Dear AT,
With all the internet vendors offering classic furniture reproductions, how do you really decide which are the best and most reliable to purchase from? This has been my dilemma having purchased a few bad apples that often were quite different than what was featured on their site...
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chicago(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)
Hey Beau,
There's NO reason to support "knock-offs".
Didn't your Mama ever tell you..." you get what you pay for!"?
Original design classics are the original idea/creation/concept of some individual - who spent plenty of time, enerrgy, creativity, and prototying to come up with a design that would stand the test of time - and, one day be called- "a Classic".
Please respect the intellectual property of the creator.
Signed,
a Furniture Designer .
(who has been knocked off as well)
view ManofSteel's profile
Domino magazine has some info on mid-c furniture dominomag.com/howtos/advice/2006/12/howto_decoadvice_midecentury
view LaDonnaNichole's profile
if the link doesn't work
www.dominomag.com
>> how tos >> decorating >> mid-century modern furniture
you could also try to find a used original on craigslist or at a flea market for less than a new one would cost
good luck
view LaDonnaNichole's profile
Well, reproductions need to be different slightly to get by licensing restrictions. But, companies like Alphaville and many other Chinese manufacturers do produce very strong reproductions that have great quality and attention to detail. I understand your skepticism, but you'll find good luck at these retailers:
1) Paradigm Gallery (www.pgmod.com)
- wide variety
- No hassle free returns
- their current sale lets you negotiate your price...
2) Sleek Spaces (www.sleekspaces.com)
- 10% off
- Free Shipping
- Ok customer service IMO, but some people have had issues
3) Furniture Loft (www.furnitureloft.com)
-kinda pricey
In other news, because I feel like venting....
While this may not be the best arena to support reproductions, it's a continued arena that consumers will probe. Frankly, designers and companies like Knoll and Cassina have already been well paid and they certainly deserve those royalties.
However, these companies are also putting retailers in a horrible position of going out of business. Get real, 3800 for a Barcelona chair? While there always needs to be a high end in any industry, furniture high end caters to such a small percentage of the market that organizations like DWR will not always be able to continue as is.
The licensing companies have suggested pricing for all retailers and with no flexability on promotions, consumers are often left craving. Reproductions solve this problem and frankly, licensing companies DESERVE a continued loss because they are putting design ahead of business sense.
Luxury auto manufacturers have learned their lesson. Almost all of them now have an "entry" level luxury vehicle. You can neglect such a huge percentage of a market and basically sacrifice your dealers.
Why do you think DWR has such a hard time making a profit.
I support young designers but many of us are stuck in the modern classics rut. Young designers don't sell though when so many people are stuck on 50 year old designs.
view HamidZ32's profile
Everyone,
Thank you all for the excellent input. ManofSteel, as an artist myself I do understand the importance of keeping things original but I have to agree more with what HamidZ32 said. The licensed versions are far too expensive. Considering that suburb reproductions exist, could you really justify spending the extra $2500 for a Knoll signature stamped on the frame? Besides, one must keep in mind that these people have been dead a long while and no longer are able to feel the support or see the checks they earned. Call me cynical but I wouldn't let licensed pricing get in the way of letting me appreciate Ludwig's Barcelona chair each day.
-Beau
view beaucauchemar's profile
Almost forgot.
Here are some pictures of my "practice" room. (I'll be moving to a larger apartment soon.) Those of you familiar to the Bertoia design should be able to immediately notice the detail differences between mine and the licensed.
http://ratemyspace.hgtv.com/SNC/ViewItem.aspx?pguid=6db6be3f-1720-4ba3-a081-999042c09b6b&itemguid=ba4aacd6-5c01-4c3c-9e20-cf31b4c6eab4&fileguid=3b6bf3ab-e0dd-44cd-bdcb-e025e2e5f544
Feel free to rate it as well. :)
-Beau
view beaucauchemar's profile
It's a tough market out there. Some of the stuff is crap, but some is really good.
A few years ago I was looking for an LC4 Chaise in pony. This was back when DWR was carrying a knockoff of it for around $1500. I knew I couldn't afford the Cassina version, but $1500 for a knockoff seemed to be too much. I ended up researching a bunch and at the time most of the Chinese versions of the chair used springs to support the cusion and not straps. I ended up going with an Italian built version from http://www.design-classics.it/web/ . I'm very happy with the quality of it. Since then I have seen some Chinese versions that are of good quality.
Later I wanted a Barcelona chair and now have the one from http://www.loftyinspirations.com/ because it seems to be the most Knoll-like at a reasonable price. The frame is thick and sturdy, the leather is of good quality and the back cushion is slightly curved. The center of the bottom of the seat cushion is not leather, but that's pretty typical of reproductions and you can't see it unless you remove the cushion.
I guess it's caveat emptor out there and it really helps if you do plenty of research. Know the original design well, and where the reproductions differ. Ask lots of questions to the store and make sure you are actually getting the product in the picture. Oh, and make sure the product pictures actually match each other. I've seen sites where they had two pics of a product with a 5 leg base on one and a 4 leg base on the other. Which are you getting? uh..
view 1977mini's profile