Few design collaborations were as personal as the one between Florence Knoll and Eero Saarinen. While a student at Cranbrook Academy of Art (@cranbrook_art), Florence had come up under the mentorship of Eero’s father, the architect Eliel Saarinen, and formed a lifelong bond with the whole family.    Bored by the rigid chairs of the time, she went to her friend with a request: “I want a chair I can sit sideways in or any other way I want.” Saarinen was prepared for the challenge. His early experiments with Charles Eames had already revealed a fascination with molded plywood shells that achieve comfort through form rather than padding. Florence’s plea shaped his research into something entirely new, pushing him beyond plywood and into fiberglass and resin – materials largely unexplored in furniture design at the time.    When the resulting work debuted in 1948, Saarinen said, “Now more than ever, we need to relax.” With its unique, freeing form, the Womb Chair has been making that case ever since.    Discover this @knoll icon at the link in bio.