The Eames

I like the idea of the design flowing from the learning and knowing who they were serving. In Charles’ words “being a good host to their guest.” The search fro the chair design was the beginning of the Eames design process, the process of learning by doing. Honest and simple struck a chord with the Herman Miller furniture and together they became a success story of the post-war era. Providing much of the furniture for upper middle class moving to suburbia and served a pent up demand, of society wanting to re-enter and to splurge and enjoy life — enter Eames furniture! I wonder if there will be a similar resurgence in life after Pandemic and what companies will experience analogous blossoming to Eames furniture. I also appreciate how the Eames family made their furniture accessible to more people. Also very interesting to think about the working relationship between who gets credit for the work — I hope that Ray Eames got the amount of credit she deserves and I also wonder how different things would go now. Unfortunately I imagine that people would still assume that Ray & Charles were brothers rather than co-owners as a married couple. Ray knew what was art and what was not. Makes me think of how all skills are so crucial in a team & a diversity of skillsets and of perspectives on the world.

I really like the private home they built in Pacific Palisades that reflect their desire from privacy separate from their life as cultural icons. Looks like birth of the design of the modern house.

How to build a house that would not destroy the meadow and that would “maximize volume from minimal materials. When I think of designers and architects I think of them as choosing a career that dictates every aspect of their life. I don’t think it is a day job because it is nearly impossible (in the best way) to turn off seeing the world through a creative, optimistic, and problem-solving lens, which I think is very much demonstrated through the design of the Eames’ private family home.