Veerle's blog

One June 17th, 1907 an American designer was born. He worked together with his wife Ray for most of his life and made a tremendous mark in design history. Both their legacy contains many classic, iconic designs of the 20th century. If you are a fan of design furniture you probably already guessed that I am talking about Charles and Ray Eames.

Biography

Charles Eames was born in 1907 in St. Louis, Missouri. That's also the place where he attended school and developed an interest in engineering and architecture. He also spent two years at Washington University on scholarship. After working some time in a architectural office he started his own office in 1930 with partners Charles Gray and later Walter Pauley. He began extending his design ideas beyond architecture and received a fellowship to Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he eventually became head of the design department.

That's also where he met his second wife Ray Kaiser. She assisted Charles and Eero Saarinen in preparing designs for the Museum of Modern Art's 'Organic Furniture Competition'. Eventually they would move to Los Angeles, California, where they would work and live for the rest of their lives. They continued their design work with molding plywood. The first production in 1946 of Eameses' molded plywood furniture was done by Evans Products. Not long after that production was taken over by Herman Miller, Inc., who continues to produce the furniture in the United States to this day. In Europe and the Middle East the furniture is manufactured by Vitra International.

The Eames house

Like any couple, Charles and Ray needed a house. The difference here is that Charles and Ray designed and built their own home in 1949. It was part of the Case Study House Program sponsored by Arts and Architecture Magazine. Thanks to their design and innovative use of materials, this house is a mecca for architects and designers from all over the world.

The Furniture

You can't browse a design furniture magazine and don't see a piece of Charles & Ray Eames. It's really everywhere. The fact that it is still arround makes it a statement that great design has no due date.

Organic Armchair, 1940

The Organic Chair is a comfortable small reading chair and was made in 1940 as a contribution to the New York MoMA’s “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition. Formally speaking it was ahead of its time, but owing to the lack of manufacturing techniques, never went into series production. It was not until after 1950 that it became possible to manufacture larger quantities of organically shaped seat shells and market them.

The Plywood Group, 1945/46

LCW/DCW

LCM/DCM

La Chaise, 1948

Designed in 1948 for MoMA's International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design, and inspired by Gaston Lachaise's 1927 sculpture 'Floating Figure', this organically-shaped chair has become a design icon. At the time it was too expensive to manufacture and so it had to wait until 1990 to be produced in small quantities. I remember this special chair from an advertising campaign for Gucci in the 90's and more recent from a bathroom brand advertisement I think. Only for those who can afford it as it costs almost 6000 Euro.

Sofa Compact, 1954

The sofa evolved from a built-in sofa that Charles and Ray designed for the living room of their Pacific Palisades home. It can be folded which makes it easy to transport.

Lounge Chair and Ottoman, 1956

Considered one of the most significant and widely recognized furniture designs of the 20th century, the Eames lounge chair and ottoman set has an enduring standard for comfort and elegance.

Aluminum Group Chairs, 1958

The chairs in the Aluminum Group are among the most famous creations by Charles and Ray Eames.

EA 107/108

EA 124/125

EA 116

Lobby Chair ES 108 and ES 105, 1960

Originally designed for the lobby of the Rockefeller Center in New York.

Soft Pad Chaise ES 106, 1968

The Plastic Chair Group, 1948

Plastic Armchairs were first presented as part of the famed New York Museum of Modern Art competition, 'Low Cost Furniture Design'.

Eames Plastic Side Chair, 1950

The one (DAR/DSR) commonly referred to as Eiffel chair is probalbly the most famous and affordable design chair out there.

DSR, DSW, DSX, PSCC, 1950

Eames Plastic Armchair, 1948

A landmark design consisting out of organic shapes. A clean, simple form sculpted to fit the body; first presented at the Museum of Modern Art in 1948. It was the first plastic chair to be mass produced and is still very popular in todays interiors.

DAX, DAR, DAW, RAR, PACC, 1950

Wire Chairs DKR and DKX, 1951

Between 1950 and 1952, Charles and Ray Eames began investigating bent steel wire and various welding techniques as a basis for a new kind of furniture. After much experimentation, they molded a wire shell seat using cross-woven steel wires and mounted it on a bent-wire base.

Not complete

Remember that this article isn't meant as a complete overview of the Eames and what they accomplished in their life. We didn't even talk about the film making, photograhy work etc. I only focus on what matches the modern home design section, and even then not all furniture is featured.