June 2008
On June 17, 2008, in Santa Monica, California, the Postal Service™ issued 42–cent commemorative stamps Charles and Ray Eames in a commemorative sheet featuring sixteen different designs. The collection, designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, DC, features a broad range of Eames’ designs that have found their way into the American architecture, furniture design, manufacturing and photographic arts. Now a part of the American design cannon, these creations are as beautiful and timeless as they are durable and useful.
Said Eames Demetrios, Charles and Ray Eames’ grandson and Director of the Eames Office in Santa Monica, “To have Charles and Ray honored with sixteen US Postal Stamps is thrilling and humbling. It is one of the highest and most grass roots honors the nation can bestow and only makes us more passionate in doing the work we at the Eames Office do -- communicating, preserving and extending our grandparents’ ideas. They loved stamps and seldom missed an opportunity to use beautiful ones.”
Neenah Paper is a proud partner with the Eames family through the design inspired EAMES™ Paper Collection, which formally launched in Spring 2005 to enthusiastic response. In 2007, Neenah expanded the collection, adding Neenah’s popular Solar White, double thick cover weights and a rich, sophisticated vellum sheet.
“To us at Neenah, a fine paper, a good stamp, and an Eames chair are deeply connected. All are works of beauty mass produced in their intended form,” says Kathy Kemps, Senior Brand Manager for the Eames brand. “Working with the Eames Office, we can create the unexpected and the beautiful and provide it to the public for good purposes. How gratifying this is on both a personal and professional level.”
“The paper is ‘inspired’ by my grandparents’ life and work, says Eames Demetrius. “It means a product that offers functionality, beauty and affordability — all in one. My grandparents never designed for ‘high-end’ users — they designed for everyone.”
“We want designers to use the paper, not hang it on the wall like artwork,” adds Tom Wright, Senior Director, Advertising and Design at Neenah. “So we are constantly looking for new ways to make the paper more accessible rather than exceptional. The EAMES™ Collection was created and crafted for everyday use — just like many of the things Charles and Ray Eames produced that are celebrated in the new stamp collection.”
The EAMES™ Paper Collection inspires designers to use the collection liberally, whether for the exceptional communication device — or — the most commonplace: a newsletter, silkscreen poster or a block party invitation.
Charles and Ray Eames would want it no other way.
............................................................................
Read NEENAH PAPER ARTICLES on TAXI Design Network
............................................................................
Want to see what 24 hours of creative awesomeness look like? Click here.
This news message is supported by The Creative Finder, an online platform for photographers, illustrators, designers, and art directors to promote their portfolios towards new clients and collaborators. Creatives who wish to sign up for an account can save 10% off annual fees with promo code 'designtaxi'.
