Eero Aarnio, a Finnish designer, began his career as a freelancer in the early 1960s. His dream was to create a furniture piece that would leave a lasting impression. Inspired by sailing boats and intrigued by fiberglass’s potential, he wondered if this material could be used beyond the boat industry. Aarnio wanted to create a chair that would stop people in their tracks. He famously told his wife, “I will make a chair that when put in a shop window, no one will just walk past it.” His love for provocation and stirring up attention fueled his creativity.
On January 11, 1963, Eero sketched the Ball Chair, envisioning a round, hollow fiberglass shell. Working with Pirkko’s brother in a crafts class, they developed the first-ever shell. Eager to find a customer, Eero approached a furniture shop in Lahti. Despite showing them the drawings and describing the prototype, they weren’t interested. But Eero didn’t give up. In 1964, he painted the Ball Chair red, added the Coca-Cola logo to the back, and staged a photoshoot with his wife sitting in it, sipping Coca-Cola through a straw. He then reached out to Coca-Cola Finland for collaboration.
The Ball Chair, introduced in 1966, became an emblem of 1960s design. Although Eero Aarnio is often praised for his space-aged aesthetics, futurism wasn’t his primary intention. It was serendipitous that the Ball Chair emerged around the same time as Yuri Gagarin’s historic spaceflight.
Dimensions: H 47 1/4″ D 35 1/2″ W 31 3/4″ SH 18 1/4
Materials: White fiberglass frame. Upholstered seat and back.
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