Category Archives: Inspiration

The Nauga Monster

One of these days I’m going to buy myself a Nauga Monster, you may not believe it but this little guy is vintage.

In the 1960′s Uniroyal created a synthetic fabric called Naugahyde which was an alternative to leather used for furniture.  According to Uniroyal, this vinyl/faux-leather came from an animal they imagined, called the Nauga Monster, who became the company’s mascot.  These Nauga Monsters shed their skin naturally, leaving no Nauga’s harmed in the manufacturing of their furniture goods.  To learn more about the history of Naugahyde, visit their website.

This stuffed faux-leather toy stands 11″ tall and 16″ wide, he became the friendly face of Uniroyal’s promotional efforts.  They offered a free Nauga doll with each Naugahyde reupholstering. It is rumored that furniture designer, Charles Eames is the creator of the monster but I’m yet to find official documentation of this.

 

Eames The Little Toy

Build geometric shapes with this vintage toy, designed by Charles & Ray Eames in 1952. The Little Toy was manufactured by Tigrett, featured colorful square and triangle pieces that can be arranged into 3D shapes.

Eames House of Cards

In 1952, Charles and Ray Eames designed the House of Cards – interlocking pictures and patterns. Each design was inspired by nature and culture so the Eameses selected textures from animals, minerals, food, fabrics and patterns.

I finally got myself a set of these cards, totally excited to have found the 1952 version.

An Interview with Charles & Ray Eames

I throughly enjoyed this Interview from 1956 where Charles and Ray Eames introduce the famous Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman.  I love how they both seem sort of awkward in an adorable way, especially Ray.  The quote at the end describes their product so well and is so beautifully said:

The Eames desire to move freely in a world of enormous unlimited possibilities is combined with a very accurate sense of discrimination and taste. This is an ability to select among the unlimited probabilities and return considerable richness to the world.