One look at a colorfully sophisticated mobile by artist and writer Mark Leary and you can’t help but smile. Inspired by sculptor and artist Alexander Calder, they’re a modern-day take on an artform that uses motion, and a touch of whimsy, to mesmerize. We asked Mark for a look around his studio in Bend, OR — as well as his thoughts on why it is that some furnishings by Ray and Charles Eames always seem so well suited to bask beneath these captivating works of art. Read more
Yesterday would have been Charles Eames’ 105th birthday. Let’s celebrate the man who, together with his wife Ray, gave the 20th century much of its distinctive shape and helped set the foundation of modern design. Happy birthday, Charles — here’s six ways to you. Read more
Still smarting from the end of this season of Mad Men? (And can we make it through another year without being able to spot the mid-century modern pieces popping up in Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce?) While you wait, get your design fix from a few modern-day ad agencies that Don Draper — or perhaps his design-loving wife Megan — would be proud to call home.
Powder-coat finishes have been a part of metal components for some time at Herman Miller. Used on everything from furniture to kitchen utensils, it eliminates VOCs, eases renewal and recycling, and delivers a clean, incredibly even finish. Here’s six designs you’ll find coated in powder. Read more
Daniel Ostroff, the editor of EamesDesigns.com, emailed me this week. They’ve now got their Youtube channel up and running. I’ve posted the clip below of Ostroff talking about the Pavilion Ray and Charles did for the New York World Fair. The whole channel is a great resource.
We continue with our Eames Spotting series with this beautiful image from Italian Elle Decor via EamesDesigns.com. And we haven’t forgotten the fact that we’re looking at design through a green filter this week. It’s a little known fact that the Eames Aluminum Group chairs are made of 61 percent recycled materials and are 88 percent recyclable at the end of their life. This chair was originally designed as an outdoor piece for the Miller House but over the years has found itself into many a chic home office. We recently took the design back to its roots and at ICFF this year we re-launched the chair as an outdoor piece.
The story in Elle Decor that featured this image was titled “Eclecttico Sofisticato”:
“I don’t believe the word eclectic applies here, except perhaps to the desk, which contrasts with other things in the room. There are many things in the room with which the Eames chair has a strong affinity. It has an affinity with the ceiling with its exposed, unpainted wood beams that are there for support, not decoration. And in the cement floor which is bare of decoration or covering. The walls also appear to be the same. Next there is the electrical fixture, which it is left exposed, the conduit for the wire isn’t buried inside the wall, it’s left where it can be seen for what it is, along with the socket. Finally there is an iron machine wheel, leaning up against the wall, shaped the way it is to address the need for which it was created. Just like the chair.”
