Create. Connect. Contribute. That was the theme of the September 29th Novo Arts Studio benefit for the Give Your Art Foundation. The first event in a series of three Studio Nights was designed as a way for members of the S.A.S. (Secret Art Society) to show their stuff in a variety of creative media including drawing, painting and sculpting. The point? Come June 2010, the art will be exhibited and auctioned to raise funds that will go directly to providing art to local shelters, AIDS facilities, hospices and non-profit hospitals.

The Give Your Art Foundation is dedicated to providing art to charitable institutions that have little or no funding to provide art for their facilities. Benhar Office Interiors, as part of their on-going commitment to the design community, is proud to be a contributing sponsor.

For more information on how you can participate in the next event in January, visit Novo Arts and follow the S.A.S. Studio Nights link for details.

Benhar employees helped spread holiday cheer this December by participating in the Herman-Miller/Geiger sponsored We Care event. 125 underprivileged children from the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, NY filled tables hosted by area design and architecture firms.  The goal of this event was to provide the children with the opportunity to make creative, heartfelt gifts for their friends and families during the holiday season.

"The best part about the We Care event was not only the fulfillment of giving something back to the kids, and also seeing the excitement of the children not to get something themselves, but to make something for someone else," said Benhar employee Fran Mazzaglia.

Benhar’s craft was such a hit this year, to the delight of the children.  Benhar hosted a craft station centered on the idea of creating festive tote bags, where the children can customize their bags using fabric markers.

 

“It is always a delight to see the smile on a child’s face, after they’ve made something that is unique”.  “I think that cultivating a child’s creativity, bolsters their self esteem”, says Benhar employee Carla Parker.

Green Screens

The Emerging New York Architects Committee of the AIA NY Chapter has joined forces with industry leader and environmental design pioneer, Herman Miller, and its fastest growing New York City dealer partner, Benhar Office Interiors, to bring the New York City Architectural & Design community an exciting and educational four-part series called Green Screens, focused around building for the future and the future of sustainable design.

Green Screens centers on select episodes of the PBS e2 design documentary series exploring the complex social, political, cultural, environmental and economic issues of sustainable architecture & design in cities across the globe. e2 is a Kontentreal production and sponsored by Autodesk.

Part two of the series is being held on Earth Day, April 22, 2008 at the Herman Miller National Design Center. This event will feature a CEU class presented by Herman Miller (Sustainability and Green Buildings), two e2 design episodes, a Q&A panel, and a networking opportunity. Food and refreshments will be served.  For more information contact BOI at 212.481.6666.

Green Screens Part II of IV

Date:    Tuesday, April 22nd 2008 (Earth Day)

Time:    5:30 – 6:30pm – CEU
            6:30 – 7:30pm – e2 Design Documentaries

            7:30 – 8:00pm – Panel Discussion

            8:00 – 9:00pm - Networking       

Place:   Herman Miller National Design Center
1177 Avenue of the Americas, 17^th Fl

 Phillipe's, reknown for its exquisite Asian fare, was the scene of the 3rd annual Benhar Office holiday party. Joyous Benhar employees were joined by a group from the Herman Miller New York office. George Greco, Herman Miller Regional Sales Director followed up with this in a note to BOI principals Mark Benhar and Bob Maurer, " It is great to see the "family" of employees that you have created in just a few short years. Both of you work very hard to stay connected to your people...its a critical element of success that many owners fail to see.I also have tremendous confidence in your organizations ability to continue to grow and develop becoming a dominant force in the market." 

The employees of Benhar Office Interiors have decided to spread a little holiday cheer this year by participating in the United States Post Office’s program Operation Santa Claus….

Every year millions of children throughout the city write to Santa Claus with a laundry list of things that they want; these letters wind up at the main post office on 33^rd Street.   

“A couple of the employees came up with this idea last christmas, so we decided that this year instead of giving to each other, we would give to those that are less fortunate than us” said Carla Parker, coordinator of Operation Santa.  “The letters from some of these children simply broke our hearts”.  “Of course we got requests for things like Ipods, but those letters were but a few; most of the children were asking for every day necessities, things like shoes, coats and groceries”.   

The letters from the children were posted in the Benhar library and within minutes the employees assigned themselves to a child or a family.  The gifts will be sent to children just in time for Christmas. For more information about Operation Santa, contact you local post office, or go to www.usps.com.

In an effort to strengthen a working relationship with international architectural firm, Perkins Eastman, Benhar Office participated in an after hours getogether on Tuesday, November 13, 2007. The event was held at the Perkins Eastman office building on 115 Fifth Avenue.  Great food was provided by Between the Bread. Benhar provided gift bags and had decorated the room with lots of candles. Food and wine by the candle light, was just the intimate setting needed. About 40-50 people attended and the party was a great success!

 While technology has been a key component to the growth and success of Benhar Office, it also has proven to be instrumental in keeping company moral high. Benhar's first Wii Bowling tournament was held in their showroom lounge, which has a large flat screen TV, comfortable seating and a wet bar. (click here for more views of the Benhar showroom) Highlights of the night included Ula's high score of 225 and Shahla and Ula both had turkeys (3 strikes in a row). Unfortunately Christian and Carla had the low team game. Thanks Liz for being the sports photographer!

On November 8^th Benhar office interiors hosted two studios of Gensler NY at Benhar’s new showroom. Gensler had over 25 designers at the event. The event was co-hosted by Iliana Cahill of Luna textiles. Everyone enjoyed the wine and cheese and the fall like atmosphere.

On November 8th, 2007, Benhar Office interiors will participate in a Casino Night honoring Milo Kleinberg and benefitting the Ronald McDonald House. We anticpate a great turnout!

Benhar Office Interiors was a proud sponsor of the 8th Annual Real Estate and Construction Gala that benefitted the Special Olympics of New York. This event was held on Wednesday, October 17th, honoring a number of deserving honorees like Ken Cooper of CBS and Louise Matthews of Avon for their dedication to corporate citizenship. Benhar Office Interiors contributed with an program ad and a table at the event in NY’s Pier 60. The event was well attended by industry notables and all the money went to a worthy cause. We applaud all their efforts!