The Finnish-American designer Eero Saarinen studied sculpture in Paris and architecture at Yale, before moving into furniture design. He first started to produce products with Norman Bel Geddes.
Whilst studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, under its art director and his father Eliel Saarinen, he met Charles Eames. Their groundbreaking collection of moulded plywood chairs entered into MoMA's 1940 Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition one the award and kick-started their careers. The pair shortly after opened their own architecture and design studio in 1950; together designing the Dulles Airport, the TWA terminal at JFK and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
Whilst at Cranbrook, Saarinen also met Florence Knoll, their parent's good friends, often taking holidays together. In the 1940s Florence invites him to design for Knoll, there he creates his most iconic and recognisable designs, including the womb chair and the tulip collection of tables and chairs.