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| Quarterly Newsletter |
May 2009 | |
Staff
Spotlight
Rhonda Miller has been
actively involved in the day to day operations
of ModularDesigns since it
inception in 2004. She coordinates all quotes, order entry,
purchasing, and personnel. Most everyone knows her as the warm
and friendly voice that answers the
telephone.
"Rhonda is truly the glue that holds
the business together - without her it simply does not work"
states her business partner and husband Mike Miller.
Rhonda quickly disagrees and says that "It is definitely a
team effort". Mike is great with people and I like to
stay behind the scenes and help out."
Rhonda's
passion is being a mom. When she is not working in the
business you can find her spending time with her son
Mykal. She never misses an opportunity to visit Mykal on
the campus of King College, travel to watch him compete in
cross country and track, or simply enjoying down time at
home.
Rhonda enjoys singing, reading, and
designing her future cabin in the woods.
One of her most recent goals is to train to
compete in her first
5K.
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Winner of the Koroseal Give
Away
Suzanne McCormack of the Cottages Group is the winner of
our Koroseal Walltalkers Giveaway! She will be able to choose
from a TacWall Starter kit or a Dry Erase Starter kit.
Congratulations
Suzanne! | |
Customer
Spotlight Fanatics101 at the
Johnson City Mall
 ModularDesigns had
the opportunity to assist Keddrain "KD" Bowen, owner of
Fanatics101, move to his new, permanent space in the
Johnson City Mall. Fanatics101 is the store to
find all your sports team attire and novelties. From
t-shirts to jerseys to baseball hats to alarm clocks,
Fanatics 101 has something for every sports
fan! When moving to permanent tenant spaces
in the mall, store owners are allowed to pick the
finishes in their space.  A tough,
commercial grade carpet tile was chosen and installed
for the floor in the retail area. Paint colors were
selected to coordinate with the carpet and existing
fixtures. Along with the flooring and paint, ModularDesigns helped
with the new cash wrap area.  The new cash
wrap counter was designed to add more storage and work
area for employees. The laminate chosen for the new
piece coordinates with existing displays and fixtures
already owned by Fanatics 101. In the stock room, we
installed a small desk area from one of our
remanufactured furniture
lines. "Working with the fine people at
ModularDesigns
was a great experience. Customer service was excellent.
If I had a question or issue there was a solution that
met my needs. I highly recommend using ModularDesigns
and I will work with them for my future
needs." - Keddrain "KD" Bowen,
Owner ModularDesigns is
proud to assist another small business in the Tri-Cities
with their flooring, furniture, and design needs. We
hope to see KD and the Fanatics101 store grow and
prosper in their new space! Visit Fanatics101 on the
upper level of the Johnson City Mall near Victoria's
Secret. | |
| Community
Spotlight
 Sometimes the
greatest donation to an organization can be your time.
ModularDesigns, in
conjunction with Epic Technologies and Borla Performance
Industries, helped Summit Leadership collect and
setup several new workstations at their Johnson City
location. The workstations were donated by Epic
Technologies and Borla Performance
Industries. ModularDesigns
organized the tear down and reinstallation of these
stations.
 "ModularDesigns
has been an amazing blessing to Summit Leadership
Foundation and our new leadership equipping and resource
center for non-profits. Mike and Rhonda Miller and their
team have given countless hours helping Summit with
office designs and acquiring donated office systems and
furniture to meet our needs. Hundreds of leaders of
non-profit organizations, ministries and churches
benefit each week as they use our facilities because of
the generosity of our dear friends at ModularDesigns."
- Quote from Dave McAuley
Summit Leadership Foundation will be having an Open
House on May 31st from 4:00-7:00 in honor of their 5th
Anniversary. To learn more about this organization visit
their website at: www.summitlife.org |
Product
Spotlight:
gen2 Hybrid Office Furniture
A Perfect Blend of Previously Enjoyed
&
New
 Remanufactured furniture is a
great way to get the look you want without going over
budget on furniture. The gen2 is a brand of superior
quality, high performance office furniture that is
manufactured, remanufactured and/or assembled by
National Office, one of the nation's leading producers
of office furniture solutions since 1967. Their
125,000 square foot facility features state of the art
manufacturing equipment for metal refinishing,
electrostatic powder coat painting, panel upholstery,
laminating and wood restoration. National Office even
includes a Lifetime Limited Warranty with all their gen2
products that exceeds most leading office furniture
manufacturers.  The gen2 Hybrid Office Furniture
is the industry's most environmentally-friendly option
for enhancing or expanding your office work environment.
National Office takes high quality used office furniture
components from Steelcase 9000 and Avenir systems and
fully refurbishes each piece to original specifications;
components that otherwise would have been sent to a
landfill. By adding new finishes, such as paint,
fabrics, and laminates, the furniture can be completely
custom. No more having to choose from a manufactures'
limited color palette. Original quality frames, with
new, contemporary colors and materials, make gen2 Hybrid
Office Furniture better than new! To learn
more visit their website at: www.gen2officefurniture.com |
| Green Spotlight: Indoor
Plants
 With all the new 'green' products
on the market, it's easy to over look one of the
simplest ways to make a building more 'green'. Nothing
is more 'green' than adding basic indoor plants to an
office, reception, or any indoor space! Indoor plants
can brighten any room but their benefits do not stop at
just aesthetics. Studies have shown that offices with
indoor plants have more productive and attentive
employees versus those without. Plants can even remove
unhealthy air toxins by absorbing it into their leaves
(large-leaf plants are best for this job). Plants can
really help in areas where sick-building syndrome is a
problem. Even window-less areas can enjoy shade loving
plants if they are placed near fluorescent lighting.
Visit www.greenplantsforgreenbuildings.org to
learn more about these studies and how plants can
benefit interior spaces.  Just remember that even the
lowest maintenance plants still need some TLC. Unhealthy
plants can be an eyesore and take away from the
aesthetics of the area rather than enhancing it. We have
all seen the silk plants with an inch of dust on them or
the poor ivy plant with a sunburn! Remember that
over-watering can be more hazardous than under-watering
so it might be a good idea to assign a person
responsible for each plant. This will help ensure the
plant is watered properly, pruned of its dead leaves,
and dusted. Also, keep in mind the odor of plants
selected. People can be very sensitive and even allergic
to certain plants. Non-flowering plants can be a great
solution for allergies.  In
some cases, live plants are just not possible due to
certain fire codes and other policies. Silk florals and
other faux potted plants have come a long way in the
past couple of years. While these 'plants' may not have
the air cleaning qualities of a living plant, they
will still add pleasing appeal to just about any space.
A great source for these 'plants' is: Natural
Decorations, Inc. Visit their website at www.ndi.com. |
Design Discoveries
 In a slow
economy, function wins over design. However, there are
many ways to spruce up a space without breaking the
bank. It's some of the smallest things that can make the
biggest difference! As talked about in the Green
Spotlight, it can be as simple as adding a couple of
live plants. A fresh coat of paint on the wall can make
a space feel cleaner and brighter. Reupholstering side
or lounge seating can update a space tremendously and
will be a fraction of the cost to completely replace the
seating (not to mention this is very environmentally
friendly).  Putting a
large furniture project on hold due to budget cuts?
There can be many ways to accomplish the project without
the cost of buying new. Cubicle furniture can be easily
reconfigured by professionals and with all the
remanufactured options (as talked about in the product
spotlight) out there, extra pieces can be easily matched
or coordinated. Another very 'green' option to update a
space!  Even in a
slow economy we can still live and work in updated and
friendly environments. With a little recycling and
creativity, even the smallest budget can have room for a
design update. Talk with your design professional to see
what ideas they have for your office or home. You never
know what we might come up with!
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President's
Corner
Our overall focus
for this newsletter is resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is
defined as the "ability to meet situations and the capability
to devise ways and means." Resourcefulness or what I
like to call "thinking outside the box", requires detailed
knowledge of your industry, a deeper knowledge of how your
industry can connect, impact, and serve other industry, access
to a broad network of resources and services, and finally a
passion to look beyond the obvious.
Each of our
newsletter spotlights featured in this issue address the
concept of resourcefulness. Our Customer Spotlight
demonstrates how to connect the commercial industry to the
retail industry. Our Community Spotlight features the renewing
of an existing commercial product that was destined to find
the regional landfill, finding it a new home, giving it new
life, and a new purpose. Our Product Spotlight goes beyond the
typical remanufacturing story by introducing a hybrid product
that blends previously enjoyed product, remanufactured product
and new product to create a unique furniture solution meeting
form, function, and finance. And finally, our Green
Spotlight and Design Discoveries explore value based
opportunities in a slow economy that look beyond the obvious.
I continue to be encouraged by the response we
are getting from our customers about our resourcefulness. How
can we help you "think outside the
box?"
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| Contact Information
ModularDesigns
144 Old Gray Station Road, Suite 120
Gray, TN 37615
423.467.0071
423.467.0075 fax
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