We took a few minutes to sit down with Christina Brown, the winner of our “Show Us Your Stylex Spaces” contest.  She shares plans for her new upholstered Zephyr chair and more on her work at Eastlake Studios and the Cara Program project.

Q: Describe your “Stylex Space” at the Cara Program. What are its functions?

A: The Cara Program is a secular not-for-profit social service agency which seeks to support individuals affected by homelessness and poverty in a rigorous program of personal transformation through training, job placement and critical support services.

The space with all the Rhythm chairs is called the Great Room, which is considered sacred space to the students and staff. This room is used for Cara’s morning motivation exercises in which students share deep personal stories and sing with religious zeal, reaching out of their comfort zone in a public, but safe setting. The architecture responds with dynamic, but simple gestures to support what amounts to daily theater-in-the-round. At the end of the day, this space is truly about crafting a house of hope.

Q: What design problem were you looking to solve by using Stylex chairs?

A: The light scale chairs are easy to reconfigure and add personality to the space.

Q: What attracted you to the Rhythm chair for this project?

A: The Rhythm chair has both strong styling and good value.

Q: When did you first encounter Stylex Seating? Do you use any other Stylex products in any other spaces?

A: Our Chicago rep, Ruder Group, first introduced us to the product. We have been a Stylex specifier for quite some time now and even worked on the renovation of their Merchandise Mart showroom in 2010.

Q: We heard you’re the lucky winner of a new Stylex upholstered Zephyr chair – any special plans on where it will go?

A: We specified the chair with a white frame and green Maharam upholstery. It will be a great addition to a collection of contrasting dining room chairs!