American furniture brand Emeco is to sue IKEA for damages for allegedly copying a chair designed by Norman Foster. The American company alleges that IKEA's Melltorp dining chair, by Swedish designer Ola Wihlborg, is similar to its 20-06 Stacking Chair, designed by Foster in 2006. Emeco has filed a design right and copyright infringement case against the Swedish furniture giant at Munich District Court in Germany and a hearing is scheduled for September. Pennsylvania-based Emeco, which specialises in aluminium furniture, is seeking damages and wants IKEA to cease manufacturing the product. "A hearing is scheduled for September in Munich," Emeco chairman Gregg Buchbinder told Dezeen. "We have started an action against IKEA in Germany for damages and to stop making the chair." In a statement, Josefin Thorell from IKEA's group corporate communication department said that IKEA "never deliberately copies products". "IKEA does not comment specifically on any upcoming or ongoing legal proceedings," she said.
"However, on the subject of design, IKEA never deliberately copies products sold by other companies or designers. Design is of greatest importance for IKEA and is an integral part of the IKEA vision and business idea." But Alev Öztas, Emeco's vice president of sales and marketing, said that, in his opinion, the IKEA chair was "very, very similar" to Emeco's product. "When [people] see that very, very similar model in an Ikea catalogue at a completely different price range, of course it damages our business," she said. The 20-06 Stacking Chair, designed by British architect Norman Foster, is a slimline tribute to Emeco's iconic Navy chair, which is also known as the 1006 and was first introduced in 1944 for use on US Navy submarines. Both Emeco chairs are handmade from 80 per cent recycled aluminium using a proprietary 77-step process, which involves forming, welding, grinding, tempering and finally anodising and hand-brushing the metal. Like its predecessor, the 20-06 has an estimated lifespan of 150 years but uses 15 per cent less aluminium and weighs just 3.2kg.
It retails in the UK for around £540. IKEA's stacking Melltorp chair features a powder-coated steel frame and a polypropylene seat and backrest. It weights 5.6kg and retails for £20 in the UK. Emeco has resorted to legal action to protect its designs on several occasions in the past. In 2013 it reached a settlement with US furniture retailer Restoration Hardware, which it had accused of copying the Navy chair. Restoration Hardware agreed to cease selling the product. In 2014, Emeco reached settlements with two more furniture companies that it had accused of copying the Navy chair and the Philippe Starck-designed Kong chair. In the same year home-rental brand Airbnb removed a set of aluminium chairs from its San Francisco headquarters after Emeco pointed out they were fake Navy chairs. In a video interview with Dezeen in 2013, Emeco's Buchbinder expressed his frustration at firms that copied his products. "In today's marketplace people are looking for economical things, and I understand that and there's a market for that," he said.
"It's something that, as a manufacturer that puts a lot of time and effort into the development and research and everything else, is a very hard thing to swallow."It’s been a week of lethargy around here and the start of summer is totally to blame. We’ve spent most of the mornings just lying around and then sometimes we find the energy to do something fun but I admit it’s been nice being extra lazy the past two weeks. Ever since the house tour I’ve had a few questions, namely about the furniture in our home and especially in the family and dining rooms with other inquiries like how we live the way we do with kids and pets and my answer comes down to one word or choice that I’m sure several of you endorse and that word is this Slipcovered furniture is a mom’s BFF and I’m a true believer. What’s better than a washable piece of furniture when those oops and spills and mistakes of life occur? Slipcovers buy me piece of mind because I know (like last week) when applesauce gets spilled on them, they can go straight to the wash.
I prefer the tailored fitted versions, the ones that mimic upholstered pieces but have the benefit of easy removal when “oh no mom I spilled on the couch” moments happen. Our family room sofas and dining room chairs are our most used pieces and as a result, limbs and hands and paws are on them constantly so naturally they’re bound to get soiled. So here’s the slipcover report after all these years of living with them with kids and pets and life’s circumstances and the lowdown on my two favorite pieces of slipcovered furniture. First the family room sofas. I bought these sofas five years ago – they are the Pottery Barn Basic sofa and loveseat and worth the investment. They were manufactured by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams (in partnership with Pottery Barn according to the label) and still are as comfortable as the month they were delivered. This color of slipcover is (sadly) no longer available, they are the “Slate Blue” brushed canvas fabric, and as you know I’m a sucker for anything in the blue gray family so the choice was easy.
The cushions are polyester which are more firm and hold the shape a bit better than down blend as I understand (but tell me your experience if you have the down blend versions). They’re not in direct sun, so I have no idea how the fabric color holds up those circumstances, but ours has been consistent through the multiple washings. I’ve washed these slipcovers more times than I can count and they still keep their shape, but a few tips: don’t wash all the cushion slipcovers together if you have both a loveseat and sofa, I’ve confused them before when they come out and struggled with which belongs with which. It’s better to wash the loveseat cushions and loveseat cover together, then just the sofa cushion covers, then just the sofa cover, in three separate washes. That’s my routine anyway. Also dry them on a low heat cycle and pull them out when ever so slightly damp so you can smooth any wrinkles away. Also, the sofa is the foldout version, which we love for family movie night or kid sleepovers when we move the loveseat back a foot and move the coffee table out of the way and they all pile on top in front of a movie with blankets and pillows and popcorn.