Month

September 2019

Schools are an important part of every community so partnering with elementary schools, high schools or colleges is a great way to give back to your local area. While businesses can provide funding, supplies and industry expertise, schools are able to offer future workers and brand awareness, making the partnership a win-win. Below are a few simple ways to support your local schools.

Give Supplies or Monetary Donations
Depending on the type of business you are, your company may be able to provide your local school with supplies or services at a free or discounted rate. For example, Keeney’s partners with a local elementary school to provide presentation materials for their science fair. If that type of donation isn’t a fit, you can sponsor a a table at a fundraising event or provide the school with a monetary donation.

Showcase Projects or Lend Expertise
Another way to partner with a local school is to help students present their work outside the classroom. If your business is open to the public, collaborate with a local art class to showcase students’ pieces. You can also work with a local school to help students learn how a real business operates. For example, Keeney’s works with a local college to help students develop business plans.

Provide Internships
Another great way to help educate students about possible career paths is to offer internships with local colleges. Internships provide students with real life experience for their resume and help to teach them a specialized set of skills. Companies frequently hire former interns since they have more industry specific experience than the competition and have proved their abilities. These relationships are a win-win for both the students and employers.

Businesses and schools have a lot to offer one another. Whether companies want to donate some much-needed school supplies or provide firsthand experience to students, these relationships help strengthen the ties between communities and the businesses that serve them. If your school would like to partner with Keeney’s during the upcoming school year, please reach out to our team to start the discussion on how we can work together.

*Pictured: OFS Applause, Genus and Layer

In the past, game rooms have always been associated with tech companies and startups but the trend is now growing in popularity among other businesses. These areas create a place to have fun with your team, grow a sense of community and help employees recharge during breaks. If your company is planning to put a game room into your office, think about how your team will use the space and how it will fit in with the rest of the office’s design.

Furniture Pieces
Since game room are intended to build relationships between employees, creating an area with lounge seating will help to include team members not playing games. Comfortable couches, coffee tables and moveable ottomans will help to form a fun place to socialize. In addition, mix in tables with bench seating for board games and other team activities. Games to consider include ping pong, foosball, pool and shuffleboard.

Noise Considerations
In addition to the pieces you plan to include in the rooms, the acoustics are another thing to look into. Between talking, cheering and digital sound effects, a game room can get quite noisy. Consider the surrounding rooms to ensure that work and meetings are not disrupted by the sound. Adding acoustic wall panels, plush seating and rugs will help absorb the noise.

Usage Guidelines
Game rooms are a great way to help your team bond but you may want to set guidelines for usage. While your main concern may be that you don’t want employees playing ping pong all day, formalizing appropriate times will also encourage employees to get together during breaks or team meetings.

Although game rooms may seem like a trend, these spaces are a great way to build team camaraderie, re-energize employees and can help to recruit top talent. For help designing an area for your employees to hang out together, contact the furniture specialists at Keeney’s today!

*Pictured: OFS Shuffleboard


Although we are in a digital era, printing continues to play an important role in a company’s branding and marketing efforts. Like any marketing collateral that has your business name on it, you want to ensure that it portrays a positive representation of your brand. By using a professional printing service, you can ensure that your company comes across as polished and professional to your customers. In addition to appearance, there are some further benefits of outsourcing your printing:

Quality Pieces
With a variety of paper weights and finishes, professionally printed letterhead, flyers or business cards have a high-quality appearance. The printers used in professional facilities are also higher quality so the printed colors will appear rich and crisp.

Professional Finishes
Print companies have many more tools and machines than your standard office so you will have more finish options than printing on a desktop printer. From “print-to-edge” flyers, to laminate finish to bound booklets, to unique shapes or sizes, professional printing companies have the resources to produce the look you envision.

Design Guidance
A professional printer can help to determine the right paper for your products. You can also get suggestions for logo placement, font size and overall design if you are designing a piece from scratch.

Cut Down on Expenses
While outsourcing your print work may seem expensive, it might save you money in the long run. When calculating the costs, factor in how much printer ink you would be using, the cost of the paper or envelopes for the project and the time staff would dedicate to completing the print job. In addition, consider that it may take a few times to correctly setup the job and reprint pieces if necessary.

For help creating new letterhead, brochures, business cards or booklets, contact the Keeney’s team today! Together, we can create printed materials that make a great first impression with potential customers.


Open office formats have grown in popularity over the last decade to the increase collaboration, improve communication and promote a more connected team environment. While there are benefits to having an open office space, there is more to it than getting rid of private offices and removing the cubicle walls. Below are a few tips for businesses that are getting ready to transition to an open office.

Define Goals
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing an open office. Different companies have different goals, and it’s essential that you design your office space to meet the needs of your company. If you are looking to encourage certain teams to work together more, it may help to station them near each other in the open office space, naturally encouraging collaboration.

Offer Balance
While an open work area is good for collaboration and communication, but there may also be distractions. A good open office design will provide workers with various areas that allow them to separate themselves from the shared work space to complete tasks that may require a little less noise. To meet the needs of your team and workflow, create designated areas for meals and social time, rooms for making phone calls, and collaboration rooms where smaller groups can get away to work as a team.

Set Rules
Since your team will be sharing a space and have less privacy, it is helpful to establish guidelines within the common area. Discuss how to make the space productive and effective with your team and create a list of things that would be disruptive. Examples include: talking on speaker phone, listening to music or seminars without headphones or eating meals outside of the breakroom.

Transitioning to an open office can take some time to get used to and may require you to make adjustments over time. Look for ways to improve the open office space, and experiment with some new ideas to see if you can make it work better for your organization. The Keeney’s furniture team has expertise in open office space planning and can help to create the perfect office for your team. Contact us today!

Photo: AIS, Oxygen System