We’ve all been there at one time or another. A beautiful piece of furniture has caught your eye. Maybe it was an unusual color, stunning form, or interesting texture. Maybe it was something you’ve never seen before or something that felt amazing to sit in. All you know is you want it. No, you need it. Then you look at the price tag and think, “how can I get this for less?” Before you know it, you’ve done a quick search on your smartphone and discovered you can purchase it for significantly less than most retailers. Is it an authentic design? Why should you care as long as it saves you money, right? The reality is there much more that goes into furniture design then many of us realize. We take for granted many things that lead up to this “stunning” and “must have” conversation starter. So why should authentic design matter? Because investing in authentic design means investing in the designers and the processes that created it. Furniture designers have a process by which an original design is created.
When you invest in authentically designed furniture you’re investing in these creative processes. A designer spends months, sometimes years, developing a concept, working with prototypes, overcoming obstacles, choosing materials and perfecting the smallest of details. From manufacturing to sustainability, designers solve complex challenges all to bring these original pieces to market. When you buy authentic you support that process and enable more great original designs to be created. On the other hand, when you buy a knockoff, you deter and stifle that innovation process. So what exactly is a knockoff and how can you tell if the furniture you’re about to purchase is an authentic design? There are many creative ways of saying knockoff: replica, reproduction, in the style of, inspired by, etc. While these “reproductions” or “in the style of” pieces may look the same from afar, quite often the truth lies in the details. Often the comfort level, quality of material, innovative detail, and durability are inferior to the original.
They are cheap, short-term imitations, that only look the part. The poor quality and performance of a knockoff piece can even leave a bad taste about the design as a whole, because many don’t see the differences between the original design and the imitated piece. Purchasing knockoffs also dilutes the brand that designers and manufacturers have worked so hard to build. Designs can take many years to perfect, with lots of trial and error. When a company decides to sell a knockoff, they are taking a shortcut to cash in on the hard work of others. It’s not illegal, but highly unethical. It is stealing in an unethical way. So what can you do if “authentic” isn’t in your budget? There are better options than knockoffs. Many brands, like Herman Miller and Steelcase, hold semi-annual sales where their product is available at a discounted rate (call our product specialists at 877.696.3342 to find out when the next sale dates are.) Also, sometimes you can score an open box, or floor model at an authorized retailers outlet store (like Office Designs Outlet).
If vintage is your thing, sometimes you can scour Craigslist, estate sales, eBay, and garage sales for authentic pieces. We pride ourselves on being experts in authentic design. If you’re in need of authentically designed furniture for your work life, Office Designs can help. We’ve helped people outfit their workspaces for over a 20 years with original products from brand such as Herman Miller, Steelcase, Haworth, Humanscale, Kartell, Blu Dot, Vitra and more.Auction Date: Soonest First Auction Date: Furthest First Number of Bids: Fewest First Number of Bids: Most First Buy Now: Recently Added Buy Now Price: High to Low Buy Now Price: Low to High Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman February 22, 2017, 10:00 AM EST Eames LCW Lounge Chairs for Herman Miller Black Eames Shell Chairs on H Bases for Herman Miller Pair of Charles Eames for Herman Miller Bucket Swivel ChairPeople are outraged to see refugees with smartphones.
Herman Miller is a high-end furniture company that owns the production licenses for timeless pieces including the Eames Lounge Chair (above), the Eiffel Chair and the Aeron Chair. Matt Blatt is a furniture company that specialises in replica designer furniture (it lists 437 individual replica items on its website) that are generally manufactured in China and significantly cheaper than the originals. A genuine Eames Lounge Chair costs around AU$5,400, while the Matt Blatt replica costs AU$1895. Herman Miller recently announced it was taking legal action against Matt Blatt over copyright infringement of the Eames name. Despite Matt Blatt publicly undertaking in 2006 to “clearly identify the copies it markets of the iconic Charles and Ray Eames designed furniture as replicas”, it had failed to do so on a number of occasions. The matter was settled prior to appearing in court. Though the terms of the settlement remain confidential, Jeremy Hocking, Vice President of Herman Miller Asia Pacific, confirmed that they are “satisfied with the radical changes to Matt Blatt’s website that were implemented immediately after legal proceedings commenced”.
These changes include the following statement in bold on Matt Blatt’s homepage: “Matt Blatt’s replica products are not manufactured or approved by, or affiliated with, the original designers, manufacturers or distributors including Herman Miller, Charles or Ray Eames, Knoll, Fritz Hansen, Flos, Studio Italia, Giogali, Artemice Spa, Tolix or Xavier Pauchard“. Even with the word replica plastered all over its website, Matt Blatt does remain entitled to use the Eames name however. The differences between original and replica furniture may be difficult for the casual observer to discern. A detail here, a material there are all that separates the two. It could be argued therefore that the original Eames Lounge Chair, at over 2.5 times the price of the replica, is a waste of money. From a distance, under heavy fog or to the myopic, the differences between original and replica may be few, but for those who really care about good design, we argue that the money is merely a hurdle to surpass on the way to ownership of an original piece of designer furniture.
It is likely the additional cost of an original offers the potential of increased resale value, however of more interest to us is the unquantifiable values it embodies. In buying original furniture, we are participating in the long and exciting history of design. We are purchasing an object that blossomed out of the minds of the world’s most celebrated designers. By recognising the importance of designer furniture that exists today, we are investing in the future of design and the untold number of classic pieces waiting to be created. We are lucky enough to own an original Eames Lounge Chair. It is a stunningly beautiful object, it is fantastically comfortable and it fills us with immeasurable joy knowing that it’s real, that it’s the Eames Chair. Herman Miller most likely spent a lot of money on the legal team responsible for the settlement with Matt Blatt. We’re glad they did. The originators of good design are too important to go unrecognised. Herman Miller is a member of the Authentic Design Alliance, an organisation established to support the integrity of original, authentic design.