Kids need space to just be kids. Where they can giggle, make believe, hop around – and then settle in for good night's sleep after all that fun. Because that's how they learn and grow and become who they are. That's why all our children's furniture and toys are designed to help you create a safe, creative and comfortable space for your most important people in the world.Furniture companies in the UK are upping sticks and moving to the Republic to circumvent strict new copyright laws introduced there which have – almost overnight – rendered it virtually impossible to make and sell replicas of design classics for up to 70 years after a designer’s death. However such companies’ time here may be brief as businesses lobbying hard to keep the work of acclaimed furniture designers under copyright for longer look set to replicate legal moves in the UK by threatening court action here in order to force for the State to comply with an EU directive on copyright infringement. The new rules in the UK have extended design rights to works created after 1957 from 25 years after their launch to a full 70 years after the designer’s death.
Another law under consideration in the UK at present would see iconic pre-1957 designs also fall under copyright protection and make it an offence to incorporate any element of particular products into new pieces without a licence. While the rule changes are intended to protect designers or their estates, anyone looking to get faux-designer pieces on the cheap in the future may struggle and even interiors magazines might be hit with hefty fees if they print pictures of items protected by the laws without a licence. One furniture company which has already moved to the Republic trades under the name Voga. It is based in Kildare and was prompted to move across the water because of the change to the British Copyright, Designs and Patents Act this summer which has made it illegal to sell replicas of iconic designs without acquiring an expensive licence. Amongst its best sellers are chairs “inspired by” acclaimed furniture designers Charles Eames, Arne Jacobsen and Poul Henningsen.
Jacobsen’s iconic Egg Chair has a retail price on the site of €799 compared with in excess of €9,000 for an original piece. An Eames Lounge chair – which has turned 60 this year – would sell for close to €4,000 were it original but a replica can be bought for €895 on the site, while an artichoke lampshade by Henningsen that normally sells for more than €6,000 can be bought for no more than €370. The company’s business model is to sell copies of classic designs for a whole lot less than full price and it now describes itself on its website as an Irish company. Under the law here it is “able to reproduce designs and sell replica furniture 25 years after its initial creation, which is exactly what we do. As a result, we comply fully with Irish law, making it perfectly legal to buy beautiful furniture from Voga.” It also tells would-be customers from outside of this jurisdiction that it “is still 100 per cent legal to buy and import our products from our warehouse in Ireland, even if the copyright law in your country differs to that in Ireland.
This is because you are not infringing any exclusive rights under local copyright regulation in other EU/EEA countries when you are buying replica furniture.” So by basing itself in Kildare it can legally sell replicas to UK customers although customers do have to arrange for delivery to ensure they are not breaking the law. The rule change in the UK was brought about as a result of a fierce lobbying effort led by Swiss design company Vitra which fought for UK copyright laws to be aligned with a 1998 European design directive that protects mass-produced furniture in the same way as as books, music and photography. Vitra owns the distribution rights for original Herman Miller creations, including the Eames lounge chair and it claims the cheap replica market has cost it €250 million a year in the UK alone in lost profits. The British Intellectual Property Office (IPO) initially planned to have a law come into force in 2020 to allow companies sell affected stock they already held without fear of penalties but Vitra successfully pushed for the law to be changed faster.
When the IPO fast-tracked the changes Vitra hailed it as a victory for the design industry. “We welcome the decision of the British government which mandates that artistic designs will soon fall under the same copyright protection in the UK as they do in other European countries.” “This is long overdue in Ireland and I think we need change the copyright laws as soon as possible to better protect both designers and consumers ,” said retail and interior designer Helen Kilmartin who owns Minima, an interior design consultancy and store that represents many of the world’s leading furniture, lighting and home accessories brands, including Vitra. That Eames lounge chair is available from Minima which sources directly from Vitra. The price is not listed.Make your home feel a bit bigger this summer – just by opening the door. Whether you want to dine on your balcony, relax in your garden or spend time together on your patio, we've lots of comfortable and durable outdoor furniture for creating (even more) space for living in.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary last year, the egg chair is the work by designer Arne Jacobsen who originally made it for the lobby of the Radisson SAS hotel in Copenhagen in 1958. This modern and striking seat is a familiar piece of furniture that is regularly used in advertising, films and television as a symbol of sophisticated living. It is a uniquely designed chair that is padded with cold foam and can be found with both fabric and leather covering resting on a star-shaped aluminum base. A quality of the chair allows it to tilt and swivel which makes for ease of movement and relaxed lounging. Fritz Hansen has been designing and manufacturing the egg chair since first produced in the 50s and recently produced a limited number of special edition anniversary chairs containing unique features in order to celebrate this modernist design. How to spot an original It has a molded fiberglass frame and is padded with multi density polyurethane foam, while the 4 star base of the chair is constructed of cast aluminium and plastic gliders protect the floor.
It will have a tilt lever mechanism and adjusts according to the weight of the person sitting on it. The shell is created containing polyurethane foam and glass fibre reinforcement. The dimensions of the egg chair are (W)86cm x (D)79cm x (H)107 cm 1,300 stitches are used to add the upholstery The limited edition has a hand-polished solid bronze base with each individually engraved under the seat cushion. Lost Weekend is the sole distributor for Fritz Hansen in Ireland. Prices are from €4,425 in fabric to €10,500 for elegance hide. You can find Lost Weekend at Trimmers Lane, Selskar, Wexford. Tel: 053 918 0090 or check out their website www.lostweekend.ie Wildchild recently sold a vintage Fritz Hansen model in fabric for €3,500 and is currently looking for vintage leather models. They are located on 10/11 Greenmount Avenue, Harolds Cross, Dublin 12. If you are determined to buy this style of chair but want to keep cost down then a reproduction piece is for you.