If, in 1953, Willi Fehlbaum – just three years after founding Vitra – had not travelled from Switzerland to New York and encountered the works of Charles & Ray Eames, the history of European design could have been very different.
It all began in 1934, when Willi opened a small company for shop displays, called Graeter. Six years later, together with his wife, Erika, he founded a new design company: Vitra. The business grew rapidly and, in search of new ideas, Willi set off for New York. It was on one of these trips that he discovered, in a shop, the Eames' pieces – an encounter that would change the brand's direction.
Soon after, Willi acquired the rights from the American company Herman Miller to produce the duo's pieces for the European market. He and Erika travelled to California to personally meet Charles and Ray at the legendary Eames House. The connection was immediate: they shared fundamental values such as attention to detail, belief in processes and systems, and quality above all else.
Today, this relationship continues, now in the third generation of the Fehlbaum family, and the Vitra Design Museum houses one of the most important collections of Charles & Ray Eames' work.
