She Dreams of Eames

A Carefully Curated Design Collection



About

Gallery

Contact

Quick history on the iconic Eames Fiberglass Armchair

The Eames Molded Plastic & Fiberglass Armchair is a fiberglass chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames, that appeared on the market in 1950. The chair was intentionally designed for the ‘International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design.’ This competition, sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art, was motivated by the urgent need in the post-war period for low-cost housing and furnishing designs adaptable to small housing units.

“Getting the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least”: with these words, Charles and Ray Eames described one of their main goals as furniture designers. Of all their designs, the Plastic Chairs come closest to achieving this ideal. They found that the use of plastic in furniture design has several advantages: it has pleasant tactile qualities, it has malleability and static strength combined with a high-degree of flexibility, and it makes feasible, via mass-production, their goal of low-cost furniture.