It was brought to my attention by a friend and fellow Modernist design enthusiast, that in the June issue of Dwell magazine, Eames Demetrios wrote a letter to the editor, in regards to allowing Modernica to advertise in their magazine.  

I recently just posted the flyer for the Modernica sale on WF and have somewhat naively purchased products from them thinking they were the Eames reproductions.  I was led to believe they were the same ones that are being sold on DWR, my nemesis.  These are produced by Herman Miller.  I should have known you get what you pay for.  Though this is not true in this case.  I purchased my shell chair with arms at the warehouse sale a few years back for $80 bucks, but brand new it goes for the same price as the Herman Miller one.  If I had to buy one now, at full price, I guess I would go with the Herman Miller one. 

Apparently, after reading this letter that clearly states the chairs are “knockoffs”, I was a bit surprised.  How could a company, firmly rooted in Los Angeles and frequented by design enthusiasts, such as myself, be a mere facade for blatant imitation?  And how much does it really matter?  Are we adding to the problem by supporting a store like this?  And what exactly is the problem?  Is it the purity of the design legacy itself or the fact that they are not sustainable?  And what about those Nelson lamps Modernica makes?  I’m confused.

Eames Demetrios, the Director of the Eames office and grandson to Charles and Ray Eames, was definitely born into a very enviable position of preserving the vision and intent of his grandparents’ lives work.  He also brought to light the fact that fiberglass is not environmentally friendly and the Herman Miller chairs are produced with molded recyclable plastic.  I’ll have to look into this since recyclable plastic always seems like a huge contradiction to me.

I guess my take on it all is that Modernica should indicate that they are not true Eames chairs.  Though they don’t actually mention on their website that they are Eames, it is a bit misleading, since anyone familiar with the classic fiberglass chair would equate it to Eames era stuff.

Here’s an age old argument within design:  Is it a knockoff or inspired by? 

Demetrios ends his letter saying to Dwell that their readers deserve better.

Yes, Mr. Demetrios, I agree with your points on validity and sustainability.  Had I not purchased the chair at such a discounted price I would have done more research.  And yes, we all deserve better.  I wouldn’t use a fake counterfeit luxury purse so why does it seem ok to purchase fake furniture.  I’m not innocent.  I apply my philosophy of high low in fashion to high low in home decor.  I have real Herman Miller Eames dining room table and chairs and fake Bertoia bar stools.  Every now and then I get a small pang of anxiety about those fake bar stools.  But then I remember they cost less than the actual Knoll version’s seat pad alone cost.  sigh.

What does one do?  I plan to replace those stools when I make my first million.  But until then, I will get waffle butt on them and think about the fact that at least they look good and I was able to pay my mortgage that month.  At least it’s not illegal to purchase these kind of counterfeits.  So one more thing I wonder about, does the molded plastic scratch as easily as the fiberglass?  My chair is riddled with scuffs from a certain someone’s jean rivets.  This didn’t hurt as much as when those same jean rivets scratched up the real Eames molded plywood chairs.  

Most friends and colleagues I asked, didn’t actually know about the Modernica stuff not really being licensed Eames reproductions.  And they didn’t seem bothered by it either.  What it comes down to is we would all love to have the real thing, but we can’t, so we pick our battles. 

I for one, know I deserve Eames and Bertoia and everything better.  Please help.