So, I have said time and time again that HM will never relaunch the dowel base, because that is exactly what I was told by the heads over @ HM for the home because they wouldnt stand up against contractual standards...when I was there last year, they had a dowel base in their office, and that's what sparked the conversation...now I see why they had it there, they were developing it for DWR...check it out.
http://grassrootsmodern.com/2009/06/10/eames-molded-chair-with-wood-dowel-base/
I'm very surprised by this...almost more suprised than the death of MJ!
Regardless, very cool - and it looks like by the end of the year we'll get the new colors in shells that Vitra introduced earlier this year.
Excited!
http://grassrootsmodern.com/2009/06/10/eames-molded-chair-with-wood-dowel-base/
It looks terrible. The...
It looks terrible. The eiffel they make is also like that. Vitra does suck. They make plastic shells and misproportioned bases. Buy vintage. It's greener. It's truer. It's real. Vitra shells are copies just like any other knock-off. They just have a better name a design heritage. This BULLSH*T!
The Armchair is wider, OK
but was anyone ever hurt or killed??
Who makes those safety regulations and on what ground?
If someone is too stupid or drunk to sit in a chair it's their own problem. People survived dowel based armchairs in the past and could do so today.
Aluminium Group:
57,5cm (Contract Base) vs 66cm (Universal Base) from one foot to the opposite.
Agree with you David...but...
Agree with you David...but isn't it a little hard to buy vintage dowels when they were only produced for 2 years? How many were estimated to be made? Since you sold me my white shell, I bought a dowel base from Depury, I love it...but it seems that it actually sits lower than the Vitra version....has anyone else noticed this?
Not to get into a big debate over repro vs vintage, although I'd rather have the original thing... Eames, Nelson, etc never made their pieces to be "collectors" items did they? I assumed they were made for mass production - with the intent they would be sold for the amount of time they were in demand. Knoll has kept many pieces in production for all these years, Herman Miller has not - but I think Charles and George would say if theres a demand for it, then put it in production. Design for the masses!
My personal preference is vintage if possible, I like how they have aged, and I like that they have a story to tell. However, these new productions will be vintage some day. The Swag leg group will probably cease in a few years since sales are low and those pieces in 30 years will be sought after. Do you agree or disagree?
Depends
I have been a strong advocate for collecting just vintage. in fact, I'd argue that you can only really "collect" vintage. You can buy and use new furniture including reproduction and knock-offs. But you are not really collecting them as I don't think they have any real value beyond their use as a functional or decorative object. By that I mean it does not have a significant place in design or art history, does not have the same scarcity or collectable cachet. You buy vintage and take good care of it, and generally speaking it will be worth as much or more than you paid when you decide to sell it. You can buy current production Vitra, Herman Miller or Modernica Eames chairs (and we can dispute which are better, but to my way of thinking it's a no-brainer) and they may look just fine in your place and you can certainly sit on them, but if you decide you want something different, or your needs change, you are stuck with used furniture which is worth half what you paid for it.
As much as I argue for buying vintage, I can also admit that there are a few designs that I think have been improved upon with current technology. The Panton chair comes to mind. If I had a need for some, I would not hesitate to buy the new polypropylene version. I think it's actually an improvement on the design (more comfortable, less prone to cracking) and true to the original vision. I would not think that they were collectable or going to be worth anything if my needs changed and I no longer had a use for them, but they are inexpensive, and can be passed on to someone who could use them or hopefully ultimately recycled.
However, buy and large, I would much rather stick to buying vintage. So you can't find or afford a set of 8 dowel leg armshells? Well, then use something else. If you absolutely must have a set of those chairs, buy vintage shells and put quality reproduction bases on them (not ones that are splayed all to hell like the Vitra/ HM). Then you at least will have invested in quality vintage seats which will hold their value even if the bases don't. Or you can do what I do. Buy vintage and wait until you find a set of chairs that suits your needs and aesthetic, even if they are different than what you originally wanted. If you love the dowel leg chair, save up and buy a single vintage example so you can enjoy the design, albeit in small quantities.
Whatever. I just really dislike Vitra and Herman Miller making such radical changes to the design and then suggesting that they are the original authorized manufacturer. It's not as if Vitra does not have a real one to reverse engineer from or don't at least know what it's supposed to look like. I'm with claus. If you can't sit in your chair properly, you will quickly learn your lesson. And if not, that is called natural selection.
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