You may know Herman Miller as a chair and furniture maker, but the company also makes items for the home. As people buy less products made in America, I think that Herman Miller takes prides in the fact that it is an American company, and enjoys releasing uniquely American products. Another side of Herman Miller you may not be familiar with is Herman Miller Select. The point of Select is to align with important designers and create one special product at a time. The first Herman Miller Select product was an Eames inspired chair, and now it is a set of toy tops.

The set of three tops was designed by New York city based design firm Klein Reid. If you are familiar with their work, you'll see the similarity in these tops. The design is inspired by famous designers Charles and Ray Eames (think, the Eames chair). The Eameses themselves looked to toys for inspiration in their work. Herman Miller currently produces Eames designed furniture, so it makes sense for them to offer these limited edition tops.

Made of high-quality turned solid Walnut wood, to me the tops each represent different periods of American design aesthetic - from ornate decoration to stark modernism. The tops arrive together as a set and are each between about 4 - 4.75 inches in size. They work too, but you have to use two hands to spin them. The look of wood and soft edges make the tops attractive pieces of decorative art, evoking imagery of toys from a simpler time as well as pure Americana. A good gift idea. Production is limited and will cease forever in April 2010. Price is $199 per set and available at select Herman Miller dealers and retailers. You'll need to locate a Herman Miller dealer or retailer here if you want to get a set.

Today and Friday Christie's is holding its Interiors sale in New York, featuring property from the estates of prominent collectors. Some 900 items, including fine art, furniture, silver, ceramics and decorative items will go on the block, including this set of beautiful vintage Louis Vuitton luggage. Two of the suitcases feature the classic LV monogram and the third is plain leather bearing the initials ESS; offered without reserve the lot is estimated at $2,000 - $3,000. Also on offer is a classic Eames rosewood, aluminum and black leather lounge chair and ottoman designed for Herman Miller in 1956, estimated at $2,000 - $3,000, as well as photographs by John Jonas Gruen of artists like Jackson Pollack, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns taken in the Hamptons in the '50s.

Charles and Ray Eames, masters of interior design, really loved a particular piece of folk art in the form of a little wooden black bird. It has been the focus of their living room for over 50 years and has appeared in many photographs, and now it's going into reproduction so we can each have one of our own. The Eames House Bird couldn't be more simple, made of black Alder with a black lacquer finish and steel wire legs, and I think that it has a very cheerful looking disposition (which is perhaps why the Eames' liked it so much). 10.75"h x 3.5" x 11", $195.

Via Design Mind

Vitra has come up with a unique way to celebrate the 100th birthday of legendary designer Charles Eames, by releasing his design of an elepahnt. The Eames Plywood Elephant was designed in 1945 but never went into production. Vitra has made 1000 pieces each in natural maple and red-stained maple. Each one includes a collector's box, certificate and the serial number. The elephant meaures 16.25" w x30.75" d x 16.5" h and sells for $1,900.00.

Style and functionality come together easily in the Eames Managment Chair. Designed in 1958, when the word "ergonomic" was young and rarely used outside of research papers, its lightweight and body-hugging form was ahead of its time. The thin mesh backing is self-contouring and flexible, for "even weight distribution and long-term comfort." The mesh-backed chair is available in three colors, but the design is also available with other materials and in other colors at different price points. Price (for mesh): $1,188.

There is nothing like a hot day spent in an uncomfortable hotel lounge chair to make you wish that the available seating was a little more user-friendly. Sticking to vinyl straps is no one's idea of fun. The Palms Lounger, on the other hand, even looks like fun. The chair is made out of pressure-molded teak slats, each shaped vaguely like a palm frond, which are supported by a stainless steel frame. Comfortable and smooth, the overall shape of the contoured chair is designed to cradle the sitter. Matching table and other chairs are available, too, and the lounger is on sale for $1,371.

The Eames Chair and Ottoman set are seminal works in modern design. Charles and Ray Eames created the chair in 1956 along with many other important works of modern design. Their experiments with molded plywoods changed the way people looked at and used furniture. The chair hs been available in several different veneers during its history, notably among them is rosewood. This veneer was discontinued in the 1980s due to the unsustainable nature of the rosewood supply. Recently, a variety of rosewood called Santos Palisander that is grown with healthy foresty habits has been discovered and the Eames Foundation is offering special editions of the iconic chair and ottoman set. To accent the rich rosewood veneer, black Edelman leather wraps the chair in luxury. The $6,500 chair and ottoman also include a membership to the Eames Foundation and tickets to tour Charles & Ray Eames home near Malibu.