Next, Marimekko’s quality inspectors, some who have worked at the company for more than 30 years, hand-inspect and grade the fabric. Theirs is a meticulous task: There can be only four small errors over 16 yards of fabric.

The printing machine moves fabric forward automatically, even though workers spread the inks across the plates by hand. No computers are needed to determine the right quantity.

Next, the screens are made, and the designer chooses the color tones. In a room next to the printing machines, a locker with narrow drawers holds numerous pieces of neatly stacked, colorful fabrics.

Portrait of Anna, staff at Alice Euphemia, in Cathedral Arcade

Employees at the Herman Miller factory polish the molded plywood shells in the seventies.

Next, the textile printing machine is readied. Here, Jan Möller takes a ready screen for the iconic Unikko fabric to be placed on the machine.

All Phifer’s 25 employees work around a hundred-foot table. Phifer maintains the monochromatic palette down to the mouse pads.

If you’re interested in checking out the Henrybuilt Test Kitchen yourself, it’s open to the public by appointment.

Finally, trucks are packed with yards of colorful fabrics. The trucks drive to shops and ports and eventually transport the textiles to customers around the world. Watch our slideshow of iconic and favorite Marimekko patterns.

Henrybuilt’s decision to integrate a fully operational test kitchen into their workshop environment, has created a platform for their employees to find daily inspiration, leading to a fulfilling creative experience. They’ve also done the same for companies including Warner Music Group, Talbots, Steelcase, Value Act Capital, and FiftyThree.

The store and all its employees often looked to Marimekko for inspiration.

One of the aspects that makes Henrybuilt’s products so unique is the way they approach design through systems. In addition to the fact that it allows for personalization around every corner, it creates a high degree of intuitive functionality that’s devised to boost the homeowner’s overall quality of life.

At the ICFF in New York, Aki Lehtonen, a veteran employee of Artek, puts the finishing touch on an Aalto Armchair 400.

At Vietnam’s forested resort Ta Nung Homestay, Ho Chi Minh City–based Mỹ An Architects designed geometric pine-clad cabins as a collaborative live-work space for resort employees. Two cabins, totaling 5,400 square feet, are connected by an expansive shared timber deck that is elevated on stilts, hovering above the forest floor.

In the Planning Zone, IKEA employees provide free design advice for creating practical and eco-friendly kitchens.

The tables on the ends of the storage aisles can be workspaces for employees, thanks to power outlets and USB plugs.

The 10 Degrees House is located on Kangping Road in Shanghai's Xuhui district. The current tenant is an Apple employee.

The new space features offices surrounded by 15 "living rooms" designed to promote collaboration and interaction among employees. Shown here is the cafeteria.

Dion Neutra speaks to Richard Neutra collaborators, builders, employees and owners at the Eagle Rock Recreation Center. Photo by Erika Heet.

A view of the paper conservation studio where employees can now do their work.

Designed to comfortably accommodate three to five employees, the 1,000-square-foot home office that Matt Fajkus Architecture has recently built beautifully complements an existing midcentury abode in Austin, Texas.

Fein designed and built a 120-square-foot structure on his Kansas property to serve as a studio space for him and one other employee when the firm was starting out.

The terrace garden mitigates heat gain, while fostering social interaction among employees

Shake Shack wanted to make sure its employees had plenty of space to recharge throughout the day, so the company tasked Hsu and his team with creating relaxing common areas.

TOUCH Architect's home, office, and studio space combines the best of all worlds. On the second floor, employees can hold meetings in conference rooms, lounge in the multi-use dining space, or cook in the kitchen.

kitHAUS prides itself on its stylish, modern prefabs that are built on-site by a team of company employees. Their patented aluminum system takes only a few days to construct, and the homes boast superior energy efficiency, owing to insulated floors, walls, and ceilings as well as glazed doors and windows.

The butterfly-roof pavilion by architects Kate Simonen, Benjamin Parco, and Phil Kaefer connects to the low-slung home Joseph Esherick designed in 1954 via two covered walkways and an open-air tearoom. All three structures sit lightly on the landscape designed by Lawrence Halprin and updated over 50 years later by Gary Roth, a former employee.

The blue townhouse where severed Lumon employee Mark Scout (Adam Scott) lives looks almost identical to the other new-builds around it.

Designed to comfortably accommodate three to five employees, the 1,000-square-foot home office by Matt Fajkus Architecture complements an existing midcentury abode. The addition includes two individual office spaces, a conference room, a studio, a bathroom, and storage space. An operable wall divides the main space as needed. The wood-and-stucco addition features a pitched metal roof that jives with the existing home's midcentury style.

Birds Barbershop offers its employees competitive pay, health insurance, a retirement plan, and ongoing education. Employees get free haircuts and are promoted from within.

Employees discover a sanctuary that is both inspiring and invigorating,

A variety of message display systems enliven the warehouse wall, which also provides parking space for an employee’s motorcycle. “It looks nice there. It’s white and it fits,” says co-founder Will McCallum.

A library for visitors and employees

Mami and Ishii Hideaki (a friend and .......Research employee) prepare lunch in the cozy main building. The room is rustic and utilitarian, with a double-decker wood-burning stove, tons of open storage, and a sink fashioned from galvanized buckets. But there’s an underlying high-design ethos: The wire baskets are handmade classics from Korbo, a Swedish company, and what looks like a paper-wrapped box in front of the stove is actually a leather cushion by Japanese artist Nakano.

Employee engagement area, designed to evoke the cozy nooks of a park.

Lobby and employees meeting point.