The most fascinating reading I'll have all day is Metropolis' "Nelson & Company: Iconic Workplace, 1947-86" which looks at the inner workings of George Nelson's office in its heyday:

The office was straight out of Mad Men, with men in crisp white shirts and ties, and the few women in black dresses--cigarette smoke everywhere, classical music in the background, and Nelson, ever the impresario, standing in the middle of the tumult with a camera dangling from his shoulders. "Everybody worked hard and late," [graphic designer Don] Ervin says. "We were all underpaid, but it was like going to a special camp."

The article interviews designers, architects, and even the former receptionist to paint a vivid picture of not only what it was like to work there, but of Nelson's free-floating process. Michael Graves, Lucia DeRespinis, Tomoko Miho, Irving Harper and others provide colorful anecdotes explaining how Nelson's "greatest genius may have been his skill in bringing them together."

"The 20 or so designers sat together in the same long studio at three rows of desks--architects, industrial designers, graphic and interior designers," explains designer Ron Beckman. "We were aware of what each was doing. It was a very democratic arrangement that encouraged collaboration across the various disciplines...."

Read the rest of the entertainingly lengthy article here.