Hot off the press in the furniture world this week.
With the Spring Highpoint Market now 2 weeks away our inbox is chalk-a-block with new product previews. More sneak peeks that caught our eye this week (we are taking pre-orders; if you see something you must have Ask a Stylist to put you on the list)
Stanley Furniture is debuting a new European cottage line that says relaxed living like no other.
Australia’s Rapee who produces indoor and outdoor accent pillows, bedding, tabletop items and rugs launched a partnership with San Fran’s Selamat Designs.
Left chair, $40. Right chair, $430.
While the reporter picked a pretty bad ‘knock off’ photo example ( I mean who doesn’t see the difference) we have to chime in on this general authenticity in design conversation that lands hot on the tails of Robin Thicke’s recent Marvin Gaye song knock off debacle. Here’s the reality from where we stand:
- The price of furniture is skyrocketing thanks to every other cost skyrocketing (warehousing, transport, materials)
- Every single manufacture knocks something off each other, whether it’s intentional or not; could be shape, style, color, finish, etc. The online world has made it incredibly easy to find out what others are up to and once you’ve seen an idea its easy to incorporate similar thought into yours. We have literally stood in showrooms at market watching Asian teams pick up furniture, measure etc knowing full well what they are up to (producing the look a like and likely at a cheaper cost!)
- In a day and age whether the price of anything is rising I’m sure that Charles & Ray Eames would be beyond FLATTERED to know how far their 1950 design reach has gone. We’re 1000% certain they didn’t sit around and say lets design a chair so we can be famous. They designed it to fulfill another purpose, yet the rest of tribe Eames is now left riding on their coat tails EXPECTING to be paid because they have lived some privileged life that the generations before them made the dollars to life off of. It’s absolutely ridiculous and we know the likelihood of them having contributed to this legacy is slim to none.
- Don’t feel guilty about buying a look a like – and don’t go into debt for the sake of a name. If you want one, let the bank account dictate what you can afford. The only thing we would suggest in look alike is the quality. $40 may get you the cheapest plastic knockoff but our Stylists will be the first to tell you the extra $60ish for a good knock off will not only feel better on the tusch but last a whole lot longer! If you need an extra month to find the funds, take the time.
Burton James ups it’s sofa game! Always totally customizable to your taste and top notch, but we’re drooling over the not-so-straight lines in this sneak peaks. Tip: sofa’s need not be done in straight lines always people!
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