I recently had the chance to visit the enormous ancient factory in Vernon where Eames chairs are made. Modernica owner Frank Novak showed me around his plant filled with the iconic chairs and enough modern furniture to fill an entire 1950s housing tract. The fiberglass chairs are made with the original 1940s presses that created the first version of the chair. The process starts with a roll of flexible fiberglass that is chopped up and sprayed on a mold. A squirt of resin is applied and the concoction is squished at enormous pressure until the familiar shell chair emerges. Every week of 2014, the company is making a new color, as well as some far out custom creations including one with embedded rose petals. You might get a chance to peek inside factory when the company holds one of their warehouse sales: see Modernica’s website for details.
