Eames Inspiration

Ray and Charles Eames

Me and Noel watched ''Eames: the architect and the artist'' recently and I can't stop 

thinking about how inspirational this couple were.

Aside from loving the bits of furniture I had previously seen, I didn't know much about Ray and Charles Eames. Clearly they were great visual communicators but aside from that it was their view on work, life and pleasure that really inspired me. 

Eames Chairs and House Bird

They saw work and pleasure as connected and intertwining and they didn't think pleasure or design was something frivolous but something that should be taken entirely seriously. The playfulness and joy present in their work is invigorating and so inspiring, you can actually SEE their enjoyment in presenting their version of the world.

Eames toy and the solar powered ''do nothing machine''

It gave me such encouragement as it can be very tempting when you have a job that's creative and fun but also unpredictable and lacking in stability to give up and look for something more safe but boring. The more I think about it the more I feel that for me it's worth giving up the 9-5 working hours, stable salary, frequent holidays and trinkets to live a pleasurable life and enjoy what I'm doing, also I think having enjoyment in your work makes you work much, much harder and I was always brought up to work hard. 

Saying this, doing something enjoyable comes with a large dose of guilt, I entirely agree with Charles when he said ''It makes me feel guilty that anybody should have such a good time doing what they are supposed to do.'' I hope I'll always be lucky enough to enjoy my work, even if I always have to work my bum off and have a part time job as well!

I'm off to go and buy many books about this marvellous couple!