Worthington Direct at EDspaces 2025

EDspaces 2025 in Columbus, OH (November 5–7) was more than a trade show for Worthington Direct. Our yearly trip to this key industry event is a tangible way for us to build on nearly three decades of school furniture expertise and deepen the vendor relationships that help us better serve our customers year after year.

Our leadership team—Jason Miles, President; Brian Heiland, Vice President; Crimson Allen, Director of Marketing; and Neely Rose, Director of Sales & Customer Service—hit the show floor with a clear purpose: see what’s new for 2026, hear directly from our vendors, and get hands-on with the latest furniture innovations so we can confidently recommend what truly works in real learning environments.

For close to 30 years, we’ve helped schools choose the very best furniture for their learning spaces that's durable, reliable, and ready for daily use—from preschool classrooms to collegiate makerspaces. Events like EDspaces are where we deepen that expertise.

We don’t just flip through catalogs; we sit in the chairs, roll the casters, fold and unfold the tables, and ask the tough questions. We meet with our vendors face-to-face to learn what’s coming next, how designs are evolving, and how they’re raising the bar for comfort, flexibility, and safety.

Because our customers trust us to guide their furniture selections, we take that responsibility seriously. We put in the time on the show floor so that when we recommend a product, we know it’s not only fresh and innovative—but also tried, tested, and built to last in busy schools.

Over three days, our team stopped by long-time partners and fresh innovators alike, gathering ideas and inspiration for the year ahead:

• Outdoor & Cafeteria Spaces with AmTab

  We got a sneak peek at AmTab’s outdoor café tables and chair sets, along with personalized cafeteria tables decked out in school mascots and colors—perfect for turning everyday dining spaces into school-branded hubs of pride and community.

• Student Seating & Teacher Desks from Columbia

  Columbia’s latest student chairs and teacher desks showcased how ergonomic design and thoughtful storage can support both focused learning and flexible instruction.

• Jonti-Craft: Early Childhood Favorites

  Seeing what’s new in preschool and early childhood furniture is always a highlight. At Jonti-Craft, we explored interactive tabletop solutions, sensory play tables, and playful storage designed to spark imagination while still standing up to daily use by little learners.

• Mooreco’s Orbit Low Back Chair

  Mooreco impressed (as always) with desks and seating, especially the Orbit Low Back Chair—an eye-catching option for doctor’s offices, waiting areas, or casual high school learning zones, complete with a convenient tablet arm and plenty of color and upholstery choices.

• Marco Group: Band Storage & Modular Seating

  At Marco Group, we checked out smart band storage solutions that keep instruments secure and organized, plus modular soft seating ideal for commons areas, media centers, and reception spaces.

• National Public Seating (NPS): Training & Performance Spaces

  NPS highlighted durable flip-top training tables—great for organizations tight on space—and gave us a hands-on demo of stage risers that unfold with surprising ease and stability.

• Screenflex: Privacy & Flexible Zones

  Screenflex continues to shine in room dividers and partitions, along with modular block elements that are both colorful and perfect for early childhood spaces and indoor play zones.

• Smith System: From Preschool to Collaborative Desks

  Smith System offered a full journey, from preschool tables and chairs to collaborative desks for middle and high school. Their sound-absorbing PET felt imagination stations and inviting soft seating options provide smart ways to carve out focus areas within busy classrooms.

• USA Capitol: CTE & Hands-On Learning

  USA Capitol showcased tables designed for CTE and lab-style spaces, including options ideal for emerging electricians who need safe, functional workstations that support hands-on training.

• Virco: Classic Brand, Fresh Solutions

  Virco, a longtime icon in school furniture, demonstrated new collapsible desks and chairs with casters for mobility, plus add-on storage for devices and supplies—smart updates for modern, tech-rich classrooms.

• Paragon Furniture: Details that Move

  Paragon reminded us that even casters can be cool—pairing mobility with style—alongside the well-loved, iconic Emoji chair and fresh teacher storage options headed into 2026.

• Haskell Education: Makerspace for Everyone

  Haskell’s makerspace workstations stood out with simple lever-based height adjustment and ADA-conscious design, making it easier to ensure every student can participate comfortably.

• Diversified Spaces: Science & Makerspace Labs

  Diversified Spaces continues to refine science and makerspace furnishings so students can focus on exploring, experimenting, and creating without the furniture getting in the way.

• Correll, Inc.: Effortless Adjustability

  At Correll, we got hands-on with their new-for-2026 height-adjustable student desk and saw how quickly it can be raised, lowered, and repositioned—making it ideal for active learning classrooms, makerspaces, and other multi-use learning areas. We also spent time with their classic school desks featuring dry-erase tops, which turn the entire worksurface into a writable space for notes, problem-solving, and collaboration.

• CEF: The New Forge Line

  We also stopped by CEF to check out their new Forge line, designed with STEM, tech integration, and makerspace-style learning in mind—another example of how furniture is evolving to keep up with modern instruction.

From our first “Columbus, we’re coming!” social media post to the final walk of the show floor, EDspaces 2025 reinforced why we do what we do. Every conversation, demo, and product test helps us better curate the furniture we offer to our customers—so you get spaces that are not only on-trend for 2026, but grounded in durability, reliability, and real-world experience.

We’re especially excited to bring many of the amazing new products we saw at EDspaces onto our website in the months ahead—ready for you to explore, compare, and put to work in your own learning spaces.

Whether you’re outfitting a preschool classroom, a middle school collaboration zone, a high school makerspace, or a university lab, our team is already hard at work turning what we learned in Columbus into practical recommendations for your next project. After all, when you trust Worthington Direct with your learning environments, we want you to feel confident that we’ve done the homework—and then some.