I first got to know Charles and Ray Eames during my first year of Design school. Each couple of students was given a name of a famous designer and was required to create a tribute to his work. My friend Roni and I received the Eames, a couple of American designers who worked during the period following World War II and became known especially thanks to their contribution to the development of the mass-production and practical approach in the field of design. This approach seems trivial today, in the age of Ikea, but back in those days it was conceived as revolutionary.
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| Charles and Ray Eams |
Our tribute to them was creating a small model of their office which expresses more than anything their rich world and their love for design, that started with creating orthopedic molds for the army and continued especially in the field of furniture, but also took place in every aspect in their life. With every chair or miniature chest I created I fell more and more in love.
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| The actual Eames office |
Apart from their contribution to the history of design by developing special methods for molding plywood and working with plastic and fiberglass, other things that make Charles and Ray’s designs so unique are the lovable shapes and colors they gave their creations. These, apparently, are the result of their work together – Charles, the practical genius and Ray, the color loving artist.
Eames furniture is considered as designs classics, and is continued to be sold today as well, without seeming less up-to-date or relevant.
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| Eames design |
One of the things that makes the Eames my favorite designers is their total and over-all approach to design. They didn’t only design furniture, but they also planned and designed their own home, created graphic works and prints, designed numerous toys and machines and even directed and produced short films.
For years a fantasized about an Eames rocking chair named RAR, which consists of a plastic seat over a metal base with wooden rockers. Due to it’s high price tag it remained a dream for years the closest I got to the chair was when I went to “visit” it at the store. For my last birthday, a few of my friends and family joined and bought me the lovely chair, in a pretty blue. Since then, I am excited to see it every time I enter my house.
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| My blue RAR |
Apart from this chair, one of my favorite items is the Hose of Cards, a game which consists of playing card with slots cut into them, which enable you to build all sorts of forms with them. The cards are decorated with beautiful images from everyday life: colored pencils, spools of sewing string, dolls etc. I once read the Charles said that they chose these images in order to emphasize the beauty in everyday things around us. When I moved in to my studio a year ago I framed some of the cards and hang them next to my desk. They remind me that beauty is all around me and I only need to look for it. For me, there is no greater inspiration.
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| House of Cards |
Eames furniture is sold world wide by Vitra, but if you happen to visit MoMA in New York make sure to go up to the part which is dedicated to design and see many of their creations on exhibition.
