Work and Rest

Heather sent over this link to Lizzie Garrett‘s Design Watcher blog and her “down time” post. Yes, that is Charles Eames reclining on a molded plastic chair at Santa Monica beach.

More Eames Chairs, More Color, More Choice

You asked for it, you got it. The ever-increasing demand for all things Eames doesn’t fall on deaf ears at Herman Miller. We’ve worked closely with Eames Demetrios and, as the only licensed manufacturer of Eames’ designs in North America, we’re thrilled to announce five new colors and two new bases for the Eames molded plastic chairs.

The new colors are aqua sky, java, wafer, greystone, and sparrow and they join existing colors black, red, white, light blue, and lime green. Two bases, the stacking/ganging base and the 4-legged base, will join the existing wire base, rocker base and the recently reintroduced dowel leg base.

The Eameses designed the armchair in 1948 for the International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture organized by the New York Museum of Modern Art. Herman Miller then introduced the armchair, along with a companion side chair, in 1950. Their popularity continued to grow and they became the first mass-produced plastic chair. We reintroduced the Eames molded plastic chairs in 2001 and then dramatically increased the offering in 2005 as part of its ‘Get Real’ campaign for authenticity.

The chair shells, once made of fiberglass-infused plastic, are now produced in environmentally-friendly polypropylene, a decision made by the company almost a decade ago to reinforce its commitment to sustainability. In addition, the chairs now are made in the United States to reduce their manufacturing carbon footprint.