Herman Miller

Herman Miller began in 1906 as the Michigan Star Furniture Company. They sold mainly residential furniture with a gaudy Victorian flair. Later they dropped the "star" from their name. D.J. DePree was hired as a clerk for the Michigan Furniture Company and ten years later became president. In 1923 the company was being sold and D.J. wanted to buy it. He didn't have the money so he asked his Farther-In-Law for the money to buy the company. He was so grateful that he named the company after him, Herman Miller. In the 1930's the depression was happening and the company was going under. Gilbert Rohde was hired as a furniture designer for the company and he really pushed the switch to modern. in 1933 the first line of modern furniture was released. Some other notable characters involved with Herman Miller include; George Nelson who designed the logo, and Ray and Charles Eames who were furniture designers. They had a very eclectic and avant garde style. Charles was commissioned to design a leg splint for the military that had to be lightweight. He used bent, pressurized wood to create the design. Later he put this concept into his furniture. A few of the Eames' designs include the Chaise Lounge Sleeper, the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, and the Solar Powered Do Nothing Machine. Another notable person is Robert Propst. He came up a new concept for office design. He developed the Action Office, but people didn't like it so he was forced to change it up. The companies loved the new version because with the vertical storage, they could fit more employees in the space. Since then, office design has again shifted to more open offices with a few private areas. The corporate offices of Herman Miller are located in Michigan. The Greenhouse is in Holland, Michigan and is a LEED certified building. Everything is recycled and the amount of trash that comes out of the building in one week can fit in a grocery bag. It had a problem with wasps at first but they brought in honey bees to combat the wasps. The bees produced honey and so Herman Miller now gives visitors jars of their honey. Herman Miller also owns several other companies including, GEIGER, Nemschoff, Maharam, and Design Within Reach.

Extra Credit:
Documentary on Charles and Ray Eames
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/charles-ray-eames-the-architect-and-the-painter-watch-the-full-documentary-film/1950/

Peer Review:
Scott: Even though he was late to class he still managed to get a lot of information about the company and Ray and Charles Eames. I liked how he included their video in a link.
Riann: I liked how her blog was short and sweet and to the point. She did a good job of supplementing her blog with the pictures.