DESIGN

When we want to say quite simply what izzy is about, we put it this way: izzy is about real people and how they really work. They collaborate, move around, rely on flexible technology, and even work from home.

New Workstyles require new tools, so the furniture we create is:

• - cool and affordable
• - people-centered
• - scalable, and
• - highly flexible and adaptable

As izzy’s founder and president, Chuck Saylor, put it, “It’s about people, not furniture. izzy is all about leveraging great design to help re-humanize the workplace.”

For a more in-depth look at the thinking behind izzy, read a conversation between Chuck Saylor and izzy’s writer, Kristin Tennant.

Chuck Saylor

Chuck Saylor, founder and president of izzydesign has 25+ years of furniture industry experience, including senior management positions in marketing, design and sales with Haworth, Inc. and Knoll. Saylor partnered with designers West and Babick to create the Clara Furniture Collection. Saylor's credentials include 21 patents, a Best of NeoCon Gold award at NeoCon 1999 for his work with BMW's design studio, Designworks/USA, on Haworth's Jump Stuff office accessories line. Saylor also led the design effort on the "if" furniture collection for Haworth, resulting in a Best of NeoCon Gold award in 2000. In 1976, Saylor, Dick Haworth and Harold Wilson were responsible for the design and development of the first pre-wired steel panel system in the office furniture industry. His work currently is being shown at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

David Wright

David Wright, president of Merge Office Interiors, literally grew up in the furniture industry. His father started his own furniture manufacturing shop in 1949, and Wright joined him when he was old enough to be trusted with a hammer and chisel. Educated in Scotland where he completed a furniture design course at Kirkcaldy Technical College, Wright has been in the office furniture industry for many years, most recently as president of Bosse USA. With Chief Operating Officer Scott Klingler, he founded Merge Office Interiors in 2003, manufacturing SmartScreens i300, screens that offer visual privacy with hang-on accessory capabilities and a cable management system. “Privacy but not a fortress” is the company’s vision for the future. The company’s operational philosophy is advanced, lean manufacturing and high utilization of green materials, making SmartScreens an efficient, affordable privacy solution. In 2004, Merge Office Interiors formed a strategic alliance with izzydesign to market and distribute a proprietary line of izzySmartScreens, which earned a 2004 Best of NeoCon silver award.

Dennis Foley and Jeffrey Gershune

Dennis Foley and Jeffrey Gershune, both industrial designers and professors at Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Mich., worked on the izzydesign Hannah stacking chair. Specializing in office furniture and lighting design, Foley designed the Hannah concept, drawing from his own research and experience with the masters at Herman Miller: Bill Stumpf, Don Chadwick and Rog Bush. Foley also designed the first personal computer incorporating disk drive technology and Zenith Data Systems' first laptop computer. An instructor in industrial design model making, Gershune brings a wide range of experience to the Hannah project from his product design work for prominent firms such as 2B Studio, Attwood, Smart Forms, Steelcase and Turnstone.

Tod Babick and Dan West

Tod Babick and Dan West, industrial designers and idea farmers, worked with Saylor to create izzydesign's inaugural Clara collection of tables, work surfaces and storage options. Both also were key designers on Haworth's Best of NeoCon 2001 Gold winner, the "if" office furniture collection. Previously director of design and strategy for Circurio, Babick created product designs for Heliotrope and American Tourister, and is an ID Award winner with work represented in the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. West worked as a staff product designer for Haworth, exhibit designer for Detroit's Design Origins, and contract designer for Steelcase. He holds patents on the "boogie board" AKP, "one touch" overhead storage system, new officing concepts, and ancillary powered supports. Over the past 10 years, his work has been featured in many international design publications.

Matt Chrostowski

Matt Chrostowski, senior designer at Designworks USA, a subsidiary of BMW, designed the intuitive, ultra cool Maxwell chair. From high-performance cars to roller blades and skiing equipment, Chrostowski brings a fresh, energetic point of view to product design. His inspiration stems from the natural beauty of his native California and his experience in consumer product and transportation product design.