Wooden Doll No. 8
vitra > Styling
Alexander Girard originally created the Wooden Dolls (1952), a whimsical assortment of figures both joyful and grim, for his own home. Today they add a charming touch to any interior.
Miniatures Stuhl W1
vitra > Styling
Dutch designer Mart Stam produced the first prototypes for a cantilevered chair in 1926, using sawed-off gas pipes which he linked with elbow butting. The base frame, legs, seat and back-rest were created by a continuous loop bent at right angles.<br/> In 1927 Stam had his design produced by the L. & C. Arnold company, which also featured it in their sales program for a year. Unlike the prototype, the Arnold chair was made from a single piece of tubular steel with a diameter of just 20 mm, and with walls 2 mm thick. The bends in the tube had to be reinforced with solid iron rods, and thus lacked any springiness. The chair was painted black or grey, and, with its covering of rubber or coarse fabric, had a rather unassuming appearance.
Miniatures Aluminium Chair
vitra > Styling
The furniture making up the indoor-outdoor group goes back to an idea by Alexander Girard and Eero Saarinen, who were looking for furnishings to harmonize with the house they had just completed for Irvin Miller. Girard, one of whose interests as an architect was landscape gardening, complained that though there was a good choice of furniture for interiors, there was nothing to grace attractive patios – and no decent garden furniture. <br/><br/>Charles Eames became preoccupied with this problem until one day during a flight he came up with the idea of an aluminium frame construction combined with a material »seat«. He wanted to develop a shape following the natural lines of the body, not however as a hard shell, but as a resilient length of material stretched between two supports which trace the body's natural form. A narrow plastic strip extending the length of the material acts as reinforcement. The material is held in place by insertion into slits on the frame's outer edge. <br/><br/>Experiments with different covering materials later resulted in an upholstered sandwich construction consisting of two layers of »Nauga hide« with a thin filling of vinyl-foam and vinylwadding stitched at intervals of 1 7/8 inches using a high-frequency welding technique. Originally conceived for outside use, the first aluminium easy chairs to be mass produced, are today used solely in interiors.
Eames Plastic Armchair LAR
vitra > Chair
The Plastic Chairs by Charles and Ray Eames are among the most important designs in the history of furniture. Following their initial presentation at the 'Low Cost Furniture Design' competition organised by the Museum of Modern Art in 1948, the chairs were launched on the market in 1950 in an armchair version (A-shell) and as a simpler side chair (S-shell) – making them the first ever mass-produced chairs made of plastic. <br/><br/>With the debut of their Plastic Chairs, Charles and Ray Eames introduced a new furniture typology that has since spread around the globe: the multifunctional chair whose shell can be joined with a variety of different bases. Already in 1950, they presented a series of bases that enabled various sitting positions, including the low-slung LAR (Lounge Height Armchair Rod Base). <br/><br/>The LAR seems to have been one of Charles and Ray's favourite designs: it can be spotted in numerous vintage photographs of the legendary Eames House in Pacific Palisades – both indoors and out. This also reveals how lightweight the chair is, and how easily it can be moved around.<br/><br/>Thanks to its compact dimensions, the Plastic Chair LAR can also be used in smaller interiors, and the wide choice of colours for the shell, upholstery fabric, and base can be coordinated with diverse styles and settings. The steel wire base, which achieves maximum stability with minimum materials, acquired a charming nickname within just a short time on the market as a result of its unusual form: 'Cat's Cradle' – in reference to the children's string game.<br/><br/>Due to the organic shape of this classic armchair, the LAR is a striking solo piece, but it can also be paired with many types of sofas to create an appealing contrast. Especially in the version with full upholstery, the LAR offers long-lasting comfort, making this modestly sized armchair an excellent seating option for any living space.
AC 5 Work
vitra > Chair
The elegant office swivel chair AC 5 Work is equipped with a range of sophisticated functions that not only guarantee healthy seating comfort, but are also discreetly out of sight. This clean look enhances the graceful lines of AC 5 Work, whose distinctive design and uncompromising functionality make it a perfect seating option for well-appointed offices.<br/><br/>The sophisticated structure of the AC 5 Work backrest with three different zones – lumbar zone, sink-in zone and shoulder zone – provides optimum support for the neck and prevents muscle tension. Further ergonomic features of AC 5 Work include the FlowMotion mechanism with synchronised forward tilt and seat depth adjustment, as well as the innovative FreeFloat armrests.<br/>
Trays
vitra > Styling
The Trays (2018) are flat dishes made of plastic, developed as a set of three in carefully harmonised colours and sizes by Jasper Morrison in line with his 'super normal' design philosophy.
Miniatures Little Beaver
vitra > Styling
Cardboard furniture as an inexpensive and light alternative to traditional furniture already appears as early as the 1960s. Most designs aimed at lending the cardboard the necessary stability through insert and folding techniques. <br/><br/>Gehry chose a different method, which gave birth to sturdy cardboard furniture like carboard sculptures: »One day I look in my office at a pile of corrugated cardboard, the material I normally used to make architecture models, and I began to experiment with it, to stick it together and to cut it into shape with a hand saw and a penknife«. Following his »Easy Edges« from 1972, a series of extraordinarily sturdy cardboard furniture with a smooth surface, from the end of the 1970s onwards Gehry once again devoted his attention to the use of corrugated cardboard as a material for making furniture.<br/><br/>»Experimental Edges« was the name given to unusually expansive armchairs and easy chairs with a rough, ragged- looking surface. Strips of thick cardboard usually used as the filling for door leafs were sawn or cut vertically to the corrugation lines and fashioned into solid volumes of varying shapes. Using this method, single items or small series of furniture were created, which were both furniture sculptures and surprisingly comfortable chairs and sofas.
Robots 1:2
vitra > Styling
'Robots 1:2' is a catalogue presenting the toy robots of the R. F. Robot Collection at the Vitra Design Museum. Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman Emeritus of Vitra and founder of the Vitra Design Museum, describes the objects he has avidly collected over the decades as 'small kinetic sculptures of great originality'. Robots 1:2 showcases each piece on a scale of 1:2, with the largest robot in the collection determining the size of the book. The catalogue also includes images of the original packaging, whose illustrations depict the evolution of our futuristic fantasies and notions of a future that has long since been consigned to the past.
Akari 1A
vitra > Styling
The Akari Light Sculptures (1951) by Isamu Noguchi are a series of luminaires, handcrafted from traditional washi paper by Japanese artisans. ‘The harshness of electricity is thus transformed through the magic of paper back to the light of our origin – the sun.’ (Noguchi)
Grand Relax Ottoman
vitra > Pouf
Grand Relax by Antonio Citterio is a luxurious reclining lounge chair combining outstanding comfort with compact dimensions and a classic understated aesthetic.
Organic Chair
vitra > Chair
Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen created the Organic Chair in 1940 as part of their entry for 'Organic Design in Home Furnishings', a competition organised by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The small reading chair offers superb comfort, thanks to its comfortably upholstered, biomorphically shaped seat shell, and is also available in a version with a higher backrest: Organic Highback.
Slow Chair & Ottoman
vitra > Chair
The translucent sling cover of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s Slow Chair (2006) replaces the thick cushions of traditional armchairs, resulting in a generously proportioned armchair that is both lightweight and comfortable.
ID Visitor Soft
vitra > Chair
Antonio Citterio collaborated with Vitra to develop different versions of the ID Visitor chair, perfectly coordinated with the ID Chair Concept. Thanks to an understated design, they can be combined with almost any office chair and integrated in a wide variety of work environments.<br/><br/>The fully upholstered backrest of ID Visitor Soft is – like the seat cushion – also available in a more sustainable PU-free version. The chair can be covered in fabric or leather; the cantilever base is stackable.<br/>
Desk Clocks - Cone Clock
vitra > Styling
The many accessories created for the home by George Nelson include a variety of table clocks. Representing a selection of these classic designs, the Desk Clocks offer a refreshing alternative to conventional clocks. Equipped with high-quality quartz movements, the charm of these decorative timepieces is equalled by their precision.
Lobby Chair ES 108
vitra > Chair
Charles and Ray Eames originally designed the Lobby Chairs to furnish lobby areas in New York City's Time & Life Building. Like all models of the Lobby Chair, the conference chair ES 108 has luxuriant leather-covered cushions that offer excellent comfort. The upholstery covers are available in different types of leather and in a wide range of colours.
Grand Conference Highback
vitra > Chair
Grand Conference is a visitor and conference chair designed by Antonio Citterio that pairs extraordinary comfort with an impressive, dignified appearance. Together with Grand Executive, Grand Repos, Repos and Petit Repos, it forms a group that lends a unified look not only to meeting and conference spaces, but also to offices, lobbies, waiting zones and reception areas.
Eames Storage Unit ESU, Bookcase
vitra > Cabinet
The ESU Bookcase is four units high. Fitted with drawers and sliding doors, it provides plenty of practical storage space.
Suita Chaise Longue, pointed cushions
vitra > Sofa
Characterised by an elegant technological aesthetic, the Suita sofa family (2010/2019) by Antonio Citterio comprises many different components. These can be freely combined or also used as independent elements.
Vases Découpage, Boucle
vitra > Styling
The hand-dipped Vases Découpage (2020) by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are whimsical, poetic compositions of cylinders, slabs and bars fashioned from clay.
Metal Wall Relief International Love Heart
vitra > Styling
The Metal Wall Reliefs are ornamental examples of wall decorations created by Alexander Girard for various interior design projects, exhibitions, his own house or – in the case of the International Love Heart motif – for The Compound, a legendary restaurant in Santa Fe. In cooperation with the Girard family, Vitra has selected several of the original motifs for the reliefs, which are made from robust metal materials.
Herringbone Vessels - Vase plain
vitra > Styling
The Herringbone Vessels are created by repeatedly immersing ceramic bowls and vases in a coloured glaze. This process yields a pattern with an intrinsic logic, determined by the dipping angle as well as the shape and weight of the piece. As the dyeing process is performed entirely by hand, each bowl and vase in the Herringbone Collection is a unique object.
Miniatures Stool (Model B)
vitra > Styling
Charles and Ray Eames received a commission to design the interiors of three lobbies in the new Time & Life Building at Rockefeller Center in New York City. In addition to outfitting these spaces, this major project encompassed the development of the comfortably upholstered Lobby Chairs and a group of stools made out of solid walnut. <br/><br/>The lathe-turned stools, which were also conceived by Ray to be used as small occasional tables, have distinctive individual profiles. The sculptural and decorative character of the stools makes the most striking impression when they are grouped together.These pieces were inspired by an African stool that stood in the living room of the Eames House, as shown in a photographic series by Monique Jacot from the year 1959.
Repos
vitra > Chair
A synchronised mechanism, concealed beneath the upholstery of the elegant Repos armchair, adapts automatically to the user's weight guaranteeing optimum back support at every angle of inclination. Repos is available with fabric or leather covers, in a selection of colours.
Belleville Table (rectangular)
vitra > Table
Reminiscent of the classic bistro table, the Belleville Table by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec comes in several versions. Rectangular tables of different sizes can be used both indoors and outside, depending on the choice of materials. The Belleville Table is also available in a small, elegant bistro version with a round or square top.
Happy Bin RE Large
vitra > Styling
The new high-quality recycled material used to make Happy Bin RE stems from Germany's 'Yellow Bag' (Gelber Sack) collection of household waste, from which used plastic packaging is sorted, cleaned, shredded and upcycled back into injection-mouldable polypropylene. Due to its composition, the recycled material is interspersed with tiny specks of pigment. These subtle colour variations perfectly complement the slightly irregular shape of the wastepaper bin: Swiss designer Michel Charlot was inspired by a Hans Arp sculpture when creating Happy Bin RE, which brings an unusual organic design language to the typically austere office.
Miniatures Tip Ton
vitra > Styling
The most striking characteristic of Tip Ton, designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, is its forward-tilt function: the front edges of the runners are angled at nine degrees to allow the chair to tip slightly forward and remain in this position, thereby improving posture, blood circulation and concentration. <br/><br/>Originally developed for a school in the English town of Tipton, the Tip Ton chair has since become established as a universal seating option, thanks to its perfectly proportioned design.
Eames House Whale
vitra > Styling
A prominent feature of the Eames House by Charles and Ray Eames was a wooden whale measuring over two metres in length. Its smaller reproduction, the hand-painted Eames House Whale by Vitra, is crafted from ash wood.
High Tray
vitra > Styling
High Tray (2018) is Jasper Morrison's further development of an idea that began with Rotary Tray: giving the classic display bowl a contemporary twist.
Eames Elephant (small)
vitra > Styling
Charles and Ray Eames developed a toy elephant made of plywood in 1945; however, this piece never went into production. A scaled-down version, the Eames Elephant (small) made of robust plastic, can be used as a child's toy or as a decorative object, whose friendly face adds a charming note to any setting. <br/><br/>The Eames Elephant also comes in a larger version, in plastic or elegantly moulded plywood.
