Upon its initial conception in 1945 Ray and Charles Eames’ wanted to produce their now iconic Elephant in plywood. However, due to technological restraints at the time it was never produced in this material. The Elephant was also originally intended to be a child’s toy, but is just at home in a modern living room as a decorative design piece; it also doubles up as a handy occasional stool and footrest.
The wider Elephant family includes a range of object made from different materials, and in different sizes.
American husband and wife design duo Charles and Ray Eames have had a profound influence on the visual character of American life, producing original work within the fields of architecture, furniture design, industrial design, manufacturing and the photographic arts.
The Eames’ first partnered with Vitra in 1957 to produce some of the most iconic pieces of furniture in the history of interior design. Today Vitra continues to reflect their philosophy on design and functionality, best understood through Charles’ own words: “Recognising the need is the primary condition for the design”.
