Inside Inscape's Hip Financial District Retail Showroom [Photos]

PHOTO: INSCAPE

By Kayla Matthews 

Since its establishment in 1888, Toronto-based furniture manufacturer Inscape has built a reputation on innovative designs and pieces that meet a business's evolving needs. Inscape knows that change is the only constant, and it's crucial to build furniture to match that reality.

In other words, companies should feel that they can confidently navigate changes without feeling limited by their furniture.

Those business ideas helped drive Inscape's decision to open a new multipurpose retail space in the heart of Toronto's action-packed downown Financial District.

PHOTO: INSCAPE

Turning Consumers Into Confident Purchasers

This new space on the 13th floor of the TD Centre at 220 Bay Street is primarily a retail showroom. It features dedicated zones such as a kitchen and a client waiting area. Many of the sections have nature-inspired elements, such as plants and natural wood. Also, the furniture arrangements help people envision how they might use the pieces in their workplaces. That approach could help drive sales.

“The multi-functional showroom-meets-office-meets-event space truly articulates Inscape’s promise to its customers: flexible design,” says David Gerson, Chief Brand Officer at Inscape. “The showroom highlights the many ways businesses lay out their offices based on function, whether as individual workstations, hotel desking, or closed collaboration or executive offices. However, what is unique about Inscape is that each system can adapt to business’ many changing needs.”

PHOTO: INSCAPE

Research from Google indicates that consumers move through various stages of the furniture-buying process. Many of them happen online first. For example, people watched more than 13 million hours of home furnishing-related YouTube videos in 2016. Many of them do that because they want to visualize how pieces would look in their space.

Inscape has a YouTube channel, but the opening of its new space means people can visualize the options in ways that are more helpful than merely watching a video. They can request product demonstrations, analyze the dimensions of the pieces that interest them most, feel textures and more.

Getting this informed about furniture helps the showroom's visitors feel excited and well equipped to purchase things for their offices. They also have the opportunity to immediately have questions answered by the showroom's employees.

PHOTO: INSCAPE

More Than a Showroom

Inscape also had other things in mind when planning how to use its showroom. It tasked figure3, an interior design firm, with designing the 6,000-square-foot space to meet multiple needs.

“The space needed to be truly multi-functional, as not just a corporate furniture showroom, but an office and co-working space for employees, training hub, and event venue,” says Gerson. “In addition to a variety of uses, Inscape wanted to create an environment where clients would feel welcomed and at home.”

One of the standout features is a meditation room surrounded by a dichroic glass film. That design element adds a continually changing colour spectrum to the boundaries of that peaceful area. Additionally, people can perch on the window seats of the veranda and marvel at views of the Toronto skyline and nearby Lake Ontario.

PHOTO: INSCAPE

People Can See for Themselves

Inscape's business focuses on customizable office furniture. This new showroom is an extension of Inscape's brand promise that individuals can experience firsthand.

If consumers are in the market for appealing, purposeful office furniture or want to learn more about the options Inscape offers, it's worth checking out the showroom at 220 Bay St. First, however, people should book a showroom tour by emailing toshow@myinscape.com.

Kayla Matthews is a researcher, writer and blogger covering topics related to technology, smart gadgets, the future of work and personal productivity. She is the owner and editor of ProductivityTheory.com and ProductivityBytes.com. Previously, Kayla was a senior writer at MakeUseOf and contributing freelancer to Digital Trends. Kayla's work on smart homes and consumer tech has also been featured on Houzz, Dwell, Inman and Curbed. Additionally, her work has appeared on Quartz, PRNewswire, The Week, The Next Web, Lifehacker, Mashable, The Daily Dot, WIRED and others.

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