Classic Trays
The Classic Trays (1945-74) by Alexander Girard and Charles and Ray Eames
come in three sizes. Made of laminated plywood, they feature motifs from the
rich store of images created by these legendary designers.
About Designer | |
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Charles & Ray Eames |
Charles Eames, born 1907 in St. Louis, Missouri,
studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis and designed a
number of houses and churches in collaboration with various partners. His work
caught the attention of Eliel Saarinen, who offered him a fellowship at the
Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan in 1938. In 1940, he and Eero Saarinen won first prize in the 'Industrial Design Competition
for the 21 American Republics' - also known as 'Organic Design in Home
Furnishings' – organised by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Eames
was appointed head of the industrial design department at Cranbrook the same
year. Ray Eames was born as Bernice Alexandra Kaiser in
Sacramento, California, in 1912. She attended Bennett College in Millbrook, New
York, and continued her studies in painting at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine
Arts until 1937. During this year she exhibited her work in the first
exhibition of the American Abstract Artists group at the Riverside Museum in
New York. She matriculated at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1940. Charles and Ray Eames married in 1941 and moved to Los
Angeles, where together they began experimenting with techniques for the
three-dimensional moulding of plywood. The aim was to create comfortable chairs
that were affordable. However, the war interrupted their work, and Charles and
Ray turned instead to the design and development of leg splints made of
plywood, which were manufactured in large quantities for the US Navy. In 1946,
they exhibited their experimental furniture designs at MoMA. The Herman Miller
Company in Zeeland, Michigan, subsequently began to produce Eames furniture.
Charles and Ray participated in the 1948 'Low-Cost Furniture' competition at
MoMA, and they built the Eames House in 1949 as their own private residence. In
addition to their work in furniture design and architecture, they also regularly
turned their hand to graphic design, photography, film and exhibition design.
In 1957 Vitra signed a licence agreement with Herman
Miller and began producing the Eameses' designs for Europe and the Middle East.
Charles and Ray Eames have had a profound and lasting influence on Vitra. It
was the encounter with their work that spurred the company's beginnings as a
furniture manufacturer. Yet it is not just the products of Charles and Ray
Eames that have left a mark on Vitra. Even today, their design philosophy
continues to significantly shape the company's values, orientation and goals.
This seminal influence is most clearly reflected in
the question that is always asked at Vitra when making important design
decisions: What would Charles and Ray say? Over the course of their shared
lifetime, the couple gave their answers during trips to Europe and return
visits to California. Since the death of Charles (1978) and Ray (1988), Vitra
has remained in close contact with the Eames family, which now runs the Eames
Office, regarding all matters concerning the preservation, further development
and production of Eames designs. Vitra is the sole authorised manufacturer of
Eames products for Europe and the Middle East. When you own an Eames product
made by Vitra, you know it is an original. |
Alexander Girard |
Born in 1907 in New York City, Alexander Girard was
one of the leading figures of postwar American design, along with his close
friends and colleagues George Nelson and Charles &
Ray Eames. The primary focus of his wide-ranging oeuvre was
textile design. Girard created numerous fabrics for the Herman Miller Company,
favouring abstract forms and geometric patterns in a wide variety of colour
compositions. Many of his upholstery fabrics remain as timely and vital as ever
and are still manufactured and utilised by Vitra today. Having originally studied architecture, Girard made a
name for himself over his long career in the fields of furniture, exhibition,
interior and graphic design. Moreover, he was one of the world's most important
collectors of folk art. The objects and textiles acquired by Girard on his
extensive travels provided him with a rich source of inspiration and ideas.
When Rolf Fehlbaum, the son of Vitra's founding family, first visited Alexander
Girard and his wife Susan at their Santa Fe home in 1960, Fehlbaum wrote a
letter to his parents telling of the deep impression it had made on him, and
describing it as the most fascinating house he had ever seen in the United
States. Vitra and the Vitra Design Museum have devoted
themselves to the reappraisal and revival of Alexander Girard's work over the
past several years. The growing Girard collection in Vitra's product portfolio
includes his painted Wooden Dolls, the Environmental Enrichment Panels and
various furniture pieces and objects, along with his distinctive fabric designs.
After Alexander Girard's death in 1993, his heirs
donated the Girard archive (comprising hundreds of drawings, prototypes and
samples) to the Vitra Design Museum. In 2016/17, the museum mounted the
exhibition 'Alexander Girard: A Designer's Universe'. |