Eames Inspiration

Eames Inspiration’ was a charity auction for the benefit Operation Design’s New York Educational, which “originated from the belief that great design creates a better environment for learning.” 20 Eames chairs were re-imagined by some of today’s most celebrated graffiti and street artists, and displayed in Barneys at Madison Avenue (NY).

On the beach, 1949

Courtesy: Time Life, 1949

Analogy of the shape

Charles and Ray Eames, Kite (1950)

Charles and Ray Eames, Toy (1950)

Deborah Sussman, Los Angeles Olimpyc Games (1984)

Eames Spotting on Madison Avenue

Charles and Ray had a personal collection of Eames Spotting: several examples of ADV where vendors of other products sell their own wares, by associating them visually with Eames products.

Eames spotting #2: Cos Store

Courtesy www.cosstores.com

Eames spotting #1: Bang & Olufsen

Courtesy www.bang-olufsen.com

Dots Pattern: Afteroom Coat Hanger

Courtesy: www.afteroom.com

Herman Miller, 1949

A display and sales space for the Herman Miller Furniture Company, designed by Charles Eames (1949). The shapes are simple, Eames relying only on the design of a wall and perfect technical execution.

Courtesy: Herman Miller and Eames Office

Posts (2008)

In 2008, the United States Postal Service honored the national significance of Eames legacy with a set of 16 stamps featuring examples of their work from every medium.

Letter to Henry Ford II

In 1954, Charles Eames wrote a letter to Henry Ford II, President of the Ford Motor Company and creator of one of the foremost icons of effective, affordable mass production.
After almost three decades of driving a Ford, Charles and Ray Eames needed to buy a new car, but were unable to find a model they liked to replace the old one.
All the new models, they felt, were too flashy. What they wanted was a nice, well-designed, anonymous car, much like their old one. The two designers were known for not replacing well-designed goods – whether it was their washing machine, a photo camera, or a car – just because the style had become outdated. Instead of innovating for the sake of innovation, as “more horrors are done in the name of innovation than any other”, they believed in the continuous development of a good idea into a good design. They believed in adapting to new technological standards, rather than to new tastes. Luckily, Mr. Ford read their letter, and shortly after contacting him, Charles and Ray Eames received the car they were looking for, assembled according to their wishes.

Courtesy vitra.com

Charles Eames with his Ford car in front of Strathmore House designed by Richard Neutra (1945).

Eamesian house: Rippon House (1971) by Gerry Rippon of Towell & Rippon.

A stunning example of eamesian house: Rippon House (1971) by Gerry Rippon of Towell & Rippon at Wahroonga (Sidney). Courtesy Michael Nicholson Photography.

Four little-big things we can learn from Eames House.

1) Floors: This may seem like an unexpected place to start, but I find that one of the things is an attention to what happens under your feet. Rugs and carpet aren’t the only thing you can do to floors, but they’re a common first step because they help with the sound insulation in any room. That softness and warm feeling that comes from having textiles in a room is something that instantly makes a room feel more lived-in. So one of the first things is find a way to introduce textiles that mean something to you. Whether that means laying down your grandmother’s rag-rug from the 50s or stitching together salvaged remnants from a thrift shop or making your own DIY floor cloth, adding something to the room that both absorbs sound and has special meaning to it is a great way to make a room feel special.

2) Lighting: it allows you to add a personal touch (like a favorite family lamp from home or something you made from found materials and a lamp kit) and it allows you to determine where and how light works in your room. So often homes and apartments are constructed with the simplest lighting available – a single overhead bulb or extra-bright fluorescent lighting. The cost-effectiveness of these choices is understandable, but having soft lighting at a lower height in the room does a lot to make a room feel cozy. So for that reason it's important create separate areas for reading, eating, relaxing, etc.

3) Storage: One of the biggest lessons we learned about a house feeling like a home has to do with functionality. So many design decisions are based on aesthetics, but it’s hard to get around to decisions that are based on style before you deal with all the basic necessities of storage. Eameses introduced us to the beauty of a well organized bookshelf and boxes storage also have an aesthetic and meaningful side, too. For some, storage can be simple and straight forward (L-bracket shelves and neat rows of items), but in other homes it can be a chance to showcase a love of handmade baskets, storage containers that have a family history (like boxes from a family farm or company) or items that connect to a trip or moment in your life that is meaningful. So whether your home storage is about leaving room to display things that matter most to you, or displaying the storage devices that mean something on their own, this simple step of giving everything a place of its own goes a long way in creating a room that feels beautiful.

4) Artwork: Artwork is too often written off as being elitist, expensive and frivolous. But from the earliest days, people have decorated their homes with all sorts of things that mean something to them. From found objects in nature (like collections of shells and pinecones) and family weavings to photographs, sculptures and paintings, art can be anything and everything you want it to be. And, most of all, it adds an element to your home that makes it feel unique to you, your interests and what you find beautiful. I personally find fairly empty walls to be soothing, but I find that artwork of any type (so long as it’s special) adds additional meaning to the architecture around you and highlights objects in a special way. If you’re looking to make your rooms come to life, make a short list of the things that you love and want to see every day. Your list could include a collection of books you’d like to display in a creative way, a family portrait, a branch you found in your yard or a doorstop you grew up with that becomes a tabletop sculpture – or anything else that makes you smile when you look at it. Give these items a special spot in your home (on a table, on a bookshelf, attached to the wall or housed in a display case or shadowbox) and they will take on a whole new meaning that gives people an instant sense of what you find beautiful when they walk in the door.

Deborah Sussman (1931-2014)

Deborah Sussman (1931–2014) was an American designer and a pioneer in the field of environmental graphic design. Her work incorporated graphic design into architectural and public spaces.
Sussman's career started in the offices of Charles and Ray Eames, where she worked as an office designer beginning around 1953. She spent about 10 years with the Eameses and became art director for the office, designing print materials, museum exhibits, films, and showrooms for furniture. She designed instructions for the card construction game "House of Cards" and traveled to Mexico to document folk culture for the Eameses' 1957 film "Day of the Dead".
Sussman started her own practice in 1968. She met architect and urban planner Paul Prejza in 1972 and married him that year. Sussman and Prejza formed the firm Sussman/Prejza & Co. in 1980. They specialized in urban branding and designed the look and architectural landscape of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The India Report: a lesson for the present.

The India Report was prepared by Charles Eames and Ray Eames in 1958.
The Government of India had asked for recommendations on a programme of training in design that would serve as an aid to the small industries; and that would resist the present rapid deterioration in design and quality of consumer goods. Charles and Ray visited India for three months at the invitation of the Government, with the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation, to explore the problems of design and to make recommendations for a training programme. The Eameses toured throughout India, making a careful study of the many centres of design, handicrafts and general manufacture. They talked with many persons, official and non-official, in the field of small and large industry, in design and architecture, and in education. The report emerged as a result of their study and discussions. (Photograph © Eames Office, LLC)

Eames spotting: Interstellar (2014)

Eames aluminum group management chairs in "Interstellar", a 2014 science-fiction adventure film directed by Christopher Nolan (courtesy Warner Bros.).

Narrative light (1950)

Probably the beginning of contemporary interior light design. 

Interior views show living room’s 17-foot-high ceiling, unadorned steel-truss construction, to which Charles and Ray Eames clamp lamps for varied lighting effects: for the first time in 20th century, the light re-finds a “narrative” value that had lost.
Ph: Courtesy Peter Stackpole -Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images (1950).