Born To Design: Introducing Our New Industrial Designer, Siobhan Mead

Siobhan Mead has joined the G+B team as our new Industrial Designer. Growing up with an Interior Designer in the family, she seemed destined for a future in design. Later, she studied industrial design, furniture design and multimedia at the University of Oregon where she designed a creative bike lock solution for a mock startup. After college, Siobhan continued creating as a freelance product and graphic designer before finding her way to Grand + Benedicts. She kindly took some time to share why she is passionate about industrial design, the big goal she hopes to accomplish before turning 35, and what city inspires her designs the most.

What do you like about industrial design?

Working with functional solvable problems while still exercising my artistic and creative skills. I have always loved working with my hands from sewing to building paper sculptures so it was a natural draw when I realized it was something I could get paid to do.

What inspired you to pursue a career in design?

My mom is an interior designer and I have always been surrounded by it without even acknowledging it. So, it felt comforting and natural to dive in headfirst. I have many memories of times when we would study objects and furniture that my mom had in our home growing up and I would get all excited.

What are your sources of design inspiration?

Often I draw from things I love to research and study in my personal life such as fashion, cooking, architecture, and interiors. It is all situation based though. I approach every project with a sense of individuality because I feel strongly that not only design projects, but also people, relationships and more deserve that.

What Netflix shows are you binging?

I am more of an HBO girl myself – Just started a Sopranos watch party at my house, we will see how it goes, I’m on the fence as of now.

What place have you visited that sparked the most design inspiration?

I studied abroad in Copenhagen and the program was incredible and gave SO much information on the design culture, history and future of Scandinavia and its context to the world.

What vacation spot is on your bucket list?

Beirut, my great-grandfather was a Lebanese actor and I want to find one of his movies somewhere in the city archives.

What’s your favorite mind-clearing activity?

Cleaning! All the way.

What is a big goal you’d like to achieve?

I worked as a handy woman fixing homes and that gave me the goal to build my first house by the time I am 35.

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Thank you, Siobhan! You are a great addition to the team and we look forward to seeing the incredible, innovative industrial design solutions you create for our clients.

How to get Smarter Wire Shelving for Less

Wire Shelving is a popular, multi-tasker in the retail industry. Available in black and chrome, its classy look not only makes it a hot shelving system for displaying merchandise in the showroom, its utility also makes it a great for storing excess goods in the backroom. From displaying kitchenware, wine bottles and sporting goods retailers enjoy how it ships flat and assembles “more or less” without tools (well, a rubber mallet wouldn’t hurt). The only downside of wire shelving is that it’s a pickle to adjust a shelf when selling demands change. Yikes!…But hey, we found a solution for that! Now you can enjoy the added flexibility with our new “Quick-Adjust” Wire Shelving technology. Read on….

What in the world is Quick-Adjust? 

The Quick-Adjust feature uses slotted posts and brackets allowing for quick shelf adjustments when selling seasons change. It’s time to say goodbye to taking the entire shelving unit apart to move a shelf! To adjust a shelf, simply move the brackets…and voilà! 

Can I still get the Traditional Wire Shelves?

We still carry the Traditional Wire Shelving Shelves. For increased stability, we recommend that you use Traditional Shelves at the top and bottom of your shelving unit, and Quick-Adjust Shelves in the middle. Build your own configuration by using our large selection of posts, shelves, and accessories readily available for immediate shipping. The icing on the cake is that we just lowered our prices on all wire shelving. Go to grand-benedicts.com and order yours today.

Shop Wire Shelving

Check Out Our Winning Design From the 2019 PAVE Student Design Competition!

The PAVE Student Design Competition this year was a showstopper! We absolutely loved teaming up with such talented design students and working with our friends at The Container Store to bring this college-inspired design to life.

What is PAVE’s GlobalShop Student Design Challenge?

The PAVE Student Design Challenge showcases the winning designs created by passionate student designers from a variety of colleges, including: Bellevue College, Appalachian State University, University of Minnesota, and Fashion Institute of Technology.

PAVE does such a wonderful job of bringing together the best student design talent with store fixture manufacturers like us, and retail brand clients, such as The Container Store.

How Does The Design Challenge Work?

The clients present real-life design problems to the students who work hard to design solutions that address these problems in an attractive way! From their finished work, the best designs are chosen to be built by store fixture manufacturers and are unveiled at a prominent exhibit at the GlobalShop trade show in Chicago.

The student designers of the winning entries are also flown out to the Globalshop, Chicago, to proudly present their work in person.

About The Winning Design:

We are thrilled to have brought to life the winning Container Store design that was designed by a student at Appalachian State University.

In addition to selling products, this design will let The Container Store merchandise in a way that will inspire college students with ideas to stay organized, optimize their small living spaces, and infuse their dorms with color and personality!

For this innovative pop-up shop, we used MDF, Birch Veneer and Plywood Edge Banding to create an affordable, functional, and appealing design we were all happy with.

We look forward to seeing how The Container Store uses this design during move-in week for college campuses.

The Value of the PAVE Project:

We enjoy participating in opportunities such as the PAVE Project, where we can support talented student designers as they learn what it is like to compete for work and receive design critique in a real world design scenario.

Plus, winning students experience the thrill of having their work brought to life and get invaluable networking opportunities with the top design firms.

In fact, many participating students receive internships and other job opportunities!

As manufacturers, we enjoy giving back to the design community and supporting the learning development for students.

For the brands and retailers, they have the unique opportunity to receive top-notch design from a large pool of designers and select their preferred concept from these prototypes.

And, of course, everyone involved enjoys the enhanced exposure during GlobalShop!

Thank you to everyone who participated and good luck to all of the student designers and participants.

The Burnside Collection in Cactus Sports

For Sun Devil fans, the Cactus Sports store is the go to place for all the latest Arizona State University merchandise. The Burnside fixture line was used to revamp their retail space with new displays comprised of both wall and floor fixtures. The new displays allowed them to maximize the floor space while giving the store a sleek, updated look. 

Squeezing a large amount of merchandise into a small space required maximum utilization of all the walls.

 

Combining both faceouts and shelves, sports apparel and paraphernalia were cross-merchandised beautifully.

 

The brick and natural wood provided an attractive backdrop to the metallic silver Burnside Displays.

 

Gondola Merchandisers and 4-Way Racks created space for both folded and hanging apparel.

Burnside is a full line of displays that include a wall system, racks, gondola merchandisers, and nesting tables. It’s available in stock at Grand + Benedicts Store Fixtures.

Industrial Meets Style

Building on a long term partnership with Parr Lumber, G+B was excited for the opportunity to help remodel their Newberg, Oregon location.

The versatility and the flexibility of the Burnside Fixture line made the perfect fit for Parr Lumber, and provided the refined yet industrial look they were going for.

Burnside’s strong construction came handy for merchandising heavy, industrial tools.

To achieve a more industrial look, Parr Lumber opted for Lozier gondola in a clear coat finish.

Grand + Benedicts is now stocking Lozier Gondola in a clear coat finish. Visit grand-benedicts.com for more details.

Grand + Benedicts’ Slatgrid panels offered strength and utility to showcase power tools.

A Gift Shop Built to Inspire

Grand + Benedicts teamed up with Monterey Bay Aquarium on their new Aquarium Gift Store.

Starting with customer supplied designs, G+B enhanced and refined the design through engineering and construction drawings.

A custom light box tunnel that shoppers can enter, illuminates the aquarium images to create a unique “under-water” experience.

We employed some phenomenal materials for this space including sandblasted glass etched with custom artwork to deepen the identity of the space.

Stone covered, illuminated cash wraps defined the space further. All fixtures were built by Grand + Benedicts.

The Versatility of Burnside on Display

Our Burnside Fixture Line has arrived in Vegas! NHL team store, Vegas Golden Knights, chose Burnside to outfit their new Arsenal store. After a few customizations including a Storm Gray finish and Slatwall Back Panels, the store achieved the “Golden” look they were going for.

Incorporating custom Aluminum Slatwall Panels delivered maximum merchandising flexibility and the versatility to use Branded ice Skate Shelves.

Burnside is a full line of displays available in stock in a Metallic Silver finish. Watch this video for more in-store solutions.

View Burnside at one of our three showrooms:
Portland, OR | Seattle, WA | Hayward, CA