Eames Plastic Chair (DSW, DSX, DSR) Owners  

It's not difficult to explain.
I'm 58 and I've always seen Eames Fiberglass chairs - both arm and side versions since my childhood....they were introduced when I was very young.
I think it's the post war (WWII) mentality of casual, modern living that made these non-upholstered chairs attractive, coupled with the 'new' modern colors that were popular in those days.
They were easy to clean and they are comfortable it sit on. They were especially popular in public spaces, churches and schools. I don't remember seeing them in people's homes (I live in a much more traditional part of the country).
If you look through 1950's copies of "Interiors" magazine (check out the library), you'll see many public spaces have these fiberglass glasses as part of their seating.

Interesting
We all talk about the classics, but often overlook why we love them.
1: First heard of them after acquiring an Eames Plywood Dining chair and researching the Eames methods.
2: Curious - they looked like an ordinary school chair.
3: 2-3 years after acquiring my first Eames chair (above)
4: Purchased vintage off of craigslist.
5: above
6: Yes, absolutely. The chair is a classic for a number of reasons IMO. It's form is comfortable, but not excessive. The shape is simple and clean and unfussy. The form and comfort have allowed it to pass through trends and remain viable.
7: All of the above, and also the playful nature of the Eames work. The first plastic chair i bought was lemon yellow - a bright, cheerful color.
8: Its comfort, durability, and look. Its pretty simple.
9: The chair has such a simple design that it fit rather nicely with the rest of my furnishings. It started out as a desk chair, then moved to a different desk, and then to a dining chair.
10: While the chair is just an object, it also symbolizes a method of working and exploring that I find rather intiguing. I dont think of that every time I sit down, but the presence of the chair is certainly a reminder.
11: Simplicity and function. Things that are overly complicated become out of date, both in appearance and function. The chair just fits most people. And the form is unobtrusive enough to avoid being stuck to any trend. It's accessibility also permits the owner to be part of a perceived luxury class - Eames furniture is never perceived as "cheap", even though the plastic chairs often are inexpensive. And certainly the durable nature of the materials contributes to their longevity.
12: In addition to the above features the chair now has an almost magic cachet. It is undeniably an icon, and that fact makes it desirable. At the same time its widespread distribution has provided access at a very basic level. Most people have encountered this chair whether they know it or not - at gas stations, laundromats, schools etc. It has done the very neat trick of being at once a commodity and a commonality. It has made its way so far into the cultural lexicon as a basic element of furniture that one almost has a hard time imaginging life without it.
Hope this helps!

1. When and how did you...
1. When and how did you first hear about or were made aware of this product?
This product was introduced to me as a classic. I was around 19 years old. An older friend of mine opened a furniture store mixed with his own vintage finding and new Herman Miller, Knoll, Cassina, Modernica, Offi, BluDot etc.
2. What were your first impressions of the product?
I thought it was fun. While I appreciated my parents' knack for antiques, this seemed more in line with my young, unquenchable interest in creativity. A chair that I actually wanted to own?? That's a weird concept for a 19 year old boy.
3. When did you first acquire the product?
I was 19 or 20.
4. Did you purchase, inherit or receive the product?
My actual first MCM purchase was a set of six two tone Bertoia dining chairs with orange pads. At the time I had a 48" table and decided I didn't need the other two. I traded them to a friend for three Eames shell chairs.
5. If bought was the product brand new or second hand?
They were vintage circa 1964.
continued....

6. Do you regard the product...
6. Do you regard the product as a ?classic?? Why?
Yes, it was introduced to me that way.
7. What was it about the product that made you purchase it?
Please elaborate??.
The fella who made me aware of the Eames' told me about them with great enthusiasm. He was also a designer, and I was in school for print design. After looking at the Eames design book and seeing the breadth of the work I was convinced that CHarles and Ray were/are special. I wanted a by product of their process in my presence as inspiration.
8. What is your favourite aspect of the product? (e.g. aesthetics, function, cost etc.) Please elaborate??..
The simplicity and comfort. The initial thing that amazed me is that it was the first chair I knew of (and still) that you could rotate any number of bases on to change the aesthetic and function.
9. How does this product fit in with the rest of your furnishings? (in terms of aesthetics, design era, colour, material etc.) Please elaborate.......
Perfectly. How could it not?
10. Do you experience more from the product than just function? (e.g. empathy or meaning) Please explain why?
Yes, it serves as a reminder of the Eames' process and constant thirst to create.
11. Why do you feel the design of the product has lasted through so many aesthetic trends?
Because it's an honest design with the end user in mind with a modern aesthetic - too scaled back to ever be considered tacky or visually cumbersome. Not much you can say about this chair unless it's just too much like a school chair... That is the main complaint people have. But I don't know if I really see that as a negative. I really like how the Eames' more playful designs remind me of a more innocent age... it just depends on how you see it. That's exactly one of the things I love about their fiberglass and plywood chairs.
12. Please try to sum up the aspects of the design which have caused the product to continue to be desirable to this day.
It's modern without being cliche or trendy. It is/was offered in almost any color or base option you could wish for. It's comfortable. It's easy to use. It has passed the time test and has become a classic. Now it probably will never lose it's social, historical, & sentimental value to those who put great importance on art and design. And because of that, they even attract those who just wish to appear that way as well. That covers a large population of the modern world.

Thanks for info on Eames chair
Thans so much for your time and info, much apreciated.
Can you please elaborate on a date (year) to when you first heard about the product and first aqcuired the product?
Many thanks

I suppose for me I was around...
I suppose for me I was around 19 or 20 .... 2000 or 2001.

2004
Or maybe it was 2003.

DSW DSR DSX Images
.

Read all the way down because I have a question (1/2)
Because this post is too long, it is now divided into two posts.
Almost two years after the first post, this contribution has probably no meaning at all. Yet, I'll answer all questions before I ask one of my own. Since apparently DSX involving research was done, someone may just know something!
1/2
1. In the year 2000, I had to wait in some waiting room and there is was.
2. I didn't even really look at it, so my first impression was 'this is a great chair to sit in', then I looked closer and loved its shape. I didn't investigate any further at that time.
3. So after not seeing or noticing it for a long time, it wasn't until 2007 that I found out more about this chair and its history. I got my first one that same year.
4. Bought it through ebay. First a set of two, later an other one, and in 2008 another set of three.
5. All used and old. I wanted the original Herman Miller DSX fiberglass chairs.
6. Yes. Because of several reasons:
A. Production of this chair began over half a century ago, and is still running. Over the years there have been made changes to the material, and even the manufacturer itself changed, but the shape of the chair hardly did.
B. Due to the above, the chair is commonly known to an enormous amount of people around the world. Maybe not by name, but definitively by shape.
C. Being designed as low cost furniture, it was -manufacture wise- the first of its kind, enabling mass production. That alone makes it a classic, but the addition of A. and B. make this chair truly iconic.

Read all the way down because I have a question (2/2)
2/2
7. A combination of its iconic status, the pretty shape, comfort and easy to clean surface make it an ideal kitchen chair for me. My whole interior is a wide variety of both modern and classic furniture, industrial stuff and many many different colors. My DSX chairs belong here!
8. Can't name one thing specifically. It's the mix (see 7.)
9. Really well. For the fitting in part it all comes down to aesthetics if you ask me. Strangely, the DSX goes great with anything. Even my cats look good in it.
10. Sure, as a collector I feel very happy about owning such iconic pieces. Even though they were mass produced, they are special to me. I've put in some effort to lay my hand on two early produced chairs. Just for the fun of it. This however concerns my question...
11. The simplicity of a very basic shape makes it easy to blend in with any style or era. This is convenient for the manufacturer. The way I see it, it's not the people who decide what is trend and what not. It's manufacturers. And what is more beautiful than a very popular, cheap to make item? Nothing! The low production cost (Vitra manufactures it in plastic, super cheap and easy) make it interesting for Vitra to keep this baby on the market forever, and make its status even more iconic than it is. They are helped by almost every architect in the history of time, using pictures or scaled models of this chair to sell their designs. So, to answer the question: it's all marketing...
12. See all above.
Here comes my super important question: all fiberglass shells produced by Herman Miller have a logo at the bottom (changed over the years), accompanied by other markings. Does anyone knows what these markings mean, and what logo was used during what era? Some of the markings I have seen are a big 'C' with a star in the middle, a 'V', an 'M', a 'B', a 'B' with a smaller 'A'... I'm guessing it has to do with production information, but I can't find anything on the internet that can translate it. Help!

See
this thread:
http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/th...

1988
I first became aware of Eames chairs in 1988 after seeing a set of 4 black all-wire chairs on eiffel bases at a big yearly sale of some kind. The chairs looked like 3-dimensional "drawings" to me. I was pretty much down the Eames river after that experience.
Furniture never really mattered to me before that, but at that point I started hitting thrift shops and flea markets and every mid century modern shop I could find. I probably drove the dealers nuts with all of my questions.
I purchased my first arm shell around 1988 or 89... a seafoam green Zenith rope edged chair that to this day is still my main breakfast table chair.
I have around 20 shells now, and I only have room for about five so i rotate them. Bought some for 5 or 10 dollars, and paid hundreds for others.
I never get tired of the shells. They are better than most paintings in my opinion.
Thanks

Thanks fastfwd, that's a...
Thanks fastfwd, that's a helpful link.
For the first time I know for sure who has made my chairs. Turns out to be three different manufacturers (two by Cincinnati Milacron, one by Summit and three by Vitra from the time they manufactured for Herman Miller).
Still don't know the age of anyone of them, but I might be able to search more effectively now! I'll come back here if I ever find that out...