Turnstone (company)

Turnstone is an office furniture company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is a division of Steelcase and was founded in 1993.[1] The brand was created with the intention of reaching younger businesses with budgets too small to afford a dedicated facilities manager and offices with a small number of in-office employees.[2][3] As of January 2006, the company employed 30 people.[2]

Turnstone
IndustryFurniture
Founded1993
Headquarters
Grand Rapids, Michigan
,
United States
Areas served
North America
ProductsOffice furniture, modular furniture
ServicesOffice design consultation
ParentSteelcase
Websitewww.myturnstone.com

Company overview

Turnstone's products are designed to meet the needs of small businesses, startup companies, and entrepreneurs.[4][5] Initially, turnstone also focused on supplying the home-office market.[3] Between 2002 and 2006, turnstone launched over 40 new products.[2]

One aspect of Turnstone's product development process involves meeting with business leaders and uses observational research from the IIT Institute of Design, IDEO, and the d.school at Stanford University.[4] They also visit co-working spaces to study how workers interact with their products.[6]

Turnstone also researches and studies subjects like startup culture, company culture, and how people work.[7][8] In 2013, Turnstone partnered with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to release a list of the 15 top young companies to work for.[9]

James Hackett became President of turnstone in 1993.[10] Kevin Kuske was turnstone's general manager from 2009 to 2014.[11] Brian Shapland became turnstone's general manager in the spring of 2014.[12]

Events

Turnstone frequently organizes RV tours, bus tours, and events like the Turnstone Roadshow, a trip that brings a mobile office built in an 18-wheeler around the country to showcase workplace trends and research.[13][14][15] The company has also toured using an Airstream RV as a traveling showroom.[2]

Designer collaborations

Turnstone has collaborated with outside designers for some of their products:

  • Brian Kane, Jenny Chair[16]
  • Charles Perry, Uno Chair[17]
  • George Simmons, Crushed Can Stool[18]
  • Chuck Anderson, limited edition tabletop for the Campfire Paper Table[19]
  • Mark Schoolmeester, Buoy seat[20]

Awards and recognition

Some of Turnstone's products have awards at the NeoCon World's Trade Fair:[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]

YearAwardProduct
2000Silver Award in Alternative OfficeCrushed Can
2001Silver Award in Alternative OfficeSmoke Office System
2004Silver AwardPET Lounge
2007Silver Award in Work Surfaces and Furniture SystemsTour System
2009Gold AwardCampfire Table
2011Gold AwardBivi
2013Innovation AwardBuoy
2015Product InnovationsCampfire Additions
2016Innovation AwardBassline Tables
2016Product InnovationsBivi

Other awards and nominations:

  • 2004 Good Design Award for their Scoop stool from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design[31]
  • 2004 Good Design Award for their PET lounge seating from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design[31]
  • 2009 Good Design Award for their Campfire Big Lamp from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design[32]
  • 2009 Platinum Award winner in the ADEX Awards for the Tour Workspace[33]
  • 2011 Best of Year Award for the Bivi desk from Interior Design[34]
  • Their Shortcut chair was nominated for Interior Design's HiP Award in the Education/Institutional Furniture category in 2015[35]
  • Their Campfire additions were nominated for Interior Design's HiP Award in the Workplace: Furniture/Systems category in 2015[35]

Similar companies

References
  1. "Steelcase, Inc". furniturecityhistory.org. Furniture City History. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  2. Scanlon, Jessie (3 January 2006). "The Mini Cooper of Office Furniture". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  3. Hoffman, Marilyn (5 April 1994). "Furniture Makers Target Multiplying Home Offices". The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  4. "Work Better With Turnstone Office Furniture". themanual.com. The Manual. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  5. "Steelcase Unit Donating Furniture To Startups". detroit.cbslocal.com. CBS Detroit. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  6. "Austin co-working spaces act as 'living labs'". bizjournals.com. Austin Business Journal. 8 April 2011. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  7. "Don't Just Be a Startup, Feel Like One". aabacosmallbusiness.com. Aabaco Small Business. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  8. "Strong company culture is key to telecommuting success". mnn.com. Mother Nature Network. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  9. "The 15 Best Startups To Work For In America". businessinsider.com.au. Business Insider Australia. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  10. "100 Years & Building:Steelcase CEO Guides Vision for Future". corpmagazine.com. Corp!. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  11. "Former Turnstone exec to succeed Saylor as CEO of Izzy+". mibiz.com. MiBiz. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  12. "How startup culture in the workplace can help attract and engage top talent". hr.blr.com. HR and Employment Law News. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  13. "Turnstone bus on Midwest roadtrip to give 5 startups $20,000 makeovers". mlive.com. MLive. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  14. "Turnstone Roadshow 2016: Work from a Mobile Startup Office". omaha.com. Omaha World-Herald. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  15. "Turnstone bus on Midwest roadtrip to give 5 startups $20,000 makeovers". mlive.com. MLive. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  16. "TURNSTONE JENNY CLUB". interiorsthatwork.com. Interiors That Work. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  17. "Chairs". charlesperry.com. Charls O. Perry. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  18. ""Turnstone's Crushed Can is a stool, a table, a headrest, whatever"". fmlink.com. FMLink. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  19. "Here's A Paper Table You Can Draw On". foodrepublic.com. Food Republic. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  20. Schoolmeester, Mark. "Mark Schoolmeester". Mark Schoolmeester, Industrial Design. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  21. "Neocon Continues To Blur The Line Between Home And Office". articles.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 18 June 2000. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  22. "West Michigan NeoCon Team Has A New Star". grbj.com. Grand Rapids Business Journal. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  23. "Steelcase Inc. Receives Seven Awards at NeoCon 2004". ir.steelcase.com. Steelcase. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  24. "Steelcase Celebrates Six Best of NeoCon Awards at NeoCon 2007". finanznachrichten.de. Finanz Nachrichten. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  25. "IzzyPlus, Nucraft, Steelcase garner NeoCon awards". mlive.com. MLive. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  26. "NeoCon'11: Gold winner Bivi by Turnstone desk integrates work and life". fmlink.com. FMLink. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  27. "NeoCon 2013: West Michigan companies rock awards, bringing home lots of gold, 'Best of Show'". mlive.com. MLive. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  28. "Furniture Systems - 2015 Product Innovations". buildings.com. Buildings. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  29. "Steelcase Reports First Quarter Results". nasdaq.com. Nasdaq. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  30. "Furniture Systems - 2016 Product Innovations". buildings.com. Buildings. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  31. "Good Design 2004" (PDF). The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  32. "Good Design 2009" (PDF). The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  33. "Recognizing Excellence in Furnishings & Materials". ADEX Awards. ADEX Awards. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  34. "Best of Year Products: Merits". Interior Design. Interior Design. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  35. "Get HiP at #IDNeoCon: 2015 Winners for Design Solutions". Interior Design. Interior Design. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
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