Hi!
Does anyone have any information about a british company called Design Icons? They claim to sell high quality replicas of modern classic furniture. Are they serious? Are the furniture of good quality?
Thanks,
LindaB
I don't want make any fights...
I don't want make any fights but I think if you the money to buy this furniture then instead you should consider spending it on a vintage piece or comission something from a local designer or craftsman, that way more people in your community win, not just you.
Hi HP
Why not having a small fight about this...
My take on it is that you can not convince people that want to buy design icons to do otherwise.
Of course, buying in China is often supporting working conditions and a lack of social security that none of us would ever accept for themselves.
Of course, buying locally supports people in your community and does not cost more per hour than your car mechanic and a lot less than your doctor or dentist.
Of course transportation is one of the great sources of pollution and one just has to look at the expansion of the large container ports like my own Antwerp, to understand that it takes thousands of square kilometers out of fertile land.
Of course, their are the first signs that with the disappearing local manufacturing capacity, the skills are disappearing to. Schools for some of the finest professions have empty school banks because there is no future for them. The social consequences of a reduced choice of professions are already visible and soon there will be nobody left that does not have an MBA.
But...in order to buy something locally that has not the stamp of approuval of this strange combination of "history" and "marketing" you have to be able to rely on yourself, on your own taste, own preferences, own sense of comfort,...and own intelligence. On top of that you have to have the courage to display it for your friends and family and reveal to them, through your choices, parts of what you are.
It is so much easier to hide behind a pre-approuved icon that nobody will question....a me-to, retro-modern will also do the job.
But, good luck with your cruisade
Agree with Koen
I used to work in an art gallery, and one of our star artists sold 'giclee' (basically inkjet) prints of her watercolors. It was disheartening to me because by selling reproductions she was a) stifling her own ambition to create new works b) stifling the competition by underpricing her prints compared to a lesser known artists originals.
Of course the gallery had a hand in this too - as Koen says, they have a tried-and-true, successful artist. I often tried to convince the gallery owner that we would do better if we opened the selection to include only originals by a variety of different artists. It would force the big star to lower the prices on her originals, BUT she would be encouraged to produce more originals. Also, it would encourage the consumer to buy 'real' art instead of a print.
HP - I think you're correct in your urge to buy from local artisans and craftspeople, or to buy vintage. Money that is spent locally is proven to kick around the community longer than money spent globally. (seems so simple on paper)
Just to clarify
And just to clarify: I do believe there is a difference between a giclee print, where a photograph of an artwork is taken, color corrected digitally, and output into what is basically an inkjet printer; and the medium of art prints that is commonly accepted as woodcut, engraving, etching, lithography (non-commercial), screenprinting, aquatint etc.
I think a lot of younger...
I think a lot of younger people or peopel who are new to an appreciaition of design just don't know there are other options, it doesn't occur to them so thats why I put the odd reminder like this up.
A big problem is happening in Australia now with fabrics (sheets etc)imported from China, the levels of formaldeyhde in the fabric is staggering and it doesn't seem to wash out very easily. I won't prattle on about it but its smething to think about...carpets, clothes, food...That Egg chair might poisoning you!
An excellent point
HP - An excellent point about the quality and safety of knockoffs. When buying a licensed production through a company like Herman Miller, for example, you have a clear paper trail of what kinds of materials go into the products, as well as a sense of accountability that if this product does you harm (god forbid) you will have recourse.
Not to knock China's booming economy, but the recent recall of animal foods that contained tainted wheat gluten from China highlights a very real vulnerability in the consumer. As consumers we are prone to a level of trust in the products we consume/inhabit (naive tho it may be).
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