i have been working on a free lance project for a client in vancouver and have realized that the wonderful world of furniture stores here is oh so sad. when your wanting to work with mid-century modern design there are only 4 options in vancouver. 1. inform interiors (this is where i work) 2. living space 3. ital interiors 4. vintageif you are buying an eames piece from anywhere else you are buying a fake! i am so devastated by the overwhelming take over of stores like nood, yaletown sofe and koolhaus. these companies not only sell ripped off designs but they cheapen the design itself because all of a sudden its seen in every display suite and apartment in the city and worst of all they dishonour the artist and designer who created the piece in the first place. it is actually amazing to me that such stores can even get away with this blatant theft! *sigh makes me want to cry.
my current client holds the same design morals as i do but really loves mid century modern design yet cant afford to buy from stores like inform or living space so i started to explore the wonderful world of vintage. it can be time consuming and you need to know your pieces so you know when your buying "authentic reproductions" vs knock-offs.
i recently discovered an online site called "Lushpad" which is easy to use and sells vintage mid century pieces along with other items of interest and i highly recommend that everyone checks it out! there is also a lovely little store on main street called fabulous finds. they are small so they dont carry a huge amount of items but it is worth checking out and they are honest about which pieces are certified and which ones are not.
it can be frustrating and difficult designing your space when the city you live in doesnt offer a great deal of variety so my advice to my client was "use your imagination and look past the piece of furniture you desire." sometimes when you cant afford the piece you want, instead of trying to match it pull all the things out of it that you love; the shape, the material, the color... and use your imagination to come up with a new solution. you may just surprise yourself and create your own look for the space instead of the one seen in the latest issue of elle decor!
3 comments:
Hi Stephanie! Great blog. I enjoyed reading this entry because it's exactly how I feel - I love modern design, but I can't afford it unless it's second-hand. That's the main reason I started up Lushpad. So people like us can buy + sell the our furniture. :)
We've got an article about original vs. reproduction vs. knockoff on the site - you might find it interesting! http://www.lushpad.com/articles.php?id=3
lushpad is your site! its fabulous :)
Hello,
I am a Danish architect and have been brought up with classic furniiture from designers such as Hans Wegner, Verner Panton and Arne Jacobsen.
I went into Nood today in Christchurch (NZ) and was terrified to see how bad the fakes are made. It is a disaster not just for the designers but for all who cares about innovation and design development. Nood doesn't offer design, but stolen design.
A clean case for http://www.plagiarius.com/
Best,
C
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