There are many molded armchairs, but there is only one Eames molded armchair. In 1948, Charles and Ray Eames, two legends of mid-century modern design, entered the Museum of Modern Art’s “International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design.” The goal of the competition was to mass produce a chair with a single-piece design that would make up its seat and back. The Eameses first worked with metal—which turned out to be too expensive—before turning to fiberglass, a new lightweight material that had not yet been used to make furniture. The pair took home second place. The true winner of that competition? You guessed it: Budget-conscious design nerds the world over.
The molded fiberglass chairs hit the market in 1950, and they were met with critical acclaim, quickly becoming a commercial success. While fiberglass made the chair famous, it was later discovered that the material wasn’t great for the environment so they switched to plastic, but have since been reintroduced in fiberglass, which is now being produced in a more environmentally conscious way.
Part of the appeal of the Eames molded chair is its timeless look and endless configuration options. Want it to be a rocking chair? You can have it. Love a pop of color? Go bright orange. Sure, you can find knockoffs of the Eames chair all over the internet. But if you want to buy the chair straight from the source, you can cop the Eames molded plastic arm chair for a cool 20% off right now.
If you’re not in the market for this mid-century modern masterpiece, or that simply isn’t enough to satisfy your weekend shopping appetite, here are six other great deals worth cruising to this week.
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