Design
February 28, 2013
By Amy Feezor
The first to explore the early life and work of designer Ray Eames, the “Ray Eames: A Century of Modern Design” exhibition opened last weekend at the California Museum in Sacramento, where Bernice Alexandra “Ray” Kaiser was born on December 15, 1912.
Featuring work produced prior to meeting husband Charles in 1941, the show includes more than 100 original works and rarely-seen artifacts from Eames Office and the Eames family’s collections. A new perspective on Ray’s 60-year career in the arts as well as her role as Charles’ equal partner in the Eames Office, the exhibit details the work of one of the 20th century’s most influential — yet largely unknown — artists.
A fitting celebration of Ray’s centennial, “Ray Eames: A Century of Modern Design” will remain open until February 23, 2014. Not currently in or near Sacramento? You can find several sneak peeks of the show now on the Facebook pages of the California Museum and the Eames Office.
Balance, Design
January 4, 2013
By Amy Feezor
Get a glimpse at what we’ve been reading during this first week of 2013.
1. The Ray Eames-focused article “Finding Ray” by Architect Magazine.
2. The cheerful pair of Eames Molded Plastic Armchairs welcoming visitors to the Dorsey Residence by Coates Design (above, in a photo by Andrew Waits and Roger Turk) at Contemporist.
3. Co.Design’s coverage of our Then X Ten poster project.
4. According to Apartment Therapy, 2012 was the “Year of the Home Office.”
5. Design Milk’s 34 creative desktop wallpapers.
6. The New York Times talks about our re-release of George Nelson’s Miniature Chests.
7. Treehugger’s review of the green workplace in 2012.
8. Dwell‘s Top 12 Homes of 2012.
9. Desire to Inspire’s favorite kitchens of the last year, part 1 and part 2.
10. “10 Iconic Modern Furnishings That Never Go Out of Style” via Decoist. (We agree.)
Photo: Andrew Waits and Roger Turk / Coates Design / Contemporist
Balance, Design, Trends
December 21, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Check out what we’ve been bookmarking over the week — one that was especially full of Ray Eames coverage, post her 100th birthday celebration. . .
1. How the house of Charles and Ray Eames created new thinking in modern living, via Inhabitat.
2. Apartment Therapy’s gift guide for a home office.
3. Dwell’s roundup of inspirational shipping-container homes.
4. This interview with Charles and Ray’s grandson Eames Demetrios by the Japan Times Online.
5. On a related note, Ray Eames’ elephants meet real elephants in this short film by Eames Demetrios, uploaded by the Eames Office on YouTube.
6. Silo 468, an interactive light installation built to commemorate Helsinki’s “World Design Capital” status, via Design Milk.
7. Lifehacker’s Most Popular Featured Workspaces of 2012.
8. “The Woman Behind the Eames Chair” at Legacy.com.
9. Useful advice on how to make the most of working from home from the New York Times.
10. The Eameses’ “Powers of 10” Re-Imagined by 40 Artists at Co.Design.
Photo: Francois Dischinger for Herman Miller / Nelson X-leg Tables, Eames Molded Plastic Chairs
Design
December 13, 2012
By Amy Feezor
As the 100th birthday of Ray Eames approaches, we continue to honor the life of the artist and innovator — this time through an interview with her niece, Midge Kaiser Martin, the daughter of Ray’s older brother, Maurice Kaiser. With warmth and fondness, Midge recounts a few personal memories of a relationship with an aunt who was inspiring, talented, loving, and, in Midge’s words, “magical.”
Read more
Design
December 11, 2012
By Amy Feezor
You’ve heard a lot about the Herman Miller Collection, and may have seen the remarkable photographs included in its website, catalog, and brochures. If you’ve looked closely enough, you may have even noticed that many images of the line’s Eames offerings are set in a familiar place: the Eames House in Pacific Palisades, California.
Last spring, while the original contents of Charles and Ray Eameses’ living room were on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Herman Miller Collection team had the rare opportunity to hold a photo shoot in the husband-and-wife team’s landmark home. The capper? They were also invited to explore Ray’s extensive, well-curated personal collection of objects to use as props. In celebration of Ray’s upcoming 100th birthday, we asked Jennie Maneri, Art Director, Collection and Retail, to walk us through a few of the shots and explain how the details Ray was know for helped bring the Collection to life. Read more
Design, Products
December 10, 2012
By Jamie Latendresse
This Saturday, December 15, marks the centennial of influential artist and designer Ray Eames. Together with her husband Charles, she created some of the most distinctive design, photography, and artwork of the 20th century. Celebrate the legacy of Ray’s distinctive style and joyful creativity with these Six Ways to Ray Eames.
*Opening on February 23, 2013, The California Museum in Sacramento presents “Ray Eames: A Century of Modern Design,” revealing “a new perspective on Ray’s 60-year career in the arts, along with her influence on American culture and significance in history as one of the 20th century’s most influential artists.”
Read more
Balance, Design
November 30, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Check out what we’ve been reading this week.
1. The tour of the Craver family home in Littleton, Colorado, at Apartment Therapy.
2. Co.Design’s coverage of our Why Design series (with particular emphasis on this interview with Sam Hecht and Kim Colin).
3. “Ray’s Displays: The Thoughtful Displays of Ray Eames” at the Archives of American Art blog.
4. House Beautiful‘s 10 Home Decorating Trends That Will Be Hot in 2013.
5. Modern homes. Snowy surroundings. Cozy interiors. All in Dwell’s “Winter Wonderland.”
6. This smart concept for a small space (430 feet, to be exact) at Home Designing.
7. The launch of the George Nelson Foundation’s new website, created by Hello Design, at georgenelsonfoundation.org.
8. The home of Danish designer Birgitte Rabens at the Style Files.
9. This pair of ancient Irish stone cottages linked by a modern glass stairway at Home Design Find.
10. The optical-illusion facade on the Academie MWD performance center in Belgium featured at Dezeen.
Balance, Design
October 30, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Artistic, innovative, and observant, Ray Eames was a saver and collector of things that inspired her — and needed those things to surround her as she worked, as evidenced by her desk at the Eames Office (above, shot in 1976). Get a glimpse at several spaces that take a page out of Ray’s book and showcase the many items that motivate their occupants during the workday. Read more
Design, Products
October 11, 2012
By Amy Feezor
To celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Ray Eames, we’re offering a Select Edition of the Eames Wire Base Low Table for a limited time in colors Ray would have appreciated: cobalt blue, red-orange, and yellow-gold. A small, low table of elegant proportions, the classic design is endlessly adaptable — use it alone to support everything from plants to display pieces to laptops, stack a few bedside or next to a sofa as a side table, or group several together to form a coffee table or an even larger surface. Need some inspiration? Here’s a look at how homes and workspaces across the country incorporate the timeless and flexible Eames design. Read more
Balance, Design, Products
September 21, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Here’s what we’ve been reading all week long.
1. The new studio of Don Chadwick, the subject of the latest installment in our “Why Design” series, at donchadwick.com.
2. 10 of the best at the London Design Festival 2012 according to The Guardian.
3. Yves Béhar speaking to Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs at the 100% Design event, also in London.
4. This exploration of mid-century modern design at the library at the University of Colorado Boulder.
5. “The Rise of Coworking Office Spaces” from Harvard Business Review.
6. A look inside the always-hip ACE Hotel Portland at Thisispaper.
7. Liking how this home in Sydney, Australia, by CplusC architects spotlights the Eames Elliptical Table (via Habitus Living).
8. The Ochre Barn by Carl Turner Architects in Norfolk, England, at Inhabitat.
9. “50 Designers Shaping the Future,” including our own Executive Creative Director Ben Watson, from Co.Design.
10. Get a glimpse of our limited-edition Eames Wire Base Low Tables in honor of the 100th anniversary of Ray Eames’ birth at Design Milk.