Marshmallow sofa
Encyclopedia
| Marshmallow sofa | |
| Designer Designer A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a... : George Nelson George Nelson George Nelson may refer to:*George Nelson , Lord Mayor of London*George Nelson *George Nelson , American*George Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson of Stafford , British engineer... (Irving Harper Irving Harper Irving Harper is a noted 20th century industrial designer. While working for George Nelson Associates, Inc. on designs for Herman Miller furniture Harper became one of the most prolific designers of the modernist style... ) |
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| Date : 1957-1961 | |
| Country : United States | |
| Materials : Tubular steel frame. Satin chrome or black painted metal. Foam covered in fabric, vinyl, or leather. | |
| Style/Tradition : Modernist Modernism Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society... |
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| Dimensions (sofa): (52"Wx33"Dx32 1/2"Hx16"SH) | |
| Dimensions (chaise longue): (103"Wx33"Dx32 1/2"Hx16"SH) | |
| Colors : originally red, orange, blue, yellow, and other colors | |
Officially known as the Marshmallow love seat #5670, the Marshmallow sofa is considered the most iconic of all modernist sofas. The Marshmallow sofa was designed by Irving Harper
Irving Harper
Irving Harper is a noted 20th century industrial designer. While working for George Nelson Associates, Inc. on designs for Herman Miller furniture Harper became one of the most prolific designers of the modernist style...
and produced in two lengths from 1956 until 1961 by Herman Miller
Herman Miller
Herman Miller may refer to:*Herman Miller , U.S. manufacturer of office furniture and equipment*Herman Miller , Hollywood writer and producer...
in Zeeland, Michigan
Zeeland, Michigan
Zeeland is a city in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,805 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the western edge of Zeeland Charter Township which is politically independent. Its name is derived from the Dutch province of Zeeland...
. It was re-issued in the 1980s as part of the "Herman Miller Classics" line, and continues in production today.
History
Officially listed by Herman Miller as the Marshmallow love seat #5670, the sofa was designed for both residential and contract (office) sales. The playful design of the Marshmallow sofa is the result of placement of circular "marshmallow" cushions at regular intervals across a metal frame. The cushions were covered in either fabric, vinyl, or leather in bright colors. Generally all the cushions were the same color, but the sofa could also be ordered with cushions of various colors for a more whimsical look. The design was created in 1954 when a salesman for a Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
plastics company presented to George Nelson's New York City studio an example of the company's ability to create round 12 inch foam discs that became "self-skinned". The limited manufacturing costs made the item inviting, and designer Irving Harper was asked to design a piece of furniture around the discs. Over a weekend Harper designed a sofa incorporating 18 of the discs arranged over a metal frame. The invention did not live up to its promise, but Herman Miller went ahead with the sofa's production anyway, introducing it in 1956. Covering the individual seat pads proved costly and time consuming, turning the intended budget piece into a luxury product.
The Marshmallow sofa was designed in the "atomistic" style seen in other classic George Nelson Associates, Inc. designs, such as the "Ball clock" (1950) and the "Hang-It-All" (1953). The "atomistic" style explodes its parts into separate, brightly-colored elements, in this case the seat cushions. It was an adaptation of artist's representations of the atom, which used individual, brightly-colored dots to portray atomic particles.
The marshmallow sofa was produced in two lengths. The 52" version incorporates 18 cushions in a pattern of 4-5-5-4. The 103" length uses 38 cushions in a 9-10-10-9 pattern.
The Marshmallow sofa was originally issued by Herman Miller in 1956, and appeared in their 1957 catalog. The sofa was dropped in 1961. Despite its popularity, and visibility in Herman Miller publications, only 186 Marshmallow sofas were produced between 1956 and 1961. The 52" version was re-issued in the 1980s as part of the "Herman Miller Classics" line, and continues in production today, though in limited numbers.
Design attribution
For decades the design of the Marshmallow sofa was attributed to George Nelson, as was the practice for designs coming out of George Nelson Associates, Inc. In recent years it has been revealed that many of the firms designs were actually those of other designers working for the firm. The Marshmallow sofa was designed in 1954 by Irving HarperIrving Harper
Irving Harper is a noted 20th century industrial designer. While working for George Nelson Associates, Inc. on designs for Herman Miller furniture Harper became one of the most prolific designers of the modernist style...
. John Pile, a designer who worked for George Nelson Associates, Inc. in the 1950s explained the practice, "George's attitude was that it was okay for individual designers to be given credit in trade publications, but for the consumer world, the credit should always be to the firm, not the individual. He didn't always follow through on that policy though."