Dept. of Modern Affairs. With the McDonald's like rise of DWR and other smaller outfits, Drew and Sina at Edge Modern decided that the field was too crowded and a new path needed to be carved: enter Design Public.
Opening at Space Downtown last month, Design Public is their hip, new online store with which they plan to do two things: 1. find the best new talent (that DWR won't touch) before anyone else does and 2. offer the best customer service around.
Design Public offers a broad selection of modern furniture from Amenity bedding ($400) to Mio Culture's Shroom Lights ($80) and Angela Adams rugs ($70-$1550).
Right now there are a lot of recognizable names in their store, but they promise they will continue searching and adding new designers each month. MGR
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Comments (9)
I thought those those lamps were bra cups (I thought something was wrong and so looked closer at the picture to discover they were lamps).
So, what exactly did they do? Are they changing their name, or adding this new brand? If they are changing their name, I'm not exactly sure why, since some of this Design Public stuff seems like it could be sold off of Edge Modern...
really, don't see much that's truly new here. more coming?
I agree with Martha--do we really need another online venue that carries Blu Dot and Offi? I'm pretty sure those are both fairly established brands (and, indeed, long carried by DWR). Like so many design shops, online or otherwise, Design Public seems to think that by asserting the "high quality" and design cachet of its products, people will really believe they should pay over a $1,000 for plywood shelving. Anyone who's had the misfortune to buy into this illusion knows how chintzy this merchandise really is.
lissonifan--I've never seen Offi's stuff in the flesh (or rather, the plywood). Is it chintzy? Because I love some of their designs--like the wheely storage bench and the wave desk. Should I be happy that I didn't have the money to buy them?
(to clarify my original question...)
I'm not objecting to another retailer selling high-design stuff, even if I can get it elsewhere)... I just thought that "Edge Modern" was already doing that, and can't see an immediate branding distinction between "Edge Modern" and "Design Public". Am I missing something?
(I'm really not trying to rain on the parade, since I very much like the products, attitude of and folks behind Edge Modern...)
Edge Modern/Design Public...same thing...equally unoriginal. This is not a new path, it is the same path as Edge Modern but with a different design template.
I totally agree with all of these people. They aren't doing anything new at all especially with another name change. Just because you say you are the best or doing something great, doesn't mean that you are. Most of their new designs were carried on other sites including DWR LONG before they came along and DWR will touch these designers too. Simply copying others to jump on the bandwagon isn't the best. They don't even send us designers money to stock items, they just want us to drop ship. That's some support for new designers.