Larry Landes

Larry discovered his innate passion for design, form, and function at the early age of six.  His father left for work one day in a Volkswagen Bug and with no knowledge of his father trading it in, his dad came home that night with a Porsche 911.  Larry had liked the VW, but the flowing lines on the Porsche captivated him, and he realized that day he felt something special when he saw the shapes on that car.  That spark of design admiration ignited what is today, a roaring fire.

 

Studying Architecture and working for an Architect in school, a trusted mentor suggested he get a business degree, citing it was “more versatile”.  Larry took the advice and obtained a Bachelor of Science from California State University Long Beach in Business Administration.  But design was his love and he quickly worked his way into the design side of business.  He followed what was a natural passion for furniture design, and that was where he wanted to focus his career.

 

Working in business development at several contract furniture dealerships, Larry sold Herman Miller, Steelcase and Haworth.  Wanting to focus more on the Architectural and Design community, he then went to work for Steelcase in their Design Partnership division.  (Now called Coalesse)  Representing high end design, Larry promoted German manufacturer Wilkhahn, along with Italian designs manufactured by Atelier International - Cassina, with Mid-Century classics such as the Le Corbusier lounge.

 

Those relationships ultimately led to Larry to be recriuted by bkm Total Office, one of the largest Steelcase dealers in the country.  For the next 12 years Larry served as Sales Manager, General Manager and Vice President.  The company had great success under Larry’s leadership and was awarded many high profile projects with Fortune 500 and 100 companies.  

 

Larry’s success lies largely in his ability to connect with people and his unwavering passion to “do the right thing”.  Clients as well as employees respect his relentless drive to be excellent, motivating others to passionately work together and believe in the outcome. 

 

In late 2007, Larry and his wife Maggie - also a seasoned veteran in the contract furniture industry, founded Landesign, Inc. - bridging their last name with “design”.  They brought the company to market under the name “office.11”.  The name represented the experience they wanted for their clients - an “11” experience.  Driven by passion, not money, office.11 has grown dramatically since that time, representing the benchmark of value, performance, and customer delight.

 

… And by the way, Larry still loves what started it all... Porsche design!