The following video real (ly) represents the best 2 minutes and 28 seconds I’ve “wasted” in a real (ly) long time. I came away with a huge smile on my face.
I came into this business through a trade school in upholstery, was hired as an assistant to the teacher at that school and when that school was taken over by a local college, I borrowed $10,000 (Yes, I had to get my mother to co-sign the loan, but then I was only 21 years old) bought most of the equipment from the original school and opened my own upholstery shop.
That was half a life ago.
I never received any kind of formal training, but, when you’re 21 years old and you have to pay rent and a client comes into your business and asks you if you can do (fill in the blank), the answer is always YES !! and at that age, you just figure it out for yourself.
I taught myself to design and build furniture out of a necessity and I think I became pretty damn good at it. I look back over the years and not everything I did was a masterpiece, but there are several pieces that we are still making that I think are pretty amazing.
It just seems to me that knocking off the designs of others and mass producing them at a lower quality, from sub-standard materials and usually not even the correct proportions is a real kick in the (again, fill in the blank) to who ever actually came up with the idea, concept/design. It also seems really slimy to me.
Don’t get me wrong. If you decide one day that you would like to attempt to make your own version of some famous design for your own use, well go ahead, that is different. But, not unlike the idea of stealing music and then printing CD’s for sale, the unauthorized reproduction of these designs for profit, is unacceptable. It is not something I would want my business model based on, that is for sure.
So, what is the point of all of this?
Well, If a high school drop-out like myself, (I did go back and get er done the next year) can learn to conceptualize, design and build unique original designs that fulfill both form and function and are of the highest quality to be found, (in my humble opinion) surely these massive companies with the means, can come up with something unique.
So, if you’re thinking of buying a knock-off, I’ve just got one thing to say, forget it !! Go and buy something unique that you can afford, or buy a vintage piece that you will cherish forever, but don’t support these kinds of business practices. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, A KNOCK-OFF WILL NEVER BRING THE PLEASURE TO YOUR HOME, THAT AN AUTHENTIC PIECE WILL. The minute it leaves the store, it has no value.
One day you will throw it out. If you “GET REAL”, one day, your children will fight over it.
I love the new children’s size ‘modern’, mid-century design furniture pieces that are being manufactured! The Junior Panton’s originally designed by Verner Panton in 1999 and manufactured by Vitra are kid friendly with soft edges, durable material and seven fun colours! Kartell manufactures the Lou Lou Ghost chairs which are so, so adorable in transparent colours or solids. Philippe Starck designed the Louis Ghost chair in 2002 and was an instant furniture fashion hit! Kids and parents will be excited to decorate their homes with these additions!
I went to a local retailer (hardware type of store) the other day to pick up a few hand tools for our warehouse. As I approached the store, I saw a couple of Chinese knock-offs of the Series 7 chair by Arne Jacobsen. These were horrible representations of this chair, but the likeness was there and I knew without looking that they were probably selling them for about the cost of freight. As I entered further into the store, I also noticed an upholstered arm chair and a contemporary swivel chair as well. So, as I grabbed the tools that I needed and was heading out the door, I noticed the price on the “series 7 chairs”, $39.95, I wasn’t too surprised, but I was thinking that this was a new low. But then I noticed that the price tag said “Per Box” and then “2 Per Box”
So, under $20 per chair. Now that is a new low.
When I got back to the showroom, we had a discussion regarding the boom going on in China and we touched on a point that I thought might be worth mentioning. It seems to me that most of the product coming out of China is of lesser quality. The metals and materials seem inferior, the fittings and the finish as well. From what I understand, labour is cheap in China. So why are they not spending just a little more time, using better quality materials and manufacturing a better quality product?
It seems to me that if they doubled the quality of that chair, then they wouldn’t have a terribly bad chair for the price. (I’m only talking quality, not design) So, that chair might now be $40 and be twice as good in the quality department. Personally, double isn’t quite enough, but you get the idea.
So, when are they going to start to realize that more and more people are demanding quality these days and that this is becoming a larger part of the market everyday. The car industry in Asia has already caught on, so I am going to bet that it is only a matter of time before their furniture industry does as well and if that ever happens, then lookout. Luckily, China is still very lacking in the “original design” category and I think that this is where the big hitters have got an advantage. China seems to want to take the easy road to furniture manufacturing and to date, that hasn’t included much time coming up with their own original designs. But then maybe someone out there can prove me wrong.
Of course, there is another problem that we are going to have to deal with soon, billions of dollars in disposable furniture, that will all be coming to a landfill near you in the very near future.
When my colleagues and I decided that a Blog on design was something that we were interested in doing as a means of telling our story and giving Canadians (and anyone else that would listen) a place to read about and offer comments about the industry that we are involved in, I was hesitant about the idea of adding another “chore” to the list of things that I just don’t seem to be able to get done in my day. Having said that, (you’ll notice in the coming months that I will say those words a lot) I am also intrigued with the idea of putting my thoughts into print, as I truly think that this is an opportunity to really think my way through the decisions that I make on a daily basis.
So, having said that J, a question came across my desk today that I thought was worthy of my first post.
The question was, “I noticed on EBay that replica Noguchi coffee tables are selling for less than ½ the price of the real thing. The replica tables say they have ¾ inch glass and that except for the signature they are the same. Can you tell me the difference between the real thing and the replica please.
Thanks, Cathy”
My response was:
“Hi Cathy,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you regarding your enquiry about the purchase of an authentic Noguchi table versus a “Knock-off”
It is hard for me to explain the value to someone that doesn’t already see the value in supporting the original designers and authentic manufacturers, rather than purchasing from someone that would steal the designs of someone else in order to make a profit, but I will do my best. I would compare it to buying a Rolex watch made in China. You purchase it as a novelty, knowing that it isn’t the real thing. You pay $20 for the watch and it immediately has no value. You never really enjoy the watch because you know and everyone else knows, that it is just a cheap imitation. The company that actually went to the trouble of designing the item has been ripped off and potentially harmed by the fact that cheap imitations can sometimes take away from the value of the real item as well. The item will never bring you true pleasure, because you know it is a cheap imitation, so if you ever decide to buy the real thing, then the money you paid for the knock-off is lost, because now it is not only a knock-off, but it is a used knock-off. No one wins, except for the manufacturer that stole the design and sold it at a small profit. The other scenario is that you purchase an authentic design, manufactured by the authentic manufacturer. It is a piece that has value, holds value and that you enjoy and cherish the whole time that you own it. The difference that you pay for this seems negligible compared to the enjoyment that the item brings to you. 30 years from now, a knock-off Noguchi table is a used knock-off Noguchi table, but, 30 years from now, an authentic Noguchi table is a vintage Noguchi table. Good luck with your decision.”
So, in hind sight, I probably didn’t actually answer her question as to the physical differences between a knock-off Noguchi table and the “real McCoy”, but then, my feeling is that it doesn’t matter what the physical difference’s are. Even if someone were to come up with a better way to make a Noguchi table, what they haven’t done is design the object of desire. This was done many years ago by a fellow named Isamu Noguchi. He chose Herman Miller as his manufacturer of choice and the decision to buy anything but a real Noguchi table goes completely against the real reason for buying this object in the first place.
I could probably go on and on, trying to explain this in print, but I know that if anyone actually reads this blog, they are either nodding their head in agreement and understanding, or they are thinking, come on now, do you really expect me to believe this load of crap. So, for those of you who get it, welcome and for those of you who don’t, put your feet up on your Noguchi knock-off and read “Isamu Noguchi – Sculptural Design”. Maybe you’ll be inspired.
