When Eames Demetrios talks about his grandparents, he loves to quote his grandfather, the iconic furniture designer, Charles Eames. “Charles liked to say the role of the designer is basically that of a good host,” he recalled in an interview with The Examiner. “A good host anticipates the needs of the guests.”
Although the husband and wife team of Charles and Ray Eames created most of their designs nearly 50 years ago, they remain among the most stylish and functional pieces of furniture in American history.
| Resources: |
| www.eamesoffice.com |
| www.danieldonnelly.com |
| www.roomandboard.com |
| www.hermanmiller.com |
| www.eamesdemetrios.com6 |
The Eames capitalized on post World War II ingenuity and partnered with the U.S. government to mass produce high-end furniture. They were pioneers in the use of fiberglass, plastic resin and wire mesh.
Michigan based Herman Miller, the same company that the Eameses designed for 50 years ago, continues to produce original Eames furniture. Locally it is found at Room and Board on 14th Street, Design Within Reach in Georgetown and boutique outlets like Daniel Donnelly Modern Design Studios in Old Town Alexandria.
“They wanted to design things in which the act of mass production would make the object better,” said Demetrios, whose mother, Lucia, was Charles Eames’ only child. He said he was named Eames as a way to keep the family name going.
Demetrios was in Washington to talk about his grandparents’ legacy. The Eames Office, the same company his grandparents created, continues to oversee the production of Charles and Ray’s designs.
“Our mission is dedicated to communicating, preserving and extending Charles and Ray’s work,” Demetrios said. “The basic idea is that they had a really beautiful design philosophy and way of looking at the world.”
For instance, “they decided to design a chair for how people really sit, instead of how they should sit. So they wanted to support how you really sit and make that better,” he said.
The Eames lounge, hugs and supports the body as you slouch in your chair. The Eames Molded Plywood Chair supports perfectly.
“He [Charles] was ergonomic before there was the word ‘ergonomic’,” said Daniel Donnelly of Daniel Donnelly Modern Design Studio. The Eames Lounge is his store’s biggest seller.
“My friend Ojah from Jamaica decided to do his entire house in “all Eames” in 1991. I have been copying him since,” Donnelly said.
When they developed the Eames Lounge they unveiled it on the Arlene Frances television show.
“The chair that they were designing is the chair that Herman Miller makes tomorrow,” Demetrios said. He dismisses what he calls the “fine art idea of authenticity.”
“The originals are being made every day,” he said. “What Charles and Ray were trying to do is create an experience that can be created again and again in an authentic way. It’s a different concept. It’s not about just creating one object; it’s about creating a way to create that object again and again; the quality, the beauty, the consistency.”
Charles died in 1978 and Ray a decade later. Their last production, the Eames sofa, was released in 1984.
“Think about the idea of being good hosts,” Demetrios said. “That’s a universal and timeless idea. It’s in every cultural of the world. I go to a lot of different places and it’s the host’s responsibility to make sure the guests are taken care of.”
