In order to best meet the needs of the A&D community and empower the dealers who serve them, Allsteel Inc. is excited to add American furniture company Corral to its growing list of manufacturing partners. Allsteel’s recent collaborations with a curated selection of brands comes in response to the growing demand for residentially-inspired social and collaborative environments in the workplace.
United by shared values of client service and world-class design, these partnerships offer a comprehensive range of solutions in terms of function, material, and aesthetic without compromising on manufacturing capabilities. With these goals in mind, Allsteel pursues partnerships only with brands that can be better together. Now, as architects and designers rapidly pivot to designing for new realities, bringing creative minds with diverse areas of expertise together lets Allsteel respond to shifting definitions of comfort in the workplace, including psychological comfort. Corral’s honest and innovative approach to comfort in their designs, including a focus on natural materials, make Corral the perfect complement to Allsteel’s range for this moment and beyond.
Launching in August 2020, Allsteel’s partnership with Corral brings their practical and poetic line of furniture to Allsteel’s extensive dealer network. The partnership also brings the Oakland, California- based brand’s creative problem solvers into collaboration with Allsteel, so that they can share research and co-develop new possibilities. Founded in 2017 by industrial designer Eric Pfeiffer, Corral is forward-thinking and optimistic, committed to expressing an American design ethos rooted in beauty, utility, and craft, with aesthetics guided by a casual and open-minded West Coast character.
Allsteel President Kris Yates adds, “We believe that more creative minds and more in-market touchpoints will increase our speed and effectiveness in responding to our clients’ increasingly diverse requests. Corral’s core strengths in material-inspired design will allow us to work together alongside clients to find solutions that fulfill real business needs today.”
Says Pfeiffer of the new initiative, “I am thrilled to launch this partnership with Allsteel. Corral was founded with the goal of exploring an American design voice; this opportunity to complement our design and material ethos with Allsteel’s will result in a broader platform for that exploration, as well as a greater variety of solutions for the A&D community to address the rapidly evolving office.”
As we increasingly domesticate our work spaces and multitask in our personal spaces, furniture must make us feel comfortable whether we are at work or at play, alone or together. Sometimes, that comfort comes in the form of custom solutions that express a particular culture or specifically respond to a client’s unique circumstances; Corral fills the need for bespoke solutions, too. Allsteel is proud to bring ambitious Corral designs to their clients, such as the best-selling Spin Lounge and innovative Cobra Table, as well as three highly modular space- creating systems for defining space, rather than merely dividing it.
This new partnership follows the success of Allsteel’s collaboration with Danish design brand Normann Copenhagen. Beginning with a curated selection of products in 2018, then expanding to full collection availability in June 2019, the partnership brought bold, contemporary Danish furniture, lighting, and accessories to Allsteel’s extensive dealer network. With competitive price points, desirable lead times and seamless ordering capabilities, the expanded range streamlined planning for the design community and signified Allsteel’s commitment to bringing accessible design and a vast array of options to the North American Contract workplace.
Allsteel continues to seek out new partnerships, letting shared values lead to shared solutions and simplifying the specification process. Partners should both enhance and extend the Allsteel portfolio, and future brand partners may add acoustical solutions or other specialized areas of expertise. What is certain is that Allsteel will remain committed to supporting the design community, seeking to excel in all aspects of the design process from specification to shipping.
According to May 2020 research by ThinkLab and Allsteel, “Ancillary is continuing to rise in contract design as our tech-enabled culture looks to personalize the ways and places in which we can be most productive and comfortable simultaneously." With approximately 65% of ancillary specifications coming out of A&D firms reported as suggestive, empowering dealers to recommend new ancillary solutions in partnership with brands they trust will lead to more creative and inspiring spaces. Allsteel is excited to make Corral a part of that empowerment, offering their warm, straightforward, and authentic designs alongside Allsteel’s own.