The company - named for its chief financial backer - began to suffer in the early 1930s as the Great Depression hit, and D.J. In doing so, Herman Miller produced some of the most beautiful, iconic and, one can even say, noblest furniture ever.įounded in 1923, Herman Miller was originally known for grand historicist bedroom suites: heavily ornamented wood furniture that appealed to a high-minded, wealthier clientele. Working with legendary designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson and Alexander Girard, the Zeeland, Michigan-based firm fostered some of the boldest expressions of what we now call mid-century modern style. No other business of its kind did more than the Herman Miller Furniture Company to introduce modern design into American homes. The company enlisted the Eameses’ talents and was eventually home to the couple’s classic pieces such as the Eames DCW chair and the DCM chair.įind an extensive array of vintage Charles Eames seating, tables and case pieces on 1stDibs. The Eameses’ innovative use of wire framing, molded plywood and applied fabrics caught the attention of many notable figures in interior design and architecture, including George Nelson, director of design at Herman Miller, a now-legendary modern furniture manufacturer. Soon, the Evans Product Company was making the splints and the Eameses opened the famed Eames Office and studio. Navy contract to create molded plywood leg splints that would be used to support wartime medical efforts. Charles worked on set design at MGM, and at night, in a humble workshop they established in the guest bedroom, he and Ray experimented with molded plywood on a homemade device they called the “Kazaam!” machine. Eames and Saarinen won first place for their submissions to the competition.Ĭharles and Ray were married in 1941 and soon after moved to Los Angeles, California, and lived in an apartment building designed by architect Richard Neutra. This exhibition is considered critical by many to the popularization of what is known as mid-century modernism. With support from Ray, Charles and Eero created chairs and case pieces and submitted them to the “ Organic Design in Home Furnishings” competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City - among them was the groundbreaking organic Side chair made of molded plywood with maple legs. Charles teamed up with another Cranbrook instructor, Finnish-American designer Eero Saarinen, to explore the possibilities of plywood for use in furniture design. In 1940, Eames met his future wife, artist and designer Beatrice Alexandra "Ray" Kaiser, who was studying at Cranbrook under Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. Eames continued his architecture studies at Cranbrook and also taught in the design department. He received a fellowship at Cranbrook Academy of Art, which would become a breeding ground for the stars of mid-century design.
Gray but later moved to Michigan in 1938. In 1930, upon returning to Missouri, Eames opened an architecture practice with Charles M. He traveled to Mexico and Europe, and experienced firsthand the work of designer-architects Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The designers were trailblazers in molded plywood furniture and brought lively organic form to metal and plastic.Ĭharles Eames studied architecture at Washington University in St. Together, visionary mid-century modern duo Charles and Ray Eames introduced a wide range of renowned furniture to the postwar market, including iconic designs such as the Eames lounge chair and ottoman, the wildly colorful birch plywood-and-plastic-laminate Eames storage unit, the Eames compact sofa and more. The Eameses’ cheerful and inviting work has endured among the most important advancements in the history of 20th-century design.
In partnership with his wife, Ray, Charles was at the forefront of pioneering innovation in the use of molded plywood for furniture making. The legacy of Charles Eames looms large in design.
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