Jim Eldon

Jim Eldon studied industrial design at Kent State University before joining the Knoll Design Development Group in 1966. When later asked what working for Knoll was like, Eldon recalled “Dick Schultz and Max Pearson would spend a lot of time talking about the philosophy of design, and then you had the other end of the spectrum, the ‘bricks and blocks’ guys, with a wide variety in between. It was all good because we all had this love of material and a love of design. It was like a religious fervor at Knoll, which sustained the company.”

In 1971 Knoll introduced the Eldon Collection, which met the company’s need for a lounge seating system with modular, interchangeable, easily replaced parts. Ideal for industrial, high-traffic applications like dormitories, the upholstery could be replaced without dismantling the entire sofa. The press release announcing the introduction called the design “eminently practical.”