André Sornay was one of the most innovative designers of the 20th Century, but because he lived and worked in Lyon, France rather than Paris, he is not as well known as contemporaries such as Le Corbusier and Prouve. Sornay studied art at the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Lyon, but quit school at the age of 17 when his father's death made him head of the family's furniture-manufacturing company. Highly influenced by the Bauhaus and De Stilj movements and uninterested in the overly-elaborate styles of Beaux-Artes and Art Nouveau, Sornay began his career as Art Deco peaked, and as new materials and
PAUL EVANS
American furniture designer Paul R. Evans (May, 20, 1931 - March 7, 1987) is most famous for his 1970s sculpted metal furniture for American manufacturer Directional Furniture. Before his fame, Evans began his design career studying in many well-known institutions including Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (1952). He then moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania where he worked with his friend and mentor Phillip Lloyd Powell, who was himself a student of the famed Japanese-American furniture designer George Nakashima.
Charles Schneider
In 1913, Charles Schneider and his brother established the Cristallerie Schneider at Epnay-sur-Seine, France. Charles had learned his trade as a designer for the great Art Nouveau glass firms of Galle and Daum. Art glass by Schneider was originally signed Schneider, Le Verre Francaise, or Charder (a contraction of Charles Schneider). Occasionally, it was signed with the inclusion of a small candy-cane of striped glass in the base.
Warren Platner
Warren Platner (1919-(Age 93)) American designer best known for metal wire furniture produced in collaboration with Knoll. Platner earned his Architecture degree at Cornell in 1941 and worked for several firms, most notably that of Eero Saarinen. In the mid-1960s Platner designed interiors and furniture for the Ford Foundation offices in New York City.
Gustav Stickley
Gustav Stickley (1857-1942) is remembered as a leading member of the American Arts & Crafts movement, founder of the Craftsman furniture company, and elder brother of L., J.G., and Albert Stickley, siblings who first worked for him, then set up their own competing shops. Heavily influenced by William Morris, C.F.A. Vosey and the English Arts & Crafts movement, Gustav Stickley first produced his own designs from his studio in upstate New York, which he named United Crafts in 1901.
Walter Von Nessen
Walter Von Nessen (1889-1943) was born in Berlin, Germany. In 1925 he immigrated to the United States and opened Nessen Studios in New York City. At first he designed lighting and furniture for architects to use in their residential and public commissions. With the help of one craftsman he produced an amazing variety lighting fixtures, each showcasing innovative approaches and solutions to the requirements of the job.
Aldo Tura
Aldo Tura was an Italian artist-craftsman who started to manufacture and design furniture in the 1930’s. As an experimental furniture designer Aldo Tura often used a wide selection of unusual materials which included: eggshell, parchment, leather and wood veneering. Aldo Tura’s works are often praised for their quality of craftsmanship which can be attributed to the limited series production, sometimes limited to only the prototype.