Hello made sure to toast to a wonderful year with a night of Latin American-inspired tapas and holiday cheer. Raise a glass to 2012 and Happy Holidays from Hello!

The site features a visual timeline that pulls out the major collaborations between the Eames and Herman Miller and the furniture icons they created together. By sharing content uncovered from the Herman Miller archives, our site invites users to take a closer look inside the work of the Eameses.

Historical images, videos and anecdotal quotes are sprinkled throughout the timeline. Users can scroll through the timeline or jump to specific time periods by clicking on the Eames’ signature icons. You’ve probably sat in an Eames chair before and haven’t realized it, like an Eames Molded Plywood chair or Eames Tandem Seating at the airport.

Users have a chance to win the classic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman – seen everywhere from Frasier to Tron – by signing up for the giveaway.

We’ve been working with Mattel for the past few years on Barbie and currently over at the LACMA, as part of California Design, 1930-1965: “Living in a Modern Way,” the original 1959 Barbie doll and her boyfriend, Ken, introduced in 1961, are on display.

Originally designed in Hawthorne but made in Tokyo, the dolls are a gift from Mattel, Inc., sponsor of the exhibition and an example of a postwar California success story. Formed around 1945 in a Los Angeles garage, Mattel envisioned a three-dimensional fashion doll onto which a child “could project her own dreams of the future.” Fifteen years later, Barbie was born.

It was interesting to see Barbie’s Dream House, which was made out of cardboard, but surprisingly modern in design.

Be sure to check out the exhibition before it closes to see many of the great California design stories.

Friends of Hello at the A+D Museum in Los Angeles recently installed “Eames Words,” an exhibition where the ideas of Charles and Ray Eames triumph their better-known creations.

Part of the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time, the show pays homage to the design duo’s appreciation of humble objects through an “informal assemblage” of quotes, phrases and actual items, like the Jeep.

Much of the inspiration behind the couple’s designs came from the everyday, which is no better represented in Charles’ timeless phrase, “The uncommon beauty of common things.” The Eameses taught us to celebrate life’s simple pleasures and that design only further enhances this philosophy.

Pumpkin cannibalism?

Our pumpkins will greet you at the door. Spooky.

The unboxing begins.

Here are pairs of Eames Aluminum Management Chairs.

Eames Molded Plywood Dining Chairs, perfect for our upstairs lounge.

A lineup of Aerons from small to large.

Yves Behar’s SAYL chairs for one of the conference rooms.

We love the simplicity of the Setu Side chairs. The instruction manual says, “Sit down.”

The Herman Miller showroom is just down the street, but now we have our own mini showroom at Hello!

Join us at the upcoming CreativeMornings event in LA where our CEO/Creative Director, David Lai, is invited to speak. Along with sharing Hello’s story, he’ll also discuss how operating under the belief, “do good work and everything else happens,” has led us to working with clients like Herman Miller, Tillamook, simplehuman and TaylorMade Golf.

CreativeMornings is a breakfast lecture series for creative types where notable writers, designers, photographers and more are invited to speak in different cities around the world. David will be speaking at the Herman Miller showroom on October 14. Tickets are limited so make sure you RSVP on October 10 to get a spot. See you there!

In celebration of the launch of Cheese’wich, Tillamook sent us an entire grilled cheese making kit including 3 loafs of cheese, bread and a Cuisinart grilled cheese maker. We had a grilled cheese sandwich-making party today and even tried to make real-life Cheese’wiches. It’s not as easy as it seems, and we’re glad we built the app!

Thanks Tillamook!

We just released Cheese’wich, a Facebook app built for Tillamook that grills your face (or any image) onto a hot, gooey, grilled cheese sandwich.

To build buzz prior to launch, we targeted 100 social media influencers and tweeted sandwiches with a personal message from “Loafy,” Tillamook’s cheese loaf mascot. Celebrities like Drew Carey retweeted, James Beard award-winning chef, Laura Werlin, turned her Cheese’wich into her Facebook profile and maybe -just maybe, President Obama made himself a grilled cheese sandwich that night.

Resulting in a lot of chatter and an influx of Cheese’wich requests from fans, we eventually opened up for orders on Tillamook’s Facebook wall. Friends of Tillamook went wild.

We asked Scott Arenstein, Account Director, how this cheesy strategy was cooked up:

What was the thought process behind the Cheese’wich launch?

It originated out of wanting to start a conversation with people. What better way to say “Hi, we’re Tillamook” than to grill someone’s face on a grilled cheese sandwich? Additionally, a lot of apps are built and released on a daily basis so we wanted to launch this in a special way. By connecting Tillamook with celebrities and chefs, we brought Tillamook into the pop culture conversation.

What was successful about the strategy?

When we were testing the app and grilling faces, one of our designers grilled the cast of Jersey Shore. When others saw it they couldn’t help but give a little chuckle. Seeing your face on a grilled cheese sandwich just makes you smile. I think this playful approach is what really made the strategy effective. And it really reflects Tillamook–an approachable, happy brand.

What was your favorite part about this project?

It was fun to watch the project come to life and see the responses from both celebrities and Tillamook fans. My favorite fan comment was “I love it when the different segments of my life collide! @TillamookCheese @ConanOBrien.” – @ValZwald

Visit Tillamook’s Facebook page to get your own Cheese’wich.

Join us this Saturday as Hello’s CEO/Creative Director, David Lai takes part in Pecha Kucha night, a series of presentations given by 48 leading contemporary voices in design and architecture as part of Little Tokyo Design Week (LTDW).

Pecha Kucha (meaning “chit chat” in Japanese) started off as an event for young designers to meet and share their work with the public, but has now become a massive celebration where hundreds of events take place in different cities around the world, like St. Petersburg to Nagoya to Leeds. The theme of this Saturday’s Pecha Kucha night is based on the idea of “Future City,” where presentations will focus on visionary cities and city life. We’re excited to hear from the great roundup of speakers, especially Hitoshi Abe, architect and chair of both LTDW and UCLA Architecture and Design.

Pecha Kucha Night starts at 8:00 pm this Saturday ( 7/16) at the JACCC Plaza in Little Tokyo – come by earlier for food trucks and music!