THE HERMAN MILLER COSM Herman Miller has been producing high-quality furniture for over a century. During that time, the company has manufactured iconic pieces like the Eames lounge chair and the Noguchi table. These days, Herman Miller is most known for its office chairs, which have the prestige of Patek Philippe watches or Jacques Selosse Champagne. Last year, the company debuted the Cosm, an innovative model that could change ergonomics as we know it. Most office chairs, including Herman Miller’s own Aeron, rely on a series of knobs and levers to provide customers with the most comfortable and supportive chair possible. The Cosm, on the other hand, relies on a concept known as passive ergonomics to automatically adjust to each An Office Chair From the Future
We live in a world where products of all kinds are made to perform well. Our watches need to be smart, our cooking vessels need to be instant, and so on. It’s no surprise, then, that people would be willing to pay a premium for a winter coat that leaves no doubt about its ability to keep you warm. Canada Goose parkas have quickly become the most admired piece of winter outerwear in the world on just that reputation. Boasting fans that range from scientists in Antarctica to celebrities on city streets, the company’s explosive growth is a testament to producing the very best and accepting no substitutes. The company that would become Canada Goose was founded by Sam Tick as Metro Sportswear Ltd. in 1957. The small Canadian operation gained fame in the 1980s by creating the Expedition Parka, which became standard issue at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. By 2004, the company’s coats were being featured in movies like “The Day After Tomorrow.” But the real sea change for the company as a business came in 2014. That’s when the company — under CEO Dani Reiss, grandson of Sam Tick — began to transition to a more direct-to- consumer approach in order to reach a wider audience. There’s no getting around the fact that Canada Goose products are expensive. Working with retailers and other middlemen only served to drive prices up even further and limit the market for their products. Today, more than 40% of Canada Goose’s sales come from direct channels, including their website and 13 worldwide store locations. In addition to changing their sale model, the company began to produce a wider range of products. As this transformation happened, the brand also became something of a fashion darling. You can find photos featuring the likes of Jimmy Fallon and Drake wearing Canada Goose apparel. By combining elite performance and high fashion, Canada Goose has made brands as diverse as The North Face and Gucci green with envy. Its success demonstrates that consumers will always pay a premium to get the best. Canada Goose Proves People Will Pay for Quality A FINE-FEATHERED FOWL
CAL NEWPORT’S ‘DIGITAL MINIMALISM’ individual. “[Cosm] dynamically positions the fulcrum on its springs, from user to user, which means it tailors itself to everyone’s best sitting experience and doesn’t lift people off the ground to account for the recline,” Scott Openshaw, Herman Miller’s human factors and ergonomics manager, told Gear Patrol magazine. The Cosm points to a future when our furniture will adapt to our individual needs. If you’ve spent hours trying to adjust your chair at work, that future can’t come soon enough.
A Reasoned Guide to Effective Tech Use When it comes to technology, all-or-nothing opinions dominate. Artificial intelligence is either going to make all of our work more meaningful, or it’s going to replace every job known to man. Social media is either the most powerful connective tool in human history or a cesspool destroying our minds. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in between these hot takes. Cal Newport, Georgetown professor and author of the popular Study Hacks blog, offers a refreshing middle ground in his new book, “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World.”
“Digital minimalism definitively does not reject the innovations of the internet age,” Newport writes, “but instead rejects the way so many people currently engage with these tools.” He goes on to argue that most people spend far too much time online using sites and services that don’t bring them any joy. While each social network or platform we engage with may be useful in isolation, when we try to manage too many of them simultaneously, we generate digital clutter that negates the benefits. Newport does not advocate a burn-your-phone approach, but he does suggest that we each take a moment to do an inventory of our online activities and create a better plan for digital interaction. It’s a stance that those on both sides of the tech divide can find wisdom in, and it’s written in a book you’ll find incredibly refreshing.
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