Lucia eames demetrios biography definition

Imagine inheriting a legacy that helped define the look of the 20th century. Imagine owning a house known as one of the great masterpieces of Modernist architecture. Imagine being asked to keep alive the spirit of invention that engendered all of this.

This is the responsibility that befell Lucia Eames and her offspring on Aug. 21, 1988, the day her stepmother, Ray Eames, died, 10 years to the day after the death of Lucia’s father--Ray’s design partner and husband--Charles Eames.

Famous for their classically simple furniture--the familiar sling seating in airports; the once ubiquitous plastic, wire and bentwood chairs; the comfy, high-end, leather-and-wood lounge and ottoman--the Eameses bequeathed to their daughter innumerable valuable objects they had designed, along with a vast array of prototypes. They also left her a still-thriving relationship with manufacturers worldwide.

But that’s not all there was. Their archive included a million photographs and dozens of films--educational and documentary--displaying the Eameses’ experimental sensibility. And perhaps most important--and most vulnerable--was their Pacific Palisades house, which had been built for almost nothing in 1949 as part of Art & Architecture magazine’s Case Study experiment in developing new kinds of housing. Always a magnet for architectural enthusiasts, the two-story, two-building residence and studio were filled with a mix of high- and low-end treasures amassed by a pair of inveterate collectors.

Lucia Eames inherited the intellectual rights to everything produced by the Eames Office, which has remained in operation since it was established in the early 1940s. And as she took the helm of the family holdings, Lucia Eames and her five children agreed that they should maintain and preserve not only what existed materially, but also the prodigiously adventurous attitude of Charles and Ray.

“I grew up thinking this is natural,” Eames says of the philosophy of

When talking about the history of American modernist icon Eames, it is almost always followed by a mention of its manufacturer Vitra. Their relationship is both enduring and personal, rooting back to the ‘50s when founder Willi Fehlbaum discovered the furniture of Charles and Ray Eames and later, a long series of regular meetings that followed the initial encounter at the Eames Office in Los Angeles and at Vitra’s base in Basel. Since then, the two brands have worked closely to put out pieces that have changed the course of design across the world – from its plastic Shell Chair to the sought-after Lounge Chair.

Today, the Eames brand is succeeded by the founders’ grandchildren where Eames Demetrios oversees the Eames Office alongside his siblings. Their roles are important in “communicating, preserving and extending” the pioneering design legacy in both commercial and cultural contexts as well as finding new possibilities in furniture and architecture with their established blueprint at the heart of design. Meanwhile at Vitra, the Fehlbaum family continues to nurture a close-knit relationship with the third generation of the Eames family, with Nora Fehlbaum at the helm of the manufacturer. Together, they work to adapt Eames’ existing portfolio of designs to suit the evolving needs of users today.

This week, Demetrios joins Lucia Dewey Atwood of the Eames Foundation, Vitra CEO Nora Fehlbaum and other figureheads to look back at the storied history between the two brands in a dedicated “Vitra Session.” Through intimate conversations and a guided tour of the Eames Collection at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein Germany, the session sets out to educate on the various ideas and products that have contributed to the success of the brands, straight from those who know their history the best.

Ahead of the event, Demetrios takes a moment to sit down with Hypebeast in an exclusive interview, sharing a more personal look at his connection with Eames. Read on to f

American married couple of industrial designers

Charles Eames (Charles Eames, Jr) and Ray Eames (Ray-Bernice Eames) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of the Eames Office. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art, and film. Charles was the public face of the Eames Office, but Ray and Charles worked together as creative partners and employed a diverse creative staff. Among their most recognized designs is the Eames Lounge Chair and the Eames Dining Chair.

Background

Charles Eames secured an architecture scholarship at Washington University, but his devotion to the practices of Frank Lloyd Wright caused issues with his tutors and he left after just two years of study.

He met Ray Gayber at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1940. Charles arrived at the school on an industrial design fellowship as recommended by Eliel Saarinen, but soon became an instructor. Ray enrolled in various courses to expand upon her previous education in abstract painting in New York City under the guidance of Hans Hofmann. Charles entered into a furniture competition—with his “best friend” Eero Saarinen—hosted by the Museum of Modern Art. Eames and Saarinen's goal was to mold a single piece of plywood into a chair; the Organic Chair was born out of this attempt. The chair won first prize, but its form was unable to be successfully mass-produced. Eames and Saarinen considered it a failure, as the tooling for molding a chair from a single piece of wood had not yet been invented. Ray stepped in to help with the graphic design for their entry. Eames divorced his first wife Catherine Woermann, and he and Ray married in June 1941. Their honeymoon was a road trip to relocate to Los Angeles.

Their first home, after staying in a hotel for a few weeks, was Neut