We're thrilled to announce the brand new exhibition we've been working on that celebrates the power of the poster, Then x Ten. As regular readers of the blog will know, Herman Miller has a strong presence throughout design history, not only for our furniture but also for our graphics. Vintage Herman Miller posters by the likes of Don Ervin, Armin Hoffman and more recently Steve Frykholm are much sought after and held in design museums around the world. The 'Then' component of our new exhibition will celebrate our history by bringing together a special series of posters from our archives, hand picked and curated by our Creative Director of 42 years, Steve Frykholm. These will hang alongside ten new posters created for us by leading contemporary artists from around the world, specially commissioned to create a new artwork that references the Herman Miller brand. This new component of the exhibition features works by leading artists and illustrators including Craig Redman and Karl Maier (Australia), Emily Forgot (UK) and Keiichi Tanaami (Japan).

By bringing together these posters from the past and present we're celebrating not only the power of the poster but the very essence of what Herman Miller has always been about, collaborating with the very best creative minds to strive to create work that represents us as a design led company. We're proud of our design history and hope our new collaboration ignites further discussion, continuing our long-term design dialogue.

The exhibition opens in Melbourne at gallery fortyfivedownstairs and will run from August 14 - 25th, before touring throughout the Asia Pacific region. Prior to the opening we'll be revealing more about Then x Ten here on the blog, including interviews with Steve Frykholm and the participating artists, so do stay tuned and check back often. 

Posted by Lauren Evans

The Herman Miller Collection is not an entirely new concept or range of furniture. Instead it is a design approach or way of thinking about our collection, collated to provide a portfolio able to solve any furnishing brief. It was inspired by the forward thinking George Nelson, who in our 1952 catalog wrote of the importance of continuing the creation of a permanent collection “designed to meet fully the requirements for modern living” and we're excited to bring it to you today.

The Collection comprises of many of our classic pieces designed by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson, to which we have added a range of contemporary pieces to complement the classics. The partners and designers we've chosen to include in the Collection include Geiger and Mattiazzi, who all share in our design values to create furniture that is as purposeful as it is beautiful. This ensures the Herman Miller Collection presents as a complete solution for designing any space from the boardroom to the backyard, providing a palette from which to select myriad of furnishings to suit any environment. We will continue to add pieces in the future that further enhance the 'requirements for modern living' as George Nelson so aptly put it. The images above and below include just some of the pieces that make up the collection. To view the complete Collection and learn more about it, visit our website. 

*Magis range available in Asia via business dealers only.

Posted by Lauren Evans

It's Australia's turn! We're excited to announce that Eames: The Architect and the Painter is premiering at The Australian Centre for Moving Image (ACMI) in Federation Square this Tuesday 8th May. We are partnering with Living Edge to give away a limited edition framed set of Eames Stamps as a prize in honour of the films Australian premier. The film will screen from the 1st - 17th June 2012 and as an added bonus for filmgoers, Living Edge is running a special promotion, which will give patrons a 15% discount off their furniture. It's a film any design lover will enjoy, giving an in-depth look into the minds of two of mid century modernism's greatest heroes. And with the added benefit of purchasing your very own Eames piece at a discounted price after the film, it's an opportunity not to be missed. For session times and more details see the ACMI website. Here's the trailer to whet your appetite...

Welcome to part two of our museum series, where we will be looking at various art galleries and museums from around the Asia Pacific region. Our first post was on Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art and today we're off to Shanghai.

The Shanghai Museum of Glass was established by a the Shanghai Glass Company, a privately owned company that was inspired to create the museum after witnessing the industrial development of glass in Shanghai and preserving and recording 100 years of glass history and culture. The Museum building was in fact originally a glass factory, transformed to suit its new identity by the creative team Coordination Asia. The brief for the building was to juxtapose the past and present and their striking realisation of this is made of glass itself, integrating the original structure and character of the factory within the new functional contemporary space.

(above) The Shanghai Museum of Glass exterior interior

The museum only opened in June last year and is drawing crowds with its ancient and contemporary permanent collections as well as an ever changing program of contemporary exhibitions. The hot glass demonstration hall, where visitors experience first hand the art of creating glass is very popular and also providing a space for glass artists to experiment creatively. Long term there are further plans to develop a glass theme park, sculpture yard and science and business parks to the museum. 

The Museum seeks to bridge communication between Chinese and Western cultures and celebrate the rich history, culture and art of glass. It's certainly one museum worth bookmarking for your next trip to Shanghai.

if you'd like to learn more, there's a great article with some fantastic images of the museum over at the coolhunter blog we can highly recommend.

Posted by Lauren Evans

(above) Two of the exhibits from the Ancient Collection

(above) A piece from the upcoming exhibition by Zhuang Xiaowei

The above ads are from the late 1940's (above left) and 1954 (above right). They're a good example of the strength of a simple red, black and white colour scheme, which is very distinguishable throughout our early advertising. Herman Miller have always had a strong focus on the commercial workplace, as these ads clearly show.   

We like the concept of the website Slashies, a web series of videos devoted to telling the stories of passionate creative Australians who have the courage to follow their dreams. The name derives from the multiple careers/creative avenues each person pursues in the making of their dream. So you will find the fabulous graphic designer/paper engineer Benja Harney (below) and his wonderful paper creations, the intricate and colourful murals and artworks of fashion designer/street artist Shannon Crees (above) and the stunning surf photography of graphic designer/surfer/photographer Eugene Tan, with more people being added all the time. Each video offers a glimpse into each creatives life and how they juggled their various roles to triumph in ultimately pursuing the one they love the most. Inspiring stuff indeed for anyone who's ever aspired to be a slashie themselves, a common theme amongst creatives. We'll aim to bring you a little more on some of the people we admired most... stay tuned.

Posted by Lauren Evans

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are the well known designers behind the Osso Chair by Mattiazzi that has recently become part of the Herman Miller collection. For those of you who aren't familiar with the chair, here are five things that are good to know about Osso.

1. Mattiazzi's fine craftmanship and sophisticated machining skills were the inspiration behind the chair. Erwan says their aim was "…to let the sensuality of the wood express itself" and that “The chair invites people to touch or even caress it, as it is extremely sculpted and polished.”

2. The high-tech assembling system of geometrical wood panels allows a quite singular strength while preserving a design balance of the object. The chair is comprised of just eight pieces (see image below).

3. Erwan and Rowan were particularly impressed by Mattiazzi's environmental credentials. All the equipment used to manufacture the Osso chair is solar powered and the timber locally sourced, without the use of any chemical treatments.

4. Osso means bone in Italian. The chair is highly sculptural and polished like it's namesake.

5. A sophisticated palette of colours in various timbers complete Osso - it comes in black, blue, green, dark grey, pink, white, natural ash, natural maple, and natural oak.

Posted by Lauren Evans

The documentary Eames: The Architect and The Painter debuted in New Zealand last week (see our previous post) and to pay homage to the film our New Zealand dealer Matisse held a fabulous party which also marked the launch of their Eames inspired pop-up shop. Fans of the film will find all sorts of Herman Miller goodies available at the store which will stay open until the 29th April. New Zealand readers can head on down to 254 Broadway, Newmarket and snaffle up a little piece of Eames history for themselves.

That's the time it takes for us to build an Aeron Chair at our American based production line. FastCompany were so impressed by this that they recently profiled us as a model of modern American manufacturing and featured this video of the Aeron's production on their design blog. Aeron used to take 82 seconds to come off the line, today we're down to 17 due to the little changes we make to the assembly process every year. We're really proud to be recognised for the level of efficiency we've achieved as we work very hard at it. Check out their video to see for yourself.

David Rowland's 40/4 chair for Howe is a cult classic and referred to as the archetypal stackable chair. Since its debut in 1964 over 8 million have been sold and can be found furnishing everything from offices to schools and even cathedrals. It is also featured in most design museum collections around the world. We're pleased to announce that the 40/4 chair will now be available at Herman Miller stores throughout Asia and to mark the occasion we thought we'd share with you five facts about this remarkable little chair;

1. Designer David Rowland was inspired to create the chair after serving time in the air force in World War II and being forced to sit in "beastly, uncomfortable seats" on his many campaigns. Once the war was over, comfortable, ergonomic seating became his mission.

2. Rowland studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the same school which Charles and Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia and Eero Saarinen attended.

3. The chairs name comes from its ability to be stacked quickly and neatly into piles of 40 chairs that come to a height of just 4 feet - thus 40/4.

4. It can can be linked in rigid rows of 4 to be assembled and disassembled easily in auditoriums and halls.

5. The 40/4 comes in many variations: a side chair, armchair, bar stool, lounge chair, swivel chair, chair with write pad and a chair for outdoor use.

Posted by Lauren Evans