Ross Littell (1924 - 2000) met William Katavalos (1924 - 2020) and Douglas Kelley (born 1928) while attending the Pratt Institute and the three designers formed a partnership in 1949.  During their six-year partnership, they designed furniture, along with textiles and dinnerware, for Laverne Originals in New York, using materials such as leather, glass, chrome, and marble.  A group of chairs and tables designed by Littell, Katavolos, and Kelley were included in the Museum of Modern Art's "Good Design" exhibitions in 1953 and 1955.  In 1952, their T-chair won the American Institute of Decorators award for the best furniture design in the United States.  This iconic chair is now included in the permanent collections of both the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Musée du Louvre, Paris.