A company that has incredible passion for sustainability, Icon Modern introduces their latest custom outdoor collection, featuring a collaboration with furniture maker, Zachary A. Design. The outdoors play a HUGE role in staying connected with one another (especially during the pandemic) and what better way to stay connected with the new outdoor furniture collection! The collection pays homage to local craftsmanship and the vibrant Chicago maker community. Check out what Marketing Director Allison Stegich has to say about this collaboration:
“Icon Modern’s founding in 2007 has a cool backstory, rooted in sustainability. One of our founders, Rocky Levy, read an article in the Chicago Sun-Times about the large number of trees being taken down in Illinois due to disease and insects. These trees typically end up in landfill. Rocky, being the “idea guy” that he is, saw an opportunity to turn these trees into custom, handcrafted pieces of furniture that are one-of-a-kind. Furniture with a story and a mission. Together, with his partner, Aaron Tvrdy, they have grown Icon Modern into a leading custom furniture and architectural elements company in the Midwest. That ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit continues to flow through our company today. We love collaborating with designers to bring their creative ideas to life.”
“If there is one thing that we’ve learned coming out of the pandemic, it's that the outdoors is vital to our well-being. An outdoor furniture collection seemed like a natural addition to our custom capabilities, especially after the past year and a half. The outdoors are how we often stayed connected to our friends, family and even our local communities. That emphasis on connection and community is what fueled our desire to partner with a fellow Chicago maker on this new collection. We have known Zac for several years and share a passion for exploring the unique and unexpected. Their modern material and furniture shapes with our vast capabilities in custom furniture – it just seemed like a perfect fit!”
See answer above. VERY much so!
“Definitely the Zac A collaboration pieces have sparked the most interest. Our warm wood tones pair extremely well with their stone look. Two of our personal favorites are the millstone coffee table and planters.”
“We offer 3 woods that are great for the outdoors: cedar, ipe (pronounced e-pay) and thermally modified ash. They can be finished with an outdoor oil or unfinished. The images on our website feature ipe.
Zachary A has 5 finish color options: aged stone, coal stone, key stone, natural stone and white stone. The images on our website feature white stone. You can also view these options on our website. There are so many color combos that are possible. Makes it fun to explore!”
“We do a lot of custom furniture for the workplace and demand for outdoor workspaces has really increased over the past couple years, particularly with the pandemic. So the question is, what kind of furniture is needed for a multi-functional outdoor space, one that allows employees to work productively but also relax and socialize? We see two furniture trends for this – technology integration and combining durability with comfort. As more employees flock to outside for their mental and physical well-being, they need access to the right tools like wi-fi and power to do their jobs effectively.
So incorporating these into outdoor furniture, as many manufacturers have done for indoor furniture, will be a future trend. And with more outdoor working comes a need for more meeting- and collaborative-type furniture and structures that can withstand the elements but are still comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. So community tables (both conference & amp; bar height), chairs built for durability without sacrificing comfort, furniture that block out wind, rain and sunlight such as planters, space dividers and umbrellas. We are excited to see how designers fluidly combine outdoor and indoor spaces in the future!”
