Merchants of Virtue is a new book out about us, by independent author and journalist Bill Birchard. He explained why he chose to tell Herman Miller's story over at the HM discover blog;

“The people of Herman Miller showed something even the activists could not: Sustainability in a large, established business—a company making the ’stuff’ we all buy—is sustainable. …In good times and bad, the people at Herman Miller continue to ask new questions, test new ideas, and rethink and restructure the nature of the work to make their business more sustainable.”

The book looks closely our company and examines our commitment to sustainability throughout our history and how we have managed to make it a driving principle. It tells the story of the personalities, designers, products and ideas that all come together to ensure sustainability triumphs. Here's a sample of what's being said about the book;

"Herman Miller has shown extraordinary leadership as a catalyst for industry. Its sustainability strategies for architecture, buildings, and furniture set a standard we feel honored to have helped shape and spread to others. This book tells the story of how Herman Miller charted an innovative path, and shows the temerity of its people to stay on that path." --William McDonough, designer and co-author of Cradle to Cradle

“Bill Birchard’s excellent chronicle of the Herman Miller story brings to light some critical lessons for any company focused on embedding sustainability in it’s core strategy:  Never give in to compromise solutions; seek to shatter apparent trade-offs; draw from the wellspring of enduring corporate values; and challenge people in the company to take personal responsibility.  Perhaps most importantly, Merchants of Virtue shows us that the pursuit of corporate sustainability is not easy.  Like anything worth pursuing, only the creative and committed will succeed.”  —Stuart L. Hart, S. C. Johnson Chair in Sustainable Global Enterprise, Cornell University and Author of Capitalism at the Crossroads

We're proud Birchard chose to tell our story and very proud of the story he tells. You can read the first few pages of the kindle version of Merchants of Virtue at Amazon.

Many of our Asian Pacific readers may not know that Herman Miller has their very own hotel! Marigold Lodge has been part of Herman Miller's heritage since we began restoring it in 1978. Situated on a point of Lake Macatawa in Holland, Michigan, it is a peaceful and picturesque setting. It was originally a private home built by Egbert Gold, a passionate horticulturist who purchased the land and began to build 1912, naming the lodge to honour his wife Margaret and daughter, Mary-Jayne. The lodge still houses a large portion of the Gold's furniture collection, including traditional Herman Miller furniture that was manufactured in the 1930's (prior to Gilbert Rohde's association with the company). Combined with various outbuildings, Marigold comprises of 21 guest rooms as well as meeting, conference and learning spaces. It is now a place for the customers, clients and employees of Herman Miller and in many ways embodies our ideas of 'home'.

Below are some photographs. For a more indepth look at Marigold Lodge's history, see our Lifeworks blog which includes a slideshow tour.

The latest additions to the Herman Miller range, Arras and SAYL have been named as finalists in the 2011 Australian International Design Awards.

The awards are recognised as being one of the longest standing and most prestigious in the world so we are delighted to be joining finalists from a range of categories in this year's awards.  Winners will be announced in Melbourne at the end of July as part of Victoria's State of Design Festival and we'll be posting as the news breaks so stay tuned.

'Connected with Japan' is the theme we asked our network of artists and designers to explore for the charity art auction we are holding in our Tokyo store this coming Thursday 23rd June. The auction is the culmination of our relief effort 'Make a Difference' which we began immediately after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devestated Japan. It's our way of bringing the design community together to help our Japanese friends and we have been touched by the heartfelt responses from our artists, including Yves Behar, Studio 7.5, Don Chadwick and Tom Neuhouse among many others. The pieces above and below are just two of the beautiful artworks to be displayed and auctioned on the night. Please come along and help us make a difference if you're able to, Thursday 23rd June 7-9pm at the Herman Miller Tokyo store. We hope to see you there.

Regular readers will know that last week our alliance partner POSH formally opened their new flagship Hong Kong showroom.  At that time, we announced that our two companies have formally entered into an agreement that will bring POSH into the Herman Miller corporate family. 

Headquartered in Hong Kong, POSH is an acknowledged leader in the Hong Kong SAR, China, and across the greater Asia Pacific region. Known for its quality designs, POSH manufactures and markets office systems furniture, freestanding tables, filing and storage, and seating, for business and residential environments. These products are designed, engineered, and manufactured by more than 1,000 employees at its ISO-9001 and ISO-14001 certified production facility in Dongguan, China. With 5 major showroom locations, including the newly opened and largest furniture showroom in Hong Kong, a network of POSH franchisee dealerships in mainland China, and more than 30 international distributors worldwide, POSH is ideally positioned in fast-growing China and the dynamic Asia Pacific marketplace. 

Uniting the two companies will create an organization with more than 150 years of combined experience in the furniture industry and represents a major step in our shared strategic vision for regional and global growth. 

For more information read the full press release here.

The Herman Miller Asia Pacific community would like to express its deepest sympathy and concern for the people of Japan following Friday's earthquake. We're relieved to hear that colleagues and customers at the Herman Miller Marunouchi store escaped injury. However, at this moment we are yet to establish contact with all our dealer partners and friends, in particular the team at the Sendai ErgoKiosk outlet. Our thoughts are with you.

Well there's nothing like the news of winning a major award to wake us from our Christmas slumber. We're thrilled to have learned that Herman Miller's Setu chair has just won the Design of the Decade Gold Award as 'Best Sustainable Design Solution'.

The Industrial Designers Society of America holds the award in recognition of design innovation, excellence and business success. Having set a new benchmark in both sustainability and ergonomic comfort, the jury selected Setu for its exceptional impact on business and broader society. 

Setu was designed by Studio 7.5, and is noted for its single kinematic support spine, which cradles you and mimics your every move without the need for adjustment. Designed to fit all shapes and sizes, its adaptability is like no other chair in its category.

Since its launch in 2009, the chair has attracted global attention and picked up a swag of awards including Best of NeoCon and an Australian International Design Mark. Finishing 2010 with a bang, Setu now joins Herman Miller's previous Design of the Decade winners, Equa (1980s) and Aeron (1990s).

2011 already promises to be an exciting year, and we look forward to sharing all our insights and inspiration with you.

In the meantime, we'd like to thank everyone in the Herman Miller community - our staff, suppliers, retailers, customers and friends - for your continued support and enthusiasm.

As a token of our thanks, please turn up your volume and enjoy this little something.

Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas season!

Alongside guest stars Hilary Swank, Mila Kunis, and Grammy-award winning singer Adele, Herman Miller's Setu chair made a very special appearance on a recent episode of the Ellen DeGeneres show.

As part of her famous '12 Days of Giveaways', Ellen gave away over 400 Setu chairs to the entire studio audience as well as online registrants.

Invited backstage, Cerentha Harris (editor of U.S. blog Lifework) witnessed the excitement: "It was such a thrill to be part of all that e nergy and well-wishing. Ellen gave away over $3000 worth of gifts to each audience member. And the audience was ecstatic." 

Check out Cerentha's full run down of the event in her recent post.

The upco ming grand opening of Herman Miller's Tokyo showroom, promises to be a not-to-miss event.

In conversation with Ryuko Kida (editor in chief, Elle Decor Japan), guests will be privileged to a very special talk by Koichi Yanagimoto. The renowned collector of Herman Miller furniture and communication tools, Yanagimoto will discuss George Nelson's contribution both to the design foundation and Herman Miller's corporate branding. Historical Herman Miller brochures , product catalogues and advertisements will be presented.

The Herman Miller Tokyo showroom's grand opening will be held this Saturday, December 11. Check back next week for a full report.