Commercial Furniture Suppliers

Jolly Back has been designed by Lorna Taylor, a chartered paediatric therapist. For over three years Lorna developed the “Adolescent Back Pain Prevention Enhancement” program which she delivered to schools as part of the “Healthy Backs – School Education Initiative”. Through this work, Lorna gained first hand experience of the discomfort experienced by nearly all education staff. Today, we welcome Lorna’s Jolly Back Classroom Chair to our commercial furniture range.

Easing Back Pain in the Classroom
Research indicates that 88 per cent of early years and primary school teachers have work related suffered musculo-skeletal pain. Up to 50 per cent of 14 year olds have also suffered from back pain. Classroom teachers at low working heights in child-focussed environments are more likely to suffer back pain – often through adopting unsuitable posture, furniture & equipment handling and carrying resources and indeed children.

Furthermore, Children’s spinal health can be adversely effected through poor posture, increasing the risk of musculo-skeletal disorders.

Jolly Back helps children and staff learn and achieve healthier, safer postures – bringing immediate and long term benefits.

Jolly Back Classroom Chair offers:

• Award winning and original products which provide improved posture
• Ergonomically designed by a specialist physiotherapist
• Assesed by education staff to ensure genuine, practical benefits
• Made in the UK to high quality and environmental standards
• Back care education and training
• Professional advice and consultancy

Jolly Back provides innovative, affordable and effective solutions which:

• Improve staff comfort, continuity, morale and career longevity
• Help to reduce staff absences and related costs and disruption
• Improve pupil posture and concentraton
• Assist baby development and comfort

Musculo-skeletal Disorders include problems such as back pain, joint injuries and repetitive strain injuries.
Some areas which can create risk include:

• Bending and twisting – repeating an action too frequently
• Uncomfortable working position
• Not receiving and acting upon reports of symptoms quickly enough
• Repetitive and heavy lifting

Jolly Back Chair Size Guide

Since 1998, Kirkhouse has been a growing force in the UK Education Furniture market. When we were founded (1992) the internet was unknown to UK Schools; following our 1800 seat installation at Westminster Cathedral, Kirkhouse targeted it’s marketing at Churches and Church Halls. Print advertising in The Church Times and Church Building Magazine was the name of the game, where we repeatedly stumbled across the same competitors week after week. We take a look at how we’ve affected the Education Furniture Market.

School Furniture Supply UK Growth
In 1997, Kirkhouse was amongst the first UK commercial furniture suppliers to introduce a furniture sales website: With the introduction of this fantastic resource, Kirkhouse opened it’s doors to the Education Market, slowly upsetting the archaic catalogue suppliers. YPO and ESPO websites followed, as a supplement to their cumbersome catalogues, however Kirkhouse realised a fantastic opportunity to promote the same products at much reduced prices. Today Kirkhouse has over 500 unique Education customers, including Nursery Groups, Play Schools, Primary, Middle & Secondary Schools and Colleges & Universities.

Price Comparison: School Furniture Chairs & Tables UK
Kirkhouse is a small team with some great contacts – we know the contract furniture industry well and we’re happy to share our expertise. Kirkhouse has saved School customers many thousands of pounds over the years:

Product	Image	YPO Price	Kirkhouse Price
E-Series Size 6		14.15	12.64
Pepperpot Stool 610 SH		21.75	20.72
School desk 1200 x 600mm		40.35	38.76
Polypropylene Folding Chair		11.45	10.73
Prices in GBP +VAT. Source YPO Catalogue 2012 & Kirkhouse website

Commercial Furniture UK Expertise
Besides offering identical products at a better price, we also know our furniture better. We know how strong your Poly (plastic) stacking chairs are, we know how thick your MDF table top is and how many classroom desks you can stack. Unlike the large catalogue shops, we don’t sell Ball Point Pens, Lawn Mowers or Light Bulbs; we are your contract furniture specialists.
If you’re looking for upholstered chairs, we have fabric ranges running to thousands of colours (we make the selection easy too!)

We’re proud of our success in supplying school furniture, and we’re looking forward to continued growth in the education market. Why not start your Kirkhouse relationship now, give us a call with your commercial furniture requirements – we’re here to help!

As commercial furniture suppliers, we’re frequently quizzed regarding the suitability of certain upholstery fabrics. Which fabrics are suitable for Schools, which for Village Halls? With the help of Bradbury Fabrics, we’ve compiled a list based on the recommendations of BS7176: 1991.

Please contact Kirkhouse for further details. Don’t forget to take a look at our full range of upholstery products.

Kirkhouse specialise in the supply of contract / commercial furniture. For our full range of products, take a look at www.kirkhouse.co.uk

We first encountered commercial stacking chair model S-393 at the 2009 Stockholm Furniture Fair. Our colleagues at Balzar Beskow were very keen to show off one of their latest designs; with very good reason. Nearing the eve of our S-393 installation at Clissold House in North London, we contacted the chairs designer, Tim Alpen and had a chat…

Kirkhouse commercial furniture ranges use upholstery fabric tested for Severe Contract Use. The most commonly cited test for upholstery fabrics, is the rub test: Fabrics are rubbed in a lissajous pattern until two or more fibres are broken, at which point the test ends. Severe Contract Fabrics achieve 40,000 rubs; most Kirkhouse fabrics achieve 100,000 rubs and many achieve over 500,000 rubs (categorised as 24/7 fabrics suitable for Airport Lounges and similar). Severe Contract upholstery fabrics are ideal for commercial and domestic furniture.

Kirkhouse Softplay equipment has proven an incredibly popular addition to our Children’s furniture option. We continue to update and extend the range; recent additions include our foam animal and transport seats / cushions. Here we introduce our most popular children’s softplay items, sold to schools and children’s nurseries nationwide.