Our gracious host Patrick and Alix have posted on their new blog the film about the eames lounge chair I saw this several
months ago on the HM website I loved it then , and love it now , It is so great, thanks for posting it , I was impressed with Charles and Ray Eames but i was taken back by Arlena Francis a figment of my childhood , as i remember her well, her elegance and charm, and style, she truly was the first talk show host and the standard bearer that all talk show host try to emulate to this day,
Charles Eames he had a lot of class and humility, knew what to say and how to say it , was one sharp man and very complimentary to his wife, when back then most men would have said the little woman needs to be barefoot and pregnant and she should be in the kitchen cause she makes a mean chicken fried steak,
I can see why this couple were so successful cause they worked well together,
I think Ray had Charles check his ego at the the front door next to one of his colored ball coat racks,
I will go out on a limb here and i am sure some will weigh in on this one,
It seems their toy stuff to me just never really made it, I sure don't remember it Every thing i have seen in all the books looks kinda hogey
I liked Robert the Robot and Mr. Potato head and my ant farm and don"t forget candy land;
The Eames stuff could not hold a candle to these great Icons.
Certainly not!
The Eames toys weren't merely decorative. They encouraged growth and creativity.
The TOY was intended to teach about form/color/geometry - as was House of Cards. The ColoringTOY (self evident) was about artistic expression. The ESU boxes contained instructions on converting the cardboard cartons into a child's playhouse.
The Hang-it-All was a playful variation on the coatrack - encouraging children towards responsibility and putting things away (in a fun and colorful place)
All of these items encouraged children to approach play intellectually - to stimulate the brain and the imagination. It has only been recently, with the resurgence of the popularity of all things Eames that these toys -most notably the Hang-it-all have been appropriated by the adult design-oriented set.
addendum
I do agree with LRF that the toys never became as popular as they could have been. Perhaps this was a flaw in marketing, or distribution. It is curious, also, that most of the Eames toys seem geared towards solitary play - whereas boardgames like Candyland were designed to bring multiple people together.
And just my opinion, but Snakes and Ladders was WAY better than Candyland, lol. Nothing like getting within two spaces of the finish line and sliding all the way back to the begining. 😀
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