Mid Century Modern

If you only know Charles and Ray Eames by their mid-century plywood and fiberglass furniture, you may be puzzled by the title – Eames: The Architect and the Painter. Charles Eames was originally trained as an architect, but he dropped out of school and was never licensed to practice architecture. Ray Eames studied painting under [...]

Have you ever wondered what your favorite mid century modern designers’ personal living spaces look like? I have – I often daydream about visiting these mid century modern designers’ homes and having some tea or being a child of theirs and growing up in it (how cool is that!). I am curious to see how [...]

Founded in 1999, the Cherner Chair Company has brought back into production Norman Cherner’s iconic mid century designs. The company reissues Norman Cherner’s molded plywood chairs, stools and tables using the original drawings and molds with the same attention to detail seen in the original handmade classics.
Cherner Armchair
Norman Cherner (1920 – 1987) was best known [...]

When you think of mid century modern clocks, what comes to your mind? George Nelson clocks? I am a big fan of George Nelson clocks – they are unique, colorful, and aesthetic. All I knew was that they were designed by George Nelson (duh…), originally manufactured by Howard Miller and reintroduced by Vitra in the [...]

Visiting The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum Japan was the highlight of my recent visit in Japan. There are two Noguchi museums in the world: one in Long Island City, New York and one in Mure, Japan. The one in Japan is located in Mure in Kagawa prefecture on the island of Shikoku (approximately 330 miles [...]

Isamu Noguchi (1904 – 1988) was a sculptor, architect, craftsman and designer. He was born in Los Angeles to Yone Noguchi, a Japanese poet and Leonie Gilmour, an American poet and writer. In 1906, his mother took him to Japan to be near his father. Noguchi spent most of his childhood in Japan where he [...]

Tramway Gas Station (now the Palm Springs Visitor's Center)
Albert Frey (1903 – 1998) was a Swiss-born architect who had contributed in introducing a modern architecture style that came to be known as “desert modernism” around Palm Springs, California. Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Frey was trained as an architect at the Institute of Technology in Winterthur, [...]

Ant Chair
Arne Jacobsen (1902 – 1974) was a multi-talented Danish modern designer mostly known for his architectural work and furniture design. In addition, Jacobsen showed his talent in designing consumer goods, lamps and textiles. Jacobsen was originally trained as a mason, but later pursued his studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in [...]

Panton Chair
Verner Panton (1926 – 1998) was one of the most influential Danish modern designers of the 20th century. Over the course of his career, Panton successfully introduced ground breaking interior designs, including furniture, lighting, floor covering, wall covering, and textiles using a variety of materials and vibrant colors.
 
Just like many others designers of the [...]

Alexander Girard (1907-1993) was widely known for his textile design which introduced vibrant colors and playful patterns to mid century modern design.  Girard was born in New York City to an American mother and an Italian father, but raised in Florence, Italy. Girard studied architecture in Europe. He returned to the United States in 1932, and started [...]