Just ask Jane Roulston, who has spent the last twelve years helping New Zealand workplaces move from corporate to somewhere people choose to be. Jane leads Unison, a design-led commercial furniture supplier and Revved partner, working with some of New Zealand's largest brands on their office fit-outs. We sat down with her to talk about where Unison came from, how a modern workspace takes shape, and the change she's setting herself before Revved 2027.
Where did Unison start, and what sets you apart from other suppliers?
Unison started 12 years ago and was created from a buyout of the company I previously worked for, so the relationships with our suppliers go back 30 years. I would think our focus on design-led quality furniture, backed by sound technical knowledge of product application, sets us apart.
You provide furniture for some of NZ's largest brands and office fit-outs. How do you begin to shape a modern workspace?
Furniture solutions need to support connection and collaboration. Our strategic focus is now Relationship Based Design, which is ensuring we focus on applying the right products into settings to support and encourage certain behaviours and needs.
What is the most surprising trend you're seeing in workspace design, and how has that shifted over the last few years?
The biggest trend is the move to furniture being so much more residential looking in commercial space. Offices are shifting from needing to be corporate to being created with spaces that entice people to be there. We have shifted our ranges significantly and now have strong brands which cross over really well and meet this requirement, such as Muuto and Wendelbo.
You've been driving Unison for more than a decade, through what must have been a dramatically shifting market. What piece of advice would you give a business owner in the thick of it right now?
You must be flexible and really up to date with current trends, and able to pivot (I hate that word but it's true) your business where it needs to be to meet the market. Don't look back and don't rely on things that worked in the past, because every year is different.
We asked this question of every leader in the room at Revved: what is the one change you're going to leave this room and engineer before Revved 2027? What's yours?
Focus a bit more time on my own work life balance, as it does make you a better leader to have a really good headspace rather than a worn out one!
Across every answer, Jane comes back to the same idea: the spaces and businesses that last are the ones built around people and ready to change when they do.
Connect with Jane, and talk to Unison about your next office fit-out.
