The Appleton Family History of Selling the Designs of Charles & Ray Eames

Two generations of the Appleton family have been directly involved in the sales and marketing of Charles & Ray Eames' designs for over 40 years.

In the early 1970s Herman Miller decided to set up their European operations based in the city of Bath in South West England. My father, Fred Appleton, was appointed managing director of European operations and in the picture above, you can see the original Herman Miller UK team of 1972, including Fred Appleton, Alan Booty, Bob Wood, Michael Green and Keith Baker to name just a few.

During the 1970s, my father worked closely with the Herman Miller board, and knew Charles & Ray Eames on a personal level. He was responsible for the marketing of their products here in the UK and later throughout Europe.

In September 2008 we took the momentous decision to be the first company worldwide to offer all variations of these iconic chairs under one roof.

Customers visiting our central London showroom can now see Herman Miller, Vitra, ICF and chinese reproductions in new, used and vintage forms all in one location.

We, for our part, are happy to leave it to our customers to form their own views on originality, quality and value for money. Put simply, we let the buyer decide.

Customers can receive an unbiased overview of many of the points of history, as well as being able to see how these chairs have changed and developed over the last 50 years, by looking at real antique museum pieces side by side with their modern day equivalents.

The Appleton family is delighted to have been connected with the iconic designs of Charles & Ray Eames for nearly half a century.