???
"Eames stuff is much harder to come by for dealers in Europe"?!?!?
I don't agree to all of Ruby's comments, but ... Dear EamesHead, Eames stuff you will find in million places in Europe (do you know Vitra?) and therefore it's nothing special no more, it's just part of mainstream culture.
mvc
Sorry. You are right.
But in my defense, I often make the mistake of not specifying-- that I was referring to the early American first generation Eames stuff.
Not meaning to be all "centric" here at all, just saying that is what I had in mind when I said it, and Zenith and Venice era stuff is what I meant. Most of that early stuff is found in the US for obvious reasons. And in the early 50s California was the place.
I was also just trying to give rubytuesday shit. (For fun, you know)
In all fairness, rubytuesday was indeed addressing the thread topic-- but brought out my good side with the tone of the comments.
(Objectworship: what? I can't keep up with all of your fancy code.)
When you guys talk about the ...
When you guys talk about the slowing down of Nelson...
Do you think the majority of people ever considered that fact when buying or not buying?
His contribution to his designs is only something contributors to DA would consider.
For 99% of people, they buy or don't buy Nelson because of the way it looks.
So if its slowing down...it's because it's slowing down because people are tired of the design.
Supposed 2nd slow down? I don't know. When I see auction houses like Wright 20 moving into more art and less into furniture, I'm wondering if they too aren't seeing a real slow down in the future and are trying to diversify.
Retailers put the name of...
Retailers put the name of the designer on the tag specifically because they don't want the "majority" of the market who are willing to compromise more for a better price. They want the small number of people interested in buying within a certain time frame who will pay extra because of something special about a piece. Often that special thing is the designer. Which means their target audience is a small group.
The majority will buy the generic extras from the back of the shop, or from the low end shop down the street where the owner has no "taste", or from Crate and Barrel.
it's because the Repros have gotten so good
I'm speaking as your average income middle class buyer who most of all just loves the MCM look. Of course I love the fact that I have real Arthur Umanoff bar stools, Marimekko wall hangings and a Marcello Fantoni sculpture (boy did I agonize about that purchase!) BUT, let's get real, I need to furnish a house, and right now West Elm and Crate and Barrel are really in a design sweet spot. They are ripping off like mad and doing it really well.
OF COURSE I'd like real Nakashima or whatever, but my first priority is the look.
there was a video posted...
there was a video posted about Nakashima--what a gift with wood
It'd be almost as good as owning an Antoni Gaudi prayer bench.
CB2 is Crate and Barrel's pseudo-MCM spin-off; I was just wondering why not buy IKEA if you want the look cheap? I've heard C and B is relatively good, but their stuff isn't pseudo-MCM these days. And it's no comparison to the MCM all-star team, especially Nakashima.
Kickstarter is placing piece after piece in MoMA; I think Herman Miller's best argument is that ripoffs hurt the next Nakashima or Eames or Kickstarter.
It's hard to understand
Nakashima's work being considered (in the above exchange) interchangeably with Eames and Nelson pieces. This sounds to me like the investor talking, not the collector or lover of design. Nakashima is an acquired taste, not a dollar-sign-on-legs -- as I see it.
Room & Board makes decent modernist (that is, "contemporary") furnishings of solid wood. I wouldn't put any IKEA upholstered furniture on the same plane as R & B or C & B in terms of quality -- though there's some decent design there.
Thomas Moser makes very high-quality solid-wood furniture, with distinctive design perhaps closer to Nakashima than any of the others named here. I'd stay away from some of the funkier pieces, designed by Moser's son, and look at the quasi-Japanese line or the original Moser offerings based on American classics like the Windsor chair.
Their work isn't cheap, but it's a bargain compared to Nakashima, I believe.
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Zumthor a post-modernist ? He's never even "repeted" himself; every project is a one-off. Good god.
repros
have not gotten good.
You are rationalizing.
Just say its about money if its about money. Thats fair and understandable.
But don't say repros have gotten "good".
That relegates everything to just the "look"--and puts authenticity on the back burner.
Once someone looks at your LOOK, then what? Does the conversation end there? No.
This IS the learning curve.
And if we talk about this "look" thing any further, we must use specific examples so I can explain in detail why every repro you can cite as an example is not "good". They cut corners. They dishonor the designer. They come with built in apologies.
I would rather have a totally trashed original at the same price as a squeaky clean fake.
Hi SDR
It depends on the piece. Some of the more common vintage stuff can be cheaper than a new version or even a replica. Condition is always a factor too.
But if we are talking higher end or rare pieces, there is often a big gap.
But I'm not a dealer, so I would like to hear from them as well.
The Moser Barc-like
is truly hideous, I'm afraid. That was one of sonny's earlier attempts. Things have improved somewhat. There's also a rocker that's a stab at Maloof. But at least the line is unique -- as Nakashima's was: very few upholstered pieces, and a very strong woodcraft vibe. These guys come as close to Scandinavian work as America is likely to produce, by away of original design and quality woodcraft. They certainly run on a separate track from the rest of American modernism, with its strong European heritage ?
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