PT.9 Up Market Style for the Financially Challenged

=== "Me Too's and Knock-Offs ===

Knock-Offs...

This is an important issue to address now...because although you are all equipped with a good book to recognize 'fakes' ....many are so good that you will not be able to tell the difference.
There is a big debate whether "copies, knock-offs and fakes" ...should be allowed to be sold.
First the majority of them are copies of pieces that the copyrights have expired decades ago. These pieces are therefore not illegally manufactured and sold. Secondly most of the designers are deceased. So I can not get too upset that the companies that have the rights to the 'official' versions are whining. The officials on the whole do produce a superior product. But it is not unusual to see prices of nearly $6000.00 for a sofa when a very good copy is about $1600.00. ouch!!! Perhaps the official piece should cost more...but "Hello Hello" I think we have what is usually referred to as a 'credibility gap!!!

that said...with our budget a second hand original or copy is just fine.

Me Too's...

I personally love these things. Although even many of the classics were not overly popular when first designed and made, some were later...and a few really caught on. Designers ...even the best have been heavily influenced by others that preceded them and competing companies are always wanting a similar product to offer the public. They are sarcastically referred to as "Me Too" pieces.

What I like is that many of these pieces have there own personality..they are often rarer as they have not been as prized as the classics...and they give our homes 'the look' without looking like a cliche of the style.

The red chair is by Ray and Charles Eames ....the designer and manufacturer of the yellow chair is unknown ....The Eames chair has an H-style base where the base on the yellow chair is an X -style base...you can easily notice that the back and the seat of the 'me too 'is not rounded like the Eames.

.....the eames chair is $249.00. I personally bought the 'me too' used for $8.50

..........................................

...the chair below, is Arne Jacobsen's Series7 made of beech wood..... $537.00

...the chair next to it, is Jacobsen's, Oxford chair.

...below these is a 'me too', you will note that it borrows styling cues from both, it is made of a cheaper basswood ... but at $30.00  it will do quite nicely