Merger of Rivals Reunites Designs of Eames, Saarinen
George Nelson did not like the idea, and he said so. The gossip, as he called it, involved Herman Miller acquiring Knoll. “I think that would be the worst thing that could happen,” he said at the time. Mr. Nelson was Herman Miller’s Director of Design from 1946 until 1972. His opposition to joining the two firms wasn’t rooted in business dynamics or strategic concerns. It was different. “The co-existence of Miller and Knoll is what puts both of them on their toes,” said Mr. Nelson. “We were always designing to each other. We wanted the audience to like what we were saying, but we were playing to our peer group.” The thanks for this record of George Nelson’s reflections belong to an oral history project conducted in the late 70s. Excerpts here come from Margot Weller’s article in a 2015 issue of Art Papers. Without fate’s intervention in 1937 …
Log in to Continue Reading
