As early as the 1960s, cardboard furniture emerged as a cheap and light alternative to traditional furniture. At that time, slotting and folding as well as supports were used to ensure that the cardboard could bear sufficient weight. Nevertheless, cardboard furniture hardly had a chance against plastic furniture, which was equally light.

Frank O. Gehry discovered a process which enabled cardboard furniture to be made in massive blocks – cardboard sculptures, as it were. "One day I saw a stack of corrugated cardboard in my office; it was the material I used to build my architectural models. And I started playing around with it, gluing it together and then cutting it into shape with a handsaw and a pocket-knife". Gehry called the material made of corrugated cardboard glued in layers that ran at right angles to each other 'Edge Board'. In 1972 he brought out a series of extraordinarily stable cardboard furniture called 'Easy Edges'.

The Vitra Miniatures Collection presents the most important classics of modern furniture history in miniature. The construction, materials and colours correspond to the historical Vitra Design Museum collection original, right down to the last detail. Because they are so true to the originals, the miniatures are not only valuable collector’s items, but also ideal illustrative material for universities, colleges of design and architects. The Miniatures Collection is unique worldwide. For each miniature there is a licence agreement with the designer or his estate. Many designers collaborate with Vitra to develop the miniatures of their own designs and offer their assistance by supplying information on the objects. In return, Vitra honour the designer’s copyright by paying royalties.