Hi,
I've decided to buy a reproduction pk22 chair. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what to look for in a good replica (i.e. one that is most true to the original specs). There seems to be a lot written about what makes a good barcelona chair but nothing on the pk22.
I've already made up my mind to buy a replica so please no posts about why it's better to buy the original. I don't have that kind of money!
Thanks
I think such a question just agrivates (is that correct?)
people on forum such as this. And I think that's very logical.
I would advise you ask your question elsewhere.
If I couldn't afford the real thing, I would search for something in my budget or vintage. Reproduction is lazy and doesn't reward the designer or original producer.
I can't speak for anyone else
but it doesn't aggravate ME to see questions like this. It does, however, make me wonder what the questioner actually wants.
OLB, I assume that you've decided to buy a replica PK22 because you find the form appealing. But if that were all that you wanted, any PK22 replica -- or perhaps any chair whose form is inspired by the PK22 -- would satisfy you. Why does it matter to you whether the replica duplicates details that you aren't even aware of?
Perfect Polly isn't so unusual.
People buy dolls and stuffed animals all the time... Which is fine, I guess, if you like that sort of thing.
But aren't those items usually chosen based on the buyer's own perception of the thing itself -- which teddy bear is cutest or softest or whatever? Does anyone think a child will love a particular toy bear just because some bear expert has authenticated it as the most accurate representation of the real thing?
If OLB had desired for his chair to have some particular PK22 feature, but couldn't tell from website photos which of the replicas had that feature, I could understand why he'd ask about that feature here. I don't think he'd get an expert answer, but at least it would make some sort of sense for him to ask THAT question.
But it just seems bizarre for someone to care whether a replica has PK22 features that he's never seen. How will that affect how the chair looks in his room? Unless he's hoping to pass off the replica as the real thing, to people more knowledgeable than he is, why does it even matter?
Re-read the mans post. He...
Re-read the mans post. He never mentioned details. He's looking for a replica that has the same specs. You know, proportions/materials.
Sorry I can't help you...good luck with your search and enjoy your new chair. I love PK's designs and would do the same thing if I were strapped. Kind of hard to justify 2-3K for a chair when there are other priorities.
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Just some suggestions to this subject.
There are no "originals", all design items are in the strict sense replicas from the one and only original one.
I think it's not worth to discuss the difference between licenced and non-licenced or well done and badly done replicas, we all know it.
But it's quite ridiculous to discredit somebody who is financially not able to purchase an expensive licenced replica.
I can't afford $2-3K for a chair either,
so I buy other authentic pieces that are just as beautiful in their own way but are affordable for me. And then I admire and enjoy the pricey stuff in photos and in others' homes. Win win!
But back to the original question. I doubt anyone here has bothered to compare all the knockoffs to the original of this chair and documented the differences. That's kind of a lot of work, and for what? To help sell the better quality knockoffs, if they exist? Maybe there's another forum somewhere where people have done that and have spreadsheets about it and stuff. I dunno.
Believe me, I love my fake...
Believe me, I love my fake plants too, I finally killed my only real plant. I have some lovely plastic flowers in my long black ceramic panther planter/tv light, and I'm not being sarcastic when I say so.
If anybody wants to evaluate any thing, they can start by seeing the form of the thing, what the thing's made of and how it's put together. If you don't know how to compare things, start LOOKING at things, and thinking about it. You don't need a label to see if something is designed/constructed reasonably well.
resale not retail for me-
There's a long history of...
There's a long history of unauthorized reproductions in furniture design. They have ranged in quality from shitty to very fine. There are Barcelona chairs made in Italy that are high-quality. The Hardoy butterfly chair is the most knocked-off chair in history, and I have yet to find anyone who can reliably distinguish the original Knoll version from some of the better knockoffs. Widdicomb used to make stunning versions of Frank Lloyd Wright furniture. (Unauthorized, I think. The authorized FLK manufacturer is Cassina.)
Not to mention that the designers themselves have authorized reproductions that aren't identical to the originals (e.g., Finn Juhl authorizing his friend Hollis Baker to produce a line of his furniture in America).
And of course Robsjohn-Gibbings' Klismos chair, now made by Sardis, is a reproduction of a design Gibbings saw on vases from ancient Greece. Is the klismos chair made by Kreiss a "knockoff" off Gibbings', or of the original Greek chair? In either case, it's beautiful, expensive, and sells on 1stdibs.
Norm
I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't clear.
I do understand that the guy's asking for a PK22 replica whose details -- dimensions, materials, construction, finish, etc. -- are as close as possible to the FH version.
But I don't believe that he knows what those details ARE (because if he did, he could simply ask the various replicas' sellers specific questions about them until he found an answer he liked), so it's clear to me that the details aren't what is driving his desire for a PK22 replica. He probably -- and understandably -- wants one because the replicas that he's seen look good in photos and he imagines that they will also look good in his room.
So my question is... If he's already decided that he wants one chair, a PK22 replica, why does he care whether its weight or finish or dimensions happen to match those of another chair, the Fritz Hansen PK22?
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