The Kid Should See This

Making Eames fiberglass shell chairs

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Arguably one of the 20th century’s most beloved designs, the Eames Shell Chair has wormed its way into our collective consciousness to become both a coveted piece of design history and, quite simply, a beautiful, accessible design that is exemplary of the Eameses’ desire to make β€œthe best for the most for the least.”

Charles and Ray Eames are icons in the design world. Their modern work in film, graphic design, fine art, and architecture is still celebrated today, and their furniture designs are still produced. Though production methods have changed since the original shell chairs were created, this 1970 Eames film for manufacturer Herman Miller, The Fiberglass Chairs: Something of how they get the way they are, showcases the work they put into their pieces.

Herman Miller also shared ‘Shell Shorts’ of how they’re made in 2014:


Related reading: The history of the Eames Molded Plastic Chairs.

Watch more Eames short films on this site, including Mathematica – A World of Numbers… and Beyond, The Solar Do-Nothing Machine, Tops, and the classic Powers of Ten. Then watch more videos about how things are made.

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Tops (1969) by Charles and Ray Eames

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Topology, a 1961 Eames film for IBM’s Mathematica Exhibit

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The Solar Do-Nothing Machine by Charles and Ray Eames

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The Ring of Truth: Noodles & the principle of halving

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The Hidden Chairs

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The Gravity Stool: Manipulating magnetism to shape furniture

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Symmetry, an Eames animated short for the 1961 Mathematica exhibition

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Something About Functions, an Eames Mathematica short film

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Sea Chair: Making a stool from plastic debris found in the open sea

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