Machine Age

About

Best of Boston Home, 2016

Story

Located in Boston’s up-and-coming Dorchester neighborhood, Machine Age houses New England’s largest collection of twentieth-century furniture, lighting, and objects d’art. We offer a comprehensive but highly edited assemblage of American & European pieces from the 1930s through the 1980s. Aesthetically, the work marries modernism’s clarity of line and embrace of experimentation with a refined craftsmanship.

Our constantly changing inventory prominently features timeless pieces by the most innovative and visionary names in design: Edward Wormley, Charles & Ray Eames, George Nelson, Florence Knoll, Jens Risom, Vladimir Kagan, Paul McCobb, Tommi Parzinger, Paul Evans, Philip & Kelvin LaVerne, Gilbert Rohde, Greta Grossman, Milo Baughman, Harvey Probber, Frank Lloyd Wright, Raymond Loewy, John Widdicomb, Frank Gehry, Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, Eero Saarinen, Louis Paolozzi, Arne Vodder, Mies van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto, Jean Prouvé, Arne Jacobsen, Bruno Mathsson, Afra & Tobias Scarpa, Poul Kjaerholm, Gio Ponti, Poul Volther, Folke Ohlsson, Niels Otto Møller, Vico Magistretti, Ole Wanscher, Carl Malmsten, Tateishi Shoiji, Ib Kofod-Larsen, & Poul Henningsen.

All items are in excellent original condition or refurbished with the finest textiles and highest quality finishes. Machine Age also offers one-of-a-kind artwork and custom productions.

Normand Mainville, owner, opened Machine Age in 1991 after a successful career in high-end retail in Montreal and Boston. He quickly translated his personal passion for mid-century design into a vast resource for outstanding vintage pieces. Normand continues to hone his eye for fine furnishings in his travels around the globe & is constantly sourcing quality pieces from Europe & North America.

Alicia Kennedy, showroom consultant, writes on design culture. She has conceptualized & art directed numerous design books, including Fashion Design, Referenced, for which she was lead author. For fifteen years she co-edited the award-winning architecture theory journal Assemblage. Her love of twentieth-century design extends to the courses she teaches at Lasell College on fashion history & culture. Alicia brings her editorial eye to researching and developing content for Machine Age.

Massoud Bagheri, showroom associate, is an architect and a land designer. Growing up in Iran, surrounded by magnificent pieces of ancient architecture, did not stop him from developing a fascination for modern Western art and design. Always a design enthusiast & captivated by mid-century architecture, Massoud found Machine Age a perfect place to put his knowledge to work. He is in charge of the graphic representation of the showroom through social media and other online platforms.