True to the name, there’s something very bird-like about Todd Bracher’s new Nest collection of lounge seating, side chairs, and occasional tables. The long, elegant reach of the table’s stainless steel shaft evokes the neck of a curious crane; while the chairs’ steam-bent wood and mesh-wrapped seat back suggest the most delicate of robin’s eggs, its gossamer-thin shell a picture of ephemeral translucence.

Nest Chairs and Satellite Table. Designed by Todd Bracher. Manufactured by HBF.

Nest Promotes Collaboration in the Office

Yet there’s certainly nothing ephemeral about this new ensemble, which, after its debut at NeoCon 2011, is certain to become a mainstay in workspaces near and far. Nest responds to the new demand for collaborative, flexible options. The lightweight tables have a synergistic relationship with both the side chairs and loungers: They nest in up close to create a private, autonomous temporary office, and they gracefully step aside for impromptu meetings or collaborative discussions.

The materials palette for Nest is quite graceful in its own right: lounge chairs are standard in a polished stainless steel metal base, and side chairs are offered in wood or the very same polished stainless. Seat backs come in a choice of eight woven mesh colors with all HBF maple wood finishes or white paint.

True to HBF’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, all Nest seating and tables are GREENGUARD Indoor Air Certified. The steel bases of the lounge chairs, side chairs, and tables contain 40% pre-consumer and 20% post-consumer recycled content. Seat cushions on the Nest chairs are made from a bio-based foam containing 50% renewable resources. And the cores of the table tops are made from 87% pre-consumer recycled wood.

About the Manufacturer: Hickory Business Furniture—now known as HBF—has been in business since 1979, though at company’s onset in Alta Vista, Virginia, they were a small outfit with only 34 employees. Today, the company is—appropriately—based out of Hickory, NC. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the HNI Corp (the second largest office furniture manufacturer in North America), HBF has a global presence and a surpassing reputation. With showrooms in North America, England, Hong Kong, China, Japan and the Middle East, the company’s “award-winning portfolio of side/conference and guest seating, executive and management seating, lounge seating, occasional tables, conference, casegood and textile products” has a pronounced international presence.