Hey! My name is Christine Peter and I am a Sales Director for Tangram Interiors, an office furnishings dealership in Southern California.
After 13 years of experience in facilitating furniture projects at universities, municipalities and corporate accounts, I now manage a team of dedicated sales representatives focusing on providing educational furniture solutions to K-12, college, university, trade school and corporate learning facilities.
The reason I chose to focus on educational learning environments was because the current design layouts and lack of technology (like interactive whiteboards) incorporated into the classrooms and learning spaces that I encounter daily inspires me to create new, innovative spaces that promote frequent collaboration and in turn inspire educators and students to learn and share more effectively.
What has inspired you lately?
NeoCon did it for me - the sights, the sounds, the movement and the new and exciting stuff in the world of commercial interior design and office furnishings.
One of the most exciting things for me was Steelcase's newest venture in the realm of furniture for education. A new classroom chair which makes the old standard/boring tablet chair truly a thing of the past. It is called
Node.
Yeah, as we all know there are plenty of names you can call the new kid in school, but once the kids get to know the newcomer, the name calling usually stops. Such is the case with Node. Once you really try out this new classroom chair it really makes you understand how Steelcase applies their extensive research to develop products at a level that no one else does - making Node the "coolest kid in its class."
If you haven't seen Node yet and would like to...or if you have something that has inspired you lately...leave me a comment below!
What inspired you to do your job today?
As I walk around on the many campuses that we provide educational furniture solutions to, I often think about the criteria that was important to me as I was selecting the college I was going to attend and wonder if they would be the same things today.
My top criteria then:1- Whether or not my field of study was offered
2- The geographic location (it definitely needed to be by the beach!)
3- The overall look of the campus (lots of trees, etc.)
4- The reputation of the college
5- Whether or not a Graduate Program existed
My top criteria today:
1- Whether or not the Department (for my field of study) was nationally ranked
2- The reputation of the college
3- The college's adoption to technology (from the use of interactive whiteboards in classrooms to the availability of online courses)
4- The overall look of the classrooms (have they been updated?)
5- The amenities at the library (again with its use of technology and teaming areas)
This new list made me think about how my views and needs have changed. Which leads me back to my opening question: What inspired you to do your job today?
The answer is clear for me. My clients' spaces inspire me.
Realizing that if I was one of the many students about to enter college today, I would not want it to look like it did ten, twenty or even fifty years ago. And the fact that many of the colleges still look the same as when I was there (which wasn't that long ago) inspires me to want to change them. I see these spaces as a blank canvas - an opportunity to create new, more modern spaces outfitted with educational furniture and equipment that will support and enhance how the students learn today and in the future - that is my inspiration. I would love to hear what inspires you - feel free to post a comment below!
Powered by Compendium Blogware