We've always been aware of not even attempting to solve the problem of how people should sit, but of rather arbitrarily accepting the way people do sit and of operating within that framework.
Charles Eames
Shortly after getting married in June 1941, Charles and Ray Eames drove across the country to California to begin a decades-long residence in Los Angeles. Upon moving into the newly built Strathmore Apartments—designed by new acquaintance Richard Neutra—they set up the Eames Office, where they would experiment and hone their craft. Quite the honeymoon! Their experiments in this apartment included endless hands-on, trial-and-error tests using a tool they invented, the “Kazam!” machine,” which would be the precursor to their pioneering molded plywood process.
A partnership with Evans Products, a design produced for wartime efforts, and a move to a new Venice location followed. In 1946, George Nelson and D.J. De Pree visited Charles’ Museum of Modern Art, New York exhibition featuring this molded plywood furniture and a deal was struck for Herman Miller to start selling Eames designs—and a few years later, the rights to the entire line, including a deal with the design duo. The Eameses would go on to design several more iconic products for Herman Miller, with Charles and Ray guiding the approach to design, materials, marketing, manufacturing, and quality control. The popularity of Eames designs around the world pushed Herman Miller to become a global company.
How do you design a chair for acceptance by another person? Not by thinking of what the other guy wants, but by coming to terms with the fact that we're a hell of a lot more like each other than we're different. What you try to do [as a designer] is satisfy your real gut instinct and work your way through your idiosyncrasies; make the first step of understanding without trying to introduce our personalities.
Charles Eames
The vast influence of Charles and Ray Eames is immeasurable; Responding to the burgeoning attitudes and landscapes of mid-century America, they created an utterly unique and novel design world, born from their curiosity, industriousness, optimism and humanistic impulses.
In 1940, the Charles and Ray met at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where Charles was collaborating with Eero Saarinen on furniture designs and Ray was studying painting. The two married in 1941 and moved to Los Angeles soon after, establishing their highly influential design firm that, with the help of other talented designers they brought in, would re-shape modern design. Early explorations in plywood and mass-producing sturdy, livable and charming furniture brought them success and allowed them to extend their efforts into more diverse fields such as education, textiles, filmmaking, curating, architecture and industrial design.
The Eames Office operated for over four decades, exerting an enormous influence on modern and contemporary design through their limitless vision of the human spirit. Charles passed away in 1978 and Ray died ten years later to the day. Their contribution to the American ethos continues to inspire and influence contemporary design today.
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