Ever pioneers in new materials and techniques, the Eameses developed in the early 1940s an innovative method to bend plywood to produce furniture, using a homemade molding machine they called the Kazam! The machine worked by layering wood veneer and glue in a mold, then inflating a balloon inside the machine with a pump to press the wood into shape. During WWII, the US Navy commissioned Charles and Ray to design leg splints as well as an experimental glider, both manufactured by the Molded Plywood Division of the Evans Product Company in Detroit. After WWII, they worked with Evans to manufacture plywood furniture.

Gallery label from

Pirouette: Turning Points in Design, January 26, 2025–November 15, 2025

Manufacturer Evans Products Co., Molded Plywood Div., Venice, CA
Medium Molded basswood plywood
Dimensions 125 1/2 × 86 × 31 1/2" (318.8 × 218.4 × 80 cm)
Credit Gift of Lucia Eames Demetrios and purchase
Object number 103.1989
Department Architecture & Design

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Charles Eames

Charles Eames

American, 1907–1978 82 works online

Everything was architecture to Charles and Ray Eames: the construction plans for a chair, the layout of an exhibition pavilion, the structure of a film, even the placement of silverware, plates, flowers, and objects on a dining table.

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