'Replicas'
are pretty much countefeit, they use the work of designers and the designer receives nothing for it, often (mostly) the goods are of inferior quality, and may actually harm the reputation of the designer/ licensee who has no control over them.
I would like to add that almost every website selling 'replica' items has featured here on this site for it's poor service..just take a look!
designers receive nothing..?
well, last time I checked Jacobsen was dead. (So were the Eames.. and Noguchi..)
www.design-living.net has the goodies and at least deliver in UK/have a UK phone no, but personally I'd never buy from them - cause I don't like their terms+conditions (they require you to pre-pay)
But on the other hand...
Hmm... well, if I may play devil's advocate fro a moment: For at least a few of these designers, their intent was to create well designed, solidly constructed furniture for the masses. It could be argued that, now that they have passed on, the holders of their patent wish to cater to the elite- making their designs unavailable to those they were intended to target.
Of course, one could easily counter that "the masses" generally have more pedestrian tastes, and lack appreciation for such urbane pursuits as "good modern design," regardless of the designer's intent.
My ethics on this matter say:
A.) If you can afford the real thing, buy it. Both because it is ligitimate, but also for yourself- I've never known a knock-off that had the fit and finish and quality of construction of an original.
B.) However, if you cannot afford the real thing, buy the best "reproduction" you can afford. Not only should you not go without for lack of money, but by having a replica, you are promoting the "brand" of the original. i.e.: Anyone who sees you as a barometer of taste and design, and who can afford an original, will get an original.
My 3¢
Yes, of course
But what I am saying is that mostly these replicas are unlicensed copies of inferior quality..
Linceses are given under strict guidelines..
Whether monetary matters are a factor or not, one shoddy chair can sully the reputation of a designer..dead or alive
It's a matter of integrity really
Design for the masses?.. go to Ikea
Excellence costs!
Can't help with a replica but free trip to Florida
Here is a company in Sarasota FL that sells the chair you are looking for. Priced from just under $5,000 US to a little better then $10,000. US they will reimburse your airfare and hotel if you make a purchase from them. Strikes me that the "originals" are wickedly overpriced and beyond the masses as one poster stated when the seller can reimburse airfare and hotel. Good luck. Weather tomorrow; 19 January for Sarasota is forecast for 85 degrees and sunny.
http://www.dkvogue.com/product.php?id=921
At risk of being flamed..
We sell very nice replicas of these, in either Cashmere wool or aniline leather.
There is a load arriving in another 3 or so weeks, although as there are a LOT of different colour options most of them are made to order, 8-10 weeks.
Go Modern or Modern-Classics-Online (both .co.uk)
I (obviously) dont have a huge moral problem with replicas because they are a way to get nice design at a realistic price. An original would be 4 times the price & out of reach for the vast majority of the population. As long as they are not being sold as the original then in a way they actually liven up the whole market - including that of the real thing.
And you would be amazed at who buys them, not the downmarket customers one might imagine...
case by case
In some cases the legitimate rightful production is inferior to the illegitimate. In the case of the Egg chair, however, I would only consider the Fritz Hansen offering - still nicely made, while the knockoffs are getting better. That said, the Jacobsen "Seven" chairs from the same company are really embarassing, and there are a couple knockoffs that are superior. So I would approach it on a per-case basis. And in either case, examples produced up to the '80s are excellent made, readily available and should be about 50% the cost of new with the bonus of recycling. IMHO it doesn't always matter most who is profiting from the piece, as it is your money and it is your chair and you will want to buy the best. Strong brands can sometimes hold licenses hostage while they chip away at expensive QA. $uch is life.
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