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Eames Hang it all made in Taiwan?  

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midcenturymatt
(@midcenturymatt)
Active Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 10
20/06/2008 8:07 am  

Hello passionate fellow design enthusiasts! This is my first post here and I must say it is nice to know there are so many of you out there with this kind of passion!

Anyway, I have just purchased an original Eames hang it all from Herman Miller and I love it (albeit a bit cliché). My only issue is that stamped on the bag with the documents it says "Made in Taiwan". Come on Herman Miller! One of the reasons I buy original is not just to pay respect to the original designers, but to buy American, or non mega-factory products. I just imagine my hang it all being put together by underpaid sweat shop workers. I do know that the "new" shell chairs are made by Vitra but I don't have a problem with that.

Have any of you with a hang it all noticed this?

Thanks!


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 dots
(@dots)
Trusted Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 64
20/06/2008 8:21 am  

Welcome Matt (heh, bet you get that alot)
I'm new here myself, and I, like you, am so glad to have found this forum.
I think you've just answered the question about new authentic vs. vintage knock-offs - at least in situations where the "new" is not made in the country the original is from.
For me, one large factor in the appeal of vintage is the quality of the product, something so lacking in today's products.


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NULL NULL
(@paul-lanhamuk-lockton-com)
Trusted Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 40
20/06/2008 2:38 pm  

i too was somewhat surprised...
i too was somewhat surprised to find that HM punt the production out to Taiwan.As an aside ,i bought both HM & Vitra versions for my sons room & i find the Vitra is the far more attractive of the two as the coloured balls are in a nice gloss finish rather than the duller matt finsh of the HM version.


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midcenturymatt
(@midcenturymatt)
Active Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 10
21/06/2008 8:35 am  

Thanks for your replies. I...
Thanks for your replies. I am wondering what else is made overseas by HM?


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barrympls
(@barrympls)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 2649
21/06/2008 5:31 pm  

I wonder if there's that much of a difference
between the 'offical' Herman Miller Taiwanese Hang It All vs. the knockoffed copies one see around eBay and at the knockoff furniture websites.
Heck, if HM is knocking them off themselves, then what';s the difference?


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LuciferSum
(@lucifersum)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 1874
23/06/2008 12:33 am  

I was a little sad too
I just bought 2 hang-it-alls and was a little disappointed by the Made In Taiwan stamp. I get that it can be done there cheaper, but I really enjoying buying American made pieces. To my knowledge most of the actual furniture is still made in Michigan, or Germany in the case of the shell chairs. I've heard that some of their metal casting is done overseas - Taiwan mostly.
Despite the foreign make the Hang It Alls are VERY sturdy. A friend in the manufacturing industry says Taiwan is now about level with Japan in terms of production - so I wouldnt be worried about sweatshops. Still though, it would be nicer if they were made in Michigan or Pennsylvania or even Memphis, TN where they were originally made.


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ms-of-dk
(@ms-of-dk)
Eminent Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 22
23/06/2008 12:48 pm  

And in Europe
the Vitra version of Hang-it-all is produced in Poland, not in Germany where Vitra is based. However, does it matter as long as the quality and finish are better compared to the cheap copies found on E-bay?


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finch
(@finch)
Noble Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 227
24/06/2008 12:58 pm  

I don't think you can have a...
I don't think you can have a relative attitude about this if you are a die hard purist. There's just no way to gloss it up; it's a corner cut by HM, and perhaps a sad sign of more corners to come down the road.
Furthermore, the contention that Taiwan is about par with Japan in any way, is both wrong and ridiculous.


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rockland
(@rockland)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 984
25/06/2008 1:24 am  

Herman Miller...
Unfortunate.
HM is on the most part disappointing.
Don't believe their attention to detail, and the high and mighty
belief in being true to the original.
I just spent this last week in a studio full of HM. The Starrett-leigh Bldg in NYC.
10 thousand sq ft of HM straight from the catalog.
I looked under every chair, every sofa. A designated lounge area where we watched
the explosions of the new 7 train below, was not a lounge area...it was a graveyard of broken sofas
and crappy tables that needed attention because of bad construction. I was looking for knock-offs.
But it was all HM. Embarrassing. I wanted to find knock-offs. None. (HM tags)
Well, unless the designer of the space pulled a fast one and got knock-offs and charged the
client HM prices.
The most odd was the Eames coffee table. The veneer was paper thin, chipped all around the edges.
It felt like balsa-wood. Light weight and not up to any daily use. A loose leg, stripped screw holes.
Sure, stuff gets knocked around in offices, but i have my parents Mccobb coffee table. 40 years old,
and i could dance on it. It looks great and it is sturdy, well made. I'm using it until i find the perfect
table...vintage Saarinen maybe. I will keep it and use it in my office eventually. Not a big Mccobb
fan but after seeing bad reproductions by a reputable company, I'll stick to vintage.
Or better advice, don't buy blind without seeing something in person.
Hit or miss with HM.
The Hang-it-all is simple construction. No need to farm it out.
Just venting, but a disappointment. And the plastic shell chairs felt weird. I doubt Ray and Charles
would keep these in production in plastic OR fiberglass. They would have moved on and explored
more innovative materials. New designs.
Reproductions are turning my stomach, by anyone. Stick to originals. Recycle. I love my original
shell chair. (i did see a decent Womb chair repro)....:)
I'm just not trusting any of it.
http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Product/1,1592,a10-c440-p49,00.html


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barrympls
(@barrympls)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 2649
25/06/2008 2:46 am  

Rockland....I do not agree
with you at all.
Herman Miller has and continues to produce high quality furniture.
Compare their quality and prices with Knoll, Cassina or Fritz Hansen.


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