Design
August 19, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
On the way to my morning meeting at The Design Yard with the Herman Miller dot com team I couldn’t resist taking some shots. The building was designed by Jeff Scherer and having driven all over Holland, Zeeland and Grand Rapids for the last week I can see exactly where he was coming from with his design. The building, on a 40 acre rural site in Holland, holds architectural references to the rural landscape, barn architecture, and also the screened porch vernacular that informs so many of the homes I’ve seen in Holland (I got lost this morning so I saw A LOT of houses).
It was also nice to see the Girard silk screen for print that graces Lifework’s blog.
Balance, Design, Products
February 11, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
“We followed Alexander Girard where he led us because we knew he had impeccable taste and incredible astuteness about space, color and pattern. He provided…emotional attachment.” That was DJ De Pree, Herman Miller’s founder. His relationship with Girard began in 1952 when the designer was hired to head the fabric and textile division. Over the next 20 years Girard’s work with Herman Miller brought him together with designers like the Eameses and George Nelson. His colorful textiles incorporated geometric patterns and folk art-inspired images that gave life and vibrancy to the company’s furniture designs.
It seems fitting with Valentine’s Day fast approaching to take a look at his “Love Heart” (1972) and the “International Heart”(1967) Girard, who grew up in Florence, Italy, said “the whole world must know about itself…The colors vary, their languages vary, but their spirits and aspirations are interwoven into one incredible rich humanity.” The ‘International Heart’ with the word love in 16 languages certainly speaks to that sentiment. In the 1967 Herman Miller catalog the “International Heart” is referred to as “Love Heart” and “A tribute of Love and Friendship to your wife, sweetheart, or customer.” A nice broad sweep there! The price? $2.25 for a 15 1/2 inch square.
While, for me, the singular “Love Heart” is a testament to Girard’s extraordinary skill as a designer. He has taken a simple graphic, boldly red heart and graphically imposed the word love inside it.
And to finish here are some inspiring words from Girard: “The hope for good design lies in those designers who believe in what they do, and who will only do what they believe … contrary to hearsay, it is possible to make a living that way.” I think that rings true for all of us.
Design
February 4, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
The famous photograph of the Herman Miller designers and founder DJ De Pree has always intrigued me (from left top row: Robert Probst, DJ De Pree and Charles Eames. And seated, Alexander Girard, George Nelson and Ray Eames). I love the camaraderie captured. I’m sure it wasn’t always there! But for a split second a real joy was captured. I’ve always wondered who took the photograph? It’s a very interesting story. The official photographer that day was Judith Olausen (her image is above). She’s shot a lot for Herman Miller and I’ve been in email contact with her. Judith generously offered to scan the negs from the shoot. I’m excited to see these shots. I’ll post those all as soon as they come in!
According to our archivist, Linda Baron, the photographer who took the image of everyone laughing (below) is Melissa Brown. The story goes that there was a break in the shoot and they were all joking around when Melissa snapped this shot. I’m yet to track down Melissa (anyone got any leads there?)
