Egg chairs death by association  

CSI! FH Vs Macdonalds
Fritz Hansen withdrew from the Macdonalds order when it became clear that Macdonalds had added several thousand FAKE series 7 chairs to their FAT PUSHING BURGER CHAIN STORES. ( I refuse to call them REST....nts)
It cost FH millions but their principle of stamping out fakes where ever found obviously meant they could no longer remain in supply to Mcd.
As for Finch saying to stay in tune.
I fully agree and I am 100% commited to singing the praises GENUINE pieces based on their uniqueness to their individual owners over the mindless persuit of those who seek
"to be like the jones's"
I adore my egg chair and other items in my collection and as long as I can I will seek to "infect" others with the "addition" of collecting Danish furniture classics.
Simon

...
Simon, I fully appreciate your concern, being in business buying and selling originals but surely your belief in these icons must insure you that their future is safe and untouchable.
My dilema with all the recent knock-offs and fakers is that I'm now completely saturated with the images of iconic furniture EVERYWHERE. To the extent where, in the event that I could afford originals I would most definately choose to rather commission an original piece from an unknown designer.
The current climate suggests that if your interior IS full of originals it's gonna look anything BUT original ! Off course, it's all down to personal choice and I respect that.

Barry, You can lament prices ...
Barry, You can lament prices day and night but I doubt any of the companies will change them - no matter how many knock-offs exist. Knock-offs will only push authentic prices higher. And I checked prices online at various retailers- I think all are pretty accurate.
Luxury, by definition, is not democratic. It is not for everyone - despite that almost everyone wants it. My argument is neither for, nor against luxury goods. My argument is anti: WANT = HAVE. That, to me, is the moving force behind people buying knock-offs. They see it, they desire it, the must have it. What they get, tho, is something less than luxury -only the external look. Like a Rolex with a ticking second hand.
I dont think people owning knock-offs hurts the way YOU love your authentic pieces. It does, I think, cheapen the image of the chair. Who sees a 'Barcelona' chair in a cheap boutique in SoHo and thinks its real?
And Finch, as my background is in art, I feel twinges of remorse whenever I see things bastardized beyond recognition. This goes for cheap knock-offs as much as it does when I see a coffee mug with a Monet on it. That cheap little images leads someone to beleive they 'know' the painting - even tho seeing it is an enveloping, awe inspiring experience (one to be had sitting on a lovely Kjaerholm bench at MoMA 🙂

Lucifer -- I sympathize with...
Lucifer -- I sympathize with your points, but after all, this is not a new phenomenon, and is not something that is going away; anything can be distilled and watered down for the masses, but if the design was really worth its weight in the first place, then its essence should not be so easily trivialized.
There should be a visceral sort of connection to a design that goes beyond what is fashionable or not (which is why I sometimes think there is too much reliance by some on this forum regarding what others think of a prospective acquisition, but that's another matter). Truly good and effective design, at least in my mind, is something that is timeless, useful and captivating, and you should be able to see it everywhere, and even bootlegged or aped on, and not second guess your taste or the design itself. If you do, then I would venture that you never sincerely had a connection with the essence of the design in the first place.
So cringe and bear it.

Also on this note, I was in...
Also on this note, I was in Missouri last month, helping with the flood recovery. Everywhere you looked were massive heaps (rubbish tips for our English friends here) of muddy, trashed furniture and appliances. Perched atop one particular heap I could have sworn I noticed a white leather Eames lounger. I thought to myself how completely depressing it would be to see something like the Eames lounger, or even a copy, intermingled among this apocalyptic landscape of dilapidated junk...that said, the question is, should a confusion of context/premise really have the power to diminish the impact or import of such a design? And again, I think not.

Lucifer,,,what makes you think those that want and can afford luxury
at luxury prices even consider looking at this forum. If a person had an extra $20,000.00 for a Kjaerholm sofa, they would HIRE someone to go on the forum....perhaps a chamber maid.
MOST of us are budget concious but also want beauty and quality, so defending the "luxury manufacturers" does little good here....we're all looking for bargains.
I will not pay $20,000 for a Kjaerholm sofa. I will not pay $12,000.00 for a Knoll sofa in leather. I will not even pay $9,000.00 for an Eames Sofa. Ain't gonna do it.
I will, however, probably but a 2-seat La Corbusier Cassina sofa in camel leather for under $3,000.00.

to each his own i am at ...
to each his own i am at t he point in my life that i can now afford the very best, if i wanted the 20,000 sofa i would step up to the plate and buy it,
I think it shows great strength on ones part
to want to look for bargains, i do and i love it.
I bought all my furniture on ebay but did get the best of the best and loved every moment of it , and I had it all redone.
I just really did not want to pay 4000. for a swan when i gave 555. per chair and 400.00 my cost to recover with fabric, any fool can spend big money it takes someone smart to be able to spot a bargain. and
that is where the real fun is if you have the time and patience.

Something that often gets...
Something that often gets overlooked in these debates is the fact that the Chinese faking trade extends from furniture - arguably the more legitimate and 'grey' end of the spectrum - through trainers, car parts and handbags all the way to cosmetics and even medicines. I'd kind of feel that if I bought a Chinese made fake sofa I'd be quitely condoning the whole industry. I do see knock off furniture as the thin end of a pretty thick wedge. I don't even want to get into the debate about Chinese industrial practices - sweated labour, pollution, less than scrupulous import and export controls etc. I know the Chinese argument is that the industrialised West started the whole process and its only fair that they the Chinese get a crack at the whip - but that argument won't ultimately save any of us.

In essence
the truth emerging from this posed question of death by association is really that we ALL strive to have the look and feel of luxery for the time beeing that we desire it.
Then when that is "old hat" we are some that will stay true to the bare essence of why we bought(in my case trade) the original designs.
At that point the real value of our acquisitions becomes irreletvant only to leave the satisfaction of staying true throughout.
Now on the luxery issue.
I read in a cronicle of Denmark 1968 the issues about Danish furniture being for the masses as an ideal but not realised as the true cost of using the best materials for the job indeed made the furniture exquisitely expensive and only available to the highly paid in Denmark and indeed the world over.
I think this is in part what has led to Danish furniture being so desired as it is the beleif that it is the best and it is to aspire to have the best.
Simon

To add to Simon's point - if...
To add to Simon's point - if Danish furniture wasn't luxury furniture there would be very little Danish furniture in the first place. Its an economic / historical thing. Lacking much in the way of the raw materials and manpower that fuel industrialisation, Denmarks solution was to add value to what it could produce by making its products of superior quality and design. Hence a Danish chair might cost three times that of another chair produced elsewhere of the same materials but because its Danish and has the tacit guarantee of quality its deemed a price worth paying. Bang and Olufsen hi-fi is one of the best examples of this - its far from being the best in the world but still highly desirable and expensive because of the attached notions of quality and design.

I went through a bit of intrigue for B&O, but
gave up when I realized that looks and design doesn't cut the mustard when it comes to stereo equipment. Quality of sound and performances aces looks anyday.
Bang & Olufsen has been known for being underpowered for years, although, once upon a time, they did make a totally nice turntable. (My other passion is music; I have a definitive Technics 3-speed professional quartz-locked direct drive turntable, Onkyo power amp, Marantz pre-amp, and a two pairs of KEF Reference speakers.)
Getting back to luxury, if a guy could afford to buy a Porche, he STILL is going try to make a deal with the auto dealer.
What sucks is in the case of high-end furniture, the manufacturers control pricing and there's hardly any chance of getting a negociated discount. It's like some of the old price fixing of days gone by.
So, when anyone makes the argument about "luxury high end only belongs to those who can afford it", I say LUXURY, SCHMUXURY.
I want high end but only if I can get it at a reasonable price. Please see my posting in the Sonnemann reissued the Triennale lamp thread (where I brag about buying three Richard Schultz from them directly and paying less than one chair would cost).
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