Contract furniture specialist Sandler joins Design at Work New York as a Founding Partner, bringing more than four decades of experience across workplace, hospitality and contract design to the Javits Center on March 10–11, 2027. 

The workplace is borrowing from hospitality. 

Comfort, atmosphere and experience are playing a greater role in the way offices are designed, while spaces for meeting, collaborating and connecting are becoming less formal and more adaptable. 

For Sandler, the relationship between these different environments is nothing new. 

Design at Work New York has named Sandler as a Founding Partner, bringing the company’s extensive experience across contract and hospitality furniture to the new workplace design event when it launches at the Javits Center in March 2027. 

Known for beautifully crafted furniture that elevates the idea of contract, Sandler combines quality craftsmanship with innovative American and European design across furniture for corporate and hospitality environments. 

From hospitality to the workplace 

Sandler’s story stretches back more than four decades. 

Founded as Sandler Seating in London in 1982 by Roy Sandler, the company began as an offshoot of Sandler Upholsterers, a family business specializing in custom upholstery that was established in 1946. 

Its original focus was the upholstery, assembly and distribution of portable seating systems for multi-purpose venues — an area that continues to form part of the business today. 

In 1989, Sandler began distributing Italian-designed furniture for the restaurant, hospitality and contract markets, establishing a relationship with European design that would become an important part of the company’s development. 

That experience across different types of commercial space has relevance today. 

As workplaces become increasingly influenced by hospitality, designers are looking beyond conventional office furniture to create environments that support everything from focused work and meetings to informal conversation, collaboration and social connection. 

Sandler’s portfolio reflects that breadth, spanning chairs, lounge furniture, stools, modular furniture, tables, outdoor furniture and other solutions for hospitality and corporate environments. 

Designed in Europe. Established in America. 

Sandler’s connection to the US market began in 1996 with the establishment of Sandler Seating Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Today, its American operation includes headquarters in Atlanta, showrooms in New York and Chicago, a factory and warehouse operation in North Carolina and representatives across the country. 

Combined with Sandler’s long-standing relationships with European manufacturers, that infrastructure allows the company to bring European-designed furniture to projects throughout the North American contract market. Complementing that is Sandler’s North Carolina factory, where they craft tariff-free modular seating and carry out special upholstery projects. 

Its furniture can be found in corporate workplaces as well as hospitality environments, reflecting the increasingly fluid relationship between the two. 

A founding perspective 

Launching at the Javits Center in March 2027, Design at Work New York will bring together international and North American brands with architects, interior designers, workplace strategists, dealers, developers and end-user decision-makers to explore what’s next for the workplace. 

Across two days, the event will combine product discovery with CEU-accredited education, industry insight and opportunities to connect with the people shaping the future of work. 

As a Founding Partner, Sandler will be part of Design at Work New York from its launch year, bringing decades of contract and hospitality experience to a conversation that is becoming increasingly important to workplace design. 

Design at Work New York takes place March 10–11, 2027 at the Javits Center, New York.