I find that, in life, you seldom need to search for irony. In fact, it will often just tap on your door and invite itself in — playfully reminding you that even in the unlikely event that the universe operates on a predefined plan, a group of satirists were clearly consulated before it was finalised...
As a young company, our team at NORNORM is incredibly passionate about explaining exactly what it is we do, and how we believe it may in fact change the way we collectively relate to an entire industry.
We do this in a variety of different ways: we explain how our service provides modular workspaces; we preach the benefits of subscribing to services rather than buying products; we showcase our designs; and finally we justify our decision to make this service entirely circular for the betterment of this industry and our planet.
We test out phrases like "Don’t buy furniture. Subscribe to it." and "If you could stream office furniture, this would be it." in the hopes that we can perfectly distill all that we do into something that everyone will read and understand immediately.
In the efforts to find a perfect way of explaining exactly what we do at NORNORM, I've neglected to even start trying to explain who we actually are. If it is alright with all of you, I’d like to take this on now:
We are a group of people that believe deeply in the importance of workspaces. It’s a funny thing to focus on, but we do it because we know the places we work in really matter.
It matters that you feel comfortable in your workspace, regardless of whether that space is in the office or at home. It matters that you walk into a space that feels inviting, rather than intimidating. It matters if you can’t find a quiet place to take a call. It matters that, somehow, there are never enough meeting rooms. It matters that you genuinely feel inspired by your surroundings. We know that workspaces matter because, as a company and a team, we miss them desperately.
At NORNORM we are a group of people who talk about workspaces all day — and we’ve never once worked together in the same place.
NORNORM started in August 2020, with about 15 team members building our vision from the ground up. Since then, we have grown to be a team of 50 designers, consultants, entrepreneurs and pragmatic idealists who work across 7 countries. Even at its inception, NORNORM was destined to be a global and decentralised company, but a global pandemic took this to the next level.
For the past 8 months, we have spent countless hours discussing collaboration, healthy workspaces and the many variables that just make a space “work”— all from the comfort (and occasional discomfort) of our own homes. We’ve felt the many trials and tribulations of remote work, from the endless meetings, the sore eyes, the feeling of signing off and worrying “did I make any sense in that meeting or….”, to pondering what exactly our colleagues will look like in the three dimensional world.
We are the architects of a service we ourselves need desperately, and have, until recently, lacked the opportunity to use. Ironic, I know.
As a team, we are bonded by this irony whether we like it or not. We’ve occasionally stopped ourselves during the many meetings we have [syncing/aligning/checking in/brainstorming/circling-back] to just sit back and appreciate the ironic hilarity of our predicament. Not only has it blessed us with a good sense of humour, it has collectively renewed our passion for exactly what it is we do here.
When we all go back to work, we won't be returning to the same spaces we left. We don't want to adapt to the New Normal, we want to build an everyday life that feels exceptional.
We want to make the future of workspaces better, for the people they serve, the businesses they house, and the planet they impact. Across 50 different homes spread across 7 countries, we believe this to our core, and we are coming together to make it happen.
This is the NORNORM team, and it is a pleasure to meet you.
Sincerely,
Your NORNORM Editor