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 [...]

Most of you have probably seen “Powers of Ten,” a nine-minute film made by Charles and Ray Eames for IBM. According to the Eames Office, over ten million people have seen this film (you are probably one of them) and the number of viewers continue to increase today. I have “The Films of Charles & [...]

The colorful, eye-catching Eames Hang-It-All has been a favorite accessory for many mid century modern enthusiasts. In the mid-1940s, Charles and Ray Eames began designing toys and furniture for children, including the Hang-It-All (1953). It was originally made for Tigrett Enterprises’ Playhouse Division. Herman Miller reissued it in 1994. The traditional Hang-It-All comes in white, [...]

The Eames House Blocks by House Industries will be available on June 1, 2010. When the blocks are stacked together, they replicate the Eames House (Case Study No.8 House) and its adjacent studio in Pacific Palisades, California. The individual blocks feature letters, numerals, and symbols from House Industries’ Eames Century Modern font collection. Each set [...]

Have you always wanted a Herman Miller Eames Molded Plastic Chair (not a fiberglass kind), but thought that the color choices were too limited? Compared to the vintage fiberglass ones (or Modernica Case Study Fiberglass Shell Chairs), there were only five color choices – black, white, light blue, lime yellow, red orange. Well, great news [...]

Smart Furniture Studio will host “The Gifted Eye of Charles Eames: A Portfolio of 100 Images”, a traveling exhibition of Charles Eames’ personal photography, published by the Eames Office and commissioned by Herman Miller.
The exhibition features 100 rare images chosen from archival images. The exhibition will run from February 4, 2010 to March 4, [...]

An Eames Primer by Eames Demetrios
If you are in Tulsa, Oklahoma area, be sure to join the Philbrook Museum of Art’s “3rd Thursday” speaker series event on January 21, 2010. This series of 3rd Thursday will be joined by Eames Demetrios, a filmmaker, director of The Eames Office, author of An Eames Primerand a member [...]

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 [...]

Eames Hang-It-All
A husband and wife team, Charles (1907 – 1978) and Ray (1912 – 1988) Eames are among the most influential designers of American design history. Together, they contributed in furniture design, architecture, film, art, exhibits, and graphic design.
 
Charles Eames studied architecture at Washington University for two years. Many sources claim that he was dismissed [...]

Sarrinen Tulip Table & Chairs – photo by m.bibelot
Eero Saarinen (1910 – 1961), a Finnish-born architect and furniture designer, studied sculpture in France and architecture at Yale University. He came to the United States in 1923 at age thirteen with his father, Eliel Saarinen. His father was a prominent Finnish architect who came to teach [...]