Ten years ago WILLEM SMITH launched its first chair, the Caballero Club Chair. Still the patriarch of the collection, the Caballero features a lumbar pillow that significantly contributes to the chair’s sublime sit.
But a pillow wasn’t the answer for all types and sizes of lounge seating, so for years the guys at WILLEM SMITH fiddled and tested, as is their calling. Finally they arrived at an elegant and highly-effective method to achieve continuous support and deliver industry-leading comfort. The uniqueness, relevance and efficacy of the ErgoRide Comfort System was formally recognized with two US Patents (US 9,066,594 B1 & US 9,408,470 B2).
How it works...
Jony Ive, Apple’s creative guru, describes superior industrial design as simple and “inevitable”. “I feel confident that we nailed the simple aspect,” quips John Smith, the ErgoRide's inventor, “but the inevitable part may take a little longer. We like our chances though.”
"What is the ErgoRide?"
The ErgoRide is a simple device that meaningfully and dramatically improves the comfort of loose cushion seating.
The ErgoRide connects the back cushion to the seat cushion.
Yes, it’s that simple.
Yes, you may need to sit it to believe it.
The shortcoming of loose cushion seating arrangements – which as an architecture has the potential to deliver the most comfortable sitting experience – is the gap that is created between the seat cushion and the back cushion when an occupant sits down. See graphic on right.
You can technically live without the ErgoRide and everyone – manufacturers and sitters - has resigned themselves to the inevitable lower back support gap. One can arrange a throw pillow or tuck the cushion but those are not reliable or effective solutions.
With the ErgoRide, when you sit, no matter how much the seat cushion depresses, the back cushion will reliably ride down with you and therefore is positioned perfectly to support your lower back. Good back or bad back, your comfort is maximized.
WITH the
WITHOUT the ErgoRide:
Traditional Loose Cushion Seating Experience
Well, that’s a loaded question. Technically you can live without it – you’ve existed nicely so far - but like an air conditioner in your car, we think you’ll like your life more if you have it.
Bear in mind that the ErgoRide doesn’t change any of the component parts of your chair or sofa, it just makes them work together better: the whole is still the sum of the parts, but the whole is a whole lot more comfortable.
Remember when back cushions were a bag of feathers and fabrics wore out quickly? Both of those factors contributed to prevailing notion that back cushions must be periodically flipped.
So everyone – manufacturers and sitters like you – resigned themselves to the inevitable lower back support gap. No one dreamed that a meaningful improvement was possible until we sought to change the existing suboptimal paradign by asking 'what if...'
The ErgoRide connects the back cushion to the seat cushion. Yes, it’s that simple.
When you sit, no matter how much the seat cushion depresses, the back cushion will reliably ride down with you and therefore is positioned perfectly to continuously support your lower back; that maximizes your comfort.
Do I need the ErgoRide?
This seems too simple...
why haven’t I heard of it before?
What does it do?
Yes (!), you can flip your seat cushion.
With respect to back cushions, remember that attached and semi-attached back cushions and back cushions on tight back frames cannot be flipped. More significantly, they can't be rotated on multi-seat frames.
The ErgoRide delivers superior comfort and allows the back to be (i) removed (for cleaning), (ii) rotated on a multi-seat frame, and (iii) retrofitted (to alter firmness).
If the cushion quality is reasonable, there is really no need to flip back cushions. Channeled/baffled tiers and synthetic or natural/blend fills mean limited settling and if need be, the cushion can be fluffed. Fabrics don't wear out like they used to, and if they do, the location of the wear isn't hidden by flipping. Most back cushion discoloration includes the tops of the cushions: flipping doesn’t solve that issue either.
The ErgoRide provides access to a new tier of comfort for all clients. Those who have historically opted for the clean look of a tight or attached back will be smitten by the first sit in an ErgoRide-equipped loose cushion configuration.
But I Want to Flip My Seat Cushion...
Cushion technology is such that with fibre filaments and down/feather blends in channeled backs, the performance of the back cushion core is in a completely different league from days of yore. And back cushion sleeves don’t wear anymore. Keep flipping your seat cushions but just fluff your backs from time to time: you’ll be sitting pretty (and very comfortably).