G|M's Red Equa Chair
The remarkable quality of a chair that transcends G|M's history.
The History of Steve’s Red “Equa” Chair
After the tremendous success of designing the world’s first ergonomic chair, the “Ergon” chair, in 1976 for Herman Miller, Bill Stumpf—the ultimate chair whisperer—never rested. In 1984, he introduced the “Equa” Chair, again for Herman Miller, creating a landmark design that was perfectly suited for every job in the office, from task to executive to conference and guest seating. The Equa chair was honored as the “Design of the Decade” by Time magazine.
The Design
It was the first scientifically designed chair to feature the knee-tilt mechanism, with a flexible DuPont resin polyester “H”-shaped cutout shell that conformed to the body’s movements. The Equa came in low-back and high-back models, as well as non-upholstered, fully or split-pad upholstered versions, and task stools. The split-pad version featured replaceable seat and back pads made from high-quality injection-molded foam. The Equa remained the premier office chair until the iconic Aeron chair arrived in 1995—also designed by Bill Stumpf, alongside Don Chadwick.
Steve's kids circa 1992 in G|M Business Interiors' San Bernardino showroom
Words from Steve
"I purchased my red Equa in 1989 along with our very first G|M Herman Miller showroom order. My red Equa was fully upholstered with all polished aluminum. It was a display chair for 2 years and then I personally used the chair myself at my desk and always took it with me when going to appointments in the field for the next 15 years. We still proudly show this chair today, 35 years later! The red Equa is still all original including the bright red DuPont “Polyknit” fabric made custom only for Herman Miller. It is amazing how today, visiting clients sit in this chair and they guess the chair is 3-6 months old. I have aged significantly but my Equa chair still looks and performs great!
While the Equa chair is no longer manufactured by Herman Miller to make way for juggernauts Aeron, Mirra, Embody and Cosm chairs, it represents the quality, durability, innovation, performance and long-term value of Herman Miller high-performance chairs!" - Steve Easley, G|M's Chief Operating Officer
Equa sitting in the Irvine showroom, 2025
Unmatched quality 35 years since purchase, all original