Wandering aimlessly through the digital Marcel Breuer Archive one afternoon, we stumbled across a letter dated July 25th 1950 from Peter M Fraser, one of Breuer’s employees, to the Eames Office, enquiring about a lighting design by Charles and Ray that Breuer was interested in using in one of his architectural projects, and requesting…

…”a lighting design by Charles and Ray”???

Eames lighting???

Eames furniture Eames toys Eames exhibitions   Eames textiles Eames films Eames photography

But where is the lighting design in the portfolio of Charles and Ray Eames…?

Charles and Ray Eames: Often bright, but also illuminating......?

Qu’est-ce que le design?

What is design?

A question as old as the word itself, arguably older. But one with an answer?

In an attempt to approach one the Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris asked Charles Eames, Verner Panton, Roger Tallon, Joe Colombo and Fritz Eichler, Qu’est-ce que le design?……

A view of Verner Panton's installation at Qu'est-ce que le design Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris 1969 (Photo © and courtesy Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris)

In our post from the Barbican Art Gallery exhibition “The World of Charles and Ray Eames” we noted the disappointing

The World of Charles and Ray Eames @ Barbican Art Gallery London

“The World of Charles and Ray Eames” It is inherent in the nature of America’s most productive 20th century creatives

happy birthday charles eames rar vitra

Charles Eames is arguably the best known representative of post-war American design. His works are certainly the most commonly recognized

In our recent post “Blurred Lines or What if Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke designed furniture?” we took a stroll

Playboy Architecture 1953 1979 Deutsches Architekturmuseum Frankfurt am Main

It is a universally acknowledged fact that men only buy Playboy to read the articles. And we only visited the

Charles Eames US Patent Nr 2,969,831 Side Flexing Shock Mount

“In the development and designing of furniture one prevailing problem is the means for securing parts of the furniture together

Vitra acquire Artek Eames meets Aalto Leg Moulding

At Design Miami Basel 2013 one of the more impressive presentations was without question the collection of Alvar Aalto furniture

We know what you’re thinking, lost furniture designs from Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames. ??? Yup. Two of the most

The solid wood bending process developed by Michael Thonet, and still practicsed today.

At the risk of upsetting furniture historians, wood is probably the longest serving material in furniture design. It is also

design for use usa slinky richard t james

“Wooden spoon for pickled vegetables by John F. Kennedy” ? ? ? John F. Kennedy. Green Mountain Woodcrafters, Vermont. And

Following our visits to the Bauhaus University Weimar, Fachhochschule Potsdam, Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee and  Universität der Künste Berlin the final stage

August 20th marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Finnish architect/designer Eero Saarinen. Eero Saarinen had – in all

It may not be the most universally recognised example of either Charles Eames‘ nor Eero Saarinen‘s canon however their 1940

Zeeland, Michigan, 1969 Ten years ago Charles and Ray Eames revolutionised the world of chair design with their “aluminium Chair”

It all started with “boutique” hotels. which, if one is brutally honest, were simply small hotels. Or guest houses as

Hang it All by Charles and Ray Eames through Vitra... an object which could jave been developed to an Eames lamp.....?

In the world of designer furniture there are few designers for who “home” and “family” played such a central role

Today is World Usability Day. We do admit to be being more than a touch sceptical about the motivations that

On 03.11.1989 the Vitra Design Museum opened. On 09.11.1989 the Berlin Wall “fell”. Coincidence? Almost certainly. But while the Vitra

In the past week three independent events have occurred which fuse together in one important tale. Firstly, while visiting a

In these pages we have often described the dangers and problems associated with non-licensed copies of design classics. And now

On a recent trip we discovered a genuine Herman Miller Eames fibreglass chair bench at an airport. Being a relatively

If we’re honest we’ve never understood TED … and probably never will. Which is cool. And regradless of, and in

As a Europe-wide active business we at smow take Europe very seriously. We must, it is our home. And naturally