Modern Classic
Posted on April 24th, 2008 – 8:08 PMBy Jason Hammond
I’ve been trying to decide on what chair to buy for our downstairs living room desk. The cabinet style desk is mostly used to sit at when we’re sorting through paperwork or paying bills so the chair will likely be pushed off to the side rather directly at the desk most of the time. My hope was that we could find something that would work both as as comfortable and functional working chair but also to integrate nicely with the rest of our furniture without looking out of place in the living room.
After dozens of searches on the web and visits to several furniture stores I came to the conclusion that there was really only one chair that I felt worked — the Eames Management Chair by Herman Miller. I loved the look of the shiny aluminum frame and the sleek lines of the leather back. However I was less in love with the price, at around $1500. I set out to find to the chair at a more affordable price and with a little time on the web, I was able to stumble across a great looking replica called The Premier Leather Office chair from Zuo Modern at Exclusivelyhome.com. Although slightly different, it was certainly a well made tribute to the original Eames design. Plus, unlike many of the other replicas I saw, it not only featured an aluminum frame but had an Italian Leather seat as an added bonus. I am putting my order in on it tonight already waiting with great anticipation for its arrival.
The officially licensed Herman Miller Eames Group Management Chair.
The Replica version I found on Exclusivelyhome.com cost about 1/3 of the officially licensed one.
7 Responses to "Modern Classic"
Stumble across? You at least blog for that website maybe more. How about a little disclosure ?
Millhouse,
I found the chair about a month ago and in the process found a request for contributing writers, to which I applied. Just started writing for them a couple of weeks ago.
Jason
Are there any other items that you’ve featured that you work for the company that makes/sells/installs the items?
Hey David,
I dont work for or have work affiliation with any other place/product that I have recommended. I exchanged emails with Millhouse after he posted this question and I’ve attached my response below to his more extensive question when he asked why I waited a month to make the purchase.
“I’ve been a big fan of the Eames designs (I have replica molded plywood lounge chairs that I bought this past winter). And in the Twin Cities (I don’t know where you’re from, so you may already know this) we have this great furniture place called Room and Board. As as result the corporate office has a weekend warehouse store where they sell display, slightly damaged, returned and discontinued items. I’ve been looking at the chair out there where it appears frequently but it’s never come down enough before it sells. I’ve seen a few versions of the chair online but struggled with the idea of buying the reproduction because I was concerned with the quality of it. I found it at exclusivelyhome.com about a month or so ago but was still looking (plus they offer three replicas of the chair). At that time I applied for the contributing writer job and they hired me about two weeks later. After I got to know the contact there I asked him about the chair and he told me that it was a really great replica—so I decided to buy it based on that recommendation and thought I would pass that along to the readers. I promise you that it cost me $400 the same as it would anyone else but your inquiry was a fair one. I also figured I was being relatively transparent since my name appears on the site, although I could have stated that as a fact. As a note, that entry will run in the paper this week and it will most likely run with a side note stating that I also work as a contributing writer for the company where I bought the chair.”
Additionally the writing I do for http://blog.exclusivelyhome.com/ is not related in any way to their products other than the fact that they are modern in style. In particular I was asked to write about architecture, design, green building and cool products that I find.
Jason
Great snag on the chair and on the writing gig. Congrats!
How dissapointing that as an advocate for design and modernism that you you support knock-offs. When it comes to forgery - which is what you are supporting - imitation is not flattery. I am wondering how you and your creative firm feel about others “borrowing” your ideas and passing them off as their own?
Lesa,
I’m sorry that you feel “disappointed” by my decision to purchase a knock-off or replica product and that you equate this to “forgery” of someones current work. However, here are the specifics as it relates to the replicas of such classics. The licensing of the products by such companies as Herman Miller, DWR and Vitra have been upheld as it relates to the actual use of the name e.g.Eames Management Chair. However this doesn’t mean that they reproduce the chairs exactly the same as the originals. Vitra for example owns the rights to the Eames Side Chairs however produces it from alternative materials where as Modernica holds much of the original molds and makes the chair from fiberglass, yet doesn’t own the naming rights. As well I think there is a vast difference between replication, reproduction and forgery.
As the world we live in rapidly approaches a state of total Democratization of Design it has become almost impossible for anyone to make a purchase without crossing over these lines. Today, retailers like IKEA and TARGET work feverishly to feed our societies insatiable appetite for design making it almost impossible to not cross over these lines.
I certainly know that some people insist on purchasing only the licensed products while others even see that as stooping to low and will only buy vintage originals. Often times these people are buying these pieces as collector pieces that will appreciate in value over time vs. solely for it’s well designed functioning nature and aesthetic appeal. Additionally, I find that to exclude the association with anything that was not an original — I would have to stop purchasing my copy of Dwell, MetHome, Metropolis and many more as they run adds for knock-off product manufacturers right along side those of licensed ones.
I can’t say that I took the decision to make these purchases, nor to share that purchase with the world lightly but it’s the honest decision that I made knowing that some people would understand it an appreciate it and others would condemn and judge me for it — I respect the rights of both groups to make their own assessment.
Jason
