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Youve probably heard of Charles and Ray Eames, the designers behind the iconic Eames chair and ottoman, and Georgia OKeefe, the trailblazing artist. But you might not know about how these artists were connected during their careersor the art that came from their camaraderie. Herman Miller, in collaboration with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, is bringing that history to light with a new limited-run furniture line. The New Mexico Collection, set to be released on May 20, celebrates the Eameses, OKeeffe, and designer Alexander Girard, the founding director of Herman Millers textile division. Included in the launch are 300 special Eames Wire Chairs, retailing for $1,995, and 100 iterations of the never-before-sold Girard Snake Table, retailing for $895. Both of the items offer a look into the intertwined artistic legacies of three designers whose work continues to shape the art world today. [Photo: Mariko Reed for Herman Miller] An oft-overlooked network of friends Georgia OKeeffe first met Alexander Girard and his wife, Susan, when the couple moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1953. OKeeffe had already been living in the remote rural town of Abiquiú, New Mexico, since the 1940s, and was already a household name across the country at the time of their meeting for her lush and evocative depictions of the natural world, many of which were inspired by flora and fauna native to her local surroundings. [The Georgia OKeeffe Museum] can’t say for sure exactly when and how they met, but suffice it to say there weren’t too many world renowned artists and designers living in that area, and apparently they felt a real kinship, says Kelsey Keith, brand creative director at Herman Miller. For the New Mexico collection, Keith visited the museums archives, where she learned that there are records of 20 to 30 years of correspondence between the Girards and OKeeffenot just to advise each other on artistic projects, which they did plenty of, but also to trade the kinds of casual stories that maintain a decades-long friendship. They ended up traveling together all over the world, Keith says. Girard and his wife would go on these folk art collecting trips to Central and South America and to Japan, and [OKeeffe] actually accompanied them on some of those trips. I think you have to be pretty good friends with someone to take those kinds of trips together. It was through the Girards that the Eameses entered the picture. Girard was already close to the Eameses; in fact, the design duo had actually landed him his job. When the Eameses first began to design furniture for Herman Miller in the 40s (the company has now owned the exclusive distribution rights to Eames designs for decades), Charles and Ray asked for Girard to be brought on with them as a real design partner, not just someone to sort of decoratively apply fabrics after the fact, Keith says. Through this professional collaboration, the Girards and the Eameses became both close colleagues and friends. The Girards soon introduced the Eameses to OKeeffe. While their friendship wasnt as close, since the Eameses lived a state away from OKeeffe in Los Angeles, they also kept up a correspondence, and were known to attend the Girards annual Christmas parties. At the heights of their careers, the personal links between Girard, OKeeffe, and the Eameses informed the work of all four creatives. A new design and a revived prototype The new Eames Wire Chair Low Base and Girard Snake Table both serve as a window into this period of artistic cross-pollination. The chair is inspired by a wire chair originally gifted by Ray Eames to OKeeffe as decor in her Abiquiú home and studio. OKeeffes home and studio are now preserved as museum exhibitions, and for good reason: Her minimalist-yet-aesthetically pleasing and highly curated approach to interior design draws visitors to view her former residence year-round. Suffice it to say, OKeeffe had high standards when it came to outfitting her space. Rays chair surpassed them. [Photo: Mariko Reed for Herman Miller] Georgia loved [the chair] so much that she wrote a thank-you note and actually asked for another one just like it, which is hilariousthat someone sends you a gift, and you’re like, I love it so much, can I have one more? Keith says. But she could do that, obviously. The original chair has a little label on it that Ray hand-drew to Georgia. Instead of making an exact replica of Rays original gift to Eames, Herman Miller decided to create a product that would merge elements of the Eames design and OKeeffes interior decor. The New Mexico Collections wire chair is a classic Eames frame on a low base, an homage to the fairly low ceilings and smaller furniture in OKeeffes home. The chair is upholstered in a bikini style (think two inverted triangles stacked together) with an chre and sienna striped fabric designed by Girard and intended to match with the Abiquiú homes adobe interiors. While the new wire chair is a contemporary design made from archival elements, the Girard Snake Table is a close replica of a prototype made by Girard in the 50s that was never widely produced (though it occasionally pops up on auction sites.) The table features a splayed-leg aluminum base and steel top, printed with a custom illustration of a snake made by Girard. Snake imagery was a preoccupation of both Girards and OKeeffes. OKeeffe was so enamored with the snakes form, in fact, that when an archaeologist fan sent her a preserved skeleton, she had it encased in a bench in her living room. Today, visitors to the OKeeffe house will find the snakes final resting place, as well as an original pillow made by Girard featuring one of his snake drawings. [Photo: Mariko Reed for Herman Miller] This is New Mexico, so snake motifs are really prevalent, Keith says. I think what’s interesting about this is that Girard interpreted that motif in his own wayin a very graphic senseand then [OKeeffe] also took inspiration from the natural world, and had this snake skeleton embedded in the banco in her house. For Keith, the New Mexico Collection truly came together when she was able to see the final products arranged in OKeeffes home, overlooking the New Mexico landscape through sweeping glass windows. I will say, I think we hit it just right, because when we brought in the limited-run products to photograph in [OKeeffes] house, they fit so perfectly, it looks like they were meant to be there, Keith says.
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E-Commerce
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Saturday that he wants to step down as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year. The revelation came as a surprise because the 94-year-old had previously said he did not plan to retire.Buffett, one of the world’s richest people and most accomplished investors, took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 when it was a textiles manufacturer. He turned the company into a conglomerate by finding other businesses and stocks to buy that were selling for less than they were worth.His success made him a Wall Street icon. It also earned him the nickname “Oracle of Omaha,” a reference to the Nebraska city where Buffett was born and chose to live and work.Here are some of his best and worst investments over the years: Buffett’s Best National Indemnity and National Fire & Marine: Purchased in 1967, the company was one of Buffett’s first insurance investments. Insurance floatthe premium money insurers can invest between the time when policies are bought and when claims are madeprovided the capital for many of Berkshire’s investments over the years and helped fuel the company’s growth. Berkshire’s insurance division has grown to include Geico, General Reinsurance and several other insurers. The float totaled $173 billion at the end of the first quarter.Buying blocks of stock in American Express, Coca-Cola Co. and Bank of America at times when the companies were out of favor because of scandals or market conditions. Collectively, the shares are worth over $100 billion more than what Buffett paid for them, and that doesn’t count all the dividends he has collected over the years.Apple: Buffett long said that he didn’t understand tech companies well enough to value them and pick the long-term winners, but he started buying Apple shares in 2016. He later explained that he bought more than $31 billion worth because he understood the iPhone maker as a consumer products company with extremely loyal customers. The value of his investment grew to more than $174 billion before Buffett started selling Berkshire Hathaway’s shares.BYD: On the advice of his late investing partner Charlie Munger, Buffett bet big on the genius of BYD founder Wang Chanfu in 2008 with a $232 million investment in the Chinese electric vehicle maker. The value of that stake soared to more than $9 billion before Buffett began selling it off. Berkshire’s remaining stake is still worth about $1.8 billion.See’s Candy: Buffett repeatedly pointed to his 1972 purchase as a turning point in his career. Buffett said Munger persuaded him that it made sense to buy great businesses at good prices as long as they had enduring competitive advantages. Previously, Buffett had primarily invested in companies of any quality as long as they were selling for less than he thought they were worth. Berkshire paid $25 million for See’s and recorded pretax earnings of $1.65 billion from the candy company through 2011. The amount continued to grow but Buffett didn’t routinely highlight it.Berkshire Hathaway Energy: Utilities provide a large and steady stream of profits for Berkshire. The conglomerate paid $2.1 billion, or about $35.05 per share, for Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy in 2000. The utility unit subsequently was renamed and made several acquisitions, including PacifiCorp and NV Energy. The utilities added more than $3.7 billion to Berkshire’s profit in 2024, although Buffett has said they are now worth less than they used to be because of the liability they face related to wildfires. Buffett’s Worst Berkshire Hathaway: Buffett had said his investment in the Berkshire Hathaway textile mills was probably his worst investment ever. The textile company he took over in 1965 bled money for many years before Buffett finally shut it down in 1985, though Berkshire did provide cash for some of Buffett’s early acquisitions. Of course, the Berkshire shares Buffett began buying for $7 and $8 a share in 1962 are now worth $809,350 per share, so even Buffett’s worst investment turned out OK.Dexter Shoe Co.: Buffett said he made an awful blunder by buying Dexter in 1993 for $433 million, a mistake made even worse because he used Berkshire stock for the deal. Buffett says he essentially gave away 1.6% of Berkshire for a worthless business.Missed opportunities. Buffett said that some of his worst mistakes over the years were the investments and deals that he didn’t make. Berkshire easily could have made billions if Buffett had been comfortable investing in Amazon, Google or Microsoft early on. But it wasn’t just tech companies he missed out on. Buffett told shareholders he was caught “sucking his thumb” when he failed to follow through on a plan to buy 100 million Walmart shares that would be worth nearly $10 billion today.Selling banks too soon. Not long before the COVID pandemic, Buffett seemed to sour on most of his bank stocks. Repeated scandals involving Wells Fargo gave him a reason to start unloading his 500 million shares, many of them for around $30 per share. But he also sold off his JP Morgan stake at prices less than $100. Both stocks have more than doubled since then.Blue Chip Stamps: Buffett and Munger, Berkshire’s former vice chairman, took control of Blue Chip in 1970 when the customer rewards program was generating $126 million in sales. But as trading stamps fell out of favor with retailers and consumers, sales steadily declined; in 2006, they totaled a mere $25,920. However, Buffett and Munger used the float that Blue Chip generated to acquire See’s Candy, Wesco Financial and Precision Castparts, which are all steady contributors to Berkshire. Josh Funk, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
Today (Monday, May 5, 2025) is Cinco de Mayo. The day celebrates the May 5, 1862, victory of Mexico against France in the Battle of Puebla. However, while Cinco de Mayo celebrates an important event in Mexican history, the day is widely observed in communities across America and is now frequently one used to celebrate Mexican-American culture in the United States. Many brands in Americaespecially restaurant chainslike to participate in Cinco de Mayo by offering deals and freebies to customers. This is especially true of restaurants that serve Mexican or Mexican-American food. Here are some deals to be had today if you are up for celebrating Cinco de Mayo with your tastebuds. Baja Fresh Use the code CINCO at checkout to get $5.55 off your order of $20 or more. California Pizza Kitchen The pizza chain is offering free white corn guacamole and chips to customers who show this web page to their server. California Tortilla The Mexican food chain is offering a coupon for a free taco on their next visit to people who purchase something today. Chipotle Chipotle is offering several Cinco de Mayo deals, including $0 delivery fees when using the promo code DELIVER and free chips and Queso Blanco when using the promo code CINCO25. The company is also giving away the chance to win one of 50,000 burritos when you play its Burrito Builder experience on Roblox. Full details of the offers can be found here. Del Taco Get a free burrito with any $10 purchase. Jack In the Box The fast food chain is giving away free Tiny Tacos of any style if you order in the app and spend at least $5 today. Laredo Taco Company Buy one burrito and get one free. 7-Eleven Order Laredo Taco Company food through the 7NOW Delivery app and get 50% off the total as long as the order is $20 or more.
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E-Commerce
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