Eva Zeisel, groundbreaking designer, dies at the age of 105

events

Eva Zeisel, groundbreaking designer, dies at the age of 105

Eva Zeisel died on Friday in New York City. The prolific industrial designer, known for her ceramic tableware, lived to be 105.

Eva Zeisel was born in 1906 in Budapest to a wealthy, highly educated & assimilated Jewish family. She entered the budapest royal academy of fine arts at age 17 & two years later left to work with a potter, learning to design and make ceramic objects. Eva was the first woman to learn the craft, going on to work in the black forest region of Germany where she created many designs for tea sets, vases, & other ceramic items.

After the Nazis invaded Vienna, Zeisel & her husband Hans emigrated to New York with only $64 to their name. Her career in design continued to develop in the United States. In addition to designing for companies such as General Mills, Rosenthal, & Castleton China, Eva taught one of the first courses in industrial design at the Pratt Institute in New York – a position she held until 1953. She also arranged an apprenticeship for her students at the bay ridge speciality company, giving them an opportunity to gain professional experience. In 1942, the Castleton company asked Zeisel to create a series that would define a new era of modern china, which was unveiled at a solo show in 1946. She followed this high profile line with the colorful and playful ‘town & country’ dinnerware for red wing pottery.

Eva Zeisel’s designs are functional & made to be used. The inspiration for her sensuous forms often comes from the natural organic curves of the body, taking advantage of the softness of clay. Zeisel describes her designs in a New York Sun article: ‘I don’t create angular things. I’m a more circular person – it’s more my character…even the air between my hands is round.’

Eva Zeisel, you will be missed.

See some of her work here.

Unicahome.com was founded in 1998 by Hugh and Bonnie Fogel. Featuring over 65,000 products, Unicahome.com is a complete lifestyle store for home, office and contract use featuring Bridal Registry, Furniture, Lighting, Accessories, Barware, Food and Great Gifts from noted designers and top brands sourced worldwide. Our 18,000 square foot store is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, just minutes away from the world famous Las Vegas Strip. We hope you enjoyed your visit to Unicaworld!