Why I Built TopJob
In March 2020, my husband, our dog Spark, and I started working from home. Like most people, we assumed it was temporary. So I set up at our dining table, and about one week in, I started to feel quite a lot of pain in my back.
As I started to look for ergonomic chairs online, most of the options were mesh chairs with aggressive frames. I couldn’t picture having those chairs by our beautiful custom cherry wood live-edge dining table, especially since it was the first serious piece of furniture we bought as a family. Now I was facing the dilemma: save my back or save our family’s favorite corner?
This was the moment that struck me. The entire ergonomic furniture industry had been designed for the corporate environments, and for the posture you hold when someone might be watching. How a chair actually looks in the corner of your home, how it fits the life happening around it, that question was never really asked.
If this is how I feel, how many other people feel the same way? That question became TopJob.
Crafted for work, polished for home.
We started from the home and worked outward, which sounds obvious, yet nobody does it. Like myself, many people don’t have a dedicated office at home. They have a good corner, a dining table, or a place by the window. So we designed for real rooms and small spaces. For people who sit, stand, and move throughout the day, our furniture encourages natural movement, and actually moves with them when needed. .
Designing for women should never mean making it pink and calling it a day.
Our obsession is with home aesthetics. The silhouettes, materials, and tones of our furniture shape the character of a home. Every color has its own personality, which is why we create a wide range of options, ensuring each piece can become an elevated part of any space. We also continuously explore new materials that reflect the furniture industry’s latest innovations and design trends.
Good engineering doesn’t have to be ugly. I put our best minds to work.
Everything we make is built to real ergonomic standards and tested against the industry’s toughest benchmarks. A chair that complements your home but fails your spine defeats the whole purpose of TopJob.
Work has moved into the home, into kitchens, dining tables, and balconies. The furniture industry hasn’t caught up. TopJob is our attempt to catch up: to make things that take your body as seriously as a good office chair, and your home as seriously as you do.
To everyone building a career from home, from a real office, a dining table, or a quiet, sunlit corner: we see you. We made this for you.
With love,
Violet Chen
Founder & CEO, TopJob