we’re constantly evaluating how we strike a balance between quality, longevity, innovation, aesthetics and comfort, alongside our environmental obligations. It’s the way we’ve always worked and a balance that’s allowed us to remain a successful, competitive family-run business but with global reach and a conscience.”
“It’s fair to say we’ve had some teething problems and at times it’s felt like walking through treacle. Like everyone, we’ve had problems with European suppliers and getting hold of component parts, as well as transporting goods to and from the EU and getting to grips with the never-ending stream of paperwork. Ultimately though, I’m optimistic that given time it will get better for all UK business”.
The Brexit Effect Two years ago, Britain opted to leave the EU and whilst it has definitely posed some challenges, here too Brian sees opportunities for growth.
“We’ve seen a marked shift towards spaces that are as inviting as they are inspiring that are more akin to boutique hotels than the grey, sterile office spaces of old” observes Brian. “Clients are asking for more relaxed upholstery, softer, tactile fabrics in muted tones and a combination of areas that cater to a whole range of different needs.
It’s this, as well as the drive to connect socially, that Brian believes underpins the shift in organisations looking to create environments that draw workers in with informal third spaces that encourage co-operation, teamwork and relaxed, informal interaction.
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Bespoke
Ola
TP Bennett has completed the largest single office fitout for an occupier in Birmingham, delivering a new workplace experience for global technology company BT within Three Snowhill. Birmingham is the first strategic Hub location to be delivered for BT as part of its ‘The Better Workplace Programme’. Providing a future-fit workplace for up to 3,500 employees, it is also the largest BT Hub outside of London. Flexible working options cater to the diverse requirements of BT and Openreach teams. TP Bennett has delivered a series of agile spaces and social hubs on every floor, including co-working on the ground floor, that are designed to bring colleagues together and encourage cross-collaboration across the business, while still accommodating focused individual work. seating booths BT & Myriad
SAABWork Projects Maysa modular seating
ALEXANDERDIRECTOR,JENNESONRFD Bodie Red Frog CENTRAL DRY DOCK, HULL
“The calibre and depth of range from Boss is so impressive and diverse. The end result is a warming, eco-friendly, modern workplace which is very much in tune with the Saab brand”
Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, so the image and quality of their new HQ needed to be on brand. We worked closely with the client to ensure their image was represented correctly to their staff and stakeholders by creating a quality work environment and a bespoke artwork portfolio which sits within the workspace. Natural green toned carpets and fabrics, twinned with cutting edge materials such as terrazzo made for a very fresh and clean work environment. Biophilic elements were introduced to ensure the connection to the world in which Saab’s technology is keeping safe for humanity.
Our00World
SALES@BOSSDESIGN.COMMANCHESTERSHOWROOMSXCHICAGODUBAIFRANKFURTLONDON
Boss Showrooms
sales@bossdesign.com | bossdesign.com | @wearebossdesign Amelia
