Collection Story
Origin
The Eames relationship with Herman Miller began with molded plywood. Early in the 1940s Charles and Ray Eames were commissioned by the US Navy to develop lightweight molded plywood leg splints. In 1946 Herman Miller introduced the Eames Molded Plywood Chair, Molded Plywood Lounge Chair, Folding Screen and Coffee Table, the same year New York's Museum of Modern Art staged "New Furniture Designed by Charles Eames"; in 1947 Herman Miller gained exclusive market and distribution rights to the molded plywood products.
Design Language
Lean and modern, playful and functional – Herman Miller calls it the "Eames look". Each project began with the same questions: does it intrigue us, can we make it better, will it be "serious fun"? One material led to the next: molded plywood led to molded fiberglass seating (1950), and later to cast aluminium and leather. "The details are not details," Charles said. "They make the product."
Key Pieces
- Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman (introduced 1956)
- Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair LCW and Dining Chair DCW (1946)
- Eames Molded Plastic / Fiberglass chairs, Eames Storage Units and Wire Base Low Table (1950)
- Eames Sofa Compact (1954), Eames Executive Chairs (1960) and Eames Chaise (1968)
- Eames Task Chairs (shell chair on a five-star base), Eames Coffee Table (1949, in production from 2017), Eames Molded Plywood Coffee Table (1946) and Eames Tables (1957-1964)
- Eames Hang-It-All (1953), Eames Aluminum Group, Eames Turned Stools, Eames Soft Pad Group