Harry Bertoia, designer

Prior to working in the Eames office during the 1940s, Harry Bertoia taught jewelry and metalwork at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. The extent of his design contributions to Eames products is not entirely known, but Bertoia’s experience in metalwork is thought to have inspired the concept for the Eameses’ first wire chair. The shape of the seat echoes their wildly successful molded plastic chair, and featured a similarly customizable base design that included rockers, as seen here.

Bertoia’s own wire chair was designed and produced shortly after the Eameses’ version. The child’s chair, a scaled-down version of his adult-sized side chair, offered children the same stylish aesthetic as their parents.