Charles and Ray Eames

We believe it is important to be familiar with at least a little of the history behind the original designers from whom we have taken inspiration for our furniture. We say this, not from an academic view but to ferment a feeling of appreciation for and understanding of the creative genius and life that was poured into these iconic designs.

With this in mind, we present you with a brief history of Charles and Ray Eames to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for providing the inspiration that has resulted in our collection. They dedicated their lives to good design, bringing comfort, functionality and stylish aesthetics into our homes and lives. For their remarkable contribution to modern design, we thank them dearly and hope that you will too.

The nephew of architect William S Eames, Charles was born in 1907 in St Louis, Missouri. Whilst attending high school as a 14 year old, he began working as a part time labourer for the Laclede Steel Company. Here, he quickly amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience in the related disciplines of engineering, architecture and drawing. This was to form the bedrock and catalyst of his future calling. Indeed, it was during this period that the embryonic idea of a career in architecture first emerged.

Having been awarded a scholarship, Charles went on to study architecture at Washington University but left after two years. During his time there he fervently expressed his favour of Frank Lloyd Wright and other modern architects.

According to some sources, his views were considered too progressive and too radical and were ultimately responsible for his dismissal. Other sources claim that whilst his passionate support of modern architects was undoubtedly evident, his push against the prevailing boundaries of convention was not the primary cause of him being dismissed. Rather, they assert that because he was also employed as an architect by the firm Trueblood and Graf, the dual pressure of study and work took it’s toll in the form of sleep depravation. Consequently his studies suffered along with his academic performance.

Charles met his first wife, Catherine Woermann, whilst at the University and they married in 1929. In 1930, they had a daughter, Lucia and in the same year Charles established his own architectural firm in St Louis, partnering with Charles Gray and later, Walter Pauley.

The Finnish architect, Eliel Saarinen had a great influence on Charles Eames, inviting him to move to Michigan along with his wife and daughter where he resumed his formal study of architecture at Cranbrook Academy Of Art. Charles became friends with Eliel’s son Eero, whom he later went into partnership with.

Together with Eero Saarinen, Eames designed award-winning furniture for The Museum Of Modern Art in New York, scooping the competition for "Organic Design in Home Furnishings". Their creations featured a new technique of molding wood. Eames developed this further with his second wife, Ray. They utilized his innovations in many products made of molded plywood, including chairs, tables and other furniture pieces, like the famous Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Other, non-furniture products included splints and stretchers for the U.S. Navy during World War 11.

Charles divorced his first wife in 1941 and married Ray Kaiser, a colleague from Cranbrook. They relocated to Los Angeles, California where they lived and worked together for the remainder of their lives.

Towards the end of the 1940’s Ray and Charles Eames became involved in a case study program for Arts and Architecture Magazine, designing and building the radically refreshing Eames House. This monument to modern architecture was built on a cliff, enjoying a vista of the Pacific Ocean. Made of pre-fabricated steel parts, it’s construction took only days and it remains an ode to progressive architecture. In 2008 the US Postal Service honoured the designs of Charles and Ray Eames with the Eames stamp series in celebration and gratitude of their lives and work.

Born in Sacramento, California, she was an artist, designer and filmmaker. During her younger years she lived in a number of cities, moving to New York in 1933 to study abstract painting under Hans Hofmann,

In 1940 she enrolled at the Cranbrook Academy of Art where she met Charles Eames, marrying him a year later and moving to California. Together, Charles and Ray Eames, represented a formidable design partnership. Sharing a unique flair for innovative design, they were responsible for many classic design icons of the 20th century.

Ray Eames died in Los Angeles ten years to the day after Charles.