The Eames

For more than four decades, American designers Charles and Ray Eames shaped nearly every facet of American life. Together, the husband-and-wife team created some of the most iconic furniture of the twentieth century. Although furniture is what they are most known for, they also applied their talents to architecture, photography, interiors, films, and exhibitions. Charles and Ray Eames rejected labels like "architect," "artist," and "designer." They were simply interested in creating beauty, form, and products.

Charles was very interested in exploring new technologies and materials for his designs. In 1940 he began experimenting with molded plywood. He entered and won a furniture contest sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art with a molded plywood chair. A benefit of winning the contest was that several furniture manufactures considered producing the design, however they decided that the technology had proved inadequate. 

            Charles was not deterred by furniture manufactures misgivings. Together Charles and Ray began to design and produce equipment necessary to produce molded plywood in their small apartment in San Francisco. They built a mold press with scrap wood, a bicycle pump, and metal from a scrapyard. Their design would successfully create a molded plywood chair. They received and fulfilled a contract from the U.S. Navy to develop leg splints and aircraft parts. The endorsement of the Navy gave the Eames manufacturing ideas the backing they needed. This technology allowed the Eames to create lightweight, mass-produced, un-upholstered chairs that were fluid in form. It allowed designs to be sculptural and organic, allowing the Eames to create shapes in furniture never manufactured.

            The Eames started their own business, called Studio 901, and began creating domestic furniture. Their plywood chairs were marketed as affordable, multifunctional, and suitable for all modern households. They became so popular that it became a cultural icon. Known as the ECW (Eames Chair Wood) model, this chair is still in production today, and has exerted a profound and lasting impact on twentieth-century furniture design in America.

The Eames expanded their designs to include dining chairs, tables, and storage units. Their experimental approach to materials continued through the subsequent decades with the use of molded fiberglass for a series of inexpensive shell chairs, a collapsible sofa, an upholstered, molded lounge chair, a range of aluminum-framed furniture, and many other innovative designs. The furniture designs of the Eames were quickly adopted for both domestic and commercial use, and many of these extremely popular items are still in production today.