We’re always searching for the best ergonomic furniture and beautiful design. That’s why we went to Wales to have a snoop around the beautiful new head office for one of our furniture manufacturers Orangebox. Nestled just outside of Cardiff in a gorgeous green valley, from the outset, we could see why people loved their workplaces so much.
Orangebox takes great pride in practising what they preach. We could see by the incredible design of the open-plan offices, that truly put the wellbeing of their employees at the heart of everything they do. From living walls and ergonomic workstations to ping pong tables and standing desks, every aspect has been carefully thought out so that their workforce have a space that they can look forward to working in. We only sell the highest quality chairs and it’s always great for us to gain some insight into how they are made.
Upon entering the head office we were greeted by a two-story-high living wall. With the building being constructed predominantly of glass, the whole building feels light and spacious and can accommodate wall to wall greenery. This feature not only made an excellent, design lead first impression but also has great health benefits for the office without taking up any space.
Several Welsh cakes later and a great discussion about ergonomics (sorry, we are chair geeks) later, we were then taken to see the production process of one of our chairs first hand.
Fabric is hugely important on chairs. You have to get the right fabric fit for purpose, and the colour can have a huge impact on the look at feel of an office. All of the patterns for the chairs are designed in-house, cut and sewn by an incredibly skilled workforce. Leather chairs, in particular, are all cut by hand out of the premium hide. The staff here are also rewarded of the quality of the finished product as opposed to churning a certain amount out per hour which is reflected in the finished product.
We then moved onto the assembly of the chairs. It was incredible to see so many chairs produced by such a relatively small number of expert craftsmen. From soft seating being made from real wood, or moulded foam being produced and skillfully upholstered, it’s safe to say that the Orangebox production team are experts!
Orangebox have really put their money where their mouth is when it comes to their office as you can see from our visit. The innovative design, all created in-house by very talented designers, has forged a great atmosphere and a productive working environment. The office itself is a living showroom that enables the whole workforce to engage with all the products daily and work flexibly when they need to.
Thanks for having us Orangebox!
