Online startup Floyd has designed a suite of flat-pack furniture to be easily taken apart and moved around, intended for young city dwellers and to offer a long-lasting alternative to IKEA products.
Floyd is the brainchild of Kyle Hoff and Alex O'Dell, who founded the Detroit-based company in 2014 to provide furniture suited to urbanites, who typically rent small apartments and relocate often.
While companies such as Swedish flat-pack giant IKEA produces affordable furniture that these nomads might discard when they decamp, Floyd intends to set itself apart by making products that can move with their owners.
The brand's earliest range includes a selection of hardware items, like table legs and shelving struts, to enable customers to make furniture with their own materials.
It now produces three furniture pieces – including a side table that launched last month, a bed and a table – which are assembled without tools and easily taken apart. The collection is intended as a no-fuss system that can be repeated many times without damage to the products.
Floyd intends products to be long-lasting
Floyd's three pieces of furniture feature birch plywood panels manufactured in the US and steelwork, chosen to ensure that the items are long-lasting.
For the Floyd Platform Bed, the plywood panels are elevated on steel supports, with the entire structure tightened by two nylon tensioning straps. The minimal design comes in three sizes – twin, queen and king – and an additional headboard can be purchased to accompany the frame.
"Put together in less time than it takes to boil water", according to the company, the Floyd Table employs a similar material palette of a birch top and steel legs.
A natural linoleum surface made from linseed protects the wood. Customers can chose from two colours: a grey hue titled Fog or the soft-pink Blush.
The most recent addition, the side table launched in February 2018. It features a round top available in either a 15- or 18-inch (38- 46-centimetre) diameter, and the larger version also be used as a stool.
Floyd expanded its colour options for the top of the side table to include an olive green option, along with the pink and grey. There is also a birch plywood finish.
New Yorkers receive same-day delivery
Floyd has also recently upgraded its shopping experience, offering customers delivery within days and without delivery fees to create an "easy and enjoyable experience". Earlier this month, the firm launched a new service that allows New Yorkers to receive orders on the same day of purchase at no extra cost.
"We make furniture for city living – we believe furniture should not be difficult to purchase, assemble, or move," said Floyd.
"It should be beautifully designed and built to last. We make furniture that is simple to use, easy to ship, and long lasting."
Floyd markets for digital age
Along with providing products better suited to millennial lifestyles, Hoff and Dell have developed the brand to suit the era of social media. Beginning as a Kickstarter campaign, the company now uses its Instagram account to poll design decisions for future products.
"As our brand continues to grow, we remain committed to delivering the best possible customer experience, from start to finish," said Hoff.
"Involving our customers in these important decisions has been a learning experience, and we're able to give them the best version of the products they want most," he continued.
"Being able to incorporate consumer feedback in a swift and thoughtful manner is the only way forward in an age of digital brands - and something no other furniture company is doing."
Flat-pack furniture trend continues
Floyd's approach rides on the popularity of flat-pack furniture, as brands look to lower transportation costs and pursue a market of "young urban dwellers".
Established companies like Normann Copenhagen and Hay have joined the trend, while emerging designers have put their own spin on the idea, with designs including dog beds and a table that can be carried like a suitcase.
Rhode Island furniture company Greycork also created a collection of quick-assembly, flat-pack pieces that are intended "to be a better alternative to IKEA".
IKEA announced last year that it was trialling a newly engineered joint called the wedge dowel to make its furniture snap together in minutes and easier to move around.