Poor Herman Miller, maker of the infamous (and rather good) Aeron office chair which found their way into out-of-work employees studio apartments after the first dot-com bubble, has just launched a successor in time for the nationwide financial crisis: The “Embody” is a $1,600 office chair with an exposed structure with 56 flexors along the back and 93 plastic disks that move allow for movement and adjustment of the surface underneath the operator.
If only they’d released the Embody at the height of the mortgage reverie, I could be out there scavenging my very own from empty fluorescent banking tombs today.
The techie’s new $1,600 throne (Herman Miller Embody) [Fortune via Freshome]
The Aeron *is* surprisingly good. A batch of them were placed in the New York Public Library’s Science/Engineering/Business building when it first opened, and “what are these great chairs” was one of the most common questions asked. (I was involved with another project there at the time.)
i love the re-appropriated aeron sitting in my home office
I actually paid cash money for my Aeron back before they were ubiquitous office accoutrement, and got a surprisingly good deal. I use it daily and love it despite always having felt it is a just a tiny bit ugly. But the biggest surprise to me is that after just over ten years and several moves, it’s still in like-new condition. Despite looking somewhat delicate, the thing is amazingly rugged.
@#3
Same. I paid retail for one in 1999, and it still looks like it came right out of the box. The only two complaints I have are 1) The lumbar support is designed for somebody about 0.5″ taller than me, and 2) The box-like thing underneath the seat collects more lint than a dryer.
Anyone who’s actually looking for a reasonably priced Aeron replacement should check out Herman Miller’s Mirra. I picked one up from eBay for $425 new, and I find it actually fits me better than the Aeron.
@grimc
“The box-like thing underneath the seat collects more lint than a dryer.”
It’s weird: I had a very similar sentiment in my comment and edited it out before posting. Definitely agreed.
To bring our comments full circle, the dust/lint problem is likely why this new Embody eschews mesh on the seat bottom.
Not sure it’s worth the $1600, but I just bought one of these bad boys…we shall see! I think today was the launch day – I bought mine at HermanMillerSeating.com…it seemed most legit. I’ll let you all know when it arrives!
I bought one from HermanMillerSeating.com as well and while they said they had it in stock BEFORE I clicked “Buy” — now its back-ordered. Nice marketing, but I’m not seeing too many other options online. I’ll leave the order open there unless I find another source.