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Furniture made and sold on Etsy, what's about it? Design Addicts opinions ?  

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dim
 dim
(@dim)
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Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 46
21/05/2014 5:53 pm  

Hi all,

Just wanted to know your opinion about the furniture made and sold on Etsy.
Obviously its not designer made and most probably will never be collectable.
I would be very much interested in hearing the opinions of some design addicts in this regard! I found some really nice pieces there. Looks good, but buying it..? So wanted to know would any of you guys bring something like this to your house/work or any other place really 🙂

I am attaching a link to the gallery with a few pieces found!

Drop a line to the thread, let me know what you think 😉

Dim

http://imgur.com/a/HoZiL#3


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Spanky
(@spanky)
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Posts: 4376
21/05/2014 7:48 pm  

I think they're fine for
people who don't care about actual design, who just want a sort of mid-century modern "look" to their homes.
Sticking a set of hairpin legs on something is the quickest, easiest way to get that look for people who are into that kind of decor. (They probably also shop for cardboard taxidermy heads and globes. Just saying.)
The two desks aren't as objectionable as that little orange-ish chest on the hairpin legs, or---horrors---the low dresser on the hairpin legs. That looks like a vintage piece that was stripped of its base and forced to stand on hairpin legs. Those things have some flex to them, maybe depending on the diameter of metal used, I dunno---but I see that thing bouncing a tiny bit when you open and close the drawers. Or if someone like Aunt Mark stuffed too many ties in it, maybe.
That desk that is an open box with a center divider is $650. For that money you could get an actual mid-century modern desk of a more functional and interesting design and maybe have some change left over if you're lucky (and/or patient and diligent in your search).
Short answer: no.


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dim
 dim
(@dim)
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21/05/2014 8:55 pm  

Good short answer 🙂
I agree with you, and I would not expect for another answer here 🙂
Though its probably a great hobby, but not for the sake of making a buck!
Maybe its the whole process spending time in the workshop and the feeling of a long-term project !
Especially for the people who spend most their time working from a computer 🙂
But that's a totally different story 🙂
Furniture by great designers appeals much more to me too!


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SDR
 SDR
(@sdr)
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Posts: 6462
22/05/2014 12:20 am  

Taken for granted
(like so many other instances of perfection) is the careful grain selection and matching in the piece shown. These things don't happen by themselves.
Just saying' . . .


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NULL NULL
(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)
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22/05/2014 1:45 am  

Hairpin legs
Should be banned forever.


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dim
 dim
(@dim)
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22/05/2014 2:35 pm  

Banned? FOREVER AND EVER?
Woodywood please explain why! 🙂


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kcbrains
(@kcbrains)
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Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 97
22/05/2014 5:04 pm  

I'm
with woody on this one. I haven't seen one piece of furniture with hairpin legs that looked like anything but a weekend warrior DIY. Hairpin legs = cop-out.


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dim
 dim
(@dim)
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22/05/2014 6:00 pm  

KC
So, are you counting out all hairpin legs furniture designs including the original ones?
I am sure there a some great examples of that design! 🙂
Not arguing, just saying 😀


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tktoo
(@tktoo)
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22/05/2014 6:13 pm  

In defense of hairpins.
When we were kids, my best friend's parents had a set of tables - one dining, one bar, and two occasional - out on their beautifully hardscaped and planted ca.'65 patio, each with simple redwood slat tops fixed to steel hairpin legs painted black.
They were a frugal old yankee family with 4 boys, and all about traditions, routines, and chores. In the late fall, the tables were neatly stacked and tucked away together under the pergola, covered with a tarpaulin for the winter. Every spring, they were washed, the tops scuff-sanded and oiled, and the legs touched-up with the same crusty can of Rustoleum flat black.
By the time we were teenagers, the tables had accrued a patina of dents, scrapes, and stains that only added to the glow of many seasons of hard duty and regular care. Even as a kid I admired their simplicity and utility. And I always thought they looked "just right" in that environment with their tops just kind of floating there.


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NULL NULL
(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)
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22/05/2014 6:59 pm  

Clarification
After-market hairpin legs should be banned forever.
Some of the original stuff looks OKAY.


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Mark
 Mark
(@mark)
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22/05/2014 7:28 pm  

great post, tktoo.
I very much enjoyed that snippet. I wonder what ever happened to the 4 boy's?
We had uptight neighbors with tragic (probably cheap) white french ornate crap on their patio (lots of it... and even their front porch) that also included a blackamoor (sp? or two). It would be politically incorrect to describe their birdhouse that the father was so proud of.
But I digress,
Aunt Mark


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tktoo
(@tktoo)
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22/05/2014 9:41 pm  

For Mark.
Current status of family in descending order of age:
Francis: Deceased. I still have fillings in my teeth that he put there in the '70's.
Joan: Even battier than back then and living alone in that same sprawling '50's ranch.
Outdoor tables: Probably still there (I should sneak over there and steal them if they are).
Neal: Occasionally working as a freelance photojournalist and writer living in Berkeley, CA.
David: Smarter-than-you physician in either VA or NC, I can't recall.
Nevan: Carpenter/cabinetmaker extraordinaire in southern NH and remains my oldest friend.
Peter: Assistant Headmaster at a private boy's school over in Merry Old (likely a direct result of endless abuse during his childhood years for which I must assume a small degree of responsibility).


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Spanky
(@spanky)
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Posts: 4376
22/05/2014 9:50 pm  

I have an old outdoor table
that's about 30" square with the original (formerly) white marble slab top on hairpin legs. The legs are welded to the top frame and the slab sits inside the frame. It's very simple and the marble is totally weathered and oozing patina. It's perfect with my vintage butterfly chairs, though a bit tall.
But yeah, it's the after market hairpins that need to go. Those and the hipsters who think that sticking them on anything equates to style. (Hopefully the hipsters will grow up eventually and learn about real design.)


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objectworship
(@objectworship)
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Posts: 1184
22/05/2014 10:44 pm  

The objection
is to the lowest common denominator mainstream modern connotations, yes? Wannabe Dwell magazine knockoff style for the slightly stupid middle class. Cost Plus World Market, Pier 1, TJ Maxx, add your hairpins, paint the junk you bought on craigslist "shabby chic" like, "hack" your IKEA, "steampunk", PLEASE KILL ME.
Or step it up "vintage" with "retro" 50s cheesy chrome tables with ridiculous napkin dispensers, Coca-Cola "memorabilia", and gas station crap...
Lowbrow imitations of design archetypes, like JC Penney "Saarinen Style", Cheap Chinese "Eames Style" blah blah blah, it goes on and on and on and on and on...
The problem is, most people, overall, are kind of stupid, and bad products seemingly suffice just fine for them...
So it's an issue of bad taste due to ignorance, and you (and I) love the contrast between "our" good consumer decisions, and "their" bad ones...
... and something about "stars upon thars"


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dim
 dim
(@dim)
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Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 46
23/05/2014 1:30 am  

Blame it all on the HIPSTERS
They should be held responsible for the abuse of the hairpins !!!!1
Or maybe no one introduced the to the world of "real" furniture? Who knows...


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