Summary Southwestern University hired a Sustainability Coordinator and embraced a commitment to zero waste on campus. They reached out to DCI to provide them with sustainable zero waste furniture to furnish two of their residence halls. The Oldest University in Texas Southwestern University (SU) is a private liberal arts school in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin. Situated on a 780-acre suburban campus with 1,430 undergrads, the school was founded …
Cal Poly Case Study: Increasing Occupancy and Cost Savings Plus A Big Sustainability Win
Summary: In 2017, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo hired DCI to introduce a new design standard on campus. In the process, we helped increase occupancy (and the bottom line) by turning 390 doubles into triples, saved the school a huge amount of money on a new wardrobe, and recycled 500 metal bed frames. A New Design Standard In late 2017, DCI was awarded a contract to introduce a new design …
DCI Wins $250K USDA Renewable Energy Systems Grant
I live in the lee of Colorado’s storied front range. The Rocky Mountains are an inspiring and imposing companion and a constant reminder that wilderness is never far away. So it’s disconcerting these days, when so much smoke from nearby wildfires fills the air. I can’t even see the foothills that are normally visible from my home. Floods drenching the Gulf Coast, wildfires burning the West Coast. Catastrophic songbird die-offs …
Case Study: Mid-Century Modern at UCLA’s Boulevard Apartments
Summary: UCLA Housing and UCLA Medical joined forces to buy a beautiful and stylish new apartment complex for their medical staff and graduate students. DCI furnished the apartment complex with a new premium mid-century modern solid wood collection on an accelerated timeline. Case Study: Mid Century Modern at UCLA Project Name: Boulevard Apartments Project Location: Los Angeles, CA Dates: June 2020 Project Size: 122 bedroom sets, 70 dining sets Building …
$75k Vermont Grant Helps DCI Support Local North Country Economies
Northern New England used to be a mecca for mill towns. The ubiquitous rivers and streams that branched across the Northeast United States powered paper, pulp, and textile mills and catapulted America to a pre-eminent position in global manufacturing during the industrial revolution. Two hundred years later, that vaunted seat of manufacturing might has ceded with slow but steady momentum to cheaper southern labor, demographic shifts, and global outsourcing. A …
For Immediate Release: Working Lands Enterprise Initiative Awards $75,000 To DCI,Inc.
The State of Vermont’s Working Lands Enterprise Initiative awarded DCI,Inc. a $75,000 grant as part of their supply chain business impact grants. The grant supports Vermont companies who are contributing to the state’s forest products industry and positively impacting the supply chain. DCI operates a domestic sawmill in Southeast Vermont. And the company will use the funds to expand the mill to house a new state-of-the-art high efficiency resaw to increase overall yield and …
Why We Source Mattresses Made By Blind & Visually Impaired Workers
Eighty four years ago, in a small two-room shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a few members of the local Lions Club gathered to charter a new initiative. They were opening a manufacturing plant operated by the visually impaired. It started small, but it grew into something remarkable. Humble Beginnings The organization founded that day was called Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind. It would grow to become IFB Solutions, the largest employer …
How DCI Became A Recovery Friendly Workplace
“We don’t have a drug epidemic anymore, we have a recovery epidemic.” -North Country Serenity Center in Littleton, NH 2016 was a tipping point for the state of New Hampshire. And not in a good way. According to the Portland Press Herald, nearly 500 people died from drug overdoses that year. And opioid overdose fatalities increased by a rate of 191 percent over the previous five years. Today New Hampshire …
DCI Furnishes Compass House for Women In Recovery
Over 20 million Americans identify as in recovery. Yet only 10% of adults who need treatment for substance use actually get services. Substance Use Disorder is a chronic, relapsing brain disease, and recovery takes more than just good intentions or strong willpower. -NavigatingRecovery.org It was a sunny and windy winter day when I pulled off the I-93 north expressway from Boston to meet up with Natanya Champney, DCI’s …
Penn State’s Demo Dorm Room
We love working with Penn State University. Previously, we’ve shared with you their unique and engaging process for choosing residence hall furniture. They call it the Best Value Process or BVP for short. What’s so unique about Penn State, in our experience, is that they fully include their students in their furniture vetting and selection process. The Demo Dorm Room Earlier this week we were visiting Penn State as part …