Limited Edition Vitra Coffee Mug in Geometric A Pattern by Alexander Girard
View Similar Items
Limited Edition Vitra Coffee Mug in Geometric A Pattern by Alexander Girard
About the Item
- Creator:Alexander Girard (Designer),Vitra (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 3.75 in (9.53 cm)Diameter: 3 in (7.62 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:19-20 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 215091151stDibs: LU3989114573781
Alexander Girard
The director of design for the textiles department at Herman Miller, Inc., from 1952 to 1973, mid-century modern visionary Alexander Girard introduced bright, bouncy colors to upholstery and drapery fabrics, created jaunty graphics for marketing and advertising materials and devised motifs for everything from textiles to ceramics based on his true love: folk art from cultures around the globe.
The son of an American mother and an Italian father, Girard (known as Sandro to his friends) was born in New York City in 1907 but raised in Florence. He came from a creative family — his father was a master woodworker — and Girard began drawing and making his own playthings as a youngster. He had a fascination for nativity crèche tableaux, an enthusiasm that likely was the germ for his later interest in folk art. He went on to earn degrees in architecture at schools in both Rome and London before returning to New York in the 1930s and working in interior design.
By the 1940s, he and his wife, Susan, had moved to Detroit, where Girard was head of design for Detrola, a firm specializing in tabletop radios. The elegant bentwood housings that he developed for the devices won him acclaim, but, more importantly, at Detrola he met Charles Eames. The two became lifelong friends, and it was Eames who drew Girard toward Herman Miller, which had no dedicated textile department until Girard arrived, and most of its furniture was upholstered in mundane, “safe” hues. Girard changed all that, introducing fabrics in vivid shades of red, orange, yellow and blue. His early designs incorporated geometric motifs — stripes, circles, square, triangles and such. But toward the end of the 1950s he began to introduce folk art themes into his designs.
Girard did not collect important or expensive folk pieces. Rather he was drawn to simple objects such as handmade toys, figurines and models of animals, buildings and plants. The fabrics that emerged had whimsical, lighthearted motifs depicting, for example, angels, children, birds and flowers. Toward the end of his term with Herman Miller, in an effort to achieve what he termed “aesthetic functionalism,” Girard produced a group of what he called “Environmental Enrichment” pieces — silk-screened cotton panels emblazoned with various graphic designs, from bold geometric patterns to folk art themes. They were meant to divide spaces in offices or the home in lieu of walls while simultaneously functioning as art. Today, panels of vintage Girard upholstery textiles have become premium collectibles. The designer's furniture is less well known, primarily because most of it was created for private commissions.
Girard’s most lasting contribution may be his folk art collection. He and Susan had begun gathering pieces shortly after their marriage, in 1936. By the 1970s, they had amassed the world’s largest collection of cross-cultural folk art, composed of more than 100,000 pieces from around the world. The Girards donated their holdings to the Museum of International Folk Art, in Santa Fe (where they had moved in the ’60s), quintupling the institution’s collection, and a new wing — named for the Girards — had to be built to hold it.
Find a striking range of vintage Alexander Girard seating, tables, textiles and other furnishings on 1stDibs.
Vitra
Design house Vitra has garnered international recognition for more than 70 years — the Swiss family-owned furniture company has outfitted public spaces as well as residential properties and offices worldwide. It has been a proponent of modernist design since the 1950s. While the brand is heralded for its collaborations with mid-century modern icons such as Verner Panton, Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard and others, Vitra’s German campus is also home to buildings designed by legendary architects Zaha Hadid and Frank Gehry. Among them is the Vitra Design Museum, an independent cultural institution that displays two centuries of design today.
Vitra was established in Weil Am Rhein, Germany, in 1950 by husband and wife team Willi and Erika Fehlbaum. On a trip to New York several years later, Willi Fehlbaum encountered the work of design polymaths Ray and Charles Eames in a furniture store and immediately knew that he had found his bliss.
In 1957, Vitra entered into a licensing agreement with Herman Miller, which saw the company producing designs by George Nelson, the Eameses and others. Later, Vitra partnered with Verner Panton and created the Panton chair, which was the first chair ever crafted from a single piece of molded plastic (it was also the first piece to be independently developed by Vitra). After 27 years of establishing the Vitra brand, the Fehlbaums passed control to their two sons, Rolf and Raymond Fehlbaum.
When a fire destroyed the factory in 1981, the brothers developed the Vitra Factory Campus, subsequently taking the opportunity to redirect the architectural landscape of the company. They created a masterplan with Nicholas Grimshaw, and together they erected four buildings in just a few short years.
In 1988, with the passing of Ray Eames and the disbandment of the Los Angeles Eames office, Rolf and Raymond acquired the furniture design portion of her estate, including the Eames prototypes and experimental models, housed today in the Vitra Design Museum.
Rolf and Roy opened the Vitra Design Museum in 1989. This began a period rich with design relationships, including collaborations with Antonio Citterio, Jasper Morrison, Maarten van Severen, Philippe Starck, Alberto Meda and others.
In 2012, leadership passed to Nora, the third generation of the Fehlbaums. Nora Fehlbaum has, like her grandparents, expanded the company and brought it into the 21st century with the acquisition of Finnish furniture manufacturer Artek. Nora has turned the company’s focus to sustainability yet still maintains its international and cultural relevance legacy.
Find a collection of Vitra lounge chairs, tables, side chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- 1977 Salvador Dali Rare Coffee Service "Mermaids, Coral and Ant" Limited EditionBy Salvador DalíLocated in Paris, FRSalvador Dalí (1904-1989) world-famous Spanish painter, graphic artist, and sculptor of surrealism, designed this porcelain limited edition painted 19 pieces of coffee service porcel...Category
Vintage 1970s German Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
$5,689 Sale Price / set25% Off - Georgian Porcelain Coffee Can by Machin & Baggaley Pattern 262, Circa 1810By Machin and BaggaleyLocated in Lincoln, LincolnshireThis is an early 19th century porcelain coffee can or cup that we attribute to Machin and Baggaley (or Machin & Co.) of Burslem, Staffordshire, England. Early Machin porcelain pieces tend to be rare. This coffee can is nominally straight sided and has a good ring handle with a long pointed lower support. It is beautifully hand decorated with a striking floral design having large pink flowers...Category
Antique Early 19th Century English George III Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Salvador Dali Service Porcelain 113 Pieces 1977 Limited Edition N°577/1000By Salvador DalíLocated in Paris, FRSalvador Dalí (1904-1989) world-famous Spanish painter, graphic artist, and sculptor of surrealism designed this Ceramic edition Painted Porcelain with 24-karat gold rim, complete service for 12 in a fitted trunk in 1977. Plates are signed on front and back, and inscribed number n°577/1000. Porcelain Brand Schirnding Porzellan AG in Bavaria Germany Each piece is decorated with mermaids flanked by red coral, Dali's signatures and small symbolic depictions of a fisherman, an ant, a snail, a sailboat, a nude maiden and a bird, with gilded rims. Complete service of 113 pieces for 12 persons in fitted trunk composed : 12 large plates: Diameter 24.5 cm 12 small plates: Diameter 20 cm 12 soup plates: Height 4 cm; Diameter 23 cm 12 soup bowls + 12 saucers : Height 5.5 cm; Diameter 11.5 cm 12 bowls cereal or fruits bowl: Height 4.5 cm; Diameter 14 cm 2 terrines: Height c. 15-17 cm; Inner diameter: c. 12.5-14.5 cm 1 underdish 1 round serving tray: Diameter 30 cm 2 serving bowls: Height 6.5-7.5 cm; Inner diameter 18-21 cm 2 dishes: Dimensions: 21 x 34 cm; 22 x 35.5 cm 2 sauceboat with 1 saucer h 8 cm 1 coffee pot: Height c. 23 cm 1 teapot with warmer...Category
Vintage 1970s German Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Meissen Chinese Butterfly or Schmetterling Pattern Dinner ServiceBy Meissen PorcelainLocated in Boston, MAI am proud to offer you this famous and rare Meissen Chinese butterfly dinner service. Each piece is painted in the Kakiemon style with a central Chinese butterfly on a branch, surrounded by flowering branches. The central part of the plates is from the Chinese famille verte porcelain, while the flowers around the edge are influenced from the Japanese Kakiemon porcelain. There is raised white relief with shells, flowers and arabesque decoration. This Meissen dinner service...Category
Vintage 1950s German Chinese Export Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Alexander Girard La Fonda Del Sol for Mayer China Bowls, Set of FourBy Alexander GirardLocated in Garnerville, NYA set of four Alexander Girard designed white glazed porcelain bowls for Mayer China. A La Fonda Del Sol design. Fully signed on the bottom, A La Fonda Del Sol Design, Mayer China-Mi...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
$600 Sale Price / set20% Off - Minton Porcelain "English Rose" Pattern Part Dinner Service, 20th CenturyBy MintonLocated in Ottawa, OntarioA Minton porcelain 'English Rose' pattern part dinner service 20th century. Comprising nine dinner plates 10¾ in. (27.3 cm.) diameter. Nine 6 1/8 in.(15.5cm.) bread and butter...Category
Mid-20th Century English International Style Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain