apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

as a relative newbie to the world of high design furniture (eames and the like), i wanted to get a temperature check from the group about reproductions of classic designs. this was sparked by a weekend trip to domicile, where they had a barcelona chair, wassily chair, le corbusier recliner, etc.

first, am i correct in assuming that these (and others like them) are not licensed reproductions?

second, what's the general concensus on having these reproductions in your home? i'd obviously like a real barcelona chair, but alas, i am not a millionaire (yet).

just throw out your thoughts - i'd love to hear from the community. thanks in advance!

Leah- I have very mixed feelings on reproductions.
To be upfront- I have a knock-off knoll sofa in my home. In one way it doesn't compete with the real thing because the quality is so much worse. But it does bother me just in the sense of designs getting bastardized. The knock-offs that you see do not reflect every detail of the designer's vision and is in a way cheapening their design.

My question is this "How do you know when somethings a knockoff design"? I just got into this whole modern design thing. I just started buying furniture and found a lamp I really liked. Come to find out it's an Arco lamp wannabe. I paid $600 for mine not the $2400 that DWR sells the original for. I bought the lamp because I liked the design, but have never seen the "original". Does this make me a bad person? I didn't buy the lamp because I wanted an Arco lamp, I'm not a name brand whore. I just liked the way it looked!! Will I be cast into the dark corners of design no-nos??!!

hmmmm...the never ending problem with knock-offs! its so hard to navigate. I generally try to stick to used, but authentic modern furniture, searching the pages of craigslist and beyond for good deals. I have purchased knock-offs in terms of LEM stools, and their quality and porportions are just so lazy that I have come to the conclusion that i have to be more strick with myself and either go thrift store, or find the real thing.

I think the bottom line may be:

If you love the design and the piece and you bought it for yourself then it being a knockoff is irrelevant. If you bought it to share with the world that it is an "X" then you bought it for the wrong reason.

Personally, I would rather own a vintage knockoff or vintage generic piece with the beautiful patina of age over a brand new "original"

Original being in quotes as any production run save the original is in itself a replica of the first run... A new Eames DCW is a replica of the original limited-procution DCW... And for that matter the techniques, machines and materials used to make the replicas/knockoffs are often identical to the licensed originals...

If you love the design . . . GO FOR IT?

My mother saved for years (YEARS!!) to purchase the first reproductions of the Barcelona chairs. In our all white, all glass living room they looked exactly at home, as if they were designed for the space.

Honestly, they were not the most practical chair . . . more show than anything. The cushions slid all over the place, etc. But they did look great.

I still grieve that my father chose to get rid of them after my Mom died, without asking if I wanted them. (Yes, I would have paid shipping.) Now I take the opportunity to remind my father (and his new wife) how much I love his two remaining Danish chairs every time I visit at Thanksgiving. Perhaps he will remember how much I would love them, when ever.

But, chairs be damned!!! I've been trying to encourage my Dad to start an "artwork" program . . . each of the four children get a different colored sticker . . . like the "sold" stickers seen on pictures at a gallery. I think each of us should have a chance to put our stickers on the back of the artwork we are interested in eventually owning. (Dad has an extensive artwork collection, of some value.)

In this way we, the children, will know immediately which pictures we all love and will need to share, or which picture is a favorite of one of the siblings. For example, there are some pictures that we all have an attachment to, be it for sentimental reasons or investment. Others, I think we would easily defer to the sibling that would be most pleased with a particilar piece.

It's an interesting dilemma. But, I find that on the few occassions when my siblings and I visit my Dad together, one of things we do discuss is the artwork that we love. Perhaps that is because we love and grew up with so much of the art.

Just a thought, or a new thread for discussion.

magnolia, you make it sound so easy and civil. i fear this conversation with my own family immensely.

I am fortunate in that I have thus far bought great, cheap vintage pieces and have never been in a knock-off dillmena. Here is my 2 cents, If you are rolling in cash and could afford a licensed piece and choose to get the knock-off that is a bit of a shame, but I certianly would never fault anyone who could not afford to have a piece they really wanted and could'nt afford it, for getting a copy. Anyway how you use a piece in a space will ultimately determine its design success.

Nicely said, melinda! You took the words out of my mouth and put them together in a much better way, but I'll add my 2 incoherent cents: I may never have the money for a real Barcelona chair, so it's likely I'll always troll Craig's and estate sales and the like hoping to find a gem. Would I buy a reproduction? Well, it depends on how well it was made, whether the manufacturer's intent was honorable to the original and whether it was something I was head over heels for. I would never buy a pedigree for pedigree's sake— trust me, my friends would just roll their eyes anyway, but being an artist, I'm pretty sympathetic to not wanting to support any design tampering/infringement.

Totally off topic but today we accidently discovered a new furniture store called Rubin's on Lincoln Avenue near Belmont. Kinda out of the whole furniture district but had pretty cool stuff. Mostly things you would classify as "contemporary" things that are very mainstream "MOD" but they did have a few items that stood out. They did have reproductions (at least I think they are because of the price) of the Barcelona chairs and Le Corbusier chairs. Their prices seem very high for some items and incredible bargain for others... a bit like Chiasso.

Any have any experience buying from that store?

I think it's odd that we are somehow conditioned to feel very entitled to our parents stuff. It's like we're still little kids and everything's "ours." But it's not all of ours, it's theirs. They raised us and we're adults and need to make our own way & buy our own stuff. They can and should do with their stuff whatever they want, even if it's been in "the family" for generations. All of the drama and pain around wills & whatnot seems to come down to this odd sense of entitlement. Why is that? Like i somehow earned my mom's china or whatever. If she gives it to me that's great. If not, OH WELL. Anyway, I'm trying to convince myself to be a buddist about this and detach.

marge, just gun for the jewelry.

good one marge, i agree, having been there and done that.
count on getting nothing, make your own home, be grateful for what you get.
like, peace out.

well, some of us are sentimental, in association with appreciating fine or historic items.

My mom has Grandmother's library table. It's lovely, it's gorgeous. There's a piece of undersupport that needs work, but that comes with the territory.
Of course I'd like to have it. Not only would it be perfect in any future home, it also has to do with roots.

Who knows how long Grandma saved to get that table? Or maybe it was her gift when she left her teaching job to start a family?

It's not about entitlement, it's about carrying your family with you.

For one thing, I'm adopted - so I won't get the joy of noticing that my baby has the paternal nose or maternal eyes, or graceful hands.... but I can maybe pass along something substantial that their great grandparents worked for, or that their sweat and tears fell upon as they went through the trials of the depression.
and that their grandparents, as well as me... treasured and preserved it.

Odd for you to see it only as selfishness.