Our product keeping pace with innovative technology
Thomas Russell, Associate Editor -- Furniture Today, June 5, 2006
A few months back, another publication had this to say about our industry: "The furniture industry — and the furniture marketplace — doesn't exactly have a reputation for innovation."
While there may be a grain of truth in that statement, it struck me as being written by someone who seldom has set foot in a furniture showroom. Or they just hadn't spent much time paying attention to actual product.
If they had, they would have seen scores of examples of home office and home entertainment product built around innovation. With each market, innovations continue to pop up, in order to keep pace with changing technologies ranging from laptops to flat-panel TVs.
Here are some recent products that combine style and function in innovative ways:
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Last October, Sligh Furniture added a "Smart Eye" to its home entertainment consoles. This electronic feature, typically perched below the console surface, allows use of a remote control with the doors of the unit shut. In April, the technology was a prominent feature of a new console available in Sligh's Alante two-tone finish.
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Conference tables from AICO Office Systems have decorative pedestals that allow them to double as dining tables, and come in 4-foot sections so a user can configure the piece as large or small as needed. Each section has hidden telephone and electrical outlets. This is a huge convenience for executives who want access to the latest technologies for presentations and teleconferencing.
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Last October, RTA major Sauder Woodworking came up with a product called a Convergence Wall. With space for a TV and CD/DVD storage, this unit looks like a typical entertainment center. But it also doubles as a computer desk, with features such as a pullout shelf for a keyboard or laptop. Sauder launched three smaller-scale versions this past market targeting students and gamers. The company obviously understands the melding of phone, cable TV, Internet and computer technologies, and wants to accommodate those technologies in a convenient center of activity in the home.
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At the January Las Vegas market, Aspenhome launched smaller-scale desks called NanoDesks, with 48-inch-wide work surfaces suitable for laptop use and smaller spaces. Along with extendable mouse trays and a hidden cord management system, the desks have surge-protected power strips that can charge cell phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and other hand-held devices such as Blackberry units.
These are just a few examples of how companies design and make innovative product with technology in mind. We could name scores more. The point is, the industry does its homework, including attending technology-related trade shows, to see what's ahead.
So, to say the industry doesn't have a knack for innovation isn't just false. It's also an insult to all those who work hard to incorporate cutting-edge technology into product design.
