Q&A with Tyler Pellerito and Ryanne Lane on Their Top 5 Favorite MiEN Products

STAR Chair

The STAR Chair stands out with its unique look and ergonomic style, diverging from traditional classroom seating. It features a distinctive design that not only offers comfort but also includes a practical backpack hanging feature. This innovation helps maintain clean and safe classroom floors by keeping backpacks off the ground, thus reducing tripping hazards. Particularly beneficial in schools where students carry backpacks to class, the STAR Chair enhances both the aesthetic and functional aspects of classroom environments, making it a superior choice for educational settings.

Slice Student Desk

The Slice desk exemplifies versatility in learning environments, effortlessly fitting into classrooms, media centers, and breakout spaces. Its design supports a wide range of configurations, from groups of three to six, or even as a single desk, catering to both collaborative and individual learning needs. The flexibility of the Slice desk is further enhanced by its suitability for left and right-handed students and ADA compliance, making it an ideal choice for all learners and a staple in modern educational settings. This adaptability ensures that the Slice desk can serve multiple purposes across various educational landscapes, solidifying its role as a critical component in facilitating effective learning experiences.

Chameleon Lounge Series

The Chameleon Lounge Series combines durability with style, making it a standout choice for educational and community spaces. Known for its robust construction and elegant design, the Chameleon series seamlessly fits into various settings such as K-12 schools, universities, and community centers. Its versatility is highlighted by its suitability for different configurations, including banquet seating in cafeterias, booth seating for small group work in university libraries, or as a touchdown space in teacher lounges. With its high-end look and numerous variations, the Chameleon Lounge Series meets the demands for both aesthetic appeal and functional adaptability, making it an excellent option for any space requiring durable and stylish seating solutions.

Divide Mobile Storage Markerboard

The Divide Mobile Storage Markerboard is a compact yet highly functional dual-purpose tool that integrates a magnetic whiteboard with considerable storage capacity. This versatile piece is designed to maximize space efficiency while enhancing interactive learning in various educational settings. Available in two heights, 72”h and 48”h, it adapts seamlessly to different classroom needs. The Divide not only serves as a robust teaching tool but also provides mobile storage, allowing educators easy access to supplies while engaging students. Its small footprint and double-sided design make it more than just a markerboard, offering a dynamic solution for educational environments looking for both functionality and compactness.

2G2BT Presentation Station with HMU Side Table

The 2G2BT Presentation Station epitomizes modern efficiency and is thoughtfully designed for today’s student-centered learning environments. This compact unit offers extensive storage through a customizable locking cabinet, providing educators with a versatile home base that takes up minimal classroom space. Its mobility and a detachable side table enhance interactive teaching by allowing educators to move freely around the classroom, engaging closely with students to foster active learning. The 2G2BT Presentation Station not only gives instructors their own dedicated workspace but also supports dynamic, student-focused educational practices, making it an essential tool for contemporary classrooms.

Tyler Pellerito: Ryanne, how do you like to integrate these products into your design projects?

STAR Chair

The STAR Chair is celebrated for its remarkable versatility across various school settings, offering lightweight, stackable features and winged elbow rests that cater to comfort and practicality. Its ability to allow students to hang their backpacks on it prevents clutter on the floor, mitigating tripping hazards and keeping spaces tidy. This functionality makes the chair an ideal choice for diverse environments such as cafeterias, classrooms, teacher workspaces, media centers, and common areas. Widely used for its adaptability, the STAR Chair also brings a burst of vibrancy to any setting with its array of shell colors, enhancing both the functionality and aesthetic appeal of educational spaces.

Slice Student Desk

The Slice Student Desk, frequently paired with the PAL curved leg, is designed to enhance ergonomics, and provide additional leg room, making it well-suited for various classroom layouts and communal areas. Its flexible design supports a multitude of group configurations, easily adapting to the continuously evolving needs of modern educational environments. This versatility allows the desk to be used in numerous creative setups, and it can readily be separated for use as individual desks as needed. I also utilize the Slice desks in common areas and media centers, taking advantage of their adaptable features. Additionally, the option for a split laminate/markerboard surface adds further utility, catering effectively to the dynamic requirements of today’s learning spaces.

Chameleon Lounge Series

The Chameleon Lounge Series is highly prized for its exceptional durability and customization capabilities, crucial for crafting unique and welcoming seating arrangements in educational settings like schools and colleges. The robust construction of the series guarantees prolonged usability, presenting a wise investment for educational institutions. I particularly admire the versatility of the Chameleon line; its vast array of products can be arranged in limitless configurations, ensuring no two spaces are the same. With hundreds of fabric choices available, it’s possible to tailor soft seating areas to be distinctive and special, uniquely fitting each school’s individual aesthetic and functional needs. This adaptability makes the Chameleon line ideal for various spaces, from common areas and media centers to staff lounges and food courts. Additionally, I’ve incorporated Chameleon mobile square chairs with tablet arms in some classrooms, providing a modern seating option that enhances the learning environment.

Divide Mobile Storage Markerboard

The Divide Mobile Storage Markerboard is an essential component in classrooms and breakout spaces, where its multifunctionality is highly valued. Known for its mobility, it serves as an optimal tool for promoting active learning and managing space efficiently. This versatile piece features a mobile magnetic markerboard with internal storage, meeting the common needs of educational environments for functional and organizational tools. Particularly useful is the 72″H version, which not only helps segment spaces effectively but also accommodates up to 24 of our flex 2″ seat pads, making it an excellent resource in elementary classrooms. I frequently incorporate the Divide storage with flex seat pads, as it allows young students to easily access seating and utilize the low-reaching markerboard, enhancing their learning experience through interactive and organized activities.

2G2BT Presentation Station with HMU Side Table

The 2G2BT Presentation Station is at the forefront of educational innovation, offering a dynamic approach to teaching that empowers educators with unprecedented mobility and flexibility. This station allows teachers to move seamlessly throughout the classroom, engaging with students more effectively and challenging the traditional static classroom setup. I particularly appreciate the design of the 2G2BT for its ability to transform teaching dynamics. It encourages both students and teachers to step out of their conventional comfort zones, fostering an environment where interactive and collaborative learning flourishes. Classrooms are evolving beyond the traditional rows of desks and isolated teacher stations to include various types of seating, desk heights, and configurations that promote group learning and interaction. The 2G2BT enhances this evolution with features like mobile storage and a detachable pneumatic HMU side table, which can be easily adjusted in height and moved around to facilitate direct student engagement. This flexibility not only adapts to the shifting landscapes of educational environments but also supports diverse teaching methods, making it an invaluable tool for modern classrooms.

Tyler Pellerito: Ryanne, your innovative approach showcases why our interior design team is exceptional, transforming traditional educational models into dynamic, engaging environments that set us apart.

The dialogue with Tyler Pellerito and Ryanne Lane offers a compelling overview of how MiEN products embody more than mere functionality—they are pivotal in fostering innovative and adaptable classroom designs. Their curated top 5 favorite MiEN products stand as paragons of versatility, style, and functionality, meticulously engineered to support the dynamic requirements of modern educational landscapes. Through their expert lens, we see how these products not only accommodate but actively enhance the educational experience, providing environments that are both conducive to learning and responsive to the needs of educators and students alike. This exploration underscores MiEN’s commitment to enhancing educational spaces with solutions that are as forward-thinking as they are practical.