News

Stanford University has purchased 12 Hive Workstations and four Level Utility Tables from Abeo Design LLC, a sustainable furniture company founded in 2012 by Daniel F. Cuffaro, chair of the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Industrial Design Department. Stanford, which received the shipment on Nov. 18, purchased the furniture for the 'maker space' in its Meyer Library, a space intended to support rapid prototyping capabilities.

The furniture was designed by Cuffaro, a 1991 CIA graduate, for use by his Industrial Design students. It was manufactured by Seville, Ohio-based Benchmark Craftsmen using lumber reclaimed from abandoned houses that were deconstructed by the local company A Piece of Cleveland.

“It is very exciting to be a part of the Meyer Library project. We are honored that Hive Workstations were selected to support a technology lab in THE technology hub,” Cuffaro said. “The Stanford agreement was completed less than one year after the delivery of first production units to CIA and represents real revenue for Abeo Design. This will result in a direct financial benefit to CIA.”

Abeo has pledged to donate a portion of its proceeds to CIA.

The Hive concept won early support from the Cleveland Foundation, which provided funding that enabled CIA to purchase the first installment of Hive Workstations at the same price the college would have paid for standard office furniture. CIA will purchase additional Workstations – enough to outfit all design majors – in conjunction with the unification of its campus, slated for completion in 2015. CIA is constructing a new building, which will be adjoined to its Joseph McCullough Center for the Visual Arts on Euclid Avenue, so it can bring all of its academic functions together in the Uptown district of University Circle.

For more information about Abeo, visit www.abeodesign.com.