Rob Kirkbride

The next generation of interior designers is sitting in classrooms right now, learning how to think about space, people, materials and the built environment. They are also beginning to develop something that will matter enormously to the office furniture industry. They are figuring out how to decide what products belong in those spaces. That makes interior design education more than a pipeline issue for design firms. It is an industry issue.

For interior designers, the latest escalation in the U.S.-Canada trade war is likely to be felt less at the cash register than at the point of specification. The 50% tariffs imposed last week on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods have added another variable to an already complicated commercial interiors market. The new duties cover a range of products, including furniture, and apply even to goods that otherwise qualify for preferential treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

For most furniture manufacturers, a showroom is a destination. Customers travel to it, whether at Chicago Design Week, a dealer showroom or a permanent brand space. Belgian outdoor furniture manufacturer Extremis decided to reverse that equation. Instead of asking architects, designers and dealers to come to them, the company built a fully self-contained, 46-foot mobile showroom that will spend a year traveling across North America, bringing its products directly to customers.