Contract Magazine – Foresight 2019 - 35

visitors gaining appreciation for how vast our collection is;
our international partners represent so many product families
and limitless possibilities for modern office interiors."

New to The Mart This Year

Montisa
Space 1198
Leasing a new showroom this year, Montisa is a 113-year-old
company that has been quiet in the contract office space for the
past 30 years, according to Larry Leete, COO of Montisa. As part
of the brand's relaunch, which began 24 months ago, the company
will be unveiling "the new Montisa" during NeoCon, with 12 new
products and a preview of the fall launch of its new benching/desking
product, which Leete says "takes B.Y.O.E-Build Your Own
Environment-to the next level."
"This NeoCon is our 'arrival on the stage' and is the single
most important event related to our brand," Leete says. "Everything
we've done to date has been to set up for our formal NeoCon launch."
Montisa specializes in helping organizations find their
individual atmosphere. "We have focused on providing furniture
for reclaimed spaces; warehouses and factories that are being
transformed into office spaces," Leete says. "Those spaces have
stories, and they need furniture that can tell a story itself."
Designed by Leete, along with Mark Warren, Montisa's director
of sales and business development, and Grand Rapids, Michiganbased Square One-led by Lin Ver Meulen, principal, and Brent
Casanova, senior designer-the showroom encourages visitors
to experience the product; feel it, interact with it, and become
emotionally involved. "You can't get that with digital so we opted
to take the plunge and invest in the showroom so we can encourage
that interaction," Leete says.

Hightower
Space 1110
Beaufurn
Fast-growing, family-founded and operated contract furniture
Space
1159
company Hightower is debuting its newest showroom at The Mart
Advance,
North Carolina-based Beaufurn-which designs and
during NeoCon. The 3,500-square-foot showroom represents
manufacturers
professional-grade, contemporary, and transitional
Hightower's fifth North American location and fourth showroom, with
furnishings
for
the
hospitality, contract, and entertainment markets-
additional spaces in High Point, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri;
signed
a
multiyear
agreement for a permanent showroom
and Seattle; in addition to two manufacturing/shipping facilities
in
The
Mart
this
past
April.
in North Carolina.
Working
with
Thomas
Patrick Consulting and Bushman
"We're thrilled about our new space at The Mart in Chicago,
Construction,
the
company
set
out to create a space that reflects
which gives us the chance to create authentic user experiences
the
direction
it
is
heading
as
an
organization and highlights its
celebrating our brand and our vast collection, along with our exclusive
commitment
to
expanding
its
presence
in the contract market.
partnerships," says Natalie Hartkopf, co-founder and CEO, Hightower.
"Over
the
past
several
years,
we've
put
particular attention
To create an experiential space for the brand, Hightower
into
growing
the
commercial
side
of
the
business-developing
partnered with Casey Keasler, founder and creative director
of Casework, Portland, Oregon. "From the beginning, Natalie had
a strong vision," Keasler says. "We're taking that vision and
translating it into a remarkable environment for NeoCon. We're
looking at Hightower's design aesthetic and values, bringing
it into a space that communicates the brand experientially,
not literally."
Hartkopf and Keasler partnered with their teams to create
an aspirational yet approachable brand experience. The design
will allow visitors the opportunity to engage with the company's
fresh, flexible, and playful aesthetic, and will include different levels
of engagement and the opportunity to meet with the team and
design partners.
"For audiences who are not familiar with Hightower, the scale
and the thoughtful details of the space we're creating will be a highly
engaging introduction to us," Hartkopf says. "I'm excited about
contract
Contract Magazine – Foresight 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract Magazine – Foresight 2019
