The original chair was designed using technology for molding plywood that the Eames developed before world war II. Charles and his friend, designer of the Womb Chair, Eero Saarinen entered the LCW (lounge chair wood) along with a variety of other pieces into the Museum of modern arts “Organic Furniture Competition” in 1940. Charles and Eero won the competition. However, production of the initially designed chairs was postponed due to the United States entry into WWII. This interruption proved financially rewarding to Charles Eames. He began making molded plywood splints for the US Military. The splints were modeled after his own leg and allowed him to hone the technique of molding the plywood into complex curves. The LCW was a result of this experience and began its first year of mass production in 2 species, Mahogany and Rosewood, in 1946.