Eames ESU - Where's the best price?  

in defense of a little compromise
i'm all for having the real deal [herman miller], but if your stack of euros just isn't high enough, why not consider one of the more affordable options, provided their materials and craftsmanship do the design no harm?
i can't speak to the quality issues of modernica, but i'm quite frankly impressed with their shell-chair offerings. [pretty tough to beat original tooling, materials and processes, i'd say.] if that sort of integrity and attention is given to their other lines, it seems a viable option to me.
i like the notion of good design for the masses. on the extreme flip side, i really don't like it when "Certain Huge Industrial Nations in Asia" [wink, wink] rip off good design and throw a product together using crappy materials and inferior workmanship using forced labor under deplorable conditions. but that's probably another thread.
ok... i need to take a deep breath...
anyway, if you don't have opportunity to personally inspect the goods from modernica [or others], perhaps they could provide you with more than a surface-level amount of information [production drawings?] that would lead you closer to a decision.
to summarize, there's no substitute for the real mccoy, but there's also no shame in a legitimate product reproduced for those who sit on thinner wallets.

Hi
I own 3 Modernica CSU's...
Hi
I own 3 Modernica CSU's (their moniker) and am very pleased with their work, help, options, quality, service, and everything. They insist on shipping the items assembled, because some people can't use a screwdriver. I bought one new and 2 on the secondary market.
It may be possible to talk Modernica out of this policy, or you could buy components to build one, and have the shelves done in your region. Its fairly standard Birch-Baltic plywood that cabinet makers use. That would save shipping costs?
I would like to say something about Modern woodworks, but have no experience with them. I can't speak about their quality. They may be easier to work with shipping wise, and your need to have it shipped in the simple state.
Modernica builds these units near downtown Los Angeles, California. They even built them for Herman Miller for a while. Maybe they ate into HM's profit margin too much, and now HM just outsourced that again to a cheaper supplier?
To call one a fake doesn't make much sense to me. Both are copies of the original , neither were made by the original people.

Not Badmouthing
I'm not badmouthing Herman Miller. if they put out more configurations of the ESU then I'm all for buying from them. At a glance, and I'm probably more thorough than the average consumer, it appeared that they only offered set configurations. I'm glad to hear that they offer more.

To call one a fake doesn't ma...
To call one a fake doesn't make much sense to me. Both are copies of the original , neither were made by the original people.
......or original company !! that is why i called it a fake, no difference than that stuff that comes from China, that every one calls a fake, just cause it was made by modernica does not make it perfect,
but if it will make you happy we can call it a reproduction of the ESU designed by Charles Eames for Herman Miller,

It would seem
quite an easy unit to build yourself with a little carpentry/fabrication knowledge...does anyone know if there are plans of original specs. available?
I bet the material cost on the larger esu could be done under 200US.

I think you might be right ...
I think you might be right i have the unit in the warehouse and the carpenters on staff maybe i will get motivated to try one , funny if i can buy all the stuff at the home depot ,
The only thing , I know i might have to go find is the the big embossed circle doors, every thing else could be fabricated in house,

dimple doors
that would be a bitch to fabricate. it almost seems strange that the eames designed the dimple door. it seems it has no real function other than decoration - anti modern to some.

let me
go ahead and say that it is not anti-modern to me. I don't want any rude comments. Personally I love decoration when done correctly. The juxtaposition of decoration and simplicity is interesting.

Hi
Its easy to copy some...
Hi
Its easy to copy some details, like the shelves. On the other hand, good design dictates that everything else junky is absent from the structure. Kind of like a Bertoia chair.... what is impressive is what is absent. The hardest part to fabricate at home, on the ESU, is the formed rails or legs / shelf brackets / cross brace receivers. They must be perfect, so buying them is best. If one gets bent, its a structural disaster waiting to happen. That will always be a problem with the design. It was also a reason why the design doesn't lend itself to the Huns. You can't mess up the legs, the level, the way it sits on a floor. Easy stuff to get right, but a problem for people that can't get anything right. Sittting one on thick carpet, or uneven floors, will cause a structural problem. These units are the Eames house in miniture.
Modernica does a good job on the rails, and will sell them I think? I checked once and it wasn't cheap. The legs are on a 2.0 inch hole center line-pattern.
The X braces are a great idea, but need to look nice, and be strong. Buy them also.
The colored panels can be made if you have the right colors, buy a sample of the colored panels to get the colors right. These are decorative items, not structural.
The optional drawers, dimple doors, and perforated back panels would be considered upscale items, and should be purchased also (if you must have them). Drawer units are 10X more complicated, and you need to see both the original, and reproduced, in person.
Ok, if you have time, you might be able to save 1000 if you live in the USA. If you had to ship an assembled one to Sweden, cost would be? (Big $$ I am sure) If you shipped a few components.... It might be a larger savings?
I ended up just treating myself and buying a basic unit with no drawers, or doors. It was best to just get on with it, and have the job done now. Its obvious you aren't going to find one at a local garage sale, estate sale, etc. Modernica provided that to me... designer furniture for the massses.
good luck

Modernica debate
I don't want to debate this for long. I can say I have have been around their products extensively. Like what was mentioned earlier, they DID make HM's ESU units for a while. If it's good enough for HM to buy why isn't it good enough for you?
All that I am trying to say is that Modernica's version is quality and I don't think you will be disappointed. I will say that HM's quality is a little better on these, but Modernica's is still pretty outstanding. I haven't experienced ModernWoodWorks.
"no difference than that stuff that comes from China"
Are you saying that there is no difference with Modernica and Chinese copies? That is just wrong.

in the big picture if you ...
in the big picture if you stand back a repoduction is a repoduction !! i have had this debate for a long time
What makes it any different buying a Alphaville Barcelona vs a Knoll. The DA community is the one who gets their panties in a Wad over this, not me. they say the Knoll is the original designed by Mies and Royalties are paid to the Estate, by Knoll
Lets skip to the ESU
Modernica makes a nice unit skirts the name by calling in California Case Study, No Royalties paid to the Eames Estate and not made by Herman Miller ,
What Would you call it???? not a ESU designed by Charles Eames for Herman Miller sorry on this one Modernica may make a fine unit but it is what is a copy,fake,reproduction,knockoff, you pick your favorite term to make you happy .

just some perspective
people dying in iraq ... parents of now-orphaned children murdered in sudan ... raging fires in greece ... homelessness, violence and nonsense everywhere. if the dust ever settles [and it seems rather unlikely], all of this drivel probably won't amount to much.
please don't get me wrong: to clarify, this is no harsh word to anyone [i myself enjoy an informed exchange], but in the end, let's reserve our outrage for the injustice.
just a friendly reminder ... a cool drink of water in the scorching sun.

kdc
no one is more aware of the world situation than me , and if i want to hear it on a constant update all i have to do is listen to CNN or MSNBC or look at Google news ,
I know not one thing ,or one discussion is going to change the situation in the world, but chatting on design addict , listing to new ideas, about designers, their philosophy, is a way that some people choose to get enjoyment, so your humanitarian,comments are just, just not here! , If that were the case lets just shut this website down now, and subscribe to the Chicken Little Theory "the sky is falling the sky is falling" and hunker down, in a bunkers waiting for the air raid horns to blow all clear!!!

oh.

The cheapest of the quality fakes
This guy is making knock offs with the same quality and probably better attention to detail than Modernica.
Check 'em out http://www.modernwoodworks.com/index.html
http://www.modernwoodworks.com/index.html