Mid-Century Modern Furniture Then and Now

How cool is it to have a local public library using chairs for general seating at tables and computer workstations that are referred to as recycled seat belt chairs (custom designed Rock and Stop Chairs)?  Composed of solid natural wood frames with seat belt webbing, they are both green and very comfortable. Enter the Gotham Rocker, designed by  J.Persing  the same small niche U.S. company that built the library chairs mentioned above, called the Rock and Stop Chairs. Again using surplus automotive seatbelts Paradigm Gallery offers these environmentally friendly chairs which are dyed with non-toxic water-based inks.  Its light weight form is intentional:  great design with minimal material.  America is truly coming back!

Clearly thinking out of the box, Edgar Blazona learned from corporate America and yet decided, by leaving, that he could create his own story in a way that many of us could appreciate and admire.

Edgar anchored his reputation within the modernist design community with the launch of Modular Dwellings, custom mobile, prefabricated dwellings, that elegantly blend form and function for affordable modernist living. In 2004 Modular Dwellings was listed among Metropolitan Home magazines Top 100 Designs of the year.

Those of us that have loved Mid-Century Modern, and Danish Modern furniture, unfortunately,  could never afford these cool looking pieces. Thankfully, over the past several years, interpretations of many of the classics have become available at affordable prices without sacrificing the quality and integrity that many of these great pieces were originally known for.

Edgar eloquently expressed his views on this  subject in an interview at  handful of salt,  “One of  our complaints is that if you want clean, simple design, there are relatively few options between IKEA and Design Within Reach.  True Modern steps bravely into that wide open, slightly scary space with value-conscious modernist design.”  Thank you, Edgar, for fearlessly going to a  place where others would not go.  You have clearly claimed your place in the world of furniture design with your fine upholstered chairs, sofas, sectionals, and wood furniture, a cool aesthetic with  “true modern” design.

Do you find the works of designers such as Arne Jacobson, Charles and Ray Eames, and Mies van de Rohe to capture your attention? You just might be a mid-century modern furniture lover!

Do you know the designers who made your favorite chair or sofa? Wouldn’t you like to learn more about the great minds that made possible those timeless pieces of furniture that you utilize every day?

If you do, Paradigm Gallery has got just the thing for you…

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This is the 7th tip in our “Mid-Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry” eBook, which is available as a free download!

Poul Volther (1923-2001) had an amazing ability to find potential in things that others could not. His first famed work was the Corona Chair or “Petal Chair”, introduced in 1964. This chair was crafted out of solid oak, and was a design unlike any other of the time. He incorporated every aspect of the various phases of design into one piece. These phases included:

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This is the 6th tip in our “Mid-Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry” eBook, which is available as a free download!

Danish designer, Verner Panton, was a visionary. Born in 1926, he is a quality brand in Danish instrumental furniture design, interior design, and architecture. Panton’s furniture and lamp creations are extremely innovative, and make use of unusual and creative materials.

The Panton Chair was the first example of single-formed injection molded plastic seating. With this design, Panton succeeded in creating one of the most daring and famous chair designs of the twentieth century.

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This is the 5th tip in our “Mid-Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry” eBook, which is available as a free download!

George Nelson is an iconic American designer, who was an extremely influential figure in the later half of the 20th Century. George was a widely respected architect, designer, journalist, lecturer, curator, photographer, and teacher. He attended Yale University from 1928-1931, where he received both a BA and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Following that, Nelson studied at the American Academy in Rome, and returned to the U.S. in 1935 to pursue a career as an editor and journalist for “Architectural Forum” journal and “Pencil Point” magazine. George took this opportunity to introduce American readers to the European avant-garde.

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This is the 4th tip in our “Mid-Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry” eBook, which is available as a free download!

Meet Isamu Noguchi, 1904-1988. Noguchi is a Japanese-American designer who had a vision of making sculpture useful in our everyday life. He was quoted as saying: Read the rest of this entry »

This is the 3rd tip in our “Mid-Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry” eBook, which is available as a  free download!

Although our list of designers is slightly male dominant, this female designer was one of the pioneers of the modernist design movement and has made a significant name for herself in the world of design. Her work attracted the attention of many, in a time when entrepreneurial women had far greater challenges to face in their efforts to make a name for themselves.

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This is the 2nd tip in our “Mid-Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry” eBook, which is available as a  free download!

“If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them.”

- Harry Bertoia

Harry Bertoia, born in Italy in 1915, designed a line of chairs that were the antithesis to the typical 1950’s style of rigid wood. His most famous collection of furniture were steel chairs comprised of welded wire which possessed a “springy” feel. Of these, the most well known was the Diamond Chair, which, as the name suggests, was shaped like a diamond. The highest point in the diamond forms the chair’s back support. Bertoia’s chairs were produced in 1952 by Knoll International, and they continue to produce them today.

Like fellow furniture designers, Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen, Bertoia attended Cranbook Academy, and was exposed to the world of modern furniture. In fact, it is said that Bertoia was very instrumental in the design and development of the Eames Chair, while he was working alongside Charles Eames in the late 1940’s. During his time at Cranbook, Bertoia won the Organic Furniture Design Competition sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art.

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This is the 1st tip in our “Mid-Century Modern Furniture Evolution: 7 Designers Who Changed the Industry” eBook, which is available as a  free download!

Imagine yourself inside of a floating bubble, or cocooned into a sleek, plastic ball…a plastic ball that is actually comfortable inside! The Ball Chair design was one of the many creations of Eero Aarnio that caused him to stand out among designers, and brought him fame around the world.

Aarnio created useful, good-humored, sculptural designs made of fiberglass, colored plastic, and acrylic. These innovative and unique designs have helped Aarnio become a very esteemed designer, that stands out among the others. His collection includes more than just furniture. He has produced an array of products, including chairs, tables, lamps, children’s collections, miniatures, guitars, and room dividers.

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