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Reform, Rethink

We talk with Nancy Montgomery, president and design director of Reform, about her firm’s custom work with a green bent.

Sheila Kim-Jamet -- Interior Design, 8/3/2006 1:12:00 PM

“Why a beige cubicle?” A question that Nancy Montgomery asked herself while working as an art director for several big advertising agencies, magazines, and fashion catalogs. Being in such a creative field, she found most workplace environments and furnishings to be uninspiring. From this predicament, a new company was born—Reform. Founded in 1995 by her and Kevin Lee (who passed away a year after the company was created), Reform seeks to give office furniture a facelift, while also considering environmental responsibility. Take, for instance, the Philadelphia headquarters of Urban Outfitters, which the firm collaborated on with architects Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle: The non-traditional, and certainly un-corporate, project utilized tack panels above stations made from homasote instead of fabric; raw or recycled materials such as concrete for desktops and steel for legs and beams; and floors were recycled pickle barrel wood from a defunct pickle factory. We ask Montgomery to tell us more about the firm.

How did you get into the business of custom contract in the first place?

NM: I began my career as an art director. I was hired to be highly creative and imaginative, but I found that pretty challenging while staring at the uninspiring walls of a beige cubicle. My then partner, Kevin Lee, and I happened to have a personal hobby of designing and making furniture, and we felt that there should be a creative alternative to big systems that, at the same time, wasn’t cost-prohibitive.

What would you say is your design philosophy, then, on furnishing the office environment?

NM: I love that question because I actually think about that concept every day! Reform has evolved a hundred times over since its inception and I believe that is not an accident. Rather, it’s based on my very first question of “why a beige cubicle?” As technology changes the interface within the work environment, our capability for rapid changes is reflected in our multi-site factory concept. Our “virtual factory” model maximizes our flexibility by allowing us to custom design and engineer each item. Our mission is to create site specific, inspired furniture, and we can develop a complete package within the design intent, and produce only the components necessary to complete that intent.

What was your first actual move when trying to break into this business?

NM: We designed a line of custom legs that ranged from coffee table to conference table size and style, that could be combined with a top of any size, shape, or material. We tested this idea at ICFF in 1995 and Reform was launched.

How many do you have on your staff now?

NM: We employ three salaried employees, and, as needed, an engineering consultant, CAD programmer, and product rendering artist.

How is it that you can provide lower overhead?

NM: We do not have an elaborate showroom, or salaried salespeople. Our low overhead means that most of the projects’ resources are applied to the actual product. Our clients therefore end up with the best quality product for their budget. We believe in personal service over expansion.

How have you gotten most of your clients?

NM: Originally we hired independent sales reps in the six biggest territories throughout the U.S. They call on the A&D community and that allowed us to become established with architects and designers. Successful projects build good relationships and repeat clients. We also have product in several catalogs and a big website, both of which contribute to our sales.

How has your client base grown?

NM: The first year we managed to connect with Gary Marotta, a wonderful architect out of Boston, during our first show at ICFF. He was redoing all the conference rooms for a large corporation with several buildings, and he hired us for the job. He propelled us from zero to 60 overnight, and within that first year, we also had huge jobs for MTV, Merv Griffin, and Bandai. Since then, it varies, but usually ends up being a combination of two to three large, and many medium to small projects a year.

How do your consultation and design processes work?

NM: We’re usually presented with a rough idea, which we take back to an in-house design meeting. We discuss ideas, materials, budget, and come up with sketches that are detailed enough to get bids. We present those results to the client, along with pricing, material choices, and some form of renderings. With clients we’ve worked with previously, we can receive anything from a spec based on past projects, to a napkin sketch, to floor plans and no other information except a request to find a solution. Really anything goes because we can either design from the ground up, or just figure out how to manufacture something that has already been designed.

We’ve heard that you manufacture responsibly. How so?

NM: We started out working with forested veneers and hardwoods, and chose aluminum for all of our metal, since it’s 100 percent recycled and recyclable. We are known for our forward thinking when it comes to materials, so we always present our clients with green products such as homasote and formaldehyde-free substrates, or pure raw materials such as aluminum and glass. We use water-based finishes, only plastics that can be recycled, blanket-wrap ship to reduce waste from typical packaging, and minimize waste by suggesting sizes that give the greatest yield. When we explain these things to most clients, they are usually more than happy to support our efforts so it’s good for everyone.

So, in actuality, how much of your projects utilize found and recycled materials?

NM: Most of our designs utilize recycled or easily recyclable materials. We had a huge project for Urban Outfitters last year, and while we included recycled and raw materials, we also designed much of the furniture based around found objects. Since they design and manufacture clothing, we had this idea to make table bases out of old Singer sewing machine legs. The whole site looks like we went in and made furniture out of parts and pieces that might have been found in the buildings of the old naval shipbuilding yard in Philadelphia.

How did you first become eco-aware anyhow?

NM: Believe it or not, I think it all started on our family vacations. These trips all over the country to every park and national monument gave me a huge love and respect for nature, wilderness, and animals. I am extremely conscious of over-consuming and pollution, and I guess it’s just a natural extension of my personal beliefs.

How important do you think green design is to your clients?

NM: It depends on the client, but I would say most clients choose green materials consciously when given the opportunity. But many clients do not realize to what extent we are going in that direction in our manufacturing techniques and philosophy, and we don’t necessarily brag about it.

In terms of pure aesthetics, do you find that you have to reach a middle ground between creating an eye-pleasing work environment and a high-tech, functional one?

NM: I don’t consider the two mutually exclusive and I don’t think you have to compromise either to get both. I will say that the location of power, voice and data outlets, and wire management is still one of the biggest challenges in an open plan office environment.

Do you have specialists on your staff who understand the technologies out there?

NM: Absolutely. We all have become experts by default. I think my clients tend to shy away from the subjects because they don’t know about it. I hound them into focusing on it and then once I explain, they get excited and empowered. Much of the time, I am put directly in touch with the IT staff or the electricians on a job site.

Do you only design, or also fabricate your pieces?

NM: Something unique about us is that while I am a designer, I have also physically produced tons of furniture. I know every manufacturing process inside and out. So my clients aren’t talking to a salesperson, they are talking to someone who can think outside the norm, and help them realize their idea. We are working on a school project right now, for example, and the design sketches were very beautiful. But I could tell the furniture would not be stable as designed. I live to help my clients solve such issues.

You mentioned catalog and website distribution. Tell us about a company that picked up your products.

NM: When the dotcom phenomenon happened, it was perfect timing for Reform. There were all these resources, young talent controlling things, who wanted nothing to do with typical office furniture. We developed several components during that period and put them into our basic components line, including our perforated casegoods called Iris, and shelving system called Ferris. Design Within Reach picked up the lines and carried them for several years.

Would you say that furniture design is more exciting for you than your previous design discipline?

NM: I loved graphic design, and had the fortune to travel the world, art directing photography sessions. But, I got tired of the “two-dimensional” world. I was always staring through a lens, looking at film, glued to a computer. I just felt like it was time for a more hands-on discipline.