The Low-Key Design Wizard | Wavechoppa Bath Mats

The Low-Key Design Wizard | Alexander Girard | Wavechoppa Bath Mats

Born in 1907 in New York City, Alexander Girard was one of the leading figures of postwar American design, along with his more well-known close friends and colleagues such as George Nelson and Charles & Ray Eames. The low-key designer left an indelible mark in the design world and is currently one of Wavechoppa’s biggest inspirations.

Alexander Girard originally studied architecture, but his career extended into interior, furniture, and textile design. The primary focus of Girard’s oeuvre was textile design. He created numerous fabrics for the Herman Miller Company that incorporated abstract forms and geometric patterns in a wide variety of colour compositions. Many of his upholstery fabrics remain as timely and vital as ever and are still manufactured by Vitra today. During his career, he designed over 17,000 items that ranged from sugar sachets, to matches, the re-branding and plane design of Braniff Airways, fabrics and textiles, children’s toys, and many more. Girard built up an impressive corpus over the span of his long career. In the midst of it all, Girard also served for over 20 years as the director of design in Herman Miller’s textile department. 

Deeply steeped in folk art tradition, yet marrying its history with the modern principles of his era, Girard produced a host of products that are still easily recognizable today. Girard was also one of the great renaissance men of his time. Moving effortlessly between interior, graphic, textiles, and furniture design.

Here at Wavechoppa, we released a new edition of a bathmat named the “Jackpot”. We were inspired by Alexander Girard’s utilization of textiles and prints. The man had no limits and his medium was merely an application for his vision. The ideals of all these famous mid-century designers were quite simple- being encompassed in good design makes one feel good. Wavechoppa believes that good design should also be accessible to anybody, and we want our people to feel good. This was the root of how the “Jackpot” came to be. During our design process, we incorporated Girard’s ideals of precision and use of dual hues. Get your limited mat while it is still available and add some timeless, unique, and modern flair into your living space while you can. Shop for yours here now.