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...

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.

Great news for Eames lovers in the Asia Pacific region! The much awaited documentary portrait of Charles and Ray Eames' lives, Eames: The Architect and the Painter debuts in Auckland this Saturday 31st March as part of the New Zealand's World Cinema Showcase film festival. The film explores a range of archive material, films, photographs and artifacts to examine the forty year epoch of the Eames Office and the key relationship between Charles and Ray. Check out the fabulous timeline on our website that allows you to thoroughly explore the Eames great legacy of furniture that we at Herman Miller are so proud to be the trustees of. From here you can also view the film's trailer. Australian viewers stay tuned, we'll have news for you shortly!

For more details and session times in New Zealand click here.

Indonesian Eames' enthusiasts will be thrilled to know that the Essential Eames exhibition which opened last September at REACH in Hong Kong, will be installed in Gandaria city, Jakarta for a limited time. Our Indonesian friends will be able explore the life and works of Charles and Ray Eames first hand. Based on the book “An Eames Primer” by Eames Demetrios, the exhibition is segmented into various sections, corresponding to the chapters of the book. Visitors are first greeted by the walls of Charles and Ray’s life, where we explore the humble beginnings of Charles Eames who as a young teenager lost his father and had to support the family to his travels in Mexico with only 75 cents in his pocket to his tenure at Cranbrook as design lecturer. Ray’s wall explores her artistic endeavours, particularly in painting and textile design. Visitors then dive deep into the many facets of their work from architecture to film, toys, products and furniture.

The Jakarta exhibition will feature a unique interpretation of the Eames Case Study House #8. Marcello Sidharta, project lead of appointed design partner Sidhart Architect was inspired by the design philosophy and approach of the Eames. He embraces the high ceiling of the Gandaria space recreating the facade of the iconic Eames House Case Study #8. The space is proudly sponsored by Herman Miller authorised dealer in Indonesia - PT forum.

Visitors to the space will be able to explore a range of the latest Herman Miller products including the Eames Lounge and Ottoman in white leather and Yves Behar's SAYL chair. The exhibition will be officially opened by Eames Demetrios on the 25th April. This exhibition is open to public, admission is free.  We're really looking forward to the launch and meeting our Jakarta audience. The Essential Eames page and our facebook page will keep you up to date with what's happening.

We couldn't help but be struck with a sense of deja vu when we stumbled upon this Mosaic wallpaper (above) by French studio Minakani Walls. Its resemblance to one of the patterns on Charles and Ray Eames House of Cards from 1952 (below) is uncanny. We love it in the scale it has been produced in for the wall and we think the Eames' themselves would approve...

Posted by Lauren Evans

(above) House of cards image courtesy of Eames Designs catalogue and (below) jmtp at flickr

The recently launched website Eames Designs aspires to be 'a virtual encyclopedia of all things Eames'. Editor Daniel Ostroff is serious about creating an online directory that encompasses every aspect of the Eames vast creative life, including furniture, films, toys and artwork. He pays particular attention to Eames furniture spotted in films, print media and modern daily life in a section he calls 'Eames Spotting'. He has collaborated with all the official Eames associations including the Eames Office and Foundation, Vitra and ourselves and now invites all other interested parties to the table to contribute. It's a fabulous resource with unlimited potential and we look forward to watching it grow.

EamesDesigns.com

We've found some interesting comparisons between Steve Jobs and Charles Eames recently. Over at the gigaom website, one of San Francisco's most influential tech websites, writer Om Malik suggests those who have read the Steve Jobs biography should see the recently released documentary Eames: The Architect and the Painter as an addendum to the book. He notes the similarities between Charles Eames and Jobs; "they both were very clear in distinguishing what is design and what is style. And more importantly both made simplicity their mantra". He references a review of the film that appeared in the New York Times that also references Jobs in its introduction questioning whether Jobs, like Eames was "primarily a designer, an engineer, a computer nerd or an artist? A benevolent guru or the center of a cult of personality?" The article is well worth reading, find it here.

The comparisons being made are certainly thought provoking and it will be interesting to see how Jobs legacy grows as time and technology moves on - will he will remain as revered as the Eameses still are today, half a century later?

Read the full gigaom article here.  The documentary Eames: The Architect and the Painter will be released in the Asia Pacific region this year but for those who want a sneak peek, it can now be viewed online in its entirety via flash or as an app at the PBS website, here's the link. 

Posted by Lauren Evans

The above offering is by design retailer Moss and it comes with some fine pedigree. The two lounge and ottomans are original vintage Eames in Brazilian rosewood veneer as specified by Charles and Ray themselves, but a timber we stopped using for the lounges in 1992, when it became listed on the endangered species list. Moss have upholstered them in the Maharam fabric 'Repeat Dot' by Hella Jongerius. Personally, I'm a great fan of Hella and Maharam, so crossed with Eames it's a happy combination for me (I'll take the one on the left please!). What are your thoughts on them?

Posted by Lauren Evans

We were fascinated to learn of the new Eames Exhibition that's recently opened in Los Angeles, California (News: Collecting Eames Exhibition Opens HM Lifework blog). The exhibition is by vintage retailer JF Chen, who has collected over 450 Eames pieces including, furniture, toys and even an Eames designed pavillion. It's the first time this many Eames pieces have been shown together in one place, which makes it very significant... and here's the clincher: every piece in the exhibition is for sale (at the right price of course). We would love to see it in real life but may have to settle for the accompanying book Collecting Eames, The JF Chen Collection.

 If you can't make it either, check out Cerentha's behind the scenes tour over at the Lifework blog and live vicariously like we did. We also enjoyed learning more about the intriguiing JF Chen and his collection, through a great article we found at the Eames Design website Shop Talk at JF Chen.

When putting together the Essential Eames Exhibition we went through our archives and discovered the above article about the Pope's fondness for the Herman Miller chairs used by his entourage and guests. A customised Eames soft pad chair was made especiially for Pope John Paul II himself, complete with papal seal. It's all part of the Essential Eames Exhibition, launched at Reach last month and still on show at the Hong Kong Design Institute until December 2nd, 2011.

For a closer look at the article, download the PDF version.