Herman Miller

Famous furniture and home goods maker Herman Miller is having a contest operated through their exclusive Herman Miller Select division. The holiday giveaway theme is "what inspires you?" The prize is a set of this year's limited edition Herman Miller Select Eames Inspired Tops that are valued at $199. To enter you need to visit Herman Miller's giveaway page here. You'll be asked to consider "what inspires you" and comment about some toy or playful object you still include in your life as an adult (or whatever you choose to refer to yourself as!), and discuss how it inspires you. This is based on the famous designers Charles and Ray Eames who often used toys like these tops to inspire their world famous designs. Check it out.

You may know Herman Miller as a chair and furniture maker, but the company also makes items for the home. As people buy less products made in America, I think that Herman Miller takes prides in the fact that it is an American company, and enjoys releasing uniquely American products. Another side of Herman Miller you may not be familiar with is Herman Miller Select. The point of Select is to align with important designers and create one special product at a time. The first Herman Miller Select product was an Eames inspired chair, and now it is a set of toy tops.

The set of three tops was designed by New York city based design firm Klein Reid. If you are familiar with their work, you'll see the similarity in these tops. The design is inspired by famous designers Charles and Ray Eames (think, the Eames chair). The Eameses themselves looked to toys for inspiration in their work. Herman Miller currently produces Eames designed furniture, so it makes sense for them to offer these limited edition tops.

Made of high-quality turned solid Walnut wood, to me the tops each represent different periods of American design aesthetic - from ornate decoration to stark modernism. The tops arrive together as a set and are each between about 4 - 4.75 inches in size. They work too, but you have to use two hands to spin them. The look of wood and soft edges make the tops attractive pieces of decorative art, evoking imagery of toys from a simpler time as well as pure Americana. A good gift idea. Production is limited and will cease forever in April 2010. Price is $199 per set and available at select Herman Miller dealers and retailers. You'll need to locate a Herman Miller dealer or retailer here if you want to get a set.

What are you doing right now? Are you sitting down? What do you think about the chair you are in? Is it stylish, supportive? Have you ever really thought about it before? I didn't until a couple of years ago when I realized I was doing myself a disservice by sitting in the chair equivalent of a backache. "Ergonomic stuff is for the weak and elderly," being the type of perception I used to have. I eventually realized that sitting in a "nice" chair helped comfort and productivity a lot, but it wasn't easy finding the right seat. Most "ergonomic" items these days are gimmicks, and finding something specially designed for your comfort and health is hard. Well here is one item you don't have to stress-out about.

Here is my personal review of the new Herman Miller Setu task and desk chair. The brand well know for the universally popular Aeron desk chair has a few other products you should know about. One of them is right for you. In short, in the Herman Miller line of chairs, the Setu is made for simplicity and ease of use. No complex or frustrating levers and micro adjustments. The chair is designed to naturally fit to you, without having to adjust it. An added bonus is that multiple people can enjoy the same seat (no, not at the same time), without having to disturb your unique ergonomic settings.

To continue reading, click on the link below.

Herman Miller has just unveiled its latest style-meets-ergonomics piece: the Embody Chair. Designed by the late Bill Stumpf and completed by Jeff Weber, this piece claims to improve lower body circulation, mind-body connection and office productivity.

The company decided Embody would make its first appearance at Germany's Orgatek show, which is where the company's iconic Aeron chair debuted in 1992 -- it landed in the Museum of Modern Art soon after.

The Embody chair retails for $1,595.

[via Apartment Therapy]

Few desk lamps come with as big of a buzz as the leaf lamp designed by Yves Behar for Herman Miller. It was even written up by Businessweek earlier this year. The leaf lamp is an LED crowd pleaser which lets the user customize intensity and color in order to set a mood or a location. The vertical blade of the leaf light swivels and the range of motion allows the user to have an intense lighting or a more ambient experience. The leaf remains cool and the LEDs use less than 12 watts of power and use 40% less energy than a compact flourescent light. The light is available in red, white, black, nickel or polished aluminum and start at $499.

The Coconut Chair consists of a soft, leather-upholstered, foam rubber cushion supported by a molded plastic shell. The shell sits atop chrome-plated stainless steel legs. Its shell-like shape cradles the body, allowing you to rest comfortably, though it does not restrict movement in any way. It would go perfectly in a modern, but masculine, study or office where it would give visitors a chance to relax or casual meetings to take place. Price: $3,495.