“Fantastic things being made of wire”

Charles and Ray Eames were always looking for new materials and new ways to create distinctive furniture. In the late 1940s, Charles noted the “fantastic things being made of wire”. That fascination led them to experiment with metal wire rods and mesh, and eventually to adopt a mass-production technique for simultaneously welding wire rods, a technique that resulted in many pieces that have become modern classics including wire chairs, plastic chairs with wire bases, storage units and elliptical tables.

An angled view of an Eames Wire Base Low Table with a white ash veneer top.

Another result was this compact table, introduced in 1950. Charles and Ray Eames used them to conduct the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, Chanoyu, for special guests, including sculptor Isamu Noguchi and film pioneer Charlie Chaplin. Today, these lightweight, diminutive tables stand on their own, next to beds and chairs as an accompanying surface or on top of each other in a convenient stack.